Abby Safley

Click here for her CarePage.

—————————————–

(April 22, 2008 at 04:50 PM CDT)

Hi everyone! Just wanted to report that Abby is doing awesome! She had her first outpatient physical therapy session today. (Thanks Kristin for helping me out this A.M. in a pinch!) I almost cancelled it because to me she is doing so great! I’m thankful that I didn’t cancel as her P.T. had some minor concerns as well as some great ideas and exercises for Abby to start doing. She will continue with P.T. and add in some occupational therapy sessions over the next couple of weeks.

We are also talking of starting some school work here at home with her. She is already getting a little bit bored with being home all the time, which is good, that means she’s getting back to her social little self! She will probably be at home for a few more weeks before going back to school.

On the medical front things are the same. Some of you have asked about her headaches. She will tell you that she doesn’t have any, but you need to remember that she is still taking her migraine medicine so if she does still have them they are being controlled by the medicine. We won’t really know if removing the tumor solved the migraine problem until we take her off those meds. and as of now, there isn’t any talk of doing that any time soon.

Since we’ve been home we’ve had the chance to reflect on this whole experience a little bit. We’re thankful for all the little blessings that we believe the Lord gave us along the way. The blessing of placing certain people in our lives to minister to us at just the right moment. The blessing of having Dr. Menezes return to work and thus be the one to preform her surgery. The blessing of suddenly needing another MRI the morning of surgery which caused Abby to take a medication that made her sleepy for the entire pre-surgery morning. The blessing of having certain nurses and therapists interact with Abby on just the right days. And the blessing of not knowing for months on end beforehand that Abby’s tumor was cancerous.

Can you believe that our Abby is a cancer survivor!?!

~1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.~

***************

(April 18, 2008 at 06:02 PM CDT)

Philippians 4:6-7 NLT
“Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.”

What a wonderful verse to start our day with! We were over in Iowa City by 11:00 and Abby had herself all worked up over getting those stitches out! We saw Dr. Menezes briefly in the hallway but it was his nurse Kathleen that came in to take her stitches out. She did 40 little snips and they were all out! Abby said, “I guess Kyle was right, it didn’t hurt!”.

We then had time to visit with Kathleen about what Dr. Menezes briefly said to me on the phone yesterday. Abby’s pathology report came back as indeed a malignant right temporal lobe tumor. Kathleen said they would probably grade it a level 1 or 2 (low grade) because although it showed signs of infiltrating it also proved to be slow growing. At this time, Dr. Menezes is very confident that he was able to completely remove the tumor as well as some surrounding matter. Thus said, she should at this time be ‘cancer free’!

Careful follow up will take place with an office visit in 3 months and then a repeat MRI in 6 months. If no cancer cells are seen that she will continue with MRI’s and monitoring. If they would happen to see the tumor cells reappear than at that point radiation/chemo would be discussed, but we’re hopeful we’ll never have to go down that road, after all this ones been rough enough!

And by the way, Abby’s just great! She’s not overly happy about the limited ‘physical’ activity for the next 3 to 6 months but those are Dr. M’s orders! Other than not being able to ride her new bicycle that she got for Christmas and jump on the trampoline, she seems to be taking it in stride. She has even hit her dad up for a new fish tank. She’s already come up with fish names such as Herky, B.T. (brain tumor) and Dr. M.

We are so grateful beyond words for our family, friends, church, neighbors, school and even strangers that were praying for Abby and our family during this whole situation. Many thank you’s for the meals, cards, gifts, running kids here & there, taking care of the kids and so much more. We feel so blessed to have had so many people minister to us with such willing and servant hearts. May you in turn be greatly blessed by our Father in Heaven who greatly rewards.

I think it fitting to end this post with the same verse that I started it with.
Philippians 4:6-7 NLT “Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.”

Love ~ Jackie for all

***************

(April 17, 2008 at 03:59 PM CDT)

It’s Thursday and if your like me you were wondering if we’re headed to Iowa City tomorrow or not. We are. I called the clinic to ask if her pathology report was back or not and ended up talking with Dr. Menezes directly!

He said that her report was back and that it was indeed as he was saying, a low grade tumor. He said that we shouldn’t second guess ourselves anymore, we made the right decision in removing it. I hesitantly asked if it was indeed cancerous? His response was, “Yes, that’s what I just told you!” Ok, I think that for some reason I needed to hear the “C” word before I was going to fully believe it. I’ll admit that I woke this morning with this ‘feeling’ that we we’re going to be given that diagnosis, but hearing it actually makes me sick to my stomach.

