Monthly Archive: November 2016

from Jodi…

Anna’s emergency surgery was unexpected –

She went down hill from last night and this morning – just in a few hours. Painful headaches to throwing up to almost non responsive to get her attention. Very scary – st jude has a low count level for platelets transfussion ( which her counts were 70 before she left however normal range 150-450). So they had to transfuse in the ambulance and wait until it was done before they could start surgery, because lebonheur children’s cannot do surgery unless she is above a certain level. By the time the platelets were done Anna was in excruciating pain – the most I have seen her in awhile. They immediately prepped her and gave her a dose of some type of sedation to ease the pain.

Surgery and prep time was about 2 hours. Her cranial pressure was 10x the normal pressure and now she is resting in recovery. Thank-you for all your love, thoughts and prayers during this time!
We will keep you posted once she makes it out of recovery.

God Bless,
Jodi and Anna and shortly Mike

Keep on praying friends – I’m so thankful St. Jude and Lebonheur worked quickly to get relief for Anna! Keep on praying

Until tonight,
‘Carrow 💜💙

Hello friends,

This is an urgent prayer request for our sweet friend Anna. She is in an ambulance on the way to Lebonheur. Anna has been battling unexplained hydrocephalus for almost a month now. Her scans show fluid build up on her brain but do not show a reason. They have been carefully watching for weeks now but her symptoms have escalated and the doctors think surgery to place a shunt may now be necessary.

Please pray for sweet Anna, for the doctors to make the right decision for what is best for her. Pray for her mom Jodi as she is with Anna alone right now and that is a very scary feeling. Pray for her dad Mike who just took her three siblings home but is now catching a flight to race back to be by Anna & Jodi’s side.

I will update as I hear more but for now, just keep praying.

Much love,
‘Carrow 💜💙

Good evening friends,

It’s quiet at our house tonight. Kayleigh has had another pretty good day. She has slept much more today but her vital signs are holding steady. Speech, hearing and swallowing continue to be persistent problems as well as right side weakness. As the tumor continues to grow she continues to lose control of more and more. Facial expressions are non existent, she cannot sit up on her own, yet when she is awake, her mind is still clear.

I know it is the multitude of prayer warriors asking for peace that keeps Kayleigh comfortable. With each change I fear she may become upset – but God is good and she continues to press forward in strength and good spirits. So again today was say thank you Lord for another day. One of snuggles, Christmas lights and being a family.

We are thankful for each and every person and prayer uttered on Kayleigh’s behalf.

Psalm 62:5-8
5 Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. 6 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. 7 My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. 8 O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge. Interlude

Until tomorrow,
‘Carrow💜

Hello friends – I am writing you tonight reporting little change. Kayleigh remains in nearly the same condition as yesterday. And while that may not seem like a good thing, I am quite thankful that I am not reporting any more decline.

Kayleigh slept very well last night and quite late this morning. She would make a lazy teenager proud! When she did wake she was hungry and snacked nearly all day. Mostly jello and applesauce but she did throw in some veggie straws a steak. We used a thickener in her drink which has helped her sputtering greatly. All things considered, it was a good day.

Since Kayleigh’s favorite color is purple we decided to buy purple Christmas lights to decorate the outside of the house. And since we already have our tree up at Kayleigh’s request, Tim decided to go ahead and start putting her exterior lights up too. I rarely get even a moment to leave Kayleigh’s side. She doesn’t even like it when I take a bathroom break, but tonight I snuck out so I could check out Tim’s handiwork. It looked great, but what else do I see when I go outside? I see purple lights up and down the street. Our neighbors have changed out their light bulbs and used purple spotlights to make our street a “purple out.” It’s wonderful and it made me smile. I hope once all of our lights are up Kayleigh might feel up to daddy carrying her outside to see them first hand.

Thank you for your prayers for Grace and Cole as well. Grace is sounding better after the antibiotics and cough medicine. Both kids were excited to help Tim with the lights.

Thank you for your consistent prayers. Tonight as you pray take a little time to marvel at the goodness of our Lord. Take time to be thankful for His infinite blessings. Even when things seem the darkest you can still find reasons to rejoice. And when you CHOOSE to rejoice in the storm – everything changes. I pray each one of you will choose well today. God is good, all the time – I promise.

Psalm 100
1 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. 3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

Until tomorrow,
‘Carrow💜

And just like that we turn the page to a new month. Goodness where does the time go? Of course, time is a relative term around our house these days. I feel like I am living in a time vacuum, or maybe it’s a bubble. A very fragile bubble that has the potential to pop at any moment. But for now, inside this bubble, there is an air of peace. A beautiful calm. Where days and time have little meaning, we simply seek to treasure every moment.

We cannot thank you enough for your prayers for peace. We can literally feel them. Kayleigh’s continues physical decline was apparent the moment she woke this morning. She has nearly lost ability to speak all together. She tries to tell us things but it is so garbled that we cannot make it out. She has been much sleepier today, her appetite is declining, drinking is beginning to choke her, and her breathing is sowing down even more. Yet rather than feeling fear, panic or concern we feel steady, calm and at peace. Even Kayleigh, facing scary changes, still has an air of peace.

I continue to ask the Lord for healing, but my Spirit is content with “Thy will be done.” So today was filed with holding Kayleigh close, a few brief family visitors, love, hugs, snuggles and kisses. Oh how much joy I get from having her in my arms.

Tonight I ask your prayers over the rest of our family as well. Grace is battling bronchitis and Cole still has the fatty tissue on his neck that needs to be removed. And both of them are trying very hard to soldier on everyday like everything is ok. Much of my prayers today were for them. Protection of their hearts and minds.

Philippians 4:6-9
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. 8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

Until tomorrow,
‘Carrow💜

Even kitty needed to give Kayleigh some loving today

Good thing we have a big bed

Aunt Lik, Liki & Nora – precious time

Daddy & Mommy snuggles