Healing Journey
An update on Kendall’s healing journey. ❤️
This week, we had a very encouraging visit with Cleveland Clinic.
We drove up to Ohio on Tuesday through a full day of rain showers. We used the time together to pray, talk, and listen to Carry On, Mr. Bowditch and Johnny Tremain — because apparently even medical trips have to double as homeschool prep when you have two Challenge teenagers. 😂
Kendall was such a trooper. His pain was extremely high throughout the drive, but he did his best to maintain such a sweet peace about him. As always, I was so proud of him. This was not an easy trip to make in his condition.
We were also blessed by the Lord with a free night at the Residence Inn Marriott because I had accumulated enough Bonvoy points on my credit card. Those points really do add up! 🙌 From our hotel we could look just a few minutes down the road and see the enormous Cleveland Clinic campus.
That evening, we spent time worshiping God together and thanking Him for Kendall’s full restoration. Then we got some rest and woke up early for our 8:00 AM appointment.
We met with a specialized surgeon who was incredibly positive, thorough, and kind. He had a team of doctors and trainees working alongside him, and he took his time answering our questions and really listening.
He discussed the possibility of reconstructive surgery, including removing the mesh, which may be an important part of the path forward. He then sent Kendall for additional imaging so they could get clearer pictures of the mesh and surrounding areas.
What encouraged us just as much as the medical possibilities was the way this entire team worked together.
The surgeon connected us with a pain-management physician in the same clinic, and they communicate closely with one another. We also spoke with an internal-medicine physician who will be looking at Kendall’s situation from another angle and considering whether there may be additional or less obvious medical factors involved. He told us he would speak directly with the surgeon, whom he referred to as his colleague.
Again — teamwork.
Cohesiveness.
Communication.
People actually working together to solve a larger problem.
At one point Kendall said something like, “If I could take this model and apply it to the whole healthcare system, it would change the medical world.”
And I understood exactly what he meant.
For the last two years, Kendall has been evaluated by an enormous number of specialists and has undergone so much testing. While we have encountered many qualified and caring people along the way, it has often felt as though each specialty existed in its own silo. At times, we have felt like ping-pong balls being passed from one area of medicine to another without anyone being able to pull the entire picture together.
What we experienced in Ohio felt different.
There was alignment.
There was communication.
There were ideas.
There was a willingness to keep looking.
And most importantly, Kendall was treated like a person — not simply a problem to be solved.
We felt heard, respected, and cared for.
At one point, I stepped into the hallway and called my mom. I began to weep as I tried to describe the kindness and hope that were surrounding us. After such a long journey, we had finally encountered a group of doctors who seemed willing to enter “solution mode” together.
That meant more to us than I can really put into words.
And somehow, in the middle of all of this, we had about three hours between appointments.
Of course, my explorer side kicked in. 😂
So Kendall, being the wonderful husband he is, somehow put up with me finding a science center nearby. We walked around for about an hour and became big kids again for just a moment.
For one hour, we forgot about our frailties.
We laughed.
We explored.
We enjoyed one another.
And I truly felt the Father’s sweetest embrace.
I looked into my husband’s blue-green eyes and, beyond the tremendous pain, I could still see a heart secure in the Lord — anchored by a determination to fight and to keep our family together.
We still have decisions ahead of us as we receive more findings and recommendations. Reconstructive surgery may be part of the answer, or there may be another approach. We don’t know everything yet.
But we are hopeful.
We truly believe this team is invested in helping us fight for answers and healing.
And above everything else, thank God we are in Him.
He alone has carried us through some of the hardest valleys we have ever walked through — those places where faith meets trials that seem determined to shake you to your core.
And yet, after all the shaking, we still feel the Father’s deep love beneath us, securing our hearts in His.
He is kind.
He is gentle.
Even in raging storms.
We drove home the next day. What would normally be a much shorter trip took us about seven hours because we stopped regularly to allow Kendall’s body to rest.
He was exhausted.
He was hurting.
But he was still fighting.
Every day, I watch this man battle, and I am reminded to stay thankful, guard my peace, and recognize the strength of Christ being displayed through him.
I am so proud of the strength this man carries.
And when we finally arrived home, our children were joyful and happy, having been cared for so beautifully by family and friends who have become far more than community to us — they truly feel like angels surrounding our family.
We are blessed beyond words by the people God has placed around us.
We are walking through the fire, but even here, we keep finding evidence of our Father’s goodness.
These are just a few photos from our whirlwind two-day trip — probably our fastest turnaround yet!
We’ll keep everyone posted as we learn more about the next steps.
Thank you for continuing to pray for Kendall, for wisdom for his doctors, for healing and restoration, and for strength for our entire family.
We are still believing.
We are still fighting.
And we are still trusting the One who has carried us every step of the way. ❤️🙏
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