Surgery Day

We are on the road to CHOP as I write. We had a full day of co salutations and radiology studies on Monday, and all went smoothly. We spent the last two nights in New Jersey with Tom's siblings and their families, thankful for the chance to get away from the medical setting and catch up with everyone.

Even so, underlying all that we do on these "down" days is the knowledge that surgery day is right around the corner. We have seen God do amazing thongs in Lilly's life, and we completely trust Him to care for her in better ways than we can ask or imagine. Still, as we drive south this morning, the shift in Lilly's mood from carefree to pensive and anxious is palpable. It is hard to see her afraid...especially when we ourselves are feeling a bit of anxiety. So, now we focus on giving thanks and lifting her to Him in prayer.

Our show time today is 11:30am. Dr. Campbell plans to re-position one of her VEPTR rods that he discovered on Monday's CT had migrated a bit. That could explain the pain on her left side. But not the fevers. So he also plans to use a small instrument to test areas along her rods for infection. If he can find any small infected areas (nothing large shows up on MRI, ultrasound, or CT), he will open her in that spot and flush her out. If it seems that an entire piece of hardware is infected, he may opt to remove it for a time, re-implanting at a later date. So it's impossible to know how ling her surgery will last today or how lo g her recovery might be.

We are thankful for our families, friends, and church family in both Florida and our new church in VA lifting Lilly to our sovereign Lord this day. Also encouraging me today is reading about the awesome thongs God is doing for my friend, Sonia, and her family who are in the midst of adopting a little boy with a serious heart defect. If you could use a dose of encouragement and humor, I highly recommend her blog: http://cheaperbythehalfdozens.blogspot.com

God is good, gracious, sovereign, and mighty to save.