McLaurin Update #10: ...that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed

Dear Family and Friends,                                                             August 26, 2011

Our last week has been a challenging one, and yet even as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we fear no evil and know that Christ is with us; His rod and staff are comforting us (Psalm 23:4).  We have the luxury of seeing God’s majesty displayed within the incredible grassy hills of the East Bay in California.  It makes the words from Psalm 23:1-3 even more tangible:  “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside still waters.  He restores my soul.  He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”

Besides needing extra physical and mental rest, along with a little insomnia and irritability from the steroids he is taking to prevent brain edema, Colby has had an amazingly smooth recovery.  He was discharged from the hospital only 2 days after surgery and enjoyed a walk in the San Francisco botanical gardens with his mom, Jireh, and Emily just 5 days after surgery.  That afternoon, we were blessed to transition to the peaceful home of Emily's aunt and uncle in Alamo, CA.  Here, Colby has enjoyed plenty of daily quiet time to rest, read, walk in the cool air, enjoy Jireh, and do pretty much whatever he wants.  It has now been 10 days since surgery, and he feels great.  We are able to take long walks together every day.  He is able to think and speak without difficulty.  Colby feels that he has been able to see Christ more clearly and gloriously in His Word than he ever has in his life.

At the early part of this week, we met and visited with the director of neuro-oncology at UCSF.  She reviewed pre- and post-operative MRI scans, and based on preliminary calculations it looks like the surgeon was able to remove about 85% of the total tumor volume.  That is a good number.  We knew from type and location of the tumor that 100% was never a realistic expectation.  Considering that many neurosurgeons would never have considered tumor resection in this location an option, to have had such an aggressive resection with absolutely no resulting handicap or disability is already far beyond our expectations.  We are thankful.

              

          The news about the pathology of the tumor was not the best, but our hope is unshaken.  After Colby’s tumor tissue was examined under a microscope, it was classified as a grade III anaplastic astrocytoma, which is a high-grade malignancy.  It is not the worst type of brain tumor, but it is certainly not the best.  What this means for now is that he will need further treatment.  This will include radiation therapy and probably chemotherapy.  There are still some specific genetic and molecular tests being done on the tissue that will determine which specific chemotherapies might work best.  We plan to return home to Oklahoma City, Lord willing, on Sunday September 11^th. We will likely start the next steps of treatment in Oklahoma City a few weeks after returning, giving Colby's surgical wounds adequate time to heal.  

           We knew from before surgery that this is not a tumor that is curable by modern medicine or surgery.  Our hope, even from the time of his diagnosis, was never in medical advancements or surgery but in Christ and the healing and joy that comes for all who know Him when we leave this world.  1 Peter 4:12-13 has been an enormous blessing to both of us in this last week:  It says “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”  Colby is daily moved to tears of joy at the privilege of being allowed to see God's glory revealed so clearly.  We continue to be assured that God has brought this into our lives for our good, because He loves us (Rom 8:28), and He is has been gracious to show us daily how true that is.  

How to Pray?

1) Healing

            -We continue believe, and we do not doubt, that God is able to heal Colby completely.  He may choose to use doctors or medicine, or he may do a miraculous work that cannot be explained outside of himself.  We are praying for this, knowing that it is one way that God can glorify himself.

2) Recovery

            -Colby still has some recovering to do, and we are being very careful.  Pray for truly protected time to rest along with extra measures of peace and quiet, which is what his brain needs to rest (kind of like after a concussion).  Pray that he would sleep better as he tapers off the steroids. The insomnia is already improving, praise the Lord.

3) Wisdom and peace for Emily

          -Being the mother of a two year-old is a full-time job by itself, and Emily wants time to love on and help Colby as he recovers and is unable to help with his half of the parenting.  This has been one of Emily’s most challenging weeks with double the stress and responsibility of normal life.  This means she needs even more prayer!

4) Peace for family

         -The news about the tumor being a high-grade malignancy is new for all of us and is a significant change for our families in what we thought we had understood about Colby’s prognosis.  Please pray for peace and encouragement for all of us during this process of adjustment.

5) Upcoming opportunities to share

          -God has provided abundantly.  Colby will have two opportunities to share his testimony in local churches in this part of California this weekend.  He really feels up to it physically and mentally and feels privileged that God has provided.  These are a result of your prayers! Please pray that God would use our story in mighty ways to glorify Himself, encourage believers, and perhaps call some to faith in Jesus Christ who had not previously believed.

