Rejoice!

When I spoke with Whitney a little after 12:30pm EST (forgive me for the delay in posting), Forester had already been moved out of PICU and into his room in the Pediatric Medical/Surgical Unit! Praise the Lord!!! The PICU nurses fell in love with Forester and bragged that he was the best patient they had had in years. His arterial line had been removed, and he and Pete were having some quiet father & son time. Forester made it through the night only on tylenol but did need a little morphine for the pain right before he changed rooms. Forester's new room overlooks the playroom, and hopefully, he will join the other children there in just a few days.

Although we're still waiting for the official MRI results, a close friend of the Bradburns in Radiology/Oncology looked at the films for them and said they look awesome! Whit said he was so excited by what he saw: a complete resection of the tumor!

Before you plan a visit to the hospital, please check the blog for additional information & details. Whitney & Pete need to find a place to meet visitors since they no longer have a waiting room nearby Forester's room. We don't want to overwhelm Forester with visitors in his room. Thank you all for your amazing expressions of love and support!

April

A New Day

A text from Whitney this morning:

"We slept. MRI was at 9:30 last night. No results yet. FJB (Forester James Bradburn) slept quietly through the night. Vitals are good. Praying all is well enough for him to move out of PICU today."

Praise God for sleep and good vitals! Believe with me that no MRI results yet = great MRI results!

April

Sleep well, sweet Bradburns

Whitney and Pete are at home with Micah and Slade, while Whitney's Dad (Pop) and Pete's Mom (Grandma) stay with Forester overnight. Please pray for peaceful and restorative sleep for everyone, so they wake renewed in the morning.

At some point tonight, Forester will have another MRI to confirm that the entire tumor - about the size of a golf ball! - was removed. If any part of the tumor remains, they will immediately take Forester back to surgery. Please pray that the MRI is clear!

Although Forester is on morphine and "out of it," he is responding well postoperatively. He will leave the PICU tomorrow afternoon if all continues to go so well!

Sleep well, sweet Bradburns!
April



Thank you, Father, for Forester. Thank you that he is fearfully and wonderfully made. Thank you for holding him and his family so lovingly in Your Hands. Thank you for using Your people to so clearly, so tenderly, so mercifully care for Forester and his family in their greatest time of need. May You be glorified and may Your sufficient grace and power be made known to all. In Jesus' name I pray.

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)