MMOL - My Missionary Online -

May 2013

Dear praying friends,

                It has been awhile (as I was recently reminded) – since I wrote anything.  That’s because life has been quite smooth, though  busy.  The effects of the anesthetic from 4 surgeries in 8 weeks has been wearing off, and Doug has more energy and is able to be more involved in life in general.  Once a week he is meeting with a young fellow from Nepal and we are praying for his salvation.  We saw the specialist yesterday, the 14th of May, and he is thrilled with the way Doug has healed, and Doug is short-listed for surgery.  They plan to do it under a local – and the wait time is due to the fact that the specialist most always has 1 l-o-n-g surgery (8 – 10 hours) a day, and seldom has a slot of a couple of hours, to do smaller ops.  However, it is he, himself who needs to do Doug’s next surgery.  He hopes to raise the lower lip up and lipo suction the free flap to remove some of the bulk.  If that isn’t successful, he may need to cut into the flap to reduce it, but then there is always the risk of hindering the blood supply, and the flap dying.  So we continue to wait, and rest in God’s perfect timing and undertaking.

January 12, 2013

Good morning,

I have been remiss at not letting you, our dear friends and prayer partners, know of what transpired at Doug’s appointment with the Consultant plastic surgeon.

It has been a L-O-N-G week….  Anyway, there is MUCH to the story, but in essence, the specialist has ordered an MRI and a CT scan, before any decisions will be made, as to the next move. The lesion on Doug’s nose is cancer, and they didn’t get clear margins on the lip in the previous surgery.  However, the specialist mentioned his concern that Doug isn’t as strong physically as he was 3 years ago, and went through all those other operations….    He is also concerned that he is running out of options for reconstruction, and Doug could end up with one or two holes in his face if they have to cut away a large amount of his face.  So we are praying and asking the Lord for direction in decisions to be made.  The plastic surgeon will meet with the whole “Neck and Head” team next week, and discuss the options.  We then have an appointment to see the specialist on the 22nd January, but the earliest Doug could have his MRI done, was the 24th January, so I doubt we will come to any conclusions on the 22nd.  As for each one of us, it is one day at a time, and knowing God’s grace will be sufficient for each moment of each day.