UPDATE 11/1/2024:
Paul had another CT Scan at the Duke Cancer Center today. We will be meeting with the surgeon early Monday morning to find out all the details of what will happen next. Please keep us in your prayers! We love you! Thank you for your continued support❤️
Paul was recently diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. The medical bills are piling up and we need help. We’re thankful for any help available to us. Here is a post explaining some of what’s going on.
I don’t even know where to start. What do you say when everything seems to be flipped upside down?
18 short months ago, my husband, Paul Robert Jones, and I were married. We walked down that aisle excited about what was to come for us, and how we would help change the world through the love of Christ. And we have. We’ve done so many wonderful, beautiful things together with Jesus. What a blessing it has been to serve the Lord together and to grow in relationship with Jesus and each other.
When we got married, we never would have imagined the trials we would face in such a short time. Soon after we married, Paul started experiencing some health issues. We weren’t really sure what was going on, but we believe in Jesus and the power of prayer, so we started seeking the Lord about what was going on and asking Him to heal Paul’s body.
For months, I watched as my husband’s health continued to decline. In April, I asked Paul to see a doctor for testing. I knew something was really off. I could see it so clearly. After multiple conversations, Paul agreed to go to the doctor. Some tests showed that Paul was experiencing type 2 diabetes, but I knew there was more.
I continued to ask Paul to go back and get more tests. His health was not consistently getting better. I could see that he was continuing to decline.
Finally, in September, Paul agreed to go get more testing. We found a new doctor and went for the initial visit the beginning of October. I went to that appointment prepared to fight for the testing that I knew my husband needed. I’m so grateful to God that I didn’t have to. The doctor did some in-house blood tests and told us that same day that he suspected cancer. The doctor put stat orders on Ct scan, MRI, and tons of blood work.
Multiple imaging exams found a large mass on Paul’s pancreas that has encroached upon his spleen. They also found lesions on his liver. Last week, he had a biopsy done and it has been confirmed that Paul is experiencing Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Cancer.
We have one more ct scan and then we will meet with a surgeon to find out if they can remove the tumor. Paul has been experiencing tremendous amounts of pain, so we’re hoping that removing the tumor will help with that part.
We don’t know what the future holds. The Lord has shown us little glimpses of what could happen, but until everything unfolds, we won’t know how this is going to go.
I have so many different thoughts and emotions that play out, but the one thought that is steady and consistent is this… it’s the honor of a lifetime to be chosen by God to walk through this with my husband, God’s beloved child. We’ve both suffered a lot these past 18 months, but it’s amazing how no matter how hard it gets, God’s grace is sufficient.
Days that neither of us even want to get out of bed, the Lord is right there with us. I’ve laid in my bed listening to the sounds of my husband’s groans and I’ve reached out and touched him and Holy Spirit has sent waves of warmth to comfort him. Nights when he was in agony and I laid my hand on his stomach and commanded the pain to go and it left. We’ve seen the love and the power of God show up for us on the darkest nights we never imagined would fall on us.
God has been so faithful to us. On days that I didn’t know how I was going to find the strength to even make dinner, people have brought us food. When we were concerned about finances, the Lord gave me the perfect job for this season. God blessed my husband with a friend and a boss who will continue to pay him, even if he can’t work. We are blessed with friends and family who encourage us, pray for us, check on us, and love on us.
God has gone before us and He has made our path straight. It is a hard path right now. It’s more than hard. It’s impossible without God. We can’t do this without Jesus. The rocks on this path would crush us without the Lord. The rivers that feel like seas would drown us without our best friend Holy Spirit with us. The cold dark nights would overtake us without the Light of the world. But He is with us. We can feel Him. We can see Him moving.
With Jesus, we are strong enough and brave enough. With Him, we can look outside of ourselves and help other people in need. With Jesus helping me, I can nurture and care for my husband when I don’t know how I’m taking care of my own self.
It’s actually a miracle. I see the miracle of God’s love pouring out through me and I’m blown away. I see the miracle of God’s strength pouring out of Paul when he can barely walk but he’s walking across a lady’s lawn, standing there praying for her to be healed.
We don’t know what’s going to happen, and that can feel scary sometimes, but our hope and faith is in God. We’re believing that God is going to accomplish a miracle in Paul and that he will be healed, in Jesus’s name. But even if He doesn’t, our hope and faith is still in Christ.
My husband says it all the time, “To live is Christ, to die is gain.” No matter what comes, we will bless the Lord. I thank you Jesus for giving me the opportunity to show You my love by loving my husband well in his greatest time of need. I’m so glad that he isn’t suffering alone. The timing of our union was “for such a time as this.”
*** Please note, it is very important to protect Paul’s energy right now. Please do not reach out to him for information. It takes a lot of his energy to explain. He also doesn’t have tons of energy for phone calls, so texts are better if you would like to encourage him.***