News from Father Mike

The following letter received from Father Mike Hesse was posted on Facebook by Lynn Carol Bowling.

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

May the grace and peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Claudia and I have just gotten off the phone with Doctor Myer’s nurse. She shared the results of last Thursday’s tests. The PET Scan which looks for melanoma involvement in my lymph system came back clear! The MRI which looked for melanoma involvement in my brain also came back clear! These are the best results possible at this stage. God is good — all the time!

Tomorrow I will see the anesthesiologist and then Thursday morning at 7 a.m. I show up for surgery. The current plan is for Dr. Myers to remove the rest of the melanoma from my scalp and then cover the site with a skin graft, which he will take from my thigh. He will then do a needle biopsy on the lymph nodes closest to the melanoma site to confirm the test findings.

Based on what the needle biopsies reveal, the doctor will then remove one or more of the lymph nodes and decide what the next steps post-surgery will be.

Please pray specifically for two things on Thursday: Pray that the lymph node biopsies confirm that there is no melanoma involvement.

Pray that as the doctor removes the lymph node there will be no nerve damage, which might cause paralysis to my face.

However the future unfolds for any of us, the Good News is that God loves us, has a plan for our lives, and will never let us go through anything without his presence. It is not that we are so good and deserving. It is that our God is so wonderful. Jesus poured his blood out for us, and by his wounds we are healed.

As you pray for Claudia and me, know that we are praying for you. We love you all and miss you and can hardly wait to get home. God bless you — mightily!

Yours in Christ,

Mike+