Happy Anniversary & Update

Happy Monday,

Today is Marianne and Louie's anniversary, so please join us in wishing them a very happy anniversary! They are so grateful for each other, and their love continues to be a strong source of comfort and strength through all of this. Despite the struggles, they remain hopeful and grounded in their faith. Today, they celebrate each other and the perseverance they share.

                                                                    Then... 

                                                                    and Now! 

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by those you love, giving God the glory for your many blessing! Marianne and Louie are really looking forward to being able to share a meal with family and friends as soon as they can. They ended up spending their Thanksgiving in the hospital, but had a beautiful surprise. Mom (Nita) came up for a surprise visit after she "got lost on the way to the grocery store!" It was so wonderful for Marianne and Louie to see her and get a warm mom hug!

They had hoped to be home by now, but unfortunately, that hasn’t happened yet, and it’s been a tough few days. Louie’s been going through a lot—getting antibiotics, dressing changes, and dealing with some IV difficulties. Last night was especially challenging, and after almost two hours and four different nurses, they finally got the IV in. It was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, but Marianne and Louie found comfort in praying, playing worship music, and leaning on each other.

The emotional toll has been heavy for both of them. They’re naturally positive people, so it’s hard for them to process all of these hard and negative emotions. They’ve realized that sometimes the waves of emotions can be overwhelming. But they’ve also found that pouring their hearts out to God really helps them stay grounded. Marianne has been diving into the book of Psalms and drawing strength from David’s honesty about his own highs and lows. It’s been a great reminder that they’re not alone in this.

Psalm 62:8 has been a source of comfort for them: “Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.” They’ve found that taking their emotions to God, no matter how messy or overwhelming, is the best way to process them. There’s nothing too big or too small for Him to handle.

Throughout this journey so far there have been so many victories, miracles, and encouraging progress. There have also been setbacks, tears, and silent moments, but they are pushing through. Marianne has shared how helpless she feels sometimes, as there’s not much she can do to ease Louie’s pain. But even in these difficult times, their faith remains strong. They’re leaning on each other and trusting in God.

Dr. H told them at the beginning that this would be a hard journey, and that has absolutely turned out to be true. This situation is a lot more complex than it was eleven years ago when Louie first fought cancer, and it’s been pretty draining.

Louie has lost some weight despite getting 4-5 gravity feedings a day, and he’s a bit dehydrated. They’re adding some extra water to his feedings to help with that. He still can’t have anything by mouth until his neck heals, which has been hard since he was able to swallow small amounts of clear liquids before. On a positive note, he’s now able to fully close his mouth, and the swelling in his tongue and the flap is slowly improving! Let's remember to praise God for every small victory and continue to ask Him for every need, great and small on Louie and Marianne's behalf. 

On another bright note, yesterday was a nice break— they watched church online, caught part of the 49ers game, and took a walk around the floor. They even asked for permission to go outside, so they’re waiting to hear back from Dr. H on that. He stopped by this morning for a quick check-in and said that Louie’s neck is looking good. They’re moving forward with the wound vac to help Louie's leak heal. The vac was supposed to arrive today, but unfortunately it didn’t. It looks like they will be staying at least a few more days as they get this worked out, please pray for patience as this hospital stay has turned out to be much longer than anticipated.

While Marianne and Louie are so grateful for the progress that has been made, they’re still trying to get more information from Dr. H. They have a list of questions they plan to go over with him. Pray for lots of answers and for wisdom for Louie's medical team.

Marianne and Louie are so thankful for everyone’s continued prayers, love, and support. Please keep lifting them up as they move forward in this journey!

Much love,

Sara