My husband, Rickey Gooch, is the strongest and hardest working man I know. It is an honor and a blessing to be his wife.
A few weeks ago, Rickey discovered a knot in his neck. After consultation with his doctor Rickey was prescribed two rounds of antibiotics. After the knot did not go away, additional testing was ordered.
After a neck scan, two biopsies, a CT scan and a PET scan, Rickey was diagnosed with squamous carcinoma, a type of cancer. Thank the Lord, the cancer is confined to Rickey's left tonsil area and has not spread anywhere else within his body. As a result of this diagnosis, Rickey will begin a series of treatments in the coming days. The doctors feel very confident that the treatments will be successful and this will soon be behind us.
During the weeks Rickey and I have been dealing with this, the Lord has shown us such mercy and grace. He has reminded us of His sovereignty and even when we were at our lowest, we could feel His loving arms wrapping around us and covering us with peace that surpasses all understanding. Truthfully, we would not have made it this far without the Lord. Even though we are devastated, we realize the Lord is strengthening us more every day as we move forward.
Because of this situation Rickey and I stayed home for a few days to attend doctors appointments. We are so proud of our group, though, as they continued to travel to honor our commitments. Rickey and I want to offer our sincere appreciation to Katy Peach for filling in for me and doing an amazing job. Also, we give special thanks to Susan, Jeff, Matthew, Kari, Tripp King, and Danny Jones for stepping up and doing what needed to be done. Audiences were blessed and we were thrilled to learn that some even accepted Jesus as their Savior. Praise the Lord!
Rickey and I will be back on the road this weekend. We want to thank everyone for the love you have shown our family. We love y'all dearly. Please continue to pray for Rickey. We know that God will make this trial a blessing.
Karen Peck Gooch
