Dear Praying Friends,
Well, it looks like things are pretty set now for Cassie's next
trip to Seattle for Surgery. Here are the details, followed by
some specific prayer requests:
1. Arrive in Seattle either the 3rd of August or early morning on
the 4th, for an 11 am appointment. On the 4th and the 5th, they
will be determining left or right side of brain for speech
center.
2. The following Monday and Tuesday they will be placing a GRID
in Cassie's head and she will again be monitored for seizure
activity for a week
3. They will compare the results of the speech center tests with
the GRID Monitoring and prepare for surgery to remove dead brain
tissue
4. This surgery will take place on the 16th of August. It could
take 4 or 5 hours or longer. They will be removing dead or
damaged brain tissue
5. After surgery, the recovery period in the hospital will be 5
to 7 days.
6. Cassie will hopefully be able to return home the 23rd or
thereabouts
You know, I really gotta be honest. In just a few hours I have
gone from "This is what's going to happen sometime in the next
couple months to "This is it!" The inevitability is pretty
stifling. Please pray for the following:
- That the Lord will give Cassie a special peace through all of
this. She will have a whole week without medication while they
have the grid on her, which means she will be having many
seizures. It will be a very difficult week. She has been
incredible. But she is also tired and very scared
- That Kris and I will be able to hold up just a little bit
longer thru all of this. Cassie's seizures currently are less
frequent, but they also seem to be more violent. What a trade.
- That all the doctors involved would be touched by Cassie's
faith in a way that brings real significance to this whole mess.
-That there might be someone I can stay with in the Seattle area
and transportation back and forth from the hospital will not be a
problem (Seattle has a good public transportation system, I am
told)
-That Cassie will be home and recovered and be able to get
enrolled in school, even if it is a bit late.
- Kris was going to travel with Chelsie, our oldest daughter, to
the Carolinas, where Chelsie will stay and work for a year before
returning back here to attend college at UAF. But this surgery
time table will certainly mess these plans up somewhat. Chelsie
and Tyler both have bee really good about all of this and are
just as concerned as we are . . . . But it will be hard having to
alter plans to spend a week with Kris.
- That we will make the right decisions about when I should join
Kris and Cassie. My plane fare will be covered via air miles, but
I will not be able to stay at Harbor View Hospital (Kris will be
able to stay in the room with Cassie). So I will need housing in
the area. Kris will use all of her vacation days, but I will not
have any income during the time I am with them. A few of you have
responded with funds sent directly to us to offset this. Thank
you so much. If you have not yet but would like to help with this
specifically, please respond with the check to either me or Kris
directly and mail to our home address 1136 Walnut Avenue Kenai,
AK 99611. I am told that it needs to be done this way because
these gifts cannot be considered tax deductible.
I can't remember if I have used this term in one of these updates
before our not, but I keep coming back to the concept of being
sort of "raw" over this whole thing. One day I can talk about it
normally without much difficulty, but at other times it's hard to
keep the tears from coming. I teach an adult Sunday School class
at church, and I'm sure they understand what I mean. They have
walked with us through this entire ordeal.
But so have each of you. I long to be able to return to the good
ol' days of ministry updates information about what we are doing
at ACC. There is a lot happening on that front, too, believe me.
But for some reason God is allowing some real difficult things to
come our way. As we "shoulder up" to the tasks before us, we also
are amazed at the little ways (and the big ways, of course) that
we are being loved thru these times by folks in our church, by
ACC families, and by you. Thanks for sticking it out with us.
Gary Harris
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Alaska Christian College, www.akcc.org
35109 Royal Place
Soldotna, Alaska 99669
Cell 907-252-1574
