Some of you have been praying for Katie Smith over the past few months. She is the daughter of Vince & Beth Smith. Vince is the pastor of the State College Christian Church. Katie’s having surgery today to remove a tumor in her neck. Here is an update Vince sent out a few weeks ago:
Last Thursday morning Katie had a high resolution MRI. A few of her surgeons reviewed the pictures, then later in the day we met with the lead surgeon to discuss some of the final details of her surgery. It was a hard meeting… The pictures were clear. The doctors appear to be confident about the work that is ahead. We are thankful for all the tools and experience they possess in dealing with this difficult tumor. The last surgery they performed together that was similar to Katie’s took 26 hours… A few of the things they expect to happen in the process of removing this tumor on July 27 are:
1. Removal of the left ear drum
2. Moving the facial nerve which would result in a week face muscle for approximately one year, difficulty closing her mouth, and possibly a droopy eye lid…
3. Removing the nerve that controls the left side of her tongue which would cause swallowing difficulties and speech challenges. They are surprised this nerve hasn’t already been damaged.
4. Possibly closing off the left carotid artery
5. A good possibility she will need a feeding tube until she learns to swallow again.
As you can imagine there isn’t anything about this news that we like. As Katie keeps reminding us, it doesn’t mean any of this is going to happen. God can still prevent it all. We believe that with all of our hearts! We intend to keep asking God for a miracle. He is fully capable! He is God regardless of the outcome, but we won’t quit asking Him to move on her behalf. With that in mind, we have specifically set aside Friday, July 20 as a day of fasting and prayer. We have been praying and we know that folks all over the world have been praying for Katie. We won’t quit asking and approaching His throne of grace with boldness. Please continue praying with us! Consider joining us on July 20 as we fast and pray asking God to do a miracle.
This will likely be a long day for the Smith family and the team of medical professionals operating on Katie. Let’s continue to lift them up and trust God to work in her life and body!
0 Comments