Discharged Today!

Karen reports that Pastor is being discharged today with lots of instructions and meds but NO TUBES! She and Pastor wanted to thank everyone for their support, prayers, cards, and gifts. They will be going to Pastor's parents' home in The Woodlands until the doctors give the okay to return to Mobile. The new address is:

Dr. Keith Thomas
c/o Herschel and Doris Thomas
3 Painted Canyon Place
The Woodlands, TX 77381

We Have a Huge Praise!

The central IV line is out of Pastor’s neck… which means no more IV’s for him! We praise the Lord for this piece of good news! He is very excited that he is getting to shave today for the first time – his nurse thought he was going for the Willie Nelson look. He has one more drainage tube in his stomach that needs to come out, but all in all, we praise God for the progress that Pastor has had. They are thinking that he will be able to leave the hospital tomorrow. He will go to his parents’ home and spend the next week or so healing up even further and having follow up doctors’ appointments. (He meets with his current doctor this coming Wednesday.) While he and Karen are at his parents’ house, he will continue to walk and try to get stronger so he can come HOME!!! His enzyme levels have gone down and he had his first bit of real food this morning. We are so thankful to our Lord that He has been so gracious with Pastor and his family. We also praise Him that all of the kids are back to their respective homes and were able to spend the holiday with

Wednesday Update

Pastor continues steady improvement. He started a full liquid diet to see how well his stomach reacts. His pain medicine has been cut back to a lesser strength. He still has his main I.V. Karen said the kids are coming home today and hopes that pastor will be going to his parents possibly Friday. We will let you know when we hear more.

Sunday Update

Pastor is feeling much better today. Karen reported that two of his tubes have been removed (NG tube and one from the incision area). Kerry talked with Keith today for just a couple of minutes. He is definitely tired and in pain but thankful for his progress. Pastor said that he prayed for our church this morning.

Pastor still has leakage of enzymes from the surgical procedure. Pray that the area of the pancreas where they did surgery will heal so that will stop.

Many have asked what is the next treatment but there will be no follow-up radiation or chemotherapy.

Karen said that this has been like a family reunion from personal family members to spiritual family from days of preschool to present. They are so grateful for how God has brought so many friends from across the nation to encourage them. Your cards, letters, prayers and concerns have been greatly appreciated.

On a humorous note, Pastor told Karen they are kind of like Elizabeth and Zacharias since he can't talk. He said Karen was doing enough talking for the both of them though.

Saturday Update

Lymph node reports came back today. The report is benign! Praise God! This gave pastor renewed strength to keep pressing on!

Today’s News

Pastor is having a little bit of a hard time today. They took chest X-rays this morning but it would appear that he is having some “surgical complications.” He is leaking enzymes out of the area where the surgeons made the incision and took off the tip of the pancreas. The doctor says that while they don’t like it when this happens, it is one of the complications of this type of surgery. So… he is a little sicker this morning. But the Thomas’ love Pastor’s doctor; he has been around to see him already this morning and they know that they are in good hands. Please continue to pray for him.

A Post Surgery Update

Thank you for all your prayers, cards, emails, blogs, and “well-wishes” for our Pastor, Dr. Keith Thomas. There are many things cancer can’t do, but one thing it can do is bring people together. We rejoice in the fact that there are people all over the globe that are praying for him! He has had visitors from his high school and college days, pastors, and a myriad of other folks who have been praying from the beginning. Our God is so good, and we are thankful that you all are a part of this journey with Dr. Thomas, his family, and our church family.

Please continue to pray for him in the days ahead. It has been two days after the surgery and he is having a rough day. He is weak and in pain, but he has gotten up to practice walking (he walked some yesterday) and today he will walk again. He is also doing some breathing exercises once an hour to get his lung capacity up. Someone sent a small Christmas tree to his room (Thanks, Starlings!) so there is “external” evidence of Christmas cheer in his hospital room, too!

Please continue to pray for his complete recovery. Please also pray for Karen, Nathan, Nolan, Lauren, and Kelsey as they spend Christmas together. Pray that the lymph nodes that were removed come back clean. (We will know an answer to that next week.) And pray that while the Thomas’ are at MD Anderson, they would be able to share the love of our great God with those who are hurting and hopeless and walking in the same journey as they are… but without a Savior. Pray that people would see Christ in them!

