Surprises

Updated to add: James' procedure has been moved to 2:30 this afternoon. Please keep him in yours prayers for safekeeping, protection from infection/contamination and for a clear accurate test.

Well, the doctors said James did great during his procedure this afternoon. It took a little longer than we thought it would and when they came to get us, it seemed that things might not have gone as they thought they would.

They didn't.

To make a long story short, they (the pediatric gastroenterologist and his team, plus the surgeon involved) have reason to believe that last June, when James got his initial feeding tube, things moved around at just the wrong time and part of James' colon was caught in the cut where James G-tube was inserted into his stomach.

The more I ponder this possibility, the more sense it makes with some of the other 'evidence'.

In order to confirm this (or to rule it out), the plan is to do a contrast enema tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon around 3:30. I think there will also be some sort of a scope, but I am not certain of that (it's on my list of questions for the docs tomorrow morning). Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal, but for a child on chemo with low white counts and low neutrophils (things in our blood that indicate the ability of our body to fight off infection), it can be a risky procedure. The greatest risk for James is the risk of infection. In fact, if the doctor is right in his hypothesis, it is truly a miracle that James has had no infection as a result of this.

I am not certain what all will occur if they confirm this is indeed what has happened. I do believe it will require yet a separate surgical procedure to repair the damage, but I don't know just how invasive that will be.

Please pray:

1. for wisdom for me to clearly see and understand all I need to in order to be able to sign the consent form. Or to be able to express my concerns enough that some alternative test or procedure can be found.
2. for the continuing miracle of safety from infection for James.
3. wisdom and guidance for the doctors involved.
4. for strenghth and good health for the folks at home as they make the final push to pack and load for Friday's departure.
5. that God would be glorified in all this.

Thanks for bearing with me through all the typos and errors in the last post. Your notes, prayers and blessings continue to be a great encouragement to us.

Love, Stephanie