I asked what do we do next? His only response was MRI in 6 months. I didn’t have it in me to ask him any more questions. So that’s all the information I have. I guess I have the feeling that because he is such a confident surgeon (he IS the best there is) that he is certain he has completely removed the tumor and therefore maybe chemo/radiation won’t be needed unless it would show up on a future MRI.

We will have her stitches removed tomorrow in IA City and we should get to talk with his nurse. Trust me, that’s when we’ll be asking tons of questions!

On a good note, Abby is doing wonderfully! She amazes us a little more every day! You can see how much more confident she is with herself as well. She is walking better and definitely using her left side now without much hesitation. Her right facial muscles are also much stronger (probably from all the eating she is doing!). The meds she is on are making her hungry as well as making her hair grow very fast. She has a beautiful head and it’s as if we can see her hair growing overnight!

We are so proud of her. She has taken this whole life situation and placed it in God’s hands. Her faith rests in that He will always ‘be there’ and give her all the protection, strength and love that she will ever need. As for Mike and I…..”His grace still amazes me, His love is still a mystery, each day I fall on my knees ’cause His grace still amazes me, His grace still amazes me!”

***************

(April 15, 2008 at 03:57 PM CDT)

It’s so good to be home! Abby slept soundly through the whole night. I let Ryan sleep in this morning and when he woke up he said, “I’m all better now!”. Since Ryan was late for school, I had to take everyone with me when I took him to school.

As we were coming up to the school, Abby saw some of the kids outside. She started saying their names and then said, “I remember all their names!”. I can’t believe this, but I let her go inside with us. (I’m being over protective right now because the last thing she needs to get is a fever, cough or sneeze. Just so you know, if you stop by to see us there is a bottle of hand sanitizer just inside the door……I told you I was being protective! She was greeted at school by her principal, staff and teachers. The last time some of them saw her was on Wednesday and she wasn’t doing well that day, so it was probably good for them to see how well she’s doing now. We had her best friend come out and see her. She said, “I missed seeing Delilah’s smile!”. When we got back home she was tired but asking to eat!

We will call Dr. Menezes’ office on Thursday and hopefully her pathology report will be back. If so, we will probably be heading back over to Iowa City on Friday to get her stitches out and hear the pathology report. If it’s not back yet, we will have to wait until next week. Please be in prayer about that. I just want this to be over for her so much. This is another one of those times that Abby would probably use her ‘agony’ word for me again.

Abby and I laid down and took a nap together this afternoon. It was wonderful! (Sorry to those of you that tried to call, but I turned the ringer off ! When we were laying down together Abby asked me, “Mom, what if I have cancer?”…..sigh….. That is not a question that I thought one of my children would ever be asking me. ~Jackie

***************

(Posted April 14, 2008 at 12:32 PM CDT)

Abby is getting released to go home today!!!!!

She slept well last night and has done very well this morning. She had a little breakfast, bath, a visit from Raegan and occupational and physical therapy already.

Dr. Kung came and asked her if she wanted to go home? She said, “Yep, I’m ready to go!” She’s changing back into her Iowa Hawkeye scrubs to wear home. We are going to go try and find Nurse Liz before we go and give her a picture that Abby drew (and say “sorry” for calling her mean). Kathleen will come in and change the dressing over her stitches one more time. Then it’s just a matter of packing up all the stuff that she collected during her hospital stay. Nurse Julie thought that we should open Abby’s room up as a gift shop and try to make a little $ and sell some of it before we go!

We got a call saying that the kids at home aren’t feeling the best. Be in prayer about that! The last thing we want her to do is catch some sort of ‘bug’ now.

Once we get her adjusted to being back at home we’ll let you all know when visitors are ok to start coming. We should probably take it a bit gradual so she doesn’t get overwhelmed.

(Abby wants me to add that she wasn’t up to the idea of having a gift shop in her room….she loves all her stuff!! She also likes her hair. She doesn’t have to worry about a part, hairspray or braiding it!)

~ Psalm 66:5 “Come and see what God has done; He is awesome in His deeds toward the children of man.” ~

***************
(Posted April 13, 2008 at 7:31 PM CDT)

I was awaken this morning by a little girl who appeared to be like the Abby that I used to know! She has come so far!

Nurse Julie was pleased with her fluid intake and so out came the IV! Abby immediately wanted to go for a walk…..finally free from Ivy. (that’s what her IV pole became known as We headed down to look at the doll houses again. Then into the wheelchair and over to the gift shop. We were thinking that she was due for a bath and so she thought she needed a new outfit to put on afterwards.

