Reunited!

Pete & Whitney saw Forester in the PICU. He did not have a breathing tube (yay!), but it was still really hard. The poor little guy was vomiting. He's resting now.

April

Forester is out of surgery!

Whitney & I spoke just a little while ago. Forester's surgery went well, and he is now in recovery. Praise the Lord that the surgeons were able to remove the entire tumor!!!

In about an hour, Pete & Whitney will see him in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Please pray that this time goes quickly for them but that the Lord uses it to strengthen them and build them up for what lies ahead. As you can imagine, it will be incredibly difficult for them to see Forester with a breathing tube and hooked up to all sorts of machines. He will likely be "out of it" for the rest of today. When he does wake up, however, he will begin to face a life that is vastly different from the one he's known. Whitney specifically requested prayers for Forester's comfort and for peace for him as he begins to understand what his future holds. Pray too that the Lord gives Pete & Whitney wisdom as they explain to their 7 year old child why he must stay in the hospital for a week, what chemotherapy and radiation are and why he must have them, why he cannot go back to school, etc, etc.

Although they will not know definitively until Friday at the earliest, it still appears that Forester has medulloblastoma, the most common form of malignant brain tumors in children. Praise the Lord, though, that he falls into the "average risk" rather than "high risk" category! (The following website provides some basic information about medulloblastoma. http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site1286/mainpageS1286P0.html)

Following his hospital stay, Forester will go home to rest and recover for a few weeks before he has a spinal tap and then begins chemotherapy and radiation. The spinal tap will help determine whether he has any abnormal cells in his spinal fluid. Because the MRI indicated no tumors in his spine, it is most likely that his spinal fluid will also be clear. Please pray that this is so. It is at this time that Forester will also receive the port for radiation.

Micah is having a wonderful time with friends and remains unaffected so far. Please pray that the Lord protects both Micah's and Forester's hearts and childhoods.

The Lord has showered this family with His blessings and mercies through prayers and the lovingkindness of so many friends and family members. Pete & Whitney have been surrounded by those who love them (and lots & lots of food) at the hospital today. Thank you all for your outpouring of love and support!!! What a blessing you are! Please keep those prayers coming! (And, if you visit them at the hospital, please make sure Whitney keeps eating for me!)

Love to all of you in Jesus' name!
April

Surgery Update

Hi again! I spoke to Whitney at about 12:20pm EST. She & Pete had just received word that the surgeons were closing Forester up and that everything had gone as planned. Hopefully, he will be in recovery soon. As soon as Whitney & Pete talk with the surgeons and get more details, I will pass them on to you.

Praise God for He is good ALL of the time!

Keep praying against complications and side effects from the surgery too.

Thanks again and love to all!
April

Forester update from Tuesday night

Hi everyone! I talked to Whitney tonight. All things considered, she sounded good. She said God has obviously been with them in so many ways today. They all have a long road ahead of them, but they know the Lord will walk with them every step of the way. Here's what I know:

-The MRI showed only the tumor they originally saw on the CT scan. Praise God that Forester's spinal cord was completely clear!
-Forester will be taken from his room at 6:45am for a 7:30am surgery.
-The surgery itself will last 4-5 hours, and he will be away from Pete and Whitney for about 7 hours.
-From the scans, the doctors do believe they will be able to remove the entire tumor. Please pray that this is true.
-He will be in ICU for a few days following surgery and in the hospital for at least a week.
-He will need to have both radiation and chemotherapy, and the full treatment will last about 8 months. No more school for Forester this year.
-If he does not have radiation & chemotherapy, there is a 70% chance the tumor will come back. If he does complete the treatment, there is a 70-80% chance it will NOT.
-He may have a temporary (any where from a day to a year) loss of speech, coordination, etc from the surgery itself since the tumor is in the cerebellum.
-He also may have side effects from the radiation, including cancer in another part of his body. Please pray against all side effects!
-There is a very, very small chance that this is actually another type of tumor that would not require radiation and chemotherapy. Please pray that the doctors are surprised to find out that he does not have medulloblastoma after all!
-Please pray for peace and strength for all of them and that they rest in the Lord's presence in truly supernatural ways.

Thank you!!!
April

She's Here!

I know I'm 5 weeks late on this announcement but with surgery recovery, a newborn, Christmas shopping and festivities, and no sleep, updating the blog fell pretty low on my to-do list!

Slade Katherine Bradburn

was born on December 1st 2008 at 12:54 pm

weighing 9lbs, 2oz. and 20 1/2 inches.

Everything went perfectly and we are completely smitten with our daughter. So far, she has been quite an easy baby. She is very quiet - only crying when hungry or needing some snuggle time. She is a good sleeper and is even doing 5 hour stretches at night on occasion! She has just begun to smile in the last week or so - precious! I can't believe how quickly she's growing and changing.

