On Wednesday, Steve and Hannah Yeakley’s three-year-old daughter Miriam was diagnosed with a Wilms’ tumor (cancerous) on one of her kidneys. Miriam is scheduled for surgery at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow (Friday) morning to remove the tumor and get a better understanding of the damage it has caused. The hope is that the tumor is contained and the cancer has not spread to the rest of her body. The doctors have told Steve and Hannah that the coming year will entail ongoing chemotherapy.
As you might imagine, this has come as quite a shock to Steve and Hannah. The Yeakley family would appreciate your prayers for Miriam as she goes through this process. Please pray that the tumor is benign and that the only recovery required for Miriam would be from the surgery itself. Please pray that Christ’s rule of peace would rest on Steve and Hannah’s hearts as they care for their two daughters and walk through this difficult time.
-Pastor Eric
Hi, Villagers!
Miriam is out of surgery. Everything went well. The surgeon was able to remove the tumor, which was completely encased. It had not attached to anything other than the one kidney, which they also removed (As Steve said, “The kidney had become the tumor”). They also took several biopsies from tissue in different areas to verify that cancer wasn’t present. According to the surgeon, none of these other areas looked cancerous to her. Further, while the doctors had previously planned to require chemotherapy, there is now a possibility that chemo will not be considered necessary.
With regards to helping the Yeakleys, Steve’s mother flies in tomorrow and will be here for a week. Afterwards, Hannah’s mother will be in town for a week or two. The community’s ability to help the family will depend on how Miriam is doing as she recovers. Next week, you can text Hannah or Steve to see if they need a meal, some coffee, a grocery run, or any of those kinds of things. In reality, however, we won’t know how best to support them until things settle down a little bit. I will continue to send updates and will hopefully have more comprehensive information on Sunday night.
Hannah and Steve want to thank everyone for praying for them and covet your prayers for Miriam’s complete healing.
Love,
Pastor Eric