January 2024 

Another long overdue update - I’ve been writing this since October (!!), but we have the cutest excuse now! We also praise the Lord for no major events in Cooper’s health journey!!!

In August, we welcomed a sweet little boy into our family - Owen Mark Sartell (pictures attached, of course!). It’s been a blessing to see him grow and change so much already! He’s such a great little guy! Transitioning to parenthood has been wild, beautiful, challenging & sanctifying. Please pray with us that Cooper will remain protected from major seizures as we continue to learn how to care for Owen. Thankfully, he is able to sleep through most of the nighttime shenanigans & I (Allysa) manage Owen care. It’s worked well so far. 

What a sweet gift to be able to see Coop as a daddy - something I thought may never happen a couple years ago. Grateful doesn’t begin to describe it. 

While Cooper is not experiencing grand mal seizures, he does continue to experience what his epileptologist has called “small seizures” at least daily.  We’re thankful that they are small and brief, but at this frequency they make him unable to drive. It’s been about a year since he’s been able to drive. Thankfully, the Lord has provided rides to and from work fairly consistently through this year. In the same breath, we long for Cooper to have the freedom of driving again. We’re working with his epileptologist to keep sorting through the delicate balance of seizure control vs side effects of medications. Please ask the Father for the right balance as he weans down on what seems to not be working. 

The latest brain scans (September & December) have shown no new growth in the original tumor bed! PRAISE THE LORD!! There is a small pocket of fluid that is being monitored near a different portion of the brain, no cause for concern according to his Neuro-Oncologist.  We go back in March to have another scan, and somewhere along the way Cooper will be doing some testing to get a baseline for cognition. He’s had some memory changes lately, but that’s likely attributed to treatment according to his team. 

Thanks for remembering us in your prayers. We’re grateful each time we reflect on this journey we’ve been walking for each of you. ❤️

-Cooper, Allysa, & Owen