By Sammy Tippit

I know that many of you have been praying for me. I thought this would be a good time to give you an update on my health and how my recovery is going. In a brief summary, I would simply say, “Fantastic.”

God has been so good. I continue to become stronger each day. There are a number of things that I don’t know, and some that I do know. Let me begin with what I don’t know. I have not had my three month PSA test taken. That will give some indication whether there is any cancer left in me. This will be the first big test. I will have to continue to taking this test for several years in order to monitor the situation. However, the surgeon felt pretty confident that the cancer was contained in the prostate. The prostate was removed. I have my three month PSA test towards the end of September and then have another one towards the end of December.

Here is what I do know. My bladder seems to be functioning well. There is almost always a problem with incontinency after prostate surgery. However, I have had NONE. ZERO. That is a big praise the Lord. God answered prayers beyond my expectations. I was hoping that there would be only a little incontinency. But none – all I can say is “Hallelujah.”

The surgeon had to cut through my stomach muscles to remove the prostate. My stomach muscles are healing. I can still feel that they are weak. However, from others that have had the same surgery, I am doing really well. All of the scars are healing and the stomach is getting back to normal. This is critically important for my breathing when I preach. I will have my first test of the stomach muscles in the middle of September when I travel to Canada to speak at a conference.

I was allowed to start exercising about three weeks ago. I am slowly building myself back to normal. I am praying about and planning to run a half marathon on December 1, 2007 – less than three months from now. That will take God’s grace to be able to run 13.1 miles five months after the surgery. However, by God's grace and power, I feel that it is doable. Thanks so much for praying for me and I will try to keep you updated on my progress. Your prayers are greatly appreciated.

Sammy Tippit