Once back to her room she was greeted by non-other than that Big Gorilla Guy again! This time he had a great story to read to her that he had written. We tried to scare Nurse Julie with the gorilla outfit. She just thought it was some crazy man and wondered about calling security!

Lunch came and she ate some with everything staying down!! Visitors came this afternoon and we found that Wii to play. Reagan the little girl across the hall came over for a visit. I’m certain that her and Abby will become fast friends. They are hopeful to go home tomorrow as well. Dr. Menezes is also her doctor and has been for the past 9 years.

Abby was sitting in bed resting from her active day and all of a sudden says, “Boy, a McDonalds cheeseburger sounds really good!” What?! Are you kidding?! Then comes the “Please daddy!” with a pouty lip and puppydog eyes. You’ll never believe this but she ate all of her cheesburger and about 1/2 of dads!

We are hoping to see Dr. Menezes in the morning tomorrow and will know then if he let’s her go home. It’s looking good! Nurse Julie just came in to say good bye. She said the sweetest thing to Abby, “It’s time to go home now, and be a little girl!” Sounds like the perfect plan to me! ~Jackie

****I was just getting ready to post this when Dr. M walked in the door! He was very pleased with her progress and thought that she would probably be able to go home tomorrow! He as a couple of surgeries tomorrow but will stop back and see her between cases before officially releasing her. We’ll post as soon as we know for certain, but it’s looking good!****

***************
(Posted April 12, 2008 at 9:09 PM CDT)

Another good nights sleep last night. Abby only got sick once during the night. She was happy this morning. She didn’t eat anything for breakfast, but the Logemann’s came to see her mid-morning and brought Oreo pie and fociacca bread (a tradition that Mrs. Logemann always makes it for Abby and Brooke). She had a little of both and liked it!

Julie our nurse made a “deal” with Abby that she needed to drink 32 ounces of Gatorade (thanks grams) during her 9 hour shift and maybe they could take her IV out. She drank about 1/2 of it! That’s really good but not good enough to get that IV out.

While Mike and I stepped out to get a snack this afternoon, Dr. Kung came around to remove the dressing over her stitches. I guess she told him “NO!” When we came back, Dr. Menezes showed up and said “What’s this I hear that you told Dr. Kung NO? You just wanted me to come do it didn’t you?” She smiled a HUGE smile and nodded to him. She just loves him and trusts him so much.
(If you look at the pictures she has hair some hair! That is because they don’t razor shave it due to the potential for nicks and infection, but just clip it really close.)

She walked down to the playroom today and did a craft and played games with some ROTC boys! Then Physical Therapy came by and had her doing some different things. I especially wanted her to try stairs since we have some at home. She did terrific! I can tell that her dizziness has lessened quite a bit and I think that makes her more confident. After P.T. left she was exhausted! So Abby and I layed down together for a nap. (I’ll never forget that Thursday afternoon was the first day she asked me to lay next to her since her surgery.)

Vivian came and took me out for supper tonight. She originally had planned for us to get pedicures, but I don’t think that I had any lunch so food took precedence over toes! It was good to breath in some fresh air. Thanks Vivian! Since I was gone, Mike and Abby had a father-daughter date night. They went and looked at miniture doll houses and then had supper together. Abby ate 1/2 a chicken strip, grapes and tortilla chips! Woo-hoo! Woo-hoo! Woo-hoo! (Keep in mind the “bucket” was close by her side, but so far so good!)

Tomorrow we are going to go visit another one of Dr. Menezes patients that is just down the hall and daddy thinks we need to figure out where they are hiding the Wii at. Keep praying that by Monday she will be where she needs to be in order for Dr. Menezes to send her home. I have been very comfortable with his judgement on how she is doing and am certain that he will let her go when he knows she’s ready. And that’s when we’ll know she’s ready as well.

Much love to all of you! Jackie

***************
(Posted April 11, 2008 at 6:50 PM CDT)

Dr. Menezes came in about an hour ago. She was sitting in the recliner surfing the net. She asked him if he wanted to see her walk? He said, “Absolutely, that’s why I came to see you!” She walked over to him and then back to the recliner. He asked her how much she had eaten for lunch. She said grapes and two bites of a pbj sandwich. He said, “Are you on a diet?” He said that she would not be allowed to have her IV taken out until she ate and drank more.

