More Prayerful Thoughts Needed

Please continue to pray for my BIL. Read here for more information on what has been going on with him medically.

My sister told me tonight that they have found out the results of his latest MRI that was done yesterday. Unfortunately the tumor is NOT dying & shrinking as they had thought last month. It has, in fact, grown. It is now up to 3 cm. It was 4.5 cm when he had his original surgery four years ago. He will be going back in for surgery in the next few days - no later than Tuesday.

There is good news in the midst of all of this. The tumor cells (this is not a cancerous tumor but any tumor in the brain is serious) look similar to the cells that make cerebrospinal fluid. When he originally went in for surgery four years ago they (as in the docs) were hesitant to remove all of the tumor as they weren't positive it was all tumor. They also thought he would be able to handle all the extra fluid in his brain & not need a shunt. A shunt is a tube that is placed in the brain & it is threaded down in to the abdominal cavity to drain. Otherwise the fluid builds up in the brain & causes major problems. Sometimes this is placed on a temporary basis & other times it is placed permanently. My BIL has a permanent one. Normally people can handle fluid in the brain on their own on a regular basis. The lymph system takes care of this. However, when there is a brain injury, they sometimes can't. My BIL couldn't. So since he already has a shunt & they know what they are looking for this time, they are feeling like they can now completely remove the tumor. Please pray for that!

Needless to say this is a stressful time for my family & most especially for my sister & BIL. Please pray that God's peace simply surrounds them completely during this time. I will continue to post & update as I get more information.