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November 4, 2016- Evening update

Greetings friends from Mr. Whiskers.

We have plenty to be thankful for this week. First off thank you to all of you today for Stopping to Pray for our dear friend Anna and her family. They have grown close to us with Anna and Kayleigh battling together their own types of brain cancer and we consider them family. This time last week we were not sure if Kayleigh would make it through the week based on her breathing and vitals but Praise God we have been blessed with precious time all week. Not much has changed since then but she has had good days to out weigh the bad and she is still here fighting like a champ. Headaches seem to come and go but between rest and pain meds they are manageable. She continues to struggle with speech which in turn makes here upset .. We have managed to help some of this with some cue cards and a visual iPad app to help her tell us what she is saying. We continue to see the outpouring of support for our special girl and the rest of our family. This week we have seen more fundraisers ,purple Christmas lights, Thousands of kind posts, notes, cards, news reporters, food , and most important of all Prayers. All in all, we are thankful for a “good” week. Even with all the good this crew is worn and tired. Kayleigh continues to cling ‘Carrow 24/7 and that eventually wears ‘Carrow very thin. KB wants her mom by her side and their is no one else that can take that place, not even me. She can usually sneak off for a quick snack or shower and then Kayleigh has to have her back. I am incredibly thankful for my amazing wife and mother to all of our kids at all times. Also this week I had to re-learn an extremely hard lesson that I’ve always struggled with. I had to stop and forgive someone that personally intended to hurt my family and disrespect my child that is fighting for her life. I was quickly reminded that I needed get over my anger and pray for this lost soul who obviously was hurting as well. Not only the correct thing to do but what Christ commands us to do.

Eph 4:31-32

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.
32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

So tonight we will continue to pray for Kayleigh’s miracle until “the last breath”. Please continue to pray for Anna’s recovery and for her symptoms to be eliminated from the shunt procedure. Pray for rest for all of us but especially ‘Carrow because she continues to carry the heaviest load staying by Kayleigh’s side.
For those that have wronged or hurt you , forgive them and show them mercy because Christ did the same for us when we did not deserve it.

Until tomorrow
Tim💜

Our team of Home Nurses not only bringing our family Christmas gifts but decorating our yard in purple lights for Kayleigh.

Gifts under Kayleigh’s tree from our wonderful Nurses.

We had to explain to our kids that this crazy troll doll was around when we were kids too.

A little throwback picture from where KB started to like the piano. Her Aunt Tammy needed some help 😄

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💜