He said she will probably be able to go home on Monday. When a child takes this long to recover he tends to think there may still be some swelling in the brain and so he wants to continue to monitor her at least two more days.

We were so proud of her that we thought a visit to the Gift Shop with her choice of stuffed animal was earned! She walked out of the room to her wheelchair, sat down and then proceeded to throw-up those grapes and pbj bites. So much for the Hawkeye scrubs for pj’s tonight! We headed back into the room to get all cleaned up and when we were done she said, “Aren’t we going for our walk?” So we headed out again and this time the trip ended with a new brown stuffed puppy named “Huggly Dougly”!

They have orderd some kind of medicine that if she takes it right before she eats it will help settle her stomache and hopefully keep what she does eat down. We’re hopeful as we ordered french fries to try and entice her! You may think french fries, yuck to greasy, but realize we’ll be lucky if she eats even one or two.

I don’t think that I can say thanks enough for all of you that keep praying for her. Mike and I feel so loved to have so many people that care about our little girl. You MUST all know that you are a blessing to us! ~Jackie, Mike and Abby

***************
(Posted April 11, 2008 at 10:04 AM CDT)

We had a good night last night. The nurses and I made a “plan” to have her take her morphene and Tylenol w/codene at 10:00 p.m. in hopes that she would sleep. It worked! She was only up 3 times and she had one 4hr. stretch! (I’m probably being selfish for a moment, but that was really, really helpful for me!)

The best part of this morning is that when she up woke around 7:00 she said “Mommy, can I have some Lucky Charms?” Absolutely!!!!!

They came in and gave her, her morning meds. which unfortunately she then proptly threw up. So she’s had a washcloth bath, new sheets and new pj’s. We decided now was a good time to switch to her new Iowa Hawkeye pj scrubs that Aunt Jody and Grandma bought her. One tiny flaw….the top didn’t fit real well over all the dressings on her head so we had a bit of a “stuck” moment, but the nurses helped us pull through!

She is still weak, tired and having alot of head pain. Physical therapy will be around again today and we will try to have her walk a little. I requested that Ruth come as she seems to be able to make Abby do more than she thinks she can. No news on the pathology report yet, but Dr. Menezes hasn’t been by. Hopefully he will bring us some good news. I think that he will be pleased with her 4 bites of Lucky Charms! I know I am!

By the way, thanks for the many hospital cards! They brought us a “stack” of them this morning! I’m going to read some of them to her right now. I’m certain that they will encourage her! ~Jackie

***************
(Posted April 10, 2008 at 5:45 PM CDT)

She had a sleepless night last night. About every 20 minutes she would stir and need something. When morning came, of course, she was ready to sleep and all the nurses/doctors were ready to have her doing things! We got her sitting up in a chair for about two hours and Mike got her to take a few bites of orange sherbert. We waited all morning for Dr. Menezes to come in only to find out that he had a 10-12hr surgery going on! His head nurse came and checked in on her. She thought that even though she wasn’t really eating maybe a move to the pedicatric inpatient floor would be a good change of scenery and stimulate her to want to get moving and eating more.

So, here we are on the third floor! She was given a private room, which we’re really happy about! Physical Therapy put her in a wheelchair for the move down. She actually liked the ride! They made her walk into her room and she did pretty good. They also finally have taken out her 3 IV’s. She is still pretty swollen where they were, but I think now maybe she will start moving her limbs more. Oh, as soon as I typed that they are here to put another one back in! —by the way, she did great. She kept saying over and over “I’m brave, I’m brave!”

I’ve gotten her to eat 4 pieces of macaroni and 1 1/2 grapes! At this point we’ll still take anything! I should add that she did eat some of the whitey’s strawberry ice cream that Brookie brought her today and she said that it tasted good. So, she’s getting better!

If you’d like to send her a card. You can follow this link and they hospital will print it out and deliver it to her the next day.

Thank you to everyone for your many encouraging words and prayers. Thanks to the Mauseth’s, Carol, Aunt Jody and Grandma Lynda for helping with the kids. It’s comforting to know that they are being taken care of by you all. I’m certain because of your many prayers God is granting us grace, patience and strength as well as healing for Abby. ~Jackie

***************
(Posted April 09, 2008 at 10:13 PM CDT)

Good evening everyone~

She had a bit of a rough evening. Dr. Menezes came by again and is very unhappy with her lack of progress. He says that she should be much farther along by now. He is not liking that she won’t eat and that moving her so far has been difficult. He said that if she doesn’t start improving within the next 24 hours they will have to do a CAT scan. He as changed some of her meds up a bit hoping that will help.

