JUDAH WINS

Don't give up, don't give in! If you don't quit, you win!

Judah is “Hot!”

A powerful update on Judah’s treatment journey, the incredible praise report, and how you can continue praying for our family

Howdy!

We thought we’d update you on our last few days with Judah…

Wednesday

On Wednesday, Judah and Deborah headed to the hospital for an appointment with the nuclear medicine group where he swallowed 6 pills of low dosage radioactive iodine. Preceding this appointment, Judah’s two-week low-iodine diet starved his body of iodine, so the substance would naturally go to any remaining thyroid tissue since God has created the thyroid to crave iodine.

Thursday morning

On Thursday morning, after the medicine worked through his system, a nuclear scan was done which did reveal the presence of some thyroid tissue and cells that was not removed by the surgery. Since these thyroid cells and tissues are considered high risk, it made sense to proceed with the full radioactive iodine treatment.

Great Praise Report!

One REALLY GREAT praise report is that there were no thyroid cells found anywhere else in his body, such as his lungs. Given the risk this would pose, we are rejoicing greatly!

Thursday Afternoon

On Thursday afternoon, Judah was admitted to his hospital room where he drank 5 mL of a highly radioactive iodine through a straw. The level of caution surrounding this radioactive material was fascinating. After administering the treatment we were asked to leave the room for the rest of the day. Over the next 24 hours, Judah was required to drink lots of liquids to process the substance through his body.

Friday Evening

The next morning, they measured his radioactivity and he was to still too “hot” to come home. But, by early Friday evening, his radioactivity had come down to an acceptable level and he was discharged. Judah was so thrilled to not have to spend a second entire day in a hospital bed watching silly kids shows and pushing so much liquid through his system. (-:

This Week Will Be A Little Different

This week will be a bit unusual as our family has been instructed to, literally, keep our distance from Judah (about 6 feet) as much as possible and keep him away from crowds. He will be out of school all next week, have his room and bathroom all to himself, eat off of disposable paper products, and not touch anything the rest of us touch. It’s kind of a crazy way to live for the week and we’re all working to make it as humorous as possible. In a week from now, the radioactivity levels with have diminished to negligible levels and he’ll be able to resume normal contact with us, return to school and church, etc.

Thank You For Your Prayers

What a comfort to us to know that so many of you have been praying for Judah and our family over the last few months. We have felt your support through prayer, meals, and caring text messages and emails. It means so much to us!

Please continue to pray and declare with us:

– That Judah’s body is free and clear of cancer cells from now on and forevermore so that he will live a full, healthy and long life!

– That he will have peace and joy this coming week as he’s basically alone during the day while the rest of us are at work and school.

That the repeat scan next Thursday will confirm positive results from this procedure so it doesn’t have to be repeated.

That the rest of his body will not be harmed in any way by the radioactive iodine. Mark 16:18: “If they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them.”

It feels so great to be near the conclusion of this battle. However, we will remain vigilant in our faith and persevering in our watchful prayer over the health of our family. We have enjoyed praying for several of you who are also fighting to overcome sickness.

God is good and Jesus is our healer!

We love you all!

Deborah and Eric