Surgery Update

Update yesterday afternoon from my brother-in-law John:

Sarah made it out of the OR. The doc put in a few more stitches (on the inside) in the same area that he did in March.
The only real out of the ordinary thing he found was a lot of swollen/large lymph nodes on the mesentery (artery around the intestines for you pilot types)
They took some biopsies, and scratched their collective heads as to why the nodes were there and in that condition.
More to follow. We see this as an opportunity to show that God fixed her not the doc.
She has a feeding tube, IV tube, epideral, and catheter in her right now (and probably for a few days).

Update this morning from my sister, Carrie:

Don't know what to say...surgeon found more questions (stuff that didn't look right), biopsies were taken, other stuff ruled out. Sarah is in a lot of pain (unknown if it is just recovery related or if old pain is gone/still there). God is here. My Lord loves her more than I do.

Thank you for your continued prayers.

Sweet Sarah

Tomorrow my 4 year old niece, Sarah, is having her 9th surgery at John Hopkins Hospital.

The surgery starts at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time.

This surgery will be her biggest yet—she will be cut all the way open (across her tummy), with major recovery time. She's expected to stay in the hospital 7 days.

The surgery is to find and fix stomach/intestinal issues. The problem so far has been that the doctors (and these are some of the best in the world) have not been able to determine what is causing her intense pain. During the last surgery, they discovered bile in her stomach. They know there is something wrong. They just have not been able to pinpoint the cause of her problems.

I won't go into medical details here but she has been in pain all of her young life; she has also had problems with reflux and aspiration (requiring to have all liquids thickened).

Please, please cover this surgery in prayer.

Pray the doctors will discover what causing Sarah's pain (and bile reflux) and they will be able to fix it.

Pray that once Sarah has recovered from the surgery, she will have no more pain.

Pray for Sarah, my sister, Carrie, my brother-in-law, John, and my nephew, Matt.


Please feel free to pass on this prayer request.
Thank you. My family appreciates the prayers.


I would be ever so grateful if you would leave a note of encouragement for them here on my blog. Or, if you are more comfortable doing so, feel free to email me or msg me on FB so I can pass on notes of encouragement.

Roadtrip

My hair was blowing in the breeze. The music was blaring. I was singing with Bono. The scenery was a mix of breath taking beauty and barren expanses of land. I was driving by myself from Oregon to Nevada. It was a blessing. Time to myself. Loud music. The wind in my face. I didn't expect it to feel so good. It was rejuvenating.

Ahem.

The air conditioning on my van wasn't fixed when we had it serviced two days before we left. When we stopped for lunch, all of the kids deserted me. They all wanted to ride in the truck with dad.

I made the most of the empty van.

I was imagining myself in a convertible the whole time. I was in my merlot Miata... and it was beautiful. (Miata picture taken pre-kids, probably 12-13 years ago.)

Pictures from the roadtrip

I am home

I am sitting at a table for 4 in a furnished apartment. We need to get 2 more chairs. I've had breakfast. I had toast with some jam that my neighbor from home sent with me. The jam was delicious. It couldn't help but feel nostalgic as I ate it. I am waiting for my daughter to wake up. I am not sure what we will do today. My husband had to go back to work. He had a wonderful week off from work to help us move. We are moved but we are not settled. We are at home in our little apartment. We have a relatively small amount of our stuff. In some ways, it is nice. I recognize we own way more than we truly need. At times, it is annoying. I need this or that and I don't have it. I am thankful for our provisions. I am thankful for the generic coffee cups and the toaster that burnt the first round of toast because I am not used to its settings. The kids are happy. Oh sure, they've been exhausted at times and expressed their fatigue in the most childish ways. We don't have a normal right now. But, they are amazingly content in our new place. The well-anticipated move has happened. We still have to find our house but we are together as a family of 6. That is satisfying to all of us. Cliches irritate me. I don't want to be cliche - ever. But this morning I find myself soaking up the reality of the old saying, "Home is where the heart is." I am home. It's a good place to be.