Today Kurt and I (Julie) met Norm and the Greene kids at the "Fairmont Fair" down at church and spent the day with all nine kiddos while Norm went to spend time with Nichole. We had a great time, and the kids were a blast! They played all sorts of games, bounced around in bounce houses,ate lots of fair food, and won lots of fun (noisy) prizes. We have 5 oinking toy pigs running around our house right now, and I know I saw at least a couple in the bag the Greene kids brought home... Norm was really appreciative (haha)! As far as fairs go, this fair had the cheapest tickets and the best prize prices (not sure if that's good or bad)!
I spoke with Norm for a few minutes about Nichole. The news from the surgery is really good news, in light of all of the different possibilities they were facing. The cancer had not attached to the pelvic wall (which most doctors would not even operate on once they discovered it, but would stitch the patient back up and call it done). They also found that the cancer had affected little of her important internal organs, so they had to remove very little of that tissue. It seems that the doctors were encouraged by what they found. The only bad news is that they did discover another growth on the other side (from where they were looking) in a lymph node. They removed that growth, and will do chemo and radiation to try to stop that from growing any more. Norm seemed encouraged! On a pain scale, Nichole has said that she feels only a little pain- on a scale of 1 to 10, she feels like the pain is a "2". Praise the Lord! Nichole is sleeping a lot these days, and will need to rest for most of the day in the next couple of days. If you want to visit Nichole, please wait until at least Monday, then you can give Norm a call to see if Nichole is up for visitors on any particular day. Thank you for your understanding!


Camdyn and Josie posing for a snapshot


The girls (and Levi!) having fun



Cubby Bear (looks like he's in pain or losing his head or something!), McKinley and Josie

Norm with the kiddos- Levi, Josie, Ansel and Noah (Noah's holding their loot bag- a garbage bag with quite a bit in it...)

Friday Morning

Sue Leber sent me this email update. She is unable to send out a bulk email at this time (hotmail won't allow her) so here is the latest news.

I just spoke to Norm this morning. (Fri. 10/24 ) Nichole is doing great, it looks like she may be removed from the ICU by the end of the day or tomorrow, and they think about 10 days to recover in the hospital. THIS IS GOOD NEWS!There will be a much longer recovery time for Nichole once she is home. There was some conflicting stories at the hospital last night about the length of the surgery. It ended up not beginning until about 4 although they had asked her to come in earlier. It lasted only a few hours just as they expected and they were able to leave all surrounding organs alone. They did find very small C'cells in a lymph node in the pelvic area, which they removed. Which means the Lord must want to use Nichole to witness to more people, as she will undergo more radiation and chemo treatments.

The Surgery is Over

This is an email that was sent to me a few hours ago from Sue Leber. Praise the Lord! (Sorry about the misinformation on the last post).

I just got off the phone with Norm and they are closing the incision ( 7:55 pm) This is good news, they said if the surgery lasted about 3-5 hours then they probably got what they were looking for. Nichole should be moved to the recovery room soon.

Please pray for Nichole as she comes off the anesthesia. She is such a small girl, but needs strength!

Surgery Update

At around 7:00 or 7:30, the doctors said that they needed around 4 or 5 more hours to complete the surgery. It seems they are pursuing the cancer hard and doing all that they can to remove every bit of it. They are probably testing areas to see if the cancer cells are gone, then going back to cut them out as needed- the reason that it is taking a long time. I will update again hopefully in the morning, but if I do hear tonight I will post tonight. Keep praying!!

I just arrived home from the hospital. Nichole went into surgery about 3 pm this afternoon. It was such a joy to see her fully trusting the Lord and confident of His sovereignty. Norm is surrounded by both of their families and friends from the church. Please continue to pray for the kids (especially Ansiel and Noah) as they are adjusting to school. We should soon know the extent of the surgery. I'll try to keep you posted on what I hear. Thanks for praying for our sweet sister.

Surgery

Hello all! Nichole's surgery time was changed at the last-minute today. Instead of the original plan to go in at 3:00 and have the surgery begin at 5:00, she left shortly after noon and should be in surgery by 2:30 or 3:00. Please pray for Norm and Nichole, as well as the kids. The older ones likely understand in part what is happening, and we want them to learn to trust the Lord through this. Pray for Nichole and Norm's continued trust in the Lord, no matter the outcome of the surgery. Again, pray for the doctors as they perform the surgery. Pray that there would be no unwelcomed surprise findings, and that they would be able to take out all of the cancer! Wouldn't that be a blessing! I'll let you know as soon as I find out any details of the outcome.
In addition, please continue to pray for the boys as they are transitioning into the public school. It is quite a change for them both! Pray that they would be able to adjust to all of the new constraints (sitting in a classroom all day!), and that they would enjoy their new venture. It would be a great blessing to them if things went smoothly so there would be no additional challenges at this time in their lives. Pray for Noah and Ansel! Thanks.

Update

I received this update from Sue Leber today and I think it helps to answer some of your questions about the upcoming surgery.
Nichole will be going in for her surgery on Thursday 10/23. at 5:00 pm, she will need to be at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Burbank about 3 pm that day.
She and Norm ask for your prayers and the Lords strength through this time. They give thanks to God for so many of you who have come along side of them through this trial. Thanks for all your kindness and love.

Those that may want to visit Nichole as she recovers in the hospital, the Greenes have asked for you to speak with Norm the evening before your visit, in case she is not up to visitors and so she can rest and recover. She will be in ICU for a day or two if all goes well.
Norm and Nichole welcome prayer warriors to come on the day of surgery,
Thursday, 10/23 between 4-5 pm

I am hoping to speak with Nichole soon and post another update for you. Please continue to check the blog, so you can know how to pray for them.