Sleeping Beauty

Elizabeth's in recovery and sleeping off her sedation. The endoscopy went smoothly but since they had to cauterize a big vein they'll keep her for observation for a while. Thanks for your prayers!

Waiting...

Elizabeth was taken back late, at 1pm, so we're still waiting to hear. The poor thing was a mess for having to go without eating and drinking all morning, and the "happy-sleepy" meds we gave her didn't help matters. They made her a sad-drunk of sorts. She desperately wanted to color....with markers...on blank paper...while sitting up. So crayons and a coloring book simply wouldn't do. She resorted to coloring on herself and the sheets...hey, whatever makes her happy, right?? Praise God, Matt had a 15 minute window between clinics and showed up at the exact right moment so he could hold Ava and I could walk Elizabeth back to the OR.

Now, Ava and I are hanging tight and Ava's even managing to help me with her feed! What a big girl!

Thanks for your prayers!

Elizabeth's Day

Not to be left out of the fun, Elizabeth has an abdominal ultrasound and an endoscopy this morning. So She, Ava and I (Sara) are taking a field trip to Children's Hospital. We monitor the status of the varicose veins in her esophagus with regular endoscopies and since she's been really stable, we haven't had to check her since June. We're praying this is just routine and they won't have to cauterize any vessels this time. The hardest part for her is not being able to eat or drink for the whole morning. Her procedure is at 11:30 and she'll be intubated, so the procedure is not without some risks, we'd appreciate your prayers for our Big Girl. I'll keep you posted!

Recovering Beautifully

She's waking up. She's making some eye contact. She's cooing. She's showing us her dimples and seems like she wants to smile. She's resting in our arms without constant involuntary movements. She's drinking from a bottle. She's trying to follow a toy with her eyes.

Ava is waking up.

It could be the changes we've made in her medications.

Or it could be that God is healing her brain.

Nothing, you see, is impossible with God.

MRI...check! Biopsy...check!

Now we're just waiting to see her in the post-operative suite!

Thank you for your prayers and all the emails, texts and comments here on the blog. I can't tell you how buoyed we are by your expressions of hope, love, faith and encouragement. We have even made contact with two other NICU family friends who are also in the hospital right now. With all the love near and far, we know we're not alone and that is such a blessing.

Ava's biopsy went well. The surgeon got all the samples he needed and she had very little bleeding and so far no other complications. They sent off the samples and we may get some preliminary information this evening. We're on pins and needles, but can't make anything go faster. She'll stay in the PICU tonight for observation, then it's back up to the Neurology floor for her to recover for a few days while we make the plan with the team. We'll likely be here through the end of the week. Beyond that, we've learned not to make plans.

Every breath is grace.

Yet another BIG day for Ava

Tomorrow morning at 7:30am, Ava will be wheeled back for a "stealth" MRI, followed by a brain biopsy. She'll need to be sedated for both procedures, but they'll occur 6 floors apart so she'll be "bagged" while they wheel her between floors. Both procedures are considered minor, but the whole morning is a big deal for us. Please pray for Ava's safety during sedation, transport and the procedures. And if you have the faith to believe God can do a miracle, would you pray that her MRI would be perfect and the biopsy would be unnecessary??

During the MRI they'll be getting coordinates so they can aim perfectly for the biopsy. The biopsy will require a craniotomy, and the neurosurgeon will be removing three different pieces of abnormal brain tissue for testing. We may get preliminary information, but it's unlikely we'll get definitive answers sooner than a few weeks. Please pray for Dr. Smyth's hands and protection of Ava's surrounding brain tissue. Please pray for clear information from the biopsy and wisdom for Matt and I as we work with the doctors to decide what to do with the information once we have it.

Meanwhile, Miss M has a stomach bug, so she's gone to recover and we're reworking things for tomorrow so Matt can be here too. Please pray for wellness for our sweet helper!

One moment at a time, God provides.

We wait. We rest. We depend. We trust.

And we take big, deep breaths.