How it all began... a Whitney post!

What a week it's been. Last Sunday was our first night with Forester home from the hospital. He couldn't keep food down, he was very agitated, he would not talk much and he was crying out off and on. Stressful.

Two Sundays ago, we went to church and then to lunch. At lunch, we talked about Forester's appointment with the pediatrician the next day and how we were pretty sure his occasional severe, yet short-lived, headaches & random dizziness had to be related to blood sugar. He needed a glucose test. We needed to give him snacks throughout the day. Problem solved. That night we watched the Oscars while the kids slept. Just another normal day.

Monday morning I took Forester to his pediatrician and explained what was going on. A finger prick showed normal blood sugar. His doctor wanted a CT scan just to be safe (so we could rule out anything serious), but he believed he was just having childhood headaches. I remember asking him "A CT Scan? Should I freak out now or....?" He said "No, no, no... In the last twelve years, I have ordered so many CT scans, and I have only had one come back showing something. This is just to be safe." I was at peace with that. The CT scan was scheduled for 8:30am on Tuesday morning, and I wasn't nervous about it. I thought of it as a formality before we could move on. Pete had a business trip & had to fly out that morning, so my Dad (Pop) agreed to come with me and Forester to the CT scan in case Forester was scared of the machine. Forester wasn't afraid. He had Pop stay with him while they scanned him, and I waited just outside the door. I was also standing just outside the open door to the "reading room" where Forester's scans were coming up on a computer screen. I could see them...not in detail but I could see them. I heard the tech call the radiologist and tell him the scans were being sent. Then I heard her say, "Do you see that? Yeah. Okay, I'll put the family in a consultation room and tell them you're coming to talk to them." At that moment, my heart started to beat quickly, and I became nervous. Then, I told myself that maybe she meant, "Do you see that? That beautiful perfectly clear scan?" That's all it was, right? Right??? We had to wait about 5 minutes, and then some doctor pulled me and my dad into a room and said "So Forester has been having headaches?" And I said "yes". And he said, "Well, there is a mass....This tumor is why he's been having headaches." Then my whole body went numb. The doctor started talking about MRI's and neurosurgeons and surgery and moving quickly. He said he'd call our pediatrician and be right back and then we would get moving on the MRI. I broke down in my dad's arms. I couldn't believe this was happening. I called Pete and said, "Do not get on the plane! It's a tumor". Then, that doctor came back and told us to go home and our pediatrician would call us. I numbly said "okay," got Forester and headed to the car. At this point, I knew nothing else. I didn't know where the tumor was, how big it was, nothing. I drove home trying not to cry, and Forester kept asking me why I was taking him home instead of to school. I didn't really know. Then I got the call from our pediatricians (who are amazing by the way!) who said, "Whitney, this moment is going to change your life. Forester has to go into the hospital today...like as soon as they have a bed for him. This tumor is in the back of his head, and it's about 3 cm. An MRI needs to be done right away, and then he will be staying in the hospital." I couldn't really grasp it all - I still can't. But that day completely changed our lives. I woke up that morning thinking my son had low blood sugar. I went to bed that night knowing he had a cancerous brain tumor that would be operated on first thing the next morning, that he wouldn't be returning to school this year, that there would be radiation and chemo, and.... Our world turned upside down.

It's been an unbelievable two weeks. Our world has been rocked, but our foundation, the Lord Jesus Christ, has proved to be unshakable. God has been with us and our boy every step of the way and will continue to be. He has mighty plans for Forester. He will use this trial for His glory.

Please pray for us tomorrow as we meet with the oncologist who will give us the details of Forester's treatment. Please pray that they will NOT find any cancerous cells in the spinal fluid when they do the tap on Thursday. And of course, keep praying for our sweet Forester. That he will not be afraid and that he will know that God is with him and holding him every step of the way.

Thank you so much for all that you have done for us. The outpouring is amazing, and we are speechless. Truly. I keep saying it, but saying thank you just isn't enough!!



"Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken, nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord who has compassion on you."

Isaiah 54:10

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior."

Isaiah 43:2-3

Blessings to you all,
Whitney