Good News on God's Day

I know this is the same picture from the last post but I loved it so much I couldn't not use it!

It is Sunday morning and the doctor already came by to see Mark. He had really good news for us - the pathology report came back and everything looked good!! Then he said that Mark was doing so well that he may let us go home tomorrow!! He also said that Mark can start on clear liquids today - this is very exciting since he hasn't had a bite of food since Monday evening - ice chips just weren't getting it - he's pretty excited to get that tray of clear liquids! (perspective is everything!)

I'm so happy I almost ran down the hall as I went to get something to eat - how I praise the Lord for this great news!!

The next step is to do a follow up visit with our surgeon and then will go to our oncologist to see what type of treatment they recommend.

Thank you for your prayers - please join us in thanking the Lord for the great results that He gave us!

The next time you go to the Lord in prayer please lift up the Simonds family - their precious 14 year old daughter who was only diagnosed in January with Lukemia went home to be with the Lord on Thursday this week. This is so tragic and we have been lifting this family up since we got the news - please pray for them when the Lord brings them to mind.

We are looking forward to getting home tomorrow and to a full recovery soon - I will just have to make sure that Mark doesn't push it and if you know Mark then you know I have a really hard job!!

We are so grateful for all the prayers and thank you with all our hearts!

Lee

Psalm 105:1-5

Oh give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him: Talk of all His wondrous works! Gory In His holy name: Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! Seek the Lord and His strength: Seek His face evermore! Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders and the judgments of His mouth.

Matthew 5:16

Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 6:33,34

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be addd to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world the He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Day 3 - See for Yourself

Friends and Family,

They say a picture is worth a thousand words - so I though I'd let you see for yourself - Mark doesn't even look like he had major surgery 3 days ago!! This is by far his favorite visitor, our first grandchild Camden Grace Tidwell born 5 weeks ago!

His recovery is going great and we give God all the honor and glory for this!

He is still only on ice chips and hasn't had a bite of food since Monday evening - I'm sure we will have to put some weight back on him after we get home.

The doctor is still saying probably Tuesday at least before he can go home - we are hoping maybe Monday but we will see - he is getting rest here and probably best to stay as long as possible for his own sake. It is very cold today here in Kennesaw and we can hear the wind outside - thankful to be in a warm hospital rom.

Our next step is to get the pathology report back - we probably won't hear anything until Tuesday. After that we will get the recommendations of how they would like for us to proceed. This will be a matter of prayer for us as we decide what next steps to take.

The texts and emails have been very encouraging for Mark as I sit here and read them to him. The days are going by very quickly so far - he is up walking the halls every couple of hours - and with visitors in between it makes the days go by quick which is good.

Thanks for all the encouragement and the prayers - we love you all!

Lee


Colossians 3:12-17

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

February 9 - doing well and looking good

So here we are on day 1 toward recovery in room 116 at the purple tower of Kennestone in "short stay" - wish that meant that we wouldn't be here long but what that really means is they were out of beds and had to put us here! The doctor said we are still looking at a week's stay.

He has had some side effects from the epidural block so he hasn't been up yet - his leg is numb so they changed the meds and we are waiting to see if it works so we can get him up and walking.

He looks really good, not like someone who had major surgery yesterday! He still cannot drink or even have ice chips but he's in great spirits and has been enjoying me reading him emails, texts and posts from Facebook.

Thank you for all the love and support - we definitely feel it!

We don't have good cell coverage in our room so if you call or text and do not get a timely response that is why.

Praising the Lord,

Mark and Lee

Psalm 37:3-7

Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
delight yourself also in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart
Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass.
He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

Surgery Over - All Went Well - Praise the Lord

Friends and Family,

THANK YOU so much for your prayers - we just spoke with the doctor and everything went very well! He got all the cancer out with good margins and was able to reattach the colon - he said everything else looked good - now we are just waiting to go back to recovery to see him.

I am so thankful that he didn't have to have a colostomy - he will be so relieved!

I will update more tomorrow and post how he is doing.

Thanks again for all the messages and prayers - we are truly blessed with good friends and with many many prayer warriors -

I've been told it is hard to leave a message on this blog - if you want to send Mark a message you can email leetidwell7@gmail.com and I will read it to him. You can also text me at 678-778-7254.