The nurse that we have tonight has been a God-sent. After only seeing her work with Abby for a few minutes both Mike and I looked at each other and said “This woman is a mom!” She has made her get up and into the chair, all the while Abby being down right mad about it. She ordered a whole tray full of different Jello’s, puddings and broth. She actually got her to take 2 spoons of Jello! Believe me it took work! She finally told Abby that if she doesn’t eat that they WILL put a feeding tube down her nose. Abby looked up at her and said “Your mean!”

I’ve got to share this right now. Abby just woke up and asked for me. She said she needed to go potty and she actually asked nicely! Her nurse offered her some Sprite and she said that “Yes” she would take a few sips! PTL~I’m thankful for that “mean old nurse”!

Mike and I have been doing fine. As I sit here tonight I’m finally realizing how tired I really am. Mike has been at the hotel swimming with the boys and just brought me some supper. We will hopefully have a peaceful night and see how the morning goes.

As of right now, we’re thinking no visitors tomorrow would be the best route. She really needs to focus on getting over this hump and out of PICU. If that changes by the afternoon I will definitely post it.

***************
(Posted April 09, 2008 at 3:35 PM CDT)

Physical therapy came in today around 1:30. They made her sit up in bed and then move into a wheelchair. They wanted to keep her upright in the wheelchair for an hour. They said they wanted to push her around the PICU floor for awhile, thinking that getting her out of her room would be good. She HATED every minute of it! But, we did it anyway!

They have given her something for the tremendous amount of swelling that she had. She looks so much better in the face and hands today. She actually has a chin again!

She still hasn’t eaten anything yet. She is really tuckered out from being up. I think the second we put her back in bed she was asleep. We will try a few bites of a slushy the next time she stirs.

I imagine that she will remain in PICU tonight and we will see what the morning brings.

~Keep those prayers going up! God is answering! ~Jackie

***************
(Posted April 09, 2008 at 10:17 AM CDT)

Good morning~

Abby came down with a high fever last night so they quickly got her on antibiotics. She is doing better this morning. She was very grouchy and it was a struggle to get her to take her meds.

Dr. Menezes came in around 9:00. He made her take some deep breaths and blow on his hand. She would breath in or blow and he would say “Not acceptable Abby!” She hasn’t wanted to try and eat anything yet. He asked her what she would like to drink. She said “water” and once again his response was “Not acceptable!” She finally agreed to orange juice.

He also said that he wanted her to be sitting in a chair today. That’s all Mike needed to hear. As soon as Dr. M. left, Mike looked at the nurses and said “OK, let’s get her up!” Again, she was not very happy about it, but she’s in the chair now! PTL!

She will stay in PICU through the day and reevaluate maybe this afternoon. His main concern now seems to be that she is not wanting to eat anything. As gruff as he may seem, he is being very conservative/extra cautious with her care. And you know, I don’t care how bad his bedside manner is as long has he’s giving her the best care in the world!

Psalm 61:26 “When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.” (Thanks Jeanie for my verse for the day!)

***************
(Posted April 08, 2008 at 2:42 PM CDT)

Hi all~

Physical therapy just came in. They worked on slowly raising her bed level so that she was sitting upright. They even got her to turn and dangle her legs over the edge of the bed. She didn’t like it one bit!

We’ve gotten her to eat a few sips of melted orange popscicle.

Twice she said no to needing any more morphene…..then I realized she was saying that because it hurts so much when they give it to her in her IV. She just hates those IV’s! They have slowed the injection and so now she’s wanting the morphene again especially after just having P.T. move her.

We just love her so much. I think her little personality is still there, somewhere, behind all this medical “stuff”. ~Jackie

Psalm 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped. Therefor my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise Him. (Carlos’ verse for Abby)
***************
(Posted April 08, 2008 at 9:48 AM CDT)

By 10:00 p.m. Monday she started showing signs of bruising around they eye and becoming more and more swollen.

Around 2:00 a.m. Tuesday she was asking what day it is? When is Brooke coming? Is my hair all gone? Falling asleep between each question.

5:00 a.m. crying after IV meds. Saying “I want this to be over.” and asking for daddy again.

9:00 a.m. Dr. Menezes stopped in to check on her. He wants to try and have her sit up at least twice today to keep phenomia from setting in. He says she is whining and crabby. I told him that she has been complaining of alot of pain in her head on the right side. (He had given her a block after surgery that should have prevented pain for 12 hours) He said that she told him after surgery that her stitches were too tight and so he told her she didn’t have any stitches! He also said that her pain will really start to come in the days ahead.