This email list is intended to include people who have directly or indirectly asked to be on it because they would like to pray for us.  As always, if you are receiving this email but not interested in praying, or would rather not be on this list for any reason, please let us know. We will not be offended at all and agree that it would be appropriate to remove your email address from it.  Also, if there is anyone who you think would like to pray for us who may not be receiving these updates, please send us an email address and we will gladly add more prayer warriors.

Constantly amazed at God's grace,

Colby, Emily, and Jireh

McLaurin Update #9: Our chosen portion and our cup

Dear Family and Friends,                                                                        August 18, 2011

            Blessed be the name of the Lord!  Today we are writing from the apartment we are renting just a few blocks away from UCSF.  Colby seemed to be doing so well that he was able to leave the hospital today, just 2 days after his craniotomy!  Though it is one day earlier than expected, his swelling and pain are both controlled, he is able to eat without problems and walked a few laps of the hospital ward without getting dizzy or weak.  The comforts of the apartment without routine neurological checks, vital signs, and construction across the hall from his hospital room have allowed him to get uninterrupted sleep all afternoon long.  True to the warnings given by the nurses and neurosurgery team, Colby is tired.  (Though when alert he has already been checking up on Husker stats!)  We anticipate that he will need to sleep 12-18 hours per day over the next few weeks to give his brain some rest.  We were also told that the next 1-2 days are usually more difficult with regards to swelling and pain in the temporalis muscle.  So far, however, Colby’s pain seems to be minimal.  

            Colby was able to have his repeat MRI late last night.  It showed no concerning signs in terms of brain edema or bleeding.  However, we will need to wait until our follow up in 2 weeks in order to have a better idea of what percentage of the tumor was resected, to review the final pathology results, and to discuss the next steps in Colby’s treatment plan.  When Colby isn’t sleeping, we will try to get out and walk around to work on his conditioning.  This Saturday we will be moving back to Emily’s aunt and uncles house in Danville, CA, where we will stay for the rest of our time in the Bay Area.

            It will be unusual not to live a fast paced life filled with things to do, places to go, and tasks to complete.  It will also be difficult for Jireh to continue making adjustments as we move from place to place.  In addition, Colby is not allowed to carry her and will not be able to play with her as much with his need for rest and his lifting restrictions. As we take life one day at time, our prayer is that we will understand even more deeply these verses from Psalm 16: 5-9:

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.  The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.  I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.   I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.    

PRAYER REQUESTS:

1.  Colby’s recovery:  Please pray that the time he gets to rest will allow his brain and body to heal.  Pray that the aggressive surgery Colby had will truly make an impact in his overall prognosis.   Please also pray that he is protected against any infection, seizures, or other possible post-operative complications.

2.  Wisdom for Emily:  It is easier to help someone when you know exactly how you can help.  Now that we have “done” so much to get Colby help, pray for wisdom, patience, and grace for Emily in the weeks to come as she balances the role of caretaker, wife, mother, and follower of Christ.

3.  Travel Safety:  Colby’s sister and niece will be traveling back to Houston this weekend.  Colby’s mom will stay with us here in the Bay area until next Tuesday. 

Still in awe of God and the work He is doing in our lives,

Colby, Emily, and Jireh

McLaurin Update #8: A day of rest and reflection today

Dear Friends and Family,                                                                        August 17, 2011

            “Did I really just have brain surgery?”  This is one of the first things Colby said last night once anesthesia wore off and he was nearly pain-free already.  He is still doing great today and has now moved out of the ICU into the neurosurgical ward.  All fingers, toes, and limbs move normally.  His speech is smooth, and the majority of his catheters and monitors have been removed.  The only thing that really hurts him is the right temple where his surgeon had to cut through the temporalis muscle.  His rehabilitation over the next few days will consist of lots of rest and “jaw stretching” exercises to keep the cut muscle from scarring down and limiting his ability to chew and make facial expressions.  He does have some swelling both in the brain and around his skin incisions that will need to be watched carefully over the next few days.  We are still waiting for his postop MRI, which may not be completed until late this evening.

            Colby’s neurosurgeon came back and recapped all of the steps of surgery with us again today.  He is confident that he was able to remove the vast majority of the tumor and is very pleased with Colby’s progress after surgery. 

            Thank you all so much for your encouraging emails, texts, and prayers.  We have been reading through them together today and are overwhelmed at how your prayers have carried us through even the night before.  While many of you awoke in the middle of the night burdened to pray for us, we were blessed with a good night’s sleep the night before surgery.  Thanks for starting and ending your day thinking of and praying for us.

