"I feel like I've been balancing on the edge of a cliff for the last three
weeks. . . and someone just told me I could take a step back."
-Michele Gray (March 12, 2004)


Dear friends,
I must be brief so I can get back to the hospital but I wanted to give everyone the update on how Scott's surgery went yesterday. He didn't go into surgery until 2PM but he was in recovery by 6PM. The waiting was difficult but I was relieved when we finally saw Dr. Chandler coming out to give us Scott's report. He said the surgery went well and very much as he expected. He removed as much of the tumor as possible including a difficult area that was pushing up against his brain stem. There is still a small portion in an area they cannot operate on without surely leaving Scott with permanent brain damage. From what Dr. Chandler could tell, the brain tumor does appear to be benign but we'll get the full report by possibly Thursday of next week. Scott came out of the anesthesia talking and was able to put together sentences. This is really good!! We don't know yet if his short term memory has been affected but even if it is, it might only be temporary. I am so happy about all this news. I know that God was with Scott and the surgery team. I kept praying that the Lord would guide the surgeon’s hands and that he would remove "not too much, not too little". I feel confident that this prayer has been answered. I was able to talk with Scott a bit last night in the ICU and his silly charming sweet personality is still there despite the heavy dose of pain killers. Praise God!!! The doctor thinks he is going to recover well and will probably move him to the regular neurology floor today.

Keep praying for his recovery and the upcoming pathology report on the tumor.

We are so grateful to all of you and will keep you updated!

All our love,
Scott, Michele and Josephine