Here is the latest directly from Rich:

This morning is the third surgery in 19 days. Left eye surgery is scheduled to begin at 7:00am at Mease Dunedin Hospital, Dr. Morgan, technically as an outpatient procedure. It should result in improved vision and better/tighter closing at night. They will also remove the staples from my neck!

God is teaching me a lot about submission, what He values most and trusting in Him alone.

Thankfully, my family and I have been blessed by generous support from our friends/family at Digital Lightbridge, church and throughout our community. Thank you seems inadequate, but thank you all! Your notes, calls, visits, food and flowers are a HUGE encouragement to the entire Hayes family. We’ll try to update again post-op and before radiation begins. Ironically, my surgery wants me to gain about 15lbs. I’ve lost 60lbs. intentionally. Ice cream, sweet tea, oatmeal cookies and sushi here I come. No rabbit food for awhile!

Love, Rich

Good morning!  I got this yesterday from Lisa:

Today is the kind of weather that Rich loves lots of thunder,lightning and rain. Today has been a good day. Rich’s sister came for lunch and Rich was able to visit and eat with her before heading to bed. It’s a great day to nap, so he is resting well.

The pain meds have been working well as long as he doesn’t go more than 5 hours. Here’s where we need your prayer, nothing allowed after midnight tonight for tomorrow surgery. Yikes!

Tomorrow’s surgery is pretty cool in a thank God this exsists kind of way…  Rich can not properly close his eye due to the nerve being removed. His ability to blink is permanately gone. During the day he puts artifical tears in every two hours and at night he currently has to put in an eye lube and tape it closed so he can go longer than 2 hours. Tomorrow he will have a gold weight placed in eyelid so he can close it at night- no more tape or lube, ahhh, that will have to feel great! He will also have a brow lift to open his vision up where the eye drooping is causing his vision to be blocked. The Dr. will use an exsisting eyebrow scar that Rich got when he was 15-God was working even then for this season. How great is that!

Isn’t it cool how God “Presses On” even when we don’t know it? Hmm…