Surgey Day Recap

Thank you all so very much for your prayers today!  The doctor's reports are that everything went as expected.  They were able to remove the mass (a.k.a. tumor, cyst, polyp, lesion) in her brain and the tract connecting it to the nose polyp on the front of her face.  The other good news is that they removed less of her eye sockets than they originally planned on which made the reconstruction less complex.  The outer covering of her brain (the dura mater) was thinner than expected.  It did tear in a couple spots and required repair.  By our estimation, the surgery took just over 6 hours. 

Hannah is now in the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) and is officially recovering.  Her post-op CT scan looked good and her blood work came back O.K.  Prayers are still needed for the next several days as she recovers.  Over the next 24 hours specifically she is expected to swell quite a bit.  It is still likely that her eyes will swell completely shut. Although she is sedated right now, she will eventually be weaned off sedation.  We imagine that it will be quite scary for her not being able to see for a few days.  Please pray that she will remain calm, be easily soothed, and have her pain be minimal and controlled.  There is also some risk that the repairs to the dura mater could open up and allow cerebral fluid to leak out.  Please pray that everything holds together so to speak.

We wanted to thank you again for your prayers and support!  A big thank you especially goes to Jim and Christine Ommen.  Jim and Christine attend our church and provide a ministry that encourages families staying at the hospital.  This Godly couple visited us today.  They helped us pass the time through conversation, provided us with Biblical encouragement, and prayed over us.  I'm sure God was glorified through their visit today and through their ministry and outreach.

Thank you also to all of the other brothers and sisters in Christ who reached out to us today to check in on us and tell us they were praying for us.  We certainly felt wrapped up in love and had a certain peace about everything today.

Pre-op

"I want to eat!"...on repeat!

Resting comfortably.  The recovery room nurses gave her a bow.  :)