from Melinda Bowman comes this note as she heads for surgery today. They are former neighbors of ours... living in home to the east of us.

Major surgery tomorrow/Wednesday
Posted 11 hours ago

Over here in Tulsa, it's a nice summer day. As I look out my window I see Old Glory flapping in the air, her bright colors standing out from the well manicured, green lawn below. It's after 5 p.m. and lots of my friends (CTCA employees) are eagerly making their way to their vehicles.
Beside me, Greg lays on his bed reading "The Shack" (good read!), while hanging out with me as I prepare for surgery tomorrow.
Until meeting with the surgeon today, I thought this was going to be a minor surgery. However, that is not the case. The surgeon plans for the surgery to take 6 to 8 hours, and I will be in the hospital 3 to 6 days.
As you all know, I've had some severe pain over the last few months. Amazingly, my pain doctor has been able to increase my meds to cover the pain as needed, and for some reason I'm still able to function as a normal human being. They've done lots of tests in the past few weeks, and think a mass by my tailbone is causing the problem, but they're not 100% sure.
Therefore, tomorrow they'll make a large incision to my tummy, check out what's going on inside, and with any luck and grace of God be able to identify and reverse the reason for my pain. He also mentioned maybe having to take some of my colon out.
There is a chance that I'll end up with a temporary collostomy, and some tubes for drainage when it's all said and done. My attitude about carrying a pain pump around 24/7 hasn't been too good, and I can't even imagine having to do the collostomy - so please pray those don't have to happen.
Greg's been exceptionally supportive and attentive to my situation, which has made everything seem much better than if I was going at this alone. Cooper is at Grandpa's this week working on his truck, and Rayanne has been spending time with a couple close friends who have children her age.
Just as our men and women have fought to keep that beautiful red, white, and blue flag whipping in the wind, I'm once again calling upon my troops to prayerfully go to war for me.
God bless you each and every one.
Love in Christ,
Malinda