Dear
Prayer Warriors,
As I stood outside waiting to get on
the car to go visit Lydia, I watched as the snow drifted down, sparkling,
rendering the ground completely white. Many thoughts ran through my head, and
disappointment and a feeling of the weariness and the inevitable rushed through
me. No 9-year-old girl should have to go through this. No family should
have to go through what we are going through. No little girl should have to be
told for the 3rd time, that she has yet another tumor in her brain.
Yet it doesn’t keep it from happening…
Although today was a snow day, my sisters and I didn’t have a chance to
go play in the snow. Yet, I found out that Lydia did. While I talked to my mom
on the phone, I heard Lydia chattering in the back. When my mom put her on the
phone, she told me how she was making a snowman. Although I couldn’t see her, I
could picture the happy smile that must have graced her face while she sat in
an ambulance playing with snow. She told me how Mommy had scooped a bucket of
snow into the ambulance for her to play with. I smiled and laughed as she
described her experience. It’s amazing how a little enjoyment, like snow,
sprinkled on her life, can make her life sparkle.
Throughout the last few weeks, Lydia
has been experiencing continuous headaches. Although we knew that there was
some tumor residue, the seriousness of the headaches still seemed out of the
ordinary. Last Wednesday, Lydia took a CT scan, and the doctors found a little
swelling in her brain, brushed it off as just a post-surgery reaction, and
after some treatment of her symptoms, sent her home over the weekend. My mom
disagreed. She wanted a MRI done. As you may well know, yesterday, Lydia was
readmitted to the hospital after the continuance of her headaches over the
weekend. At my mom’s insistence, a MRI was taken today. We were also informed
of the results today.
Lydia has yet another tumor in her
brain. The little “headache” in her brain has rapidly grown into a problem. A
1.3 x 1.4 x 1.5 cm problem. The doctors had not seen the tumor in the previous
CT scans and MRI. This tumor is potentially quite dangerous. It is almost too
large to simply be reduced by radiation. Therefore, today the doctor discussed
the possibility of increasing Lydia’s dose of radiation. However, the dose can
not be too large for fear of Lydia’s body not being able to handle it. Yet, if
the radiation isn’t strong enough to stop the rapid growth of the tumor…
We ask you to pray that the doctors
may have wisdom and good judgement in determining the amount of radiation that
Lydia will receive. Also, please pray that we may discover the most effective
pain medication and the proper dosage amount. Without finding out the
medication that is most able in controlling her pain, Lydia can not return
home. In addition, pain medication has many possible side effects including
drowsiness and constipation. Please pray that a pain medication can be found
that minimizes these effects as much as
possible.
On a cheerier note, when my sisters
and I visited Lydia today, we found her in good spirits. She seemed the same
spunky, peppy girl that I had known for all her life. Although, she often
complained of a headache, the time I spent with her was valuable and enjoyable.
Like a little girl who had finished an art project at school, Lydia excitedly
showed us the art projects that she had made in the activity room today. They
were masterpieces full of color and sparkles. Each one was unique and
wonderful. However, the one that struck me the most was a little bag that Lydia
had decorated. On it, Lydia had used foam letters to spell out all 4 of our
names. Each of our names was spelled out in letters that were our favorite
colors. Esther in blue, Deborah in green, Lydia in red, and Priscilla in
purple. It struck me that here Lydia was, in a life-changing situation that
most will never experience, and all that she could do was think of us, her
sisters. What a girl!
On the way home, my mom told me of one
of Lydia’s current desires. Lydia hoped to get out of the hospital before my
upcoming birthday. Why? She wanted to get me a birthday present. Incredible…yet
again, Lydia shows the willingness to spread happiness to all those she loves.
Despite the pain and suffering she feels, she has enough love to spare for all
of her family.
Please continue to pray that Lydia’s
high spirits may carry through for the next weeks and months. Also, pray that
no matter how uncomfortable she is, that she will remember how much she is
loved, and how much her Heavenly Daddy loves her. And that when all else fades
away, it will be Him that will be there holding her hand, carrying her, and
whispering in her ear, “I love you, everything will be ok, I know how
everything will go…”
With
love,
Esther