Cancer Update and The Van Fleet Wedding

            I want to thank the church for your generous offering to help my family and I pay for my medical bills. As the bills have been numerous and expensive, Ginny and I are thankful for your generosity! We would not have been able to survive this experience financially or emotionally without the help and support of our church family. Thank you!

            As I type this, my leg is bandaged up and is still sore from my surgery last week. I underwent what is called a "margins surgery" for the remainder of the cancer that is in my leg. Last Wednesday, Dr. Charles Scoggins, from the University of Louisville, was able to remove 20 sq. centimeters of surface and 2nd layer skin from my leg. The surgery left an 8 inch incision that runs along the crease between my torso and right leg. To get the skin to bond, the Dr. placed stiches underneath the skin (that will dissolve later), a type of medical superglue on the wound, and nylon surface stitches that will be removed in a few weeks.

            This type of surgery has been reported to bring the return rate of my particular cancer down into the single digits (3-8% chance of return). All of my removed skin is currently being tested for cancer and will determine my future treatment. If the cancer is found throughout the skin sample, I will be looking at further surgeries and treatments. If the cancer is found only in small sections of the sample, I will be monitored with ultrasounds for the next three years.

            In closing, I would ask that we all pray for our youth minister Benji Van Fleet and Anna Allen as they are getting married this Saturday, July 31, in Texas. Benji and Anna will be rejoining us around August 15 to resume serving our students. Pray for safety for them as they travel to Scotland on their honeymoon and as they make their journey from Texas back to Kentucky. We are planning to do something fun for Benji and Anna as they return so stay tuned for the details!

 

It has been a busy summer, and it has been an awesome summer! May God bless us as we transition into the fall!

 

-          Bro. Dave