Going to Bed

Biz is resting, Deb is sleeping on a fold out couch beside her, and I'm in a "sleeping closet," which is pretty much what it sounds like--a single bed in a closet on the 5th floor, with a lamp and an electrical outlet and no windows. You could fall asleep in here and never know when morning arrives. Given the events of this day, its a good thing I have a good alarm clock.
Good night, and thanks to everyone who has cared and prayed and loved and posted comments. And thank you, Jesus. You've done all of those, except post comments.
Today's surgery was only a battle in a war. It was a good battle, a victory, with prospects for success to follow, but Biz is still in need of prayer. We'll have radiation options to consider, constant follow-ups and check-ups, many incidental details to address. But for now, we've won a battle. We won't think about the other stuff today. We're going to bed.

Update 4:45pm PDT

Biz is out of surgery and she looks beautiful! They did not have to drop the upper jaw (YEAH!) and only one spot of the bone appeared to have any tumor. This was reconstructed with a titanium/plastic material and both doctors were quite impressed with how well it went. They had to cut one of the muscles controlling eye movement in order to do this, and double vision may result. Normally the brain compensates for this (an amazing Creator) but we'd rather not have it at all. There will be a need for radiation, as expected, and because this will impact the eye we need wisdom as we consider the options. So please pray for everything eye-related.
She is sleeping.

Things to Thank Jesus For

That God is good no matter what we go through or the outcomes. I thank God that we don't put faith in our faith (as so many charlatan preachers insist upon), but in our God, whom we can trust no matter the circumstance.
For my wife's insistence that something was not right about Biz's stuffy nose, despite the doctor's assurance that it was just allergies.
For Dr. Perkins, who, at a local doctors phone call, scheduled to see Biz the very next day and has fast-tracked this entire process.
For Dr. Moe, who has recently developed the procedure he will be using today which averted the need to cut away the jaw, cheek bone, and lower skull (He will actually cut behind the upper lip, behind her eye, and go through the nose--this was our first big answer to prayer).
That we live near one of the finest cancer research and pediatric care hospitals in the world, at this time of need in our lives. We could have been anywhere--who knew?
For a great recovery after yesterday's embolization. Biz was eating almost as soon as she woke up and got a great night of sleep last night.
For our good friends, the Silversteins, who have spoiled Biz (and us) beyond measure and who have opened their home to us--just 10 minutes from the hospital. This has been strengthening and encouraging. Fred is a retired doctor from this hospital system and helps us make sense of things.
For a good running car to get back and forth--our others are "questionable" (i.e. they're "island cars").
For special treatment and expressions of love from our church family and friends to Biz (and us). Lots of little gifts, and gift-giving is really meaningful to Biz.
For food and financial support of all kinds (money, ferry tickets, lunches and dinners, etc.).
For friends who have spread the word and maintained prayer support and networks.
For a day when maintaining communication like this is possible from a laptop in a waiting room. Imagine what that means for the advancements in medical technology.
More to come.

Update 2:15pm PDT

We've just been told that doctors have begun the reconstruction stage of surgery. That means two things: the tumor is out (!) and there are about 2 more hours to go.
Thank you for praying, and keep it up. Pray that her nausea will be kept to a minimum, as well as her pain, and that Dr. Moe, not only a specialist in skull base tumors but also a specialist in cranio-facial reconstruction, would be at peak performance even after so many hours of standing in the OR.

