the next day

My mom had a successful ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography - say that five time fast!) today. Everything went like clockwork. Our friend Dr. Frederick was able to place a stent in her bile duct, which opened it back up and allowed the bile to drain (the blocked bile duct has been causing her symptoms). Mom's not feeling any better yet, but hopefully we'll see a difference in the next couple of days. She's actually in a lot of pain tonight, so please pray that will subside and isn't a sign of any serious complications. We've talked to Dr. Frederick a couple of times since the procedure and will call him (and probably make a trip to the ER) if her pain gets any worse. She took a pain pill about thirty minutes ago and I think it's making a slight difference. 

Dr. F informed us today that the surgeon will probably want Mom to have an endoscopic ultrasound before deciding whether or not to operate. This will give him (the surgeon) a better idea of the size and extent of her cancer. Dr F does not do this procedure, but is going to arrange for his partner to do it. It has not been scheduled yet. 

Mom's oncology clinic called today and they scheduled an appointment for her with the surgeon, Dr. Behrman, for this Friday. 

So here are some specific prayer needs for today . . .

• First and foremost, thank God for a successful procedure today! An unsuccessful one would've been quite discouraging. Every little bit of good news helps. :-)
• Pray that God will take away the pain Mom's feeling tonight and protect her body from all post-ERCP complications.
• Pray that Mom will be able to have the endoscopic ultrasound soon, that it will have favorable results, and that it will let her surgeon know that this cancer is removable! 
• Pray for Dr. Behrman and Mom's consult with him on Friday. We don't know a lot about him, but are trusting that Dr. Tauer and Dr. Frederick know what they're talking about. ;-) Pray that Friday's appointment will go well and that Dr. Behrman will be willing to do surgery and be able to remove every bit of this cancer. 

The support and love we've felt over the past few days has been overwhelming, to say the least. I just looked at my blog's stats. Normally it has 20-30 visitors each day, and today it had 579! My first thought was, "Wow, that new background and header must be even cuter than I thought!", but then my brother pointed out that our parents are awesome and people love them. So, yeah, I bet that's it. 

We are so humbled by everyone's prayers and kind words. Trying to keep up with all the phone calls, text messages, emails, blog comments, and facebook comments/messages has already proven to be a daunting task, but we're not complaining! Please know that every kind word said and every prayer lifted up is appreciated more than we can say. God has truly blessed us, and we are so thankful.

And, during the writing of this post, I think my mom has finally drifted off to sleep. Praise God for good friends and hydrocodone!