            Colby is eager to see friends and family now that he is out of ICU.  He is on the 8^th floor (long hall, room 859) on the Parnassus Heights campus of UCSF Medical Center.  Anyone who is in the area is welcome to come by to visit if you would like.  If he continues to progress as quickly in recovery as he has, we expect he may be able to be discharged as early as Friday.

           

PRAYER REQUESTS:

1.  Continued healing: Colby is eager to get up and wants to read and study but also needs to rest for the majority of time in the next couple of days.  The next few days will be tough trying to learn to be a patient rather than a physician.

2.  Patience and peace:  We still do not know the exact tumor type or the plans that God has for Colby in the months and years to come.  We do not want to be anxious as we wait for final pathology results and want to be faithful to God in the day-to-day activities.  We know that what lies ahead will be more of a marathon and are trusting the Lord to prepare our family.

3.  PRAISE!  The surgery was truly a large surgery with plenty of risks.  All glory to God for getting us this far and protecting us in innumerable ways.  All glory to God for the way He has drawn us closer to Him.  All glory to God for the way we see Him working in the lives of our friends, family, and church.   

Love,

Colby, Emily, and Jireh

McLaurin Update #7: Praise God!

Dear Family and Friends,                                                                        August 16, 2011

            Our day started today with a 5:45 am walk (Colby, Emily, and Colby’s mom Gwen) to UCSF singing “Alleluia…for the Lord God almighty reigns.”  It ended with laughing and giggling on our walk home (Emily, Jireh, Gwen, Colby’s sister Kristi, and her daughter Lauren) singing “Father Abraham had many sons…so let’s all praise the Lord.”  To start and end this day with praise is perfect!

            Colby did great today.  Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and well wishes.  After almost 8 hours on the operating table, he is now resting in the ICU.  Colby’s neurosurgeon felt confident that the surgery went well and seemed to have no surprises at all.  Though we won’t know exactly how much tumor he removed until after Colby’s post-operative MRI, he assures me that he was able to get a large majority of the tumor.  The anesthesia has now worn off, and Colby feels great.  His speech is normal and other than a little bit of pain at the incision site, we are all amazed that he just had brain surgery.  The care given by Colby’s neurosurgeon and the hospital has been exceptional.  Though we are still waiting for the final pathology results (available in 1-2 wks) and a repeat MRI in order to know what the next steps are, his frozen pathology confirms that his tumor is a grade 2 low grade glioma. 

            This has been an incredible day.  I’ll send more updates tomorrow.  For those of you who live in/near San Francisco and have expressed a desire to visit, Colby should be leaving the ICU tomorrow as long as tonight is an uneventful one.  Once he moves out of the ICU, he would love to have visitors.  Thanks to all of you.  To tangibly feel the prayers of the saints is a privilege we never dreamed of experiencing.

            All glory to Christ,

            Emily, Colby, and Jireh

McLaurin Update #6: Clothed with gladness today

Dear Friends and Family,                                                                        August 16, 2011

            Hello from sunny California and foggy San Francisco!  Thank you all so much for your sweet words of encouragement, prayers, and love.  We have transitioned to our apartment in San Francisco, Colby is now under anesthesia, and we are eager to see what the Lord has in store for us today.  We daily declare His “steadfast love in the morning, and [His] faithfulness by night (Psalm 92:2).”

God has been so faithful.  Colby’s family arrived safely into San Francisco without lost baggage.  We braved the traffic in and around the city without accidents.  A second intense flare up of Colby’s arthritis came and went.  A packed day of testing yesterday went smoothly.  Jireh and her 5-year old cousin are enjoying time together despite having their schedules completely disrupted.  And though this big trip is all for the sake of a tumor, peace and confidence in our great God reigns in our hearts.  How could we doubt Him when he has effortlessly carried us this far?

As we met with the neurosurgeon yesterday, he was very encouraging.  Though the tumor is located deep in the brain, he believes that because it is on Colby’s non-dominant side, he should experience little to no physical or mental defects.  There is a small risk of hemiparesis because of the tumor’s proximity to the part of the brain that coordinates movement.  The goal is to try to remove the majority, if not all, of the tumor.  This will help prolong Colby’s life by both preventing malignant transformation and decreasing the rate of recurrence of the tumor.  The principle seems to be the more he can remove, the better.  The surgeon is well rested and plans to spend all day with Colby.  He said he is in no hurry and will work until he feels that he is unable to safely remove any more tumor. Please join us in praying that Colby’s neurosurgeon will be able to remove 100% of the tumor. 

