Recovery Period

Well, we have been home since Friday. We were so glad that we were able to go home! The discharging from the hospital was not so great. Cade had several things that needed to be removed before we left and they were all taped/glued to his skin. So that part was not fun. Other than that we have been home recovering. Chris' mom is in town and she has been so helpful!

We have run into a few setbacks while at home. Cade's eye has been bleeding since surgery, not profusely, but just bleeding. The patch over his eye became quite full yesterday so we had to visit the doctor today. The bleeding was running some, so we needed to get the patch changed. It was not a very pleasant visit to say the least. At this point, Cade is DONE! He is sooooo DONE WITH EVERYTHING...DOCTORS, HOSPITALS, TAPE, IV'S, ETC. So it was very traumatic for him to be held down today as they removed the patch and worked on him in the office.

I say all this for you to lift him up in your prayers. If the bleeding does not stop by Thursday of this week, they will have to go back in via surgery to stop the bleeding. This momma cannot take another surgery right now. So we are consistently praying that the Lord will intervene and stop the bleeding.

You know I have heard growing up in church "the Lord will never give you more than you can handle.." You know what, I don't believe that one bit. I believe He does give us more than we can handle because it is at that point that we need HIM the most and at that point we draw closer to HIM! It is during that time that we can find strength in HIM and find rest in HIM. I heard a song on the radio this week that pretty much sums up my feelings in the last few days, "when my strength is gone, You are mighty and strong, You keep holding, keep holding on!" It is in HIS presence that I find rest and strength! I will continue to cling to that fact and trust that HE is the GREAT PHYSICIAN!!

Update on Cade

It is 11:40 and our "warrior" is sleeping very peacefully in the intensive care unit. The surgery was very successful and we are VERY thankful for all of your prayers. Cade was scheduled to have surgery today at 1:45, but because of a backup in the O.R. he did not go into surgery until 4. Keep in mind he was not allowed to eat all day. Our little man did not mention food or drink all day! That is unbelievable to me, but so God!!
He took it like a strong little boy and we are amazed at the strength the Lord gave him!!
They were able to remove a good portion of the malformation from his eyelids. According to the doctors Cade now has what they call an AVM-arterial venous malformation. There is not much difference in how it has to be treated, but it just means that there are artery components as well as veins. The MRI showed that the flow of this AVM has changed and now leads into the lid area which is why it has been so bulky in the last few months. The good news is that it is flowing toward the eyelids and not the brain!! Praises!!!
There are many other technical pieces to the operation which I won't divulge, just because I am not sure what all the terminology actually means right now, and it's 12:00 and I am just pooped!
Thank ya'll for all of your prayers!! We are very thankful for each and everyone one of you!!!
Soli Deo Gloria!!!

Prayers Needed Again...

We are off to Vanderbilt Children's on Thursday the 22nd. Cade is scheduled is for another big procedure. It is similar to the one he had about a year ago. It is a very complex procedure with 2 doctors involved... Dr. Mericle and Dr. Mawn. We are not sure the length of the surgery, but the last took 7 hours. We are praying that the Lord will calm Cade as he enters the hospital on Thursday and that he will heal him quickly.
In this particular surgery they will remove more of the VM from his eyelids. Dr. Mericle will inject a glue-like substance into the eyelids which will harden the blood vessels. Dr. Mawn will then go in and remove what she can of the VM. Like I have stated in previous posts this is something that seems to be very complex and something Chris and I have come to believe will be a ongoing thing for Cade. I am not however completely sold on that fact, just because of how big of a God we serve and the power He has to completely heal Cade. I do believe that whole-heartedly!!!
If you will please lift up these two doctors on Thursday...pray for a calmness for Cade and that he does not get upset not having eaten all day(surgery is scheduled for 1:45-no food all day!), pray for a full recovery, and for this momma's heart!
I will update through facebook on Thursday and maybe some through the blog. Thank you again for all your prayers!!
Soli Deo Gloria-To God be the Glory!

love you all!!

SeaWorld

The second part of our vacation was spent in Orlando. We took Cade to SeaWorld. He had a blast. We got there pretty early and just in time for the dolphin and bird show. Cade was mesmerized. Birds flew through the crowd and were so low that we thought they would hit our heads. So neat! Between shows we went to see all of the animal encounters...sea turtles, sharks, flamingos, sea lions, manatees, etc. We went to the sea lion and otter show too. It was funny and Cade enjoyed it. They had a stingray encounter where you could touch all of the stingrays. Cade would not go near the water. He was not that impressed and I couldn't make myself touch them either. He loved the dolphin encounter! We viewed them from underneath the tank as well. Of all the animals there, he hasn't stopped talking about the dolphins. He loved them!!!!
The last show we went to was the Shamu "Believe" show. I have always loved this show and amazed at the enormity of these animals. Incredible! It was an amazing show, but no trainer ever entered the water with the animals. I was guessing it was because of the death of one of the trainers last year at this park. Cade liked the show, but I think he could have watched the dolphin one all day.
By the end of the day we were all pooped!! We went back to the hotel and went for a swim.

We also happened to be about 20 minutes from Gwen who was in the Orlando area for Jeremiah's national championship game. They played teams from all over the nation and the championship game was Saturday. We drove over to watch Team 147 play and they won! On top of that Jeremiah won MVP. You have to remember, Jeremiah was like our own son when he was a baby. We practically help raise him and always took him places, so it was neat to get to watch him play. He is now 11. Crazy!! Another "extra" about going to watch him play was that Shaq was there. He was walking in the door as we were walking out. Jeremiah played his son's team earlier in the week and beat them. So of course I got a pic of him..Man, he is HUGE!

We headed to Madeira Beach that afternoon for the week with my parents. More on that later..

Satellite Beach..

We have spent the last few days in Satellite Beach, Florida visiting Chris' Aunt Cathy. It is gorgeous down here and they live practically 3 minutes from the beach. We went to the beach yesterday and it is quite different from the gulf. The water is FREEZING and the waves are huge, which would explain why Cade wouldn't go near the water..Anyhoo, we have had a relaxing few days. Today we visited the marina so Cade could see the boats and huge manatees. It was a treat for all of us to see the manatees. So neat! Tomorrow we are headed to SeaWorld. Hoping the rain holds off for us and that Cade has the time of his life! To say it is HOT down here is an understatement..We have stayed cool thanks to Aunt Cathy's pool!!