Hey,
I’m writing this blog post from the hospital room, sitting next to Murphy, who has done a remarkable job recovering from a major operation. I want to update you on how good God has been this week, from preparation, through to recovery, His hand has been over it all! Thank you for your mighty faith and prayer for both Murphy, and the rest of the family. If you click HERE, you can go to the website page of the blog, where you will be able to see a video of Murphy thanking you all only hours after his operation!
In the last blog post (Click HERE to read), I explained what the week entailed, and today I want to give you a pleasing report on what great success Murphy has had. On Wednesday night, in preparing for surgery on Thursday, the whole family felt some nerves, thinking about Murphy in such a large cold room with many surgical team members opening him up and removing the primary tumour. Before bedtime Wednesday, as like most other nights, we gathered before bed to pray. Nat encouraged Murphy to hold his hands out to receive from God, and he responded immediately with arms fully stretched out in faith! Check it out…
Your prayers for peace and comfort were felt in our home, with the whole house having the best sleep we’ve had in weeks, which goes against what we ‘should’ have encountered the night before a major opperation!
Thursday rolled around and we set off for hospital, where Murphy had some idea of what to expect, but his wonderful childlike faith and approach to life caused him to RUN into hospital!
A few hours of waiting followed the early arrival time into the admissions unit, and then Murphy’s name was called. Nat and I held onto each others hands tightly, and we walked Murphy to the surgical unit. Through all of this, Murphy put a brave face on, but as parents, we knew there was a nervousness underneath. In the pre-op room Murphy put on his gown and walked with Nat into the operating room. A sterile, white, cold and populated room. Murphy looked into his mummy’s eyes and said to Nat, “My scared”. Like any comforting mother, Nat pulled on all her strength to assure him, “It’s ok”. Meanwhile I was waiting for Nat’s return in the pre-op room, where another mum walked back into after she had released her son to the surgical team. This mother fell apart in the room and needed the comfort of the nursing staff. Back in Murphy’s operating room, Murphy jumped up on the operating table, lay down, and away the team went and put him to sleep. Nat walked back out to the waiting room, and we held each other tight and knew in our hearts Murphy was going to be ok.
Only a few hours later, one of the doctors called to say that they had completed what they needed too, and were in the process of putting him back together to close up! This phone call was only 3 hours into a surgery that could have taken up to 10 hours if there were complications. Now, here is the good news; there were no complications at all, and in fact, the doctor was shocked at how well it went! When the head surgeon said to the anaesthetist that it was time to close, the anaesthetist responded to him, “What, so soon.” Thank You Lord that everything went even better than what was expected.
Murphy was shortly thereafter returned to the Intensive Care Unit, and Nat and I could see him. It was a beautiful sight, our boy, lying there, minus the insidious large tumour taking over his body! He was heavily medicated and peacefully sleeping, as his body recovered from the trauma to the body of a huge incision and invasive surgery.
The surgeon spoke to us immediately after with a smile on his face saying he was able to remove the WHOLE tumour and two lymph nodes that also had suspected active cancer cells. A success, in his words! This is great news because it means the entire tumour can now be analysed to determine how best to proceed with the remainder of his treatment. Praise God! In terms of what Murphy has faced so far, this is a HUGE win in his Cancer Journey.
In the past day, post operation, Murphy has shown radical strength and determination, progressing through the healing process in great fashion! Check these wins out:
1. He was transferred out of intensive care in less than 24 hours, whereas the doctors anticipated he might stay in ICU from 5-7 days!
2. Murphy has completed some lung exercises in the first day! Most patients take 7 days to complete these exercises!
3. Murphy’s body is processing fluid quickly, and he has shown early signs of improvements for his bowels. (Passing wind is a success, and he has made a ‘fart dance’)
4. Murphy’s appetite is growing, and he’s desperate to drink water. The doctors have yet to allow him to eat, to which Murphy strongly disagrees with them, haha!
Thank you for your prayers and support! If you want to keep up to date, make sure you subscribe below, and this will send you an email notification once every blog post is written and published.
The power of Prayer has been so evident in the outcome of this week’s surgery. Thank you. May your faith be encouraged.
Go Murphy!
Love the Nowaks x