John 10 : 27-30
My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me
and I give eternal life to them and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of My hand
My Father who has given them to Me is greater then all and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand
I and the Father are one
John 3 : 15-16
so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life
For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Acts 16:31
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved
Josh 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Prov 6:22
When you walk about Bible doctrine will guide you. When you sleep Bible doctrine will watch over and when you awake Bible doctrine will talk to you.
Hi everyone,
We are but a few days away from surgery and have had time to prepare, reflect and be thankful. Since it is the week of Thanksgiving, it is a good time to think about being thankful for everything.
We can be thankful that the gift of salvation is for all of us and that it requires no human input other then your volition and saying " I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ ".
We can be thankful that nothing can snatch us from the hand of God. This is a tremendous comfort and manifestation of eternal security.
We can be thankful for the logistical grace from God that sustains us every day.
We can be thankful for the extension of grace that we have to spend time with family and loved ones and to have the freedom to do so.
We can be thankful for our freedom that we have right now which is also an extension of His grace.
We approach my upcoming surgery on the 30th of November with peace of mind and a relaxed mental attitude. I will either wake up after surgery and see my wife or I will wake up in heaven. The Lord in eternity past took care of the details and we have faith in Him that all things will work out. Even if He takes me home, my wife and the kids will be provided for. That gives us confidence and hope.
My surgery will be somewhat involved and complex. They will remove half of my lower jaw that is dead or dying and all the tissue around it that has scar tissue and has not responded to any therapy. This is all a by product of radiation, the gift that keeps on giving. It will be replaced with a part of my leg (fibula bone) and donor tissue from my calf and thigh. They also plan to use a piece of titanium in the reconstruction phase. The estimated time for this surgery is about 8 hours, 3 hours to take out and 5 hours to rebuild.
At the same time, they will look and test for any new cancerous tumors that maybe in my mouth. If they do find cancer, they will have to modify the process and address that challenge as well.
After surgery, they will move me to the ICU unit for a period of time until I can be moved to the rehab floor to recover. The first 24-48 hours are critical in that the donor flap is monitored to make sure my body is not rejecting it.
One of the side effects of using my fibular bone is that I will tend to walk in circles due to the missing piece in my leg. Since it is my right leg that will have the fibular bone section removed, I will walk in only right circles......talk about hanging out with the right crowd! This will actually be very helpful for my wife because as I get older and more senile, all she has to do is throw me out into the back yard and I will wander around in circles and never be out of sight. Even the kids will be able to keep track of me.
As to the titanium plate, we were in luck. With the cancellation of the shuttle program at NASA, they have started to sell off or donate shuttle parts. We were able to get a piece from the wing in a trade for a teleprompter. NASA said that some guy in Washington needed the teleprompter as his died on 2 Nov, 2010. I also got a discount on the surgery by bringing my own tools for the surgeons to use. I had an extra Ryobi sawsall with extra batteries that will be quite handy.....not to mention the year supply of hurricane duct tape that we did not need due to global cooling.
The ongoing battle with the bone fracture and necrosis has effected me in the last weeks. My mouth has slowly closed to a point where my teeth are touching and no longer can be opened. I manage to stuff food through a small opening on one side where I am missing some teeth. I try to keep my mouth and teeth clean by using the water spray from the shower, a water pick and oral rinses that have antibiotics and cleaners in them. Even if with all that, I still have an infection that makes my daily routine an adventure.
My left side of my face has become quite swollen due to the dead bone and infection. This has spread into other areas of my mouth and made talking and swallowing a challenge. I look and feel like you know what.
I remember the good old days from about 6 weeks ago when I could still get my obturator out.....funny how 5 mm can be such a big deal.
Yet we are mandated in the Bible to be thankful in ALL things. A funny little quote from my dad puts it into perspective.
"When you are being thankful, you do not have time to complain". (He used a different word for complain....rhymes with itch)
I Thes 5:18
In everything give thanks for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
I will not be sending out an email until after surgery. Traci will get the word out via our church, email and a few other contacts while I am in the ICU unit. I plan to email everyone once I am on the rehab floor of the hospital.
Attached is the photo of the man praying and being thankful. I love that print and wanted to pass it on again. Thanks in advance for the prayer support and encouragement.
Semper Fi
Martin, Traci, Gunnar, Winston and Tessa
PS ~ With exception of a few people I have spoken to specifically or unless I have been contacted personally, please DO NOT visit the hospital while Martin is in surgery/recovery. We would prefer privacy during this challenging healing time with plenty of room for rest and recooperation, minimizing germs during cold/flu season (that is not just for Martin but for visitors too...the hospital is the worst place to find every kind of germ imaginable), etc. and would embrace your full prayer support instead. Thank you for understanding and respecting our wishes. ~ Traci
My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me
and I give eternal life to them and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of My hand
My Father who has given them to Me is greater then all and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand
I and the Father are one
John 3 : 15-16
so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life
For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Acts 16:31
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved
Josh 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Prov 6:22
When you walk about Bible doctrine will guide you. When you sleep Bible doctrine will watch over and when you awake Bible doctrine will talk to you.
