Good News

Hi everyone, this is Vanessa blogging on behalf of Bethany while she is recovering over the next couple weeks.

So, here goes:

Bethany and Joe had a nice day in Victoria yesterday, despite her oncologist rescheduling her appointment with him for the day after the surgery (helpful...). In any case, she got to see another doctor who gave Bethany the go ahead for surgery today and even though he had to bring her up to speed on some rather gorey details (feeding tubes, IVs, etc), Bethany felt confident about her surgical team and their procedures.

Joe said that Bethany went into her surgery nervous yet light hearted at 7am. The procedure took a little more than 6 hours to complete and the doctors are very happy with how well everything went. Apparently, the radiation had done the work it was intended to accomplish and the tumour had been reduced to a more clearly defined mass. Previously, it had been undifferentiated with random tentacles. Since the radiation had worked so well, the surgeons felt good about the amount of tissue they removed.

Currently, Bethany is still sedated and recovering in the post-op room; Joe will be allowed to see her by 7pm this evening once she's in the Intensive Care Unit. Due to the nature of her surgery and the special care that she will require, Bethany will be in the Burn ICU until she's healed up a little more.

Ruth and Roseanne are doing well, too. My mom and I went to Chemainus to see them today, and we ended up running into them on Willow Street. We ended up taking little Ruthie out for a stroll around Chemainus while Roseanne took an hour to herself and went for a power walk around the seaside. We met up again at the "Utopia Bakery", and continued a nice visit together. Ruthie is in good spirits, and is really enjoying her time with Grandma. The bond that those two share is very beautiful and special.

I will be visiting Bethany and Joe at some point on the next day or so. If you would like to leave comments for her, I will be printing them out and reading them to her on Thursday.

Bethany and Joe would like to thank all the friends, family, church family, and strangers alike who have been supporting them through this journey. God is lighting the path for Bethany's recovery, and I think we can all look forward to many miracles big and small, over the next few weeks.

~Vanessa