I am feeling pretty good these days. The first week was pretty rough as I was suffering pretty severely from postpartum depression. I had this with my other two but it was worse this time around. If you've read my blog for long, you know I suffer from clinical depression already and take medications for it. I was able to up the dose on my medication and started to feel better. But for those who have never experienced this, it's so miserable! I had forgotten just how bad it is to feel so bad. I couldn't eat, sleep, I was crying constantly and completely overwhelmed by the simplest tasks, like taking a shower. Thank you Lord for medicine!! And, I am so fortunate to live close to family. My mom came over everyday for the first 2 weeks, helping me and the boys. I don't think I could have gotten through without her. Pete has also been an incredible dad. He's really taken over getting the boys ready for school - making lunches and helping with homework, & putting the boys to bed. It has helped the transition to becoming a mother of 3 much easier. I am blessed with an AMAZING husband!! Thankfully, because of the holidays Pete hasn't had to travel at all since Slade was born. He does have a trip next week but Slade will be 6 weeks old, I'm all healed up, and getting a little rest. I think I'm up for the challenge.

Forester and Micah have been so sweet with their new sister. Forester is very gentle and concerned. Micah is very loving and excited which translates into squeezing a little too hard and being a bit too loud and in her face. (hee hee) He's learning though and his enthusiasm for her is adorable to watch.

Overall, we are amazed that God has blessed us so generously with 3 beautiful children. All parents wonder how you could love another child as much as your first or second but it just instantly happens. I can't imagine my life without my sweet Slade! Thank you Lord!!

Slade(4 days old) & cousin Jack(3 mths)

Hopefully I'll be back soon with more pictures, videos and stories of our wonderful journey as a family of five!

**Shout out to Randel Hambrick who guessed Slade's weight exactly!! You've won bragging rights my friend!! :o)

It's almost time....

So, the countdown to Christmas begins... Do you remember doing this as a child? Opening each day on the advent calender and thinking we're one day closer to Christmas? Growing up in a Methodist church we also had an advent wreath. Each Sunday another candle was lit on the advent wreath...another sign that Christmas was closer! When Christmas Eve came, my brother and sister and I always had a hard time sleeping. Our mom would make us a glass of warm milk or sleepytime tea to help us fall asleep because we were so excited. I don't think it helped - the anticipation was too great! We couldn't stop thinking about what the morning would bring us! Well, we were never disppointed, and our expectations were usually exceeded. I have wonderful memories of Christmas as a child. It is such a joy to be on the other side now and watch the same excitement in my own children about getting out the decorations, doing the advent wreath and counting down the days. I've been reminded frequently of these memories and feelings because Christmas is coming early for me this year. Our baby girl will be born in 2 days. I have found I have felt the same antcipation, the counting down of the days, and the sleepless nights as I did when I was a child waiting on Christmas. But this is so much bigger - and the countdown started much earlier!! Although I have 2 children and have gone through this before, we had a harder time conceiving this child and she has been wanted for a very long time. Could we really FINALLY be just 2 days away?? It's so exciting!!!!!!! I'm going to have to drink warm milk or sleeptime time tea the next few nights.

Though I am blogging about the anticipation of gifts/gift, our family knows that "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:16-18 Though our family has lots of fun at Christmas time we celebrate in every way the true meaning of Christmas in all of our festivities. The birth of Christ our Savior. A few years ago, I was told about a wonderful book that I recommend. It's called "The AVENTure in Christmas" by Lisa Whelchel. It shares the stories and biblical meaning behind each of our Christmas traditions from decorating the tree to baking cookies. It's wonderful in incorporating Christ into every aspect of the holiday celebrations. My prayer is that your family is making wonderful and fun Christ-filled memories this Christmas, full of excitement and anticipation! Merry Christmas!

(My next post will be a birth announcement! Yippee, yippee, Yay!! Yay! I'd better go warm some milk...)

Forester's 7th Birthday

I am a couple weeks behind on posting this, mainly because I didn't get very good pictures and was going to get some from my mom. But, I may never actually get around to doing that so, it's now or never.
Forester had a Bionicle theme for his party. Know what a Bionicle is? I hardly do either. They are made by Legos and they are these alien looking things that have to be put together and they are all the rage with boys these days. Forester received 4 new Bionicles for his birthday and it "was the best birthday ever!". He also wanted a pet turtle. After some investigating it turns out turtles are pretty germy and disgusting and very expensive to take care of. So, we opted for "Sunny" the hamster instead. So far, she's very cute and well behaved and is probably more my pet than the kids since I keep after her. Oh well, I don't mind!
We had a kids party here at the house just to play in the backyard and let me tell you, it was total chaos! I think there were 11 kids and some parents and...my house and yard never felt so small. Things were crazy! I'm never doing that again. Hosting kid birthdays is never fun for me. And doing it somewhere other than your house or park is SO expensive! We just can't afford it. The whole thing just stresses me out! I think I'll go back to family only parties from now on. What about you? Are you like me or maybe the opposite? Do you enjoy planning the parties every year?

Slade On the Move

Here is a short video of Slade moving around a bit. She moves around a lot! Hard to see from a camcorder due to lighting and angle so I put a remote control on my belly. Enjoy!