With Much Gratitude to our Lord,

Lee

"It is good to give thanks unto the Lord"!

Surgery Scheduled for February 8

We found out today that Mark's surgery will be February 8th.

He will use the next 3 weeks to do a lot of natural treatments and eat a strict diet as well as get a lot of exercise in in order to get himself prepared for surgery.

He will also use the time to get things done for FCA.

While we would have like the surgery to be done sooner we know that it is God's timing and not ours. We feel a perfect peace about the timing and about the surgeon.

We are praying that the tumor may shrink in size or that God will choose to heal him before the surgery - wouldn't it be great for the doctors to find nothing??

Please continue to join us in praying for healing in Mark's body.

Thank you so much -

Much Love,

Lee

Isaiah 40:31

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

New Plan for Surgery - Waiting on Date

Friends and Family,

Thru what we feel is divine intervention we have met with a new surgeon who is a surgical oncologist and feel like it is the right move to have him perform Mark's surgery.

Originally we had a surgery date for today and then the 25th and now we don't know - we were just able to meet with new doctor yesterday and they told us it could be up to 3 weeks to get on the surgery schedule.

Thankfully, this cancer is slow growing so there isn't an urgency to get it done this week - we do, however want to get it done as soon as possible.

We are praying that we could possibly get a date for next week or the first week in February.

We have such a peace about this change and after we made the decision got a couple more confirmations that this indeed was the way to go.

I will post as soon as I have a surgery date.

Thanks so much for your prayers - we feel them - we are encouraged by them and we covet them.

Love,

Mark and Lee

Psalm 23


The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

Cancer Has Returned - We Covet Your Prayers

Dear Friends and Family,

Wow! It's been a long time since I've been on this blog but it is encouraging to look back and see all the things that we learned and how God was with us each step of the way.

For my first post I am just going to paste from the email that Mark sent out - so below are his words about our current situation.

Dear Friend,


I had scans done about 3 wks ago and no sign of cancer was seen. In the meantime, I had been having some similar symptoms experienced w/the initial diagnosis over 2 ½ years ago. This lead to a colonoscopy last Thursday and more cancer was detected in the colon…the CT’s don’t always reveal this. The good news is that it was smaller than the original spot. The “bad” news is that there are more complications this time. Surgery is a must and this will make the 5th time in the abdominal area. Scar tissue will be an issue, as well as the previous hernia procedure, along w/uncertainty of enough margins in the colon to save it…the cancer is very low in the colon and it may be a precarious issue.

The good news: God was not surprised by this…we were, but hey, what’s new?:) Our take is that He is not done w/me yet, but has some more things to reveal through all this. We have known all along that He is not done w/me…Phil. 1:6 “being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion…” We claim that and encourage you as well with whatever your life holds.

Surgery will be slated for either the 17th or 26th; we are asking for the 26th now so that a number of things can be done between now and then…both in our family’s lives and the FCA ministry. Among other items…we are getting ready to be proud G-parents (awkward for me to say “grand”) this week of a baby girl.

How you can help:
1. Pray like never before…we are asking for there to be total healing…how about they open me up and…nothing?
2. Pray for the very best scenario if there is cancer
3. Prayer for speedy recovery
4. Pray for the ministry of FCA; I am virtually alone (1 other part-time) as a staff member in our area and naturally, things normally accomplished will potentially fall behind; also, though, I want to realize God is in charge and runs it, not me…but wewill need others’ help in carrying on.
5. As I am out, I fear the support of the ministry will tend to go in neutral. We need help and are in the midst of bringing on new staff and getting funding, so naturally, I worry about the time lost in moving forward with this. Pray for my “trusting Him”issues.
6. Pray for my family…especially Lee; she works fulltime coupled w/normal household affairs, along w/a new grandbaby, wedding planning for our daughter in April and a wedding for our son in June. I am more concerned with the heavy weight on her shoulders. She has also been experiencing a slipped disc and sciatic issues. She has been quite a warrior and will continue to be…but the pressure will, at times, feel very unbearable I know. My heart and love go out to her.


Thank you for your friendship and support. We covet your blanket of prayer during these days. We look forward to the next step in the journey.


Mark