I remember a woman running after me. I could see her dog in my peripheral vision.
Are you okay? Sir, sir, are you okay?
And the neighbor screaming.
Call an ambulance. Call an ambulance.
I was out.
It was loving for Cy for her.
And we just, we just, we just clicked. It just connected.
So while we were taking our pictures on our wedding day, there was, in the forecast, there was a hurricane coming through.
In the following days. And so in one of our pictures, we actually have these hurricane clouds, which are very dark.
And it definitely looks like there's a storm coming our way.
So Kevin started feeling unwell, I'd say shortly after we got married, probably in the year following our wedding.
He would just mention little things about, sometimes he was feeling, which, you know, would, would seem like a pretty normal discomfort.
A little bit of head pain.
About two months before I was initially diagnosed, I thought I should start really taking a journal of what's going on.
Because this is not a migraine anymore.
I remember several times Nancy finding me in the stairwell of our town home. Because I just would lose weakness or nausea or, or just feel like you were going to go out.
He went several times to the doctor where he had different tests.
The doctor did mention, you know, I hope it's not a brain tumor.
And we sort of laughed it off.
And this was really the precursor to things worsening.
The next day we were getting ready to host some friends. He was extremely unwell. Something was definitely wrong.
He had gone out just to get some air and he didn't want to worry me with what he was feeling.
And so he had driven to my parents.
I remember pulling up to my in-laws home at 1.19 getting out of my truck.
And I remember taking a bended knee four hours later in their neighbor's front yard.
Are you okay? Sir, sir, are you okay? I was out.
And when I saw Kevin, I just started to realize that this was probably going to not turn out so well.
He really looked in rough shape.
And he was sent for a CAT scan right away by which time results came out.
I don't even remember going for the TCT scan.
But I remember coming back to my faculties and the woman telling my wife that there's a tumor.
And so in that moment, I remember just a whirlwind of thoughts going through my head. This can't be. It almost felt surreal.
The prognosis was bleak. If I didn't take their direction and have the surgery, they gave me 90 days.
If I did the surgical path that they recommended, then the median survival rate would be 18 months.
And in that room that day, in that hour, Pastor Rob, put his hand on me and said,
This scripture, this sickness will not end in your death, but in my glory.
In many ways, that set the tone from my personal commitment to this journey. Right there.
The kids have grown up with their dad being sick.
And I think we've used the situation as an opportunity to grow their faith and just shown them how to cling to him through prayer.
We've been very, very honest along the way. We haven't really kept details from them.
And I know that our oldest daughter is definitely just a little mini prayer warrior.
My daughter came in after my second surgery. And my daughter, Reece, said,
Are you going to die, daddy? No, I'm not going to die. Not today. We're all going to die someday.
I'm not going to die today. What are we going to do about it, Reece? How are we going to live?
Are we going to live like we're going to die today? Or are we going to live like we have today?
And so here I am in the third hour, facing a third surgery.
There's so many things that have come about where, you know, you need God's grace to walk you through.
And He's taught me that His grace is sufficient.
But not only that, He has made Himself so tangible at every milestone, at every step.
Just bringing people, gathering people around us to encourage us and uplift us.
Words of encouragement from friends and cards and meals that have been dropped off.
And all of those small graces, God has been ever so present.
And I don't know what lies around the corner, but I know this.
And there's a great scripture in 2 Corinthians that best summarizes where we find ourselves right now today.
When Paul says that we are heart-pressed on every side, but we're not crushed, we're perplexed, but not in despair.
We're persecuted, but not abandoned. We're struck down, but not destroyed.
I'm still on the journey. His grace has brought me here.
They gave me 90 days six years ago.
His grace has been sufficient for me.
Had He healed me six years ago, I would have never lived out this journey.
Never would He have been able to accomplish in me or do through me what He has.
If your will is that I live, then I want to live for you.
That's the story I want this to all be about.
Not my story, His glory.
Not my weakness, His strength.
Thank you for watching.