As Colby has “signed his life away” with the risk of surgery including death, we are reminded of David’s plea that echoes ours:

To you, O Lord, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy:

What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit?  Will the dust praise you?  Will it tell of your faithfulness?

Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!  O Lord, be my helper!

You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, 

that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.  O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.  (Psalm 30:8-12)

Although we know of Colby’s risk of death, he has no fear of death.  He knows that whether he has a poor operative outcome today or lives until he is ninety, the number of his days are known by his Creator.  And though God so effortlessly carries our daily burdens, Jesus, His only perfect son, suffered a painful death as a man and died for Colby’s sake, for my sake, and for your sake.  To know this as the ultimate act of love so that we can enjoy God forever both here on earth and in Heaven makes today so much easier to face. 

           

Thank you for walking this road with us.  We will keep you posted.

Forever blessed,

The McLaurins

McLaurin Update #5: Focusing on His ways

Dear Prayer Warriors,                                                                                    Aug 11, 2011

            This afternoon, we are flying from Dallas to San Francisco.  We are praying for valuable, rich, and meaningful times with family in Dallas and the Bay Area before surgery on Tuesday, Aug 16^th.  We will also have a relatively full day next Monday filled with a preoperative visit, blood work, and MRI. 

            There aren’t many developments on the medical side of things since our last update.  Colby still feels very well without any symptoms from the tumor.  Praise the Lord!  He has stopped taking all anti-inflammatory medications (ibuprofen, naproxen, etc) to allow his platelets to return to normal clotting function before surgery.  Normally he only takes one per day, which has in the past significantly minimized flare-ups from a chronic inflammatory condition in his spine.  Since stopping these medicines, he has struggled with some stiffness and pain in his neck and back. However, even the worst of pains resolved after only a few days.  We have been focusing more recently on getting regular cardiovascular exercise in preparation for the physiologic stress of surgery. The Lord has truly been merciful.

In the last few weeks, we have enjoyed sweet times with friends, both new and old.  Many have prayed for us, offered words of encouragement, and reminded us of the truths by which we are to stand.  Our church small group has committed to shouldering whatever burdens they can help carry.  Colby has also had several opportunities to share his story and the hope that he has in Christ in several church and secular settings.  We are so thankful for those opportunities, as they were just what we were praying for.  We continue to pray that Colby’s story will overflow with praise in the hearts of God’s people.

This week, we have enjoyed time together as a family and also had some family photos taken by a dear friend who lovingly donated her time and expertise.  Jireh is still too young to understand what is going on, but we pray for her every day to grow up trusting the Lord, who will be her unshakeable foundation and comfort forever.  “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (James 1:14)

            This verse also speaks to our prayer for all of you and for all who may hear our story.  It is our chief desire that God receive the praise He deserves no matter what the outcome of Colby’s surgery or his disease.  We know that God doesn’t always show us his ways, and they can be difficult for us to understand if our lives don’t go the way we think they should.  Isaiah 55:9 says, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  But we can know that Jesus doesn’t change, and his love for us doesn’t change.  It was the same before Colby was born, before he had cancer, and will still be the same when Jireh is someday telling her own children or grandchildren her daddy’s story.  His purposes toward his children are always good.  In addition to praying for us, please spend a few moments praying for yourself this week, that you would be prepared to praise God no matter what the outcome will be.  We want you to know and believe with your whole heart that his purposes for us, and for you, are good.

Prayer Requests:

1. Insurance dealings – We believe the majority of it is behind us.  However, there are still a number of expensive preoperative tests that will likely be needed once we arrive in San Francisco, in addition to the potential for rehabilitation services needed postoperatively.  All of these will need to go through the same difficult preauthorization process.

2. Healing – We continue to believe God can heal Colby, whether through physicians or in His own ways.  We ask you to pray for that as well.  However, we are trusting the Lord’s perfect will and asking him first to bring himself the most glory through this trial.

3. Wisdom with home repairs – Some small projects are underway and will continue while we are away.  These will make life a little easier for Emily and Colby when they get back, in case Colby isn’t able to do projects himself. Unfortunately it will take some coordination while we are traveling.  Please pray that this process would be uncomplicated.

4.  Fruitful time to read, study scripture, and write for both Emily and Colby.  The lessons we are learning in these days are priceless.  We want to meditate on them and record them so we may look back on them someday and give God the praise He deserves.

5.  Praise the Lord for several wonderful opportunities Colby has had to share his testimony!  Please continue to pray that our words would glorify God and continue to bear fruit.

All glory to Christ,

Colby, Emily, and Jireh