She is sleeping peacefully now after more morphine. Grandpa and Grandma are going to sit with her while Mike and I go get some breakfast.

She’s a tough little thing and we are continuing to be thankful for a good surgery with the best surgeon! God has been faithful to us and has kept her safely in his arms. ~Jackie

***************
(Posted April 07, 2008 at 7:07 PM CDT)

Family and Friends~
We are in PICU now and she has been sleeping. The anesthesia is starting to wear off and she is talking off and on. She’s asked if all her hair is gone. She also started saying her states and capitals. Her hands are hurting where the IV’s are in and she is already complaining of her head hurting. Dr. Menezes came in to see her and said she is doing well.

The nurse just came in and asked about her head pain on a scale of 1 to 10. She said a 9. She has her own nurse that sits outside her door and continually monitors her. All the doctors and nurses so far have given her excellent care and are very compassionate.

Mike will stay at the Ronald McDonald House tonight and I have a nice little lounger to sleep in here in her room. They will wake her every one to two hours for vital monitoring and to make sure that she is doing things evenly on both right and left sides.

Thanks so much to everyone that was here with us today. I can’t even explain how comforting it was just knowing that you were sitting here with us. Sitting here with us for 9 hours! We appreciated it more that words can say.

To all of you back home and across the world that were praying for Abby, Thank you. We definitly felt your prayers!

One little medical update. The pathology that came back clear was on the matter that surrounded the tumor. Dr. Menezes noticed “fingers” extending from her tumor. He removed the tumor and then removed more of the surrounding area. The tumor itself will still be tested in layers to see if it is malignant or benign. We won’t have the results for 5 to 10 days yet. So, that’s still a matter for prayer.

I will continue to post more as we go along……….

~Jackie

***************
(Posted April 07, 2008 at 2:42 PM CDT)

Abby is out of surgery! Mike and Jackie are back with her in recovery now for the next hour or so. The surgeon was confident that he removed all of the tumor, along with a “safety margin”–which he sent to pathology and all came back normal. Abby will be in ICU for the next two days. Praise the Lord! Thank you for praying. More updates later! (Jeanie for Jackie)

***************
(Posted April 07, 2008 at 1:20 PM CDT)

At one o’clock they called to say that Dr. Menezes was starting to close. It will be 1 1/2 hours yet before he is completely done and comes to talk with us.

***************
(Posted April 07, 2008 at 10:25 AM CDT)

Well, we’re sitting in the surgery waiting area. The receptionist told us a few moments ago that Dr. Menezes has begun Abby’s surgery and that she is doing well. We are being kept company by family and friends, running on caffeine and adrenaline! Thank you so much for your prayers for Abby (and for us) today. Our God is good, and we know that Abby is in His healing hands. (Jeanie for Jackie)

****************

(Posted April 06, 2008 at 10:00 PM CDT)

hello,

I’m going to go to bed soon now. Everybody who came with us, (Mom’s sister and mom and my dad’s parents.)

Please continue to be praying for us while I go into my surgery at about 8 o’clock in the morning. Please also be praying for my parents as they are in absolute agony to see how I will be doing.

With Tons of Love,
Abby

***************

(Posted April 04, 2008 at 11:07 AM CDT)

Hi everyone! We wanted to post an update with some more specifics regarding Monday.

We will be going over to Iowa City on Sunday afternoon to spend the night. She is scheduled to be at the hospital by 6:00 a.m. From there she will have another MRI at 7:00 and then surgery at approx. 8:00. Surgery is expected to last 5 hours. She will be in PICU on Monday and Tuesday. They are expecting her to be in the hospital potentially 7 days not counting surgery day. It really depends on how well she is doing as to when she will be allowed to come home.

She is having to have another MRI (Stealth MRI) because Dr. Menezes didn’t get a clear mapping from her MRI on Wednesday. They aren’t giving us any indication as to what her pathology report will be. Dr. Menezes said that neither him nor radiology can say for certain. The pathology report could take 5-10 days before we get any results.

Thanks to everyone that has been keeping Abby preoccupied these last few days! It has been a blessing to keep her mind from being consumed by thinking of surgery. She had so much fun with her party at school. What a super teacher Ms. Watson is!

(p.s. For those coming on Monday, the surgical waiting room is located off of elevator H, 6th floor on the left.)