Today Effie, Brian and their kids (i.e. our niece and nephews) came for a visit to talk over this whole matter and to especially have a time of prayer. It was an enjoyable, yet emotional time.
Maria and I had pretty much already decided to proceed with the operation, but it was reaffirmed today. We have prayed for doors to open and close, which have been answered.
I am not going to mince my words, as that is not in my nature. I need to make it absolutely clear that proceeding with this surgery brings with it potentially serious risks for Maria. At the same time, the alternative (no surgery) was grim.
For those of you having followed the blog from early on, you would know by now that GBM is a highly aggressive, non-curable cancer. This does not diminsh our hope, but rather allows us to put everything into the necessary perspective.
Not long after Maria's initial surgery in February, we received some well-intended information from friends, asking if we had considered Dr Charlie Teo, who is a great neurosurgeon in Sydney and has developed a reputation for being "out there" and taking risks. He has become high profile for these (and maybe other) reasons, especially because he speaks his mind. As some of you may have just discovered, one of Dr Teo's famous cases was cancer surgeon Professor Chris O'Brien, who was diagnosed with GBM in 2006. He died three days ago (see article). From my understanding, he may have undergone as many as five operations in three years, with each one reducing his overall capacity. Dr Teo also operated on Stan Zemanek (controversial radio DJ in Sydney) who suffered a brain tumour (also GBM??). He died within a year.
I'm not publicising these stories to put a dampener on the situation or to even question Dr Teo's abilities. Our brother-in-law (Brian) knows him and vouches for his phenomenal surgical prowess, but rather I wanted to highlight two things: (1) GBM is a formidable opponent that doesn't like to take prisoners; and (2) like us, Dr Teo is human.
Those very small numbers of people who survive GBM have only done so because it's part of God's perfect plan. If a miracle is to be handed out to Maria, we would graciously and happily accept it with open arms. However, this may/may not be part of that plan. To many, it may not seem fair, but the reality is that His strategic plan is perfect (although it doesn't always feel like it) because we don't necessarily understand the purpose until perhaps we look back down the track. Even then, we may never know. This is why we seek His will to be done in our situation.
As Maria and I have been discussing even more often in recent days, if our situation has an impact one or more people who make the choice to put their faith and hope in our Lord, Jesus Christ (Yeshua HaMashiach), then isn't that worth it?! For some of you I can imagine a degree of head-scratching by now. My prayer is that this entry is speaking into some of your hearts right now.
We know that our neurosurgeon, Dr Khurana, has operated on people who have otherwise been given litte/no hope. His operations have given these people extra time that they were not offered elsewhere. I believe he has the same tenacious personality and confidence of Dr Teo. We believe we are in the best possible hands (God's), who has given us Dr Khurana for this major surgery. That is one small part of God's perfect plan.
I want to finish off by thanking those of you who have prayed to our Lord over this decision and generally for us as a family. The prayer coverage has been truly felt (we have on many occasions experienced a peace that surpasses all understanding), as well as deeply and humbly appreciated.
