seeking prayers

I'm writing to ask for all of you to pray for my family!

As many of you know, a few years ago a tumour was found on my mom, Yvonne's brain. Surgery was quickly done, and all seemed well.

Then we discovered that the portion of the skull which had been removed during the surgery to take out the tumour had grown infected. That resulted in another surgery to remove it, and, over half a year later, to put in a replacement piece. Once again, all seemed well, other than continued seizures and tiredness.

Just last month, however, when my mom went in for a routine MRI to check on the tumour's status, it was found to have grown again. It is still benign, meaning slow-growing, but it has been having harsh effects on my mom. According to my dad, Ernest, it has resulted in "limited movement of left side of mouth, limited strength and control of left hand (dropping things / difficulty typing), occasional weakness in left leg."

They were just told yesterday that the radiation will begin in London, Ontario (an hour from my parents' home) on Wednesday, March 22 at 1:30pm EST, and will continue for 30 more weekdays. A few of the side-effects will be loss of hair, nausea, and tiredness.
I'm really impressed by both my mom's and dad's perspectives on the whole thing. My mom declared in one of the first e-mails after receiving the news, "It's just a testing my faith and increasing my patience and joy (James 1)... please don't worry - the original surgery turned out fine, this will too." And her advice for us all in this time? "So the thing to do guys is to look for beauty and humour every day."

My dad's thoughts are similar: "Although we do not relish the upheaval and discomfort associated with treatment, we are thankful there is another weapon in the medical arsenal that may actually shrink the tumour. God IS in control... we are privileged to be living in southern Ontario... and each day is a gift!"

Most of the other times that my mom's had surgery I've been at home, but now us kids are spread out from Ottawa to Edmonton to Australia, with only my parents at home. Thankfully the church is very supportive, and are willing to drive my mom fairly often to her treatments.

Thank you for your prayers! I really treasure having close friends I can depend on at this time.