Thank you for visiting our mom, Lynda Blount’s, Caringbridge site. We are going to use this site to update our friends and family on her progress and also to record the Lord’s faithfulness throughout this immensely difficult journey. We will also keep this site updated with prayer requests. We thank you for your love, support and, most importantly, for your prayers.
On August 13, 2019 our mom, Lynda, was going about a normal day. She was working as Finance Director for Dr. Greg Murphy’s political campaign and was preparing for a day full of meetings. She was walking down the back hall at her home in Bethel when suddenly she lost feeling in the right side of her body and collapsed. She called our dad (Ferrell), who immediately came home and rushed her to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville in record time, suspecting that she had had a stroke.
We thank the Lord that she was not alone at our home in Atlantic Beach, which is where she had initially planned to be the morning of August 13, when this happened. We also thank the Lord that she had her cell phone in her hand when she collapsed so she was able to quickly contact our dad. Additionally, we thank the Lord that just as our dad was trying to get mom into his truck, the cable man pulled up and was able to assist him. We acknowledge that these things for what they are: tender mercies from the Lord.
When Mom and Dad arrived at Vidant Hospital, they quickly took her back, as it was suspected that she had had a stroke. Shortly after being admitted, she had seizure, followed by another, which confirmed that it probably was something other than a stroke. An MRI confirmed the unthinkable: She had a tumor the size of a golf ball in her brain, and surgery was scheduled to remove it on Thursday, August 15.
The surgery went as well as it possibly could have. We are grateful for the wisdom and skill of Dr. Stuart Lee, who was able to successfully remove 95 percent of the tumor. We are also grateful that the side effects from the surgery have been minimal, as we were warned that she could have lost her vision, ability to hear and ability to speak, because the tumor was located in the primary sensory area of her brain.
On August 21st, our neurosurgeon, Dr. Lee, gave us the news that none of us ever thought we would hear. Our mom’s tumor was a malignant brain tumor called a glioblastoma — and it was a grade 4, which is the fastest growing kind. That was a hard day, but I (Betsy Gray) was so grateful to be able to be there with her when we got the diagnosis. We did a lot of praying that day, submitting it all into the Lord’s powerful and mighty hands. This side of heaven we will never be able to completely understand why bad things happen to good people. And although our hearts are breaking, we can say with all conviction that God is who He says He is…He is GOOD, and He is FAITHFUL and He has my mom (and all of us) in the palm of His strong hand. We have all been overwhelmed by God’s presence and peace in the midst of this suffering.
After five days of recovery, mom was admitted into the rehabilitation center at Vidant Hospital, where she is currently working with physical therapists and occupational therapists to regain the motor skills and mobility that she had prior to surgery. She is working very hard and making great strides everyday, although it is extremely mentally and physically exhausting. She has asked for no visitors while she is in the rehab program so that she can focus on the task at hand: to regain her strength so she can get back home to be with her loving family. Additionally, her immune system is compromised as a result of her medications, so we are being extra precautious as we enter the cold and flu season.
We are meeting with oncologists at Vidant the week of September 2nd, and plan to also meet with Dr. Henry Friedman at the Duke Brain Cancer Center sometime in the coming weeks. Our thought is that we will begin treatment (six weeks of radiation in conjunction with chemotherapy) sometime around mid-September. Mom is upbeat and positive, and most importantly, is trusting the Lord. Anyone who knows her knows that she is a very passionate and strong woman, which is what we all love about her. Again, we thank you all for your prayers as our family walks though this immensely difficult season.
