You Never Know What The Day Will Bring…

Hey Everybody,

Whew!  What a busy, two and a half days we have had!  So sorry I am just now finally getting around to composing a note to all of you to give you an update on Sam!  I’ve been without a computer (gasp!) until today when I ran hope to grab my laptop.  Thank goodness for the iphone as I’ve been able to keep in touch with most of you briefly over the past 48 hours or so.  Gotta love technology!  :)  Thank you all so much for reaching out to us!  We really appreciate it.

To catch you up to speed…Sam has been throwing up almost everyday for the past 10 days.  Not tons of throwing up…mostly feeling ill when he would wake up.  By the time he would come downstairs each morning to eat breakfast, he would stop in the bathroom, get sick and then join Jack at the breakfast bar for some toast, grapes and other goodies.  After he would get sick, he pretty much went on with his normal seven year old day…bike riding, playing with friends, slip ‘n slide, and finishing up the last few days of school before summer break (our last day was Thursday, May 28th).  Of course after two to three days of this, we took him to the doctor and one of the doctor’s at his practice thought maybe he wasn’t using the restroom as frequently as he should or was “backed up” so we started him on Meralax and had an xray taken of his abdomen.  The throwing up continued and so back we went to his pediatrician, this time seeing Dr. Miller, his regular pediatrician, who ordered stool samples, additional abdominal xrays and blood work, all of which came back normal.  A few more days of throwing up and more calls between Dr. Miller and myself when she felt it necessary to dig deeper and ordered a CAT scan ASAP.  Off to our local hospital we went on Friday late afternoon for the CAT scan and we waited around for the results.  Dr. Miller met us there too and when the results were ready (a very long 25 minutes!) she motioned me to the corner alone without Sam (Jere was with Jack)….well, I knew something must have been found.  She informed me that the CAT scan had shown a 3 cm growth at the base of his brain and was sending us to Riley Children’s Hospital for and MRI and to talk to some specialists immediately.

Jere and I took Sam along with our CAT scan film to Riley’s ER where we met with Dr. Boaz, a neurosurgeon.  He informed us that there was indeed a growth as well as a bit of fluid on his brain and wanted a closer look at the brain, as well as his spine, and ordered a MRI for Saturday.  After the 2 hr MRI (Sam did AWESOME!!) Dr. Boaz met with us to to discuss the results.  He said that Sam has an asymetrical tumor in the 4th ventricle of the brain. He was pleased that his spine seemed to be clean (hooray!) and that the tumor didn’t seem to have any “roots” or “branches” going off in different directions.  In other words, he thinks it is contained in one area.  He explained that Sam also had a bit of fluid on the brain and would also need a temporary drain inserted during surgery.  Why was Sam mostly feeling sick in the morning?  Dr. Boaz explained that while Sam would sleep, the fluid was almost “pooling” creating pressure while he was in the laying down position and then when he would wake and stand up in the morning, that would cause Sam to feel sick, and thus throw up.  Dr. Boaz guesses that the tumor has probably been there for a few months, but didn’t know for sure.

The four to five hour surgery is scheduled for tomorrow, Monday, June 1st, around noon.  Our stomach’s will be in knots as we wait as you could imagine.  We don’t have much of an appetite and even the smells of a McDonald’s cheeseburger and fries isn’t doing it for me these days (shocking, I know!)  Sam is in good spirits and is aware of what is going on.  He just wants to know if it will hurt.  Once the tumor is removed, we will have to wait about 5 days for the tumor to be sent to pathology.  Ugh!  More knotty stomachs!  They expect him to stay at the hospital about seven days after surgery to recover.

Oh, how we wish to be at home doing some laundry, cooking out, getting on the kids to tiddy their rooms and having a glass a wine.  Back to our normal.  (Yes…wine is a part of my normal!  HA!)  It’s amazing how you never know what the day will bring.  Life is full of surprises and even happy endings…and that is what we are praying for…a happy ending.

Thank you all again, SO MUCH, for all of your love, prayers and support.  We feel truly blessed to be surrounded by wonderful people who are so generous with their love and kind words for Sam and our family.  That’s what makes us teary eyed!  It’s been INCREDIBLE!  We will keep you posted on his surgery tomorrow while we wait and stare at each other for five hours.  (GEEZ!!!)

Love to you all!
Ery & Jere

PS….Just more random thoughts-you know how my brain works!  Thought I’d attach a few snapshots taken with our point and shoot camera from this weekend of Sam and what he’s been up to while waiting for his surgery.

1.  Where’s big brother Jack?

Having the time of his life at my cousin’s house hanging with his cousins.  I think he thinks he’s at camp!  And for those of you who have offered for him to come and stay or play…he’s looking at his calendar to see when he can come over!  HA!

Jack and Sam taking a walk around the hospital.  It gets boring in our room!  :)

Jack and Sam hanging out in Sam’s hospital bed before surgery.

2.  Sam was thrilled to have so many visitors today!

His cousins, friends, and babysitters came down to visit, have lunch and to give him lots of treats!  He was so happy!  And we were happy.  Even Father Phil came down and gave him the Anointing of the Sick.

Happy Meals as hats!

Cousins and friends come to visit!

A trip to the Riley gift shop.  Sam loved showing everyone around.

3.  What are those green circle things on Sam’s head in the picture?

They are puffy stickers that act as markers for the surgeon.  He attached them to his head before his MRI to act as reference points during his surgery.  We are calling them his “Apple Jack’s” or “Fruit Loops” because that is what they look like!

Mom and Sam snuggle in the hospital.

4.  Please pass this along to anyone that I might have missed, as I do not have all of my email addresses on my laptop.  Thanks!

Think that is it for now!  We will keep you posted.  Thank you again for your prayers…we need them!
Erica