Martin update in his words

before surgery Tuesday morning after an overnight stay in hospital with plenty of I.V. anti-biotics and pain medications...feeling good and positive!
sometime on Wednesday I think, the day after surgery, I see a smile! you can see the tracheotomy tube under the oxygen cuff on the left and the yellow wet bandage is hiding all the new pectoral tissue underneath

my helpers to change Daddy's bandages at home, they mostly love the gloves

Gun's 3-D card stock environment for one of his action figures..there is a pile of these that have been in the making over the past several days...there have also been numerous videos I WISH I had time to post here..so funny...one is a close up shot of two of Gun's cars and he is humming the theme song to Cars/the movie...there was another one of a pro video we saw here of the earth's horizon set to ambient sound..he simulated by walking along our ivory carpet and Win playing the xylophone and it was really kinda cool this Mama says.

Mostly, it is all a blur to me since getting home from hospital. I am just keeping routine for us all as much as possible. I do laundry, dishes (ahem...Martin has been doing them to when he feels like it!), regular meals and bedtime, reading stories. Wonderful friends have made main course dishes we have been enjoying and that frees me up to be a double parent or help Martin. My sister has been doing projects with our children..what a joy and what fun for them! Even a much needed trip to the library for some new winter and Christmas tales happened today. We took just a brief trip out to do that while leaving Martin at home solo. I am weary but we are doing well. As married people know, it is tough to keep good communication going when you can speak but it adds a whole new level when one cannot speak. Martin is not enjoying being able to fire back at me at times but he does put things in all caps on his notebook when necessary that he uses to "talk" to the world. I will save it to reminisce one day.

Here are his words:

Job 35:14b
The case is before Him and you must wait for Him

Job 36:2
Wait for me a little and I will show you that there is yet more to be said in God's behalf

Ps 25:5
Lead me in Thy truth and teach me for Thou are the God of my salvation, for Thee I wait all day
Ps 27:14
Wait for the Lord be strong and let your heart take courage, yes wait for the Lord

Ps 39:7
And now Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in Thee

Is 40:31
Yet those who wait upon the Lord will gain new strength, They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become tired.



Hi everyone,

Sorry that it took a little longer to get this update out. In one of my last updates, I referenced waiting for the Lord and the Biblical account of the storm in Matt 8:23-27. For Traci and I, we have had to wait upon the Lord in the midst of our storm. It was not easy. The temptation to "help" God fix things was always there.

Yesterday, we saw the calming of the seas and the silencing of the winds as illustrated in Matt 8:27. The calm was overwhelming.

We had spent the day up at MD Anderson with post surgical appointments with all the surgeons that had been involved in my surgery from a week ago.

We got good news in that the biopsy on the removed tissues did not show any cancer cells. The second bit of good news was that the surgeons do not think I need anymore surgery. The results so far show promise.

My dental surgeon was thrilled to see how much I can open my mouth. He expressed confidence in fabricating a mouthpiece that will allow me to speak and eat with greater promise then before.

He also gave me some exercises that I need to do every day for the next 3 months to stop and minimize the formation of scar tissue which will give me problems. The key will be to gently force the lower jaw to stay in line with the upper jaw and not pull to the surgical side.

My plastic surgeon was also very positive about the results. There was concern that the donor tissue would not bond in the cavity where the infection had been. We are now at day 10 so the odds are improving that it will not be rejected.

Yesterday, they also removed all the wound drain lines. That was a relief. My trach was also downsized which is part of the process of getting rid of it.

Next Monday, I hope to pull my trach out. At that time, I will also be fitted for the new obturator. I will have to undergo some swallow testing before they allow me to eat normally. Once that is approved, I can stop using the gastro tube and have it removed in 5 weeks.

My focus now is to implement the recommended therapy on my jaw and mouth and continue with the positive trend we have going. I also need to regain some weight and build up my immune system.

As always, we are very appreciative of the prayer support and words of encouragement. Thank you so much for everything.

Semper Fi,

Martin, Traci, Gunnar, Winston and Tessa