Hi All,

Today I write to ask for your help. I need you to pray for my dad, my family and for me. This past week we found out my dad has cancer. This came as a shock to most of us. As most of you, my dad has been chronically ill for several years but...cancer? For the last few months my dad has had sores that will not heal. His doctor said it developed because of a massive infection in my dad's system. This is in fact what lead him to be in the hospital this last time. Two weeks ago, dad was transferred to UAB hospital to have a surgery intended to clean-out the infected area and hopefully heal the wound. During the surgery, the doctor ran a biopsy of the wound tissue ... CANCER. My dad had skin cancer, that left unchecked had been causing his sores. But, now that we knew, there were treatments. I took the news hard, but was adapting the idea, when even more news came. It was no longer just skin cancer, the cancerous cells had entered my dad's lymph nodes and were spreading. My heart broke, I felt overwhelmed and scared. But still there are options. Then yesterday, all the tests finally came back and we got a complete situation report. Dad has a tumor in his groin area that is inoperable due to it's proximity to his arteries and blood vessels. He is too weak to undergo Chemo or radiation. My brothers, my mom & I have a meeting with the doctor at UAB Tuesday to find out specifics of what is next. So, please pray for us.

On a personal note, please pray for me. I'm not handling this situation well. I feel lost. I handle change slowly, one step at a time, and just got thrown about 20 steps ahead on this path. I can't figure out how I feel. I'm sad, I'm scared, I'm angry, I'm hopeful, I'm strong, I'm at peace - and this is just one hour - then it starts over. The order may change but this has been my last two days. I feel so inadequate for this challenge, I don't know how to do this. I know the even now, God is master of all, but... I'm just so scared. Scared for my dad. Scared for my mom. Scared for me. But mostly, I'm just scared. Pray for me to have the strength and peace to be able to support my mom. As much pain as I feel, hers is so much more. I cannot be selfish and focus on myself right now.

Thank you for allowing me to share with you the feelings of my heart. Thank you for your understanding, support and prayer.

I welcome your comments, feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

As Always,

~Rebekah~