Waffle and Dr. Val are currently in the states for a few months.  Initially, Waffle came to be with his ailing mother in early September, who had been rapidly deteriorating.  Val came a few weeks later to present at a peace conference with the Peace Maker ministries in Colorado Springs. 

During this time, they discovered that Waffle had a thyroid problem, hyperthyroidism. He had been getting hotter and hotter, drinking more and more water and seemed to have so much energy. After some initial testing, it was determined to be Graves' Disease, and autoimmune thyroid disease.  A biopsy then revealed that he had cancerous cells also growing in his thyroid.  In the months that followed, he had a thyroidectomy in Oregon.  The histopathology on the tissue revealed that there were probably additional cancerous cells still in his body after the surgery.  Another type of more agressive cancer was also discovered in the thyroid tissue. He then went on synthetic Thyroxine to replace his thyroid hormone.

Waffle and Val are very grateful that they were able to discover this issue while they were in the states and know that God has been directing their steps all along the way.  Currently, Waffle is planning on receiving a therapeutic dose of radioactive iodine later in the year, whenever his body is clear of the diagnostic radioactive iodine that he was given a few months ago.  When he gets that dose, he will be radioactive for a period of time and will need to be in isolation, without consuming iodine and without taking his thyroid medication.  It may be a very challenging time, as his doctor described others' experiences as "miserable for weeks".  Please pray for him.  Thanks.