The Latest News

Yesterday afternoon Pastor Thomas was up walking around albeit slowly. He is progressing as expected and is still in a fair amount of pain but is resting as much as possible.

Address Update

If you would like to send a note or gift to pastor, please send to the address below:

Marion Keith Thomas, 734914
Room 520
University of Texas
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
P. O. Box 300206
Houston, TX 77230

Resting Confortably

Pastor is resting comfortably as of the last report. We will post more details as we receive them.

More Information Coming

Pastor will be moved to a more permanent room later today. As soon as we get the information, we will provide an address if you want to send a personal note.

Great News!

Pastor is doing well. He is sitting up in a chair but tired and sleepy. The plans are for him to take a short walk this afternoon.
Thanks to everyone who prayed for him and his family. We will post any further news as soon as we receive it.

5 PM Update

Surgery is over! Tail of pancreas has been removed. Spleen has been removed. Also, took 3 lymph nodes for study(nothing appeared wrong) and the results are expected next week. He is in recovery and everything went well.

Surgery Continues

As of 2:30 pm Surgery is continuing… Pastor’s vital signs all okay! Next update in about 2 hours.

Stable

As of 1pm surgery is going well and Pastor is stable.

No Update Yet

We will post further updates as we receive them.

In Surgery

Pastor's surgery will be from 4 to 6 hours. We should receive an update around noon.

Heading for Houston

Pastor and family just left for Houston, Texas this morning. He will be in a hotel tonight across the street from M. D. Anderson. Tomorrow morning he will check in early at the hospital. Surgery is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Continue to pray for peace and a restful night.

Don't forget that we have a prayer vigil in the Vision Center at Cottage Hill beginning Tuesday morning Dec. 18 at 6 a.m.

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Surgery Date Change!

Pastor’s endoscopy went well today. The doctors did an immediate biopsy of the suspicious area in his stomach and the results came back as benign. We thank the Lord for this! Pray that the doctors will be able to determine quickly when/if this growth needs to come out. We also found out that Pastor’s surgery date will change to Tuesday, December 18. There was no specific reason for this other than they had an opening and the time was right… so they took it! Please put the word out about this. Pastor will fly back into Mobile tonight and will leave on Monday morning to head back out to Houston. Thank you so much for your prayers, blogs, cards, and encouragement. God is so good!

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Good News!

Pastor will be having surgery done at MD Anderson on Thursday, December 20. He will leave Mobile on Tuesday, have surgery prep on Wednesday, and the surgery will take place on Thursday. We praise the Lord that he will not have the Whipple procedure – the doctors will instead remove the “end” of his pancreas and his spleen. He will be in the hospital until January 7 and then come home for a 7-week recovery time. Pray for an additional endoscopy that the doctors will do on Friday before he flies home. They want to look at the spots on his stomach in more detail since everything is so flared up due to his ongoing pancreatitis. Pray that he will be well enough after this to come home (to turn around, pack, and go back!). Thank you SO much for your prayers!

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Tests and Consultations

Today (Tuesday) Dr. Thomas is undergoing tests at MD Anderson in Houston, Texas. Tomorrow he will have his consultation with the doctors. Please continue to pray for him and his family.

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An Urgent Prayer Need at Cottage Hill Baptist Church

Updated: Thursday, December 6 • 4:30 PM
On Monday, November 26, our Pastor, Dr. Keith Thomas, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. We have since found out that it is a stage 1 cancer, which means that the doctors are encouraged that they found it early. Dr. Thomas will be heading out to MD Anderson in Houston for tests and appointments on Tuesday and Wednesday, December 11-12. Here are some ways that you can pray for our Pastor, his family, and our church during this time:


PRAY that God would give Pastor traveling mercies as he drives out to Houston. Pray for a safe and swift journey.

PRAY for the testing that will happen on Tuesday, December 11 and for the subsequent appointments on Wednesday. Pray that God will give the doctors and surgeons wisdom as they come up with a "game plan." Pray that they would be able to do the surgery SOON.

PRAY for his family during these days. Pray for God’s grace to overflow on them. Pray that things in their lives will stay orderly and “normal” and that things would not be chaotic and hectic for them.

PRAY that God would continue to grant our Pastor with a supernatural peace.

PRAY that God’s people would come together and petition heaven on behalf of the undershepherd of His flock.

PRAY for God's complete and total healing!

PRAY that through it all, our great, living God would receive all the glory.