Restoration

I entitled this blog post, Restoration, for many reasons.  I'll begin with the obvious.

It's been awhile since we've blogged, and we'll try to keep up on it a little better.  We've spent a lot of time in the hospital here recently trying to get Ari's nutrition figured out.  After last cycle's inpatient week, Ari was still vomiting quite a bit and not able to keep any feeds in his stomach.  This isn't necessarily new to us, but it seemed to be a bit more pronounced this time around.  We were beginning to see some signs of dehydration and were scheduled to be back up at Doernbecher the next day.  Upon arriving to our outpatient appointment, we learned Ari's counts were pretty good at that point, but our oncologist was concerned about his overall nutrition.  This didn't come as a surprise to us.  If anything, we felt a bit of relief at the next step.  Our oncologist wanted to admit Ari to start him on TPN (Total Parenteral Nutrition).  We've known this was a possibility but were trying to give Ari an opportunity to utilize his "gut" for nutrition if he was able.  This is where the restoration comes in.  Ari began to gain weight.  He began to make wet diapers consistently.  He was getting what he needed.  But, wait.  He didn't seem to have more energy with the added nutrition.  We figured it would get better with time.

As the week continued, they decided to keep Ari through the weekend until his scheduled follow-up MRI the following Monday.  This MRI was scary nonetheless.  This was the first imaging since the process after his initial brain surgery.  So many questions raced through our minds.  Is there a new tumor?  What if there is a new tumor?  How could there be a new tumor?  What if there's not a new tumor?  Are his brain components rebounding from the initial compression of the tumor and hydrocephalus?  I'll save the suspense (although, most of you already know all of this...).  There was not a new tumor.  His brain structure is intact and seems to be unharmed as far as the MRI can tell.  First of all, praise Jesus.  Secondly, what a relief in our hearts.  What the MRI did reveal was some excess fluid on the outside of his brain with some residual blood from the initial surgery.  This was placing some pressure on his brain causing some sleepiness and irritability.  Well, that explains that!  Ha!  So, this meant another "minor" surgery.  It just "simply" required two "birdholes" to be drilled into his skull so that they could access that space to relieve some of the pressure by draining some fluid and cleaning out the space.  Obviously, the previous sentence has some sarcasm laced into it.  The surgery was still a big deal to us.  Our stomachs were still tied into knots before and during the surgery.  We still freaked out when the surgical nurse came to get us in the waiting room and ushered us into the consultation room to meet Dr. Baird (our neurosurgeon) after the surgery.  Everything went fine.  Again, praise Jesus.

Fast-forward to today.  The relieved pressure has really aided in restoring other things about Ari.  He has begun to vocalize much more recently!  Again, praise Jesus.  That was one of the biggest things that we missed.  We missed his voice...his babble...his cooing.  Restoration.  As we continue in this process we continue to petition to God to restore Ari, to restore everything about him.  I praise Him for continuing to show us progress in restoring Ari.  I praise Him for the strength that He continues to grant Jenny and me throughout this process.  I praise Him for the many people that He has put us in relationship with at Doernbecher Children's Hospital.  I praise Him for the babble and cooing.  I praise Him for a wife that desires to hang Scripture in Ari's room as a constant reminder of Truth.  I praise Him for the reminder that He hears our cries, even when they are faint.  I praise Him for restoration...of Ari, Jenny, and me.

Cycle 3 began today with me in Eugene trying to complete school stuff and Jenny and Ari up at Doernbecher.  Ari is well.  Jenny is strong.  We continue to ask for your prayers for restoration of Ari's body and of our hearts in relationship with God.  We love you all.

c

Cycle 2, Week 4

Well, here we are the night before we head back up to Doernbecher for another inpatient chemo week for Ari. I'm not going to write much tonight as I am growing more tired as I type, but I just wanted to send a quick note out to ask that you continue to pray for healing and restoration for Ari's body. The above picture was taken yesterday as Ari was playing. We rejoiced in his ability to grab the toy and bring it to his mouth. These continued improvements bring smiles to our faces.

Thanks for all your generosity through this season. Your prayers are felt as we continue to feel unified through the Spirit with all of you. If you have a moment, read Exodus 17:8-16. We often feel like Moses in this passage, with friends, family,  and even strangers holding our arms up when we grow weary. Thank you.

c