Successful Surgery

Teague got out of surgery at about 3:30, so it took about 5 hours. The surgeon said that he was able to get all of the tumor that he could see, and that the initial frozen sample looks like ependymoma, a cancer that grew from the lining of the 4th ventricle in Teague's brain. It was attached to the brain stem, right on the part that controls swallowing, but we're optimistic that it was not damaged.

Because this tumor was keeping his CSF from draining properly, the doctor told us that he would have a tube coming out of Teague's head for a few days and gradually let the fluid drain the way it's supposed to, with a 50% chance that it wouldn't and he would need a permanent shunt. Good news: Teague came out of surgery with no tubes coming out of his head. Dr. Kestle said it looked like it was going to drain properly, so he sewed him up.We'll know in 3 - 4 days exactly what kind of cancer this is and we'll talk to an oncologist at that point to determine what kind of chemo we'll do for our little boy.

I know he has a long road of feeling sick and being pricked and prodded ahead of him, but I know that the Lord has watched over him and held him in his hands today. The results of this surgery are better than we expected. Teague needed no blood products, his hematocrit and all his vitals stayed steady throughout the procedure, and he came to so fast that they had to give him a little sedative before we could even get from the waiting room to the PICU because he was mad, wanted his mama, and was trying to climb out of the bed.He's got a big zipper up the back of his head, and he'll be very sore because they made an incision from the base of his neck to the middle of the back of his head, pulled the muscles apart, and cut a pumpkin-top out of the base of his skull so they could dig around in his brain.

Again, we thank our dear friends and family for all of your prayers. We know that our Heavenly Father has heard each one. Thank you for your fasting, your faith, your prayers, and your love. We feel every molecule of it.Must go check again on my toddler. He was having a little sleep, so I took advantage of the window of opportunity to update. All of our love and thanks.