Hi everyone,
We are but a few days away from surgery and have had time to prepare, reflect and be thankful. Since it is the week of Thanksgiving, it is a good time to think about being thankful for everything.
We can be thankful that the gift of salvation is for all of us and that it requires no human input other then your volition and saying " I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ ".
We can be thankful that nothing can snatch us from the hand of God. This is a tremendous comfort and manifestation of eternal security.
We can be thankful for the logistical grace from God that sustains us every day.
We can be thankful for the extension of grace that we have to spend time with family and loved ones and to have the freedom to do so.
We can be thankful for our freedom that we have right now which is also an extension of His grace.
We approach my upcoming surgery on the 30th of November with peace of mind and a relaxed mental attitude. I will either wake up after surgery and see my wife or I will wake up in heaven. The Lord in eternity past took care of the details and we have faith in Him that all things will work out. Even if He takes me home, my wife and the kids will be provided for. That gives us confidence and hope.
My surgery will be somewhat involved and complex. They will remove half of my lower jaw that is dead or dying and all the tissue around it that has scar tissue and has not responded to any therapy. This is all a by product of radiation, the gift that keeps on giving. It will be replaced with a part of my leg (fibula bone) and donor tissue from my calf and thigh. They also plan to use a piece of titanium in the reconstruction phase. The estimated time for this surgery is about 8 hours, 3 hours to take out and 5 hours to rebuild.
At the same time, they will look and test for any new cancerous tumors that maybe in my mouth. If they do find cancer, they will have to modify the process and address that challenge as well.
After surgery, they will move me to the ICU unit for a period of time until I can be moved to the rehab floor to recover. The first 24-48 hours are critical in that the donor flap is monitored to make sure my body is not rejecting it.
One of the side effects of using my fibular bone is that I will tend to walk in circles due to the missing piece in my leg. Since it is my right leg that will have the fibular bone section removed, I will walk in only right circles......talk about hanging out with the right crowd! This will actually be very helpful for my wife because as I get older and more senile, all she has to do is throw me out into the back yard and I will wander around in circles and never be out of sight. Even the kids will be able to keep track of me.
As to the titanium plate, we were in luck. With the cancellation of the shuttle program at NASA, they have started to sell off or donate shuttle parts. We were able to get a piece from the wing in a trade for a teleprompter. NASA said that some guy in Washington needed the teleprompter as his died on 2 Nov, 2010. I also got a discount on the surgery by bringing my own tools for the surgeons to use. I had an extra Ryobi sawsall with extra batteries that will be quite handy.....not to mention the year supply of hurricane duct tape that we did not need due to global cooling.
The ongoing battle with the bone fracture and necrosis has effected me in the last weeks. My mouth has slowly closed to a point where my teeth are touching and no longer can be opened. I manage to stuff food through a small opening on one side where I am missing some teeth. I try to keep my mouth and teeth clean by using the water spray from the shower, a water pick and oral rinses that have antibiotics and cleaners in them. Even if with all that, I still have an infection that makes my daily routine an adventure.
My left side of my face has become quite swollen due to the dead bone and infection. This has spread into other areas of my mouth and made talking and swallowing a challenge. I look and feel like you know what.
I remember the good old days from about 6 weeks ago when I could still get my obturator out.....funny how 5 mm can be such a big deal.
Yet we are mandated in the Bible to be thankful in ALL things. A funny little quote from my dad puts it into perspective.
"When you are being thankful, you do not have time to complain". (He used a different word for complain....rhymes with itch)
I Thes 5:18
In everything give thanks for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
I will not be sending out an email until after surgery. Traci will get the word out via our church, email and a few other contacts while I am in the ICU unit. I plan to email everyone once I am on the rehab floor of the hospital.
Attached is the photo of the man praying and being thankful. I love that print and wanted to pass it on again. Thanks in advance for the prayer support and encouragement.
Semper Fi
Martin, Traci, Gunnar, Winston and Tessa
PS ~ With exception of a few people I have spoken to specifically or unless I have been contacted personally, please DO NOT visit the hospital while Martin is in surgery/recovery. We would prefer privacy during this challenging healing time with plenty of room for rest and recooperation, minimizing germs during cold/flu season (that is not just for Martin but for visitors too...the hospital is the worst place to find every kind of germ imaginable), etc. and would embrace your full prayer support instead. Thank you for understanding and respecting our wishes. ~ Traci
Romans 8:28 ~ And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love (TRUST) God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
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