Prayers for Melinda

One of our many unsung heroes is Melinda.

During Steve's battle with cancer, she took excellent care of us -- bringing meals to our home and to the hospital, coming over to play with Cooper and Katie, praying for us and sending encouraging notes.

Melinda was a freshman at W.T. White when Steve was a senior. But our connection is much greater than a shared high school.

Melinda is a brain cancer survivor. Three years ago, doctors removed as much of her tumor -- a grade 3 anaplastic ependymoma -- as possible.

She recovered from that surgery well and, for the most part, has had a great three years since. But there is new growth in the tumor bed, and doctors are unanimously concerned -- enough to warrant another surgery.

Monday at 7 a.m. in Dallas, Melinda will undergo brain surgery again.

Please join our family in praying for Melinda and her family, for the doctors and medical staff, for the team that will continue to care for her after the surgery.

***

Two years ago today, Steve endured his own risky brain surgery. It's a difficult day for me to recall. As many of you remember, the biopsy was twice as long as expected. It didn't go according to plan. And the preliminary results revealed exactly what we had feared -- an aggressive tumor in his brain stem.

When I have become overwhelmed with sadness today, I also try to remember how very brave and resilient Steve was in the face of his diagnosis. How doctors said that Steve might have just four or six months to live and how Steve -- with the help and love and prayers from so very many of you -- wowed the doctors with his tenacity.

Cooper, Katie and I are actually in Houston this weekend, staying with Jayshree and Sanjay, not far from M.D. Anderson, where the biopsy took place. I thought that it was a coincidence that we're back in Houston the same date -- but maybe not.

"True love stories never have endings."

(Richard Bach)