An update on Dad

Thank you for your prayers for Dad and our family, especially over the last two and one half years. As most of you know, Dad completed a course of whole brain radiation treatments last week. Those treatments left him extremely weak and fatigued. We were hopeful that he would regain some strength once the treatments were over, but that hasn’t been the case. Also, tests indicated that the cancer was active elsewhere in his body. At that point, Dad made the decision to not pursue further treatment. His strength has continued to decline to the point where he needs assistance for any move. His voice is extremely weak, and he communicates mostly by smiling and shaking his head. He is truly a blessing to care for; his kindness and thankfulness for even the smallest favor have never wavered. It has been a joy to watch the Fruit of the Spirit come forth, even in the midst of the trial.
There have been many questions as to why we did not establish a CaringBridge site. The reason is that we were simply following Dad’s wishes. Even though Dad led a very public life in the church and community, he is very private when it comes to his own person. For the last two and a half years Dad has been overwhelmed by the prayers, cards, emails and other expressions of love and support that he has received. He felt unworthy of the amount of attention he received, especially relative to others in similar or more sad situations. Please know that those prayers and expressions of love have supported him up until this very hour. We understand that many people would have liked to visit Dad over the last few days, but it was not possible, he simply did not have the energy.
Please continue to pray for grace and strength for Dad and us each day. We don’t know the future and so we are by His grace taking one day at a time.
Thank you for your continued prayers,
The Charles Sauder Family