Prayful Thoughts

Four years ago in November, I received a phone call from my sister. She had taken my BIL to the hospital that morning with the "worst headache of my life" situation. They found a large brain tumor. He was being transported to the big city hospital & ended up in surgery that very afternoon to remove the tumor. Thankfully it was not cancer, but it was still a brain tumor. Still scary.

He was in the hospital for about 4-6 weeks. There son was not even a year old at this point. We all rallied around to babysit him & help as we could. Both of their work places showered them with so many blessings - too many to recall. He recovered well. The only issue he seemed to have was some short term memory loss. It didn't slow him down. He recovered enough to go back to work as a police officer with the local city department. He eventually left that job & took a job with the county sheriff's office. He is now the head detective for them. He loves his job.

Two years ago he suffered a grand mal seizure while at home in the shower. My sister was here alone with him. It took two of his co-workers & the ambulance crew to restrain him enough to medicate him. He began seizure drugs. He did fine. He was out of work for a bit since once you have a seizure you can't drive for three months & those have to be seizure-free months.

He was still doing well. He is active in his job for the sheriff's office & he is also very active in the Army National Guard. He left on 6/21 & drove out to Missouri for his two week AT (active training). All seemed well.

My sister called me on the morning of 6/25, my BIL had had a seizure. He wasn't alone & it was a smaller seizure - a petite mal this time. She needed me to watch my nephew. I packed all my boys up & headed down to get him. My brother was going to bring her to the airport to catch her evening flight & then watch the dogs for a couple of days.

The flights were delayed & postponed & it took her forever to get to Missouri. She was suppose to be there by 11pm on Monday. She finally arrived by 7am on Tuesday - minus her checked bag & all her hand cream (the airlines made her toss it). But she was with her husband & could see how he was doing. He was in the hospital on base.

There was much discussion about what to do next. Would they drive home? Would they airlift him to the hospital here? Would they keep him there to treat him? The decision was finally made to release him & send them on their way with some medications for him to help control his seizures. It's normally at least a two day drive. They were two days from home - from the familiar - from help - from family.

My sister drove six hours the first night. She drove about ten hours last night. Then my BIL had more seizures. They make a stop at a local hospital & spend the night in the ER. She calls for back-up. :-) Two guys that work with my BIL drive down in a cruiser to meet them & bring them the rest of the way back. Now my sister can just ride - no more concentrating on driving or how my BIL is doing - although they are in separate cars. He has another seizure, they are still trying to get to the city hospital where his neurosurgeon is - they should be there soon.

So I am posting asking for prayers - lots of them. The Lord knows what he is doing so the rest of us need peace with what is happening. I'll continue to keep people updated.

And while you are praying for them, please keep these families in your prayers too....
The Estes Family whose youngest son is very sick & they do not have a complete diagnosis yet. Plus some of their other children are having some very stressful times as well including their three year old daughter who is having rabies shots after an encounter with a squirrel, a son who has a broken leg, and more.
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ourquiverfull

Heather - a homeschooling mom going through treatment for a cancerous brain tumor -
http://www.especiallyheather.com/

There are also many prayer requests on the SHS Yahoo group & CWOLF groups that I am on. There are military families in the midst of moving, families experiencing one crisis after another (broken vehicles, loss of jobs, sick children). So in the midst of all our hardships here, we can only trust in the one true God.

Matthew 17:20

He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

UPDATE:
The general thought at this time is that the tumor is having swelling (edema). The cause of it is the radiosurgery he had at the beginning of the year. It is swelling because it is DYING! :-) This is GOOD news! The doctors feel that in 6-8 weeks the tumor could be COMPLETELY GONE!!!!!!!!!! This was the outcome we prayed for!

He has also seen a neurologist who feels that his speech finding issues & other small issues he is experiencing are mini-seizures. They are going to try some new meds to get that under control.

He is still waiting on a bed & will be there at least until Sunday. His regular doc is on vacation & will be back then.

Beth will come home once he is settled in for the night. Her dogs & her son (not to mention me!) will be glad to have her back. I'll be heading home for the weekend.

Thank you for all your prayers - please continue!