Dependent

Walking down the hallway of Children's Hospital I pass two displays--one with 384 names of people who have given substantial gifts and grants to the hospital, another with 330 names of people who have set up endowments for the hospital's on-going work. In fact, one whole wing of this place is named after Melinda Gates, for obvious reasons. In all of this I have seen God's mercies. Every name has been used by God to bless us, and especially Elizabeth. I found myself wishing that I could do the same for others, but the reality of my life circumstances is that I will never find a place on a notable donors list.
So I was thanking the Lord for these lists, for directing their hearts like a watercourse, and I learned a lesson: I am dependent upon Him to work through the resources of others. Big discovery, right? Well, it was the intensity of the discovery that was important for me. Never had I felt so dependent.
Our Lord gives each individual a certain set of resources--abilities, intellects, finances, time, personality, etc. But no one gets them all. We are in need of doctors who have sacrificed much to excel in their fields--I couldn't do surgery. We are dependent upon inventors who came up with technology--I don't understand radiation, upon teachers who brought everyone to the place of learning and interest--I was busy at another desk, and the list goes on.
While I was contemplating this (recognizing that some of my desire to contribute big money is a healthy dose of gratitude) I realized that some of my desire to contribute was that faulty, prideful desire to believe that my destiny is in my hands--I can buy the medicines, I can cause the hospital to function, I can work my way out of this. The thought of being dependent upon people who I can't control or manipulate, the thought that God has to do all of this without me...
Dependent is what we are and it's a scary place to be. But because of God's mercies, it's not nearly so dangerous as I imagine.

Beautiful Day

Biz went into surgery this morning at 8:30am with one more CT scan, much to the chagrin of Regence Blue Shield, I'm sure. Over the past week she's had a couple of surgeries designed to cut off the blood flow to the tumor, which has stopped about 70% of the blood flow. The other 30% is related to arteries that supply the eye, making blindness too great a risk, so they'll have to address this during the surgery itself.
Best case scenario we're looking at 5 hours, worst case they'll have to drop the upper jaw...about 8 hours or so. Our two doctors are exceedingly competent--Dr.'s Perkins and Moe (pray for them). If I was looking to doctors for my hope, I couldn't find much better. However, as we look to the Great Physician, Jesus, hope increases exponentially.
Some good friends, the Silversteins, bought Biz an iPod Touch (are kid's supposed to have better electronics than their parents?), which she said I could listen to during her surgery, as I am doing now (with frequent prayer breaks)--U2, Beautiful Day.

What's Next . . .

Tomorrow (10/31) surgery is scheduled to start at 8:30 am. The goal is to remove the entire tumor. Surgery should take 4 hours if all goes well.

After talking to the doctor, here are some things that Debbie mentioned to be praying for:

-That they would be able to easily get to the edges of the tumor, and thus remove it entirely.
-That there would be no swelling in her eye.
-That they won't need to do a blood transfusion.
-That they won't need to shave her head.
-Right now Elizabeth is experiencing some numbness in her face. The doctor's have said that that usually goes away after a while . . . pray that that will be the case.

Right now Elizabeth is being amazingly brave and has been so encouraging to those around her. At a time when it would be so easy to be self-centered, she is thinking of others, wanting to see those around her come to Christ. She is also very encouraged by and thankful for the kindness and support she has been receiving from all around her.

Thank you for your prayers. I will keep you updated as I know more.

A brief timeline . . .

I thought it would be a good idea to bring everyone up to date on what has happened so far. Here goes . . .

October 10th: Biopsy confirms that Elizabeth has a rare malignant tumor (esthesioneuroblastoma) on her face between her nose and her eye.

October 24th: Catscan shows that her neck and chest are clean - no cancer has spread to these areas.

October 26th: Doctors perform a procedure to embolize part of the area around the tumor. The procedure went very well, but the anesthesia and pain meds left Biz horribly sick.

October 30th: Second embolization performed, adequately embolizing the entire area. This time different anesthesia was used and Biz is now feeling great.

Welcome!

With a desire to help Tim and Deb in their communication efforts, I have set up this blog. This will be the place to come, for anyone who wants current information on Elizabeth's progress. For now, I (Andrea) will be posting updates. At some point Tim and Debbie may join in as well. For now, PLEASE be in prayer for this dear family. We are resting in His sovereignty and confident that He will be glorified.

Please feel free to post comments for Elizabeth and her family. They will be reading them and will be encouraged more than you can imagine!