God is good! August 15, 2026

Yesterday brought the kind of news we have been praying for since the very beginning of this journey. ❤️

Jon went into surgery with the expectation that he would need a full skin graft on his left arm and hand. His thigh had already been marked as the donor site, and we had prepared ourselves for a significant surgery and a much more difficult recovery ahead.

The plan was to use ReCell in addition to the graft. ReCell is an incredible technology that allows the surgeon to take a very small piece of Jon’s healthy skin, separate it into millions of his own living skin cells, and spray those cells across the injured areas to help encourage his body to rebuild new skin.

But once Jon was under anesthesia and the surgeon was able to fully examine the depth of his wounds, the plan changed.

After everything we have watched his body endure over these last two weeks, hearing those words was almost impossible to comprehend.

Instead of removing a large portion of healthy skin from his thigh, the surgeon was able to treat Jon’s entire left arm and hand, along with the injured fingers on both hands, using ReCell alone.

What we had been preparing ourselves for — another major wound, significant pain at the donor site, and the additional healing that comes with a traditional graft — was suddenly no longer necessary.

It is difficult to express how significant that feels.

ReCell does come with its own very delicate healing process. The newly applied cells now need time to settle, adhere and begin rebuilding the surface of his skin. The areas have to be protected extremely carefully, and the next several days will be especially important.

There is still a long road ahead as it relates to healing. His hands remain incredibly painful, his left leg continues to require healing, and we know recovery from burns of this magnitude will not happen quickly.

But yesterday felt like a turning point.

His surgeon  & burn team has been genuinely amazed by the amount of healing that had taken place in such a short period of time. 

And for us, it is impossible not to recognize the countless prayers that have surrounded Jon from the moment this happened.

One of our greatest prayer requests throughout this entire journey has been that the progression of the burns would stop and that Jon’s body would begin doing the work of healing.

Yesterday, we were given the incredible gift of seeing evidence of exactly that.

We know medicine is doing remarkable work. We are extraordinarily grateful for the surgeons, nurses and entire burn team caring for him. And alongside all of that, our faith has carried us through every uncertain hour.

To every person who has prayed for Jon, shared his story, supported our family, sent a message, helped with a meal, helped with our children, contributed financially, or simply stopped for a moment and lifted his name before God — thank you.

This has been an overwhelming reminder that even in the middle of something this difficult, God is still at work. ❤️