So this evenings neuro exam was so encouraging. They asked him yes or no questions (did he want his Bubby and blanket, was his head hurting, did he feel better after the new medicine, was he ready for nigh nigh) and he shook his head or nodded. Then they asked him to wiggle his toes, give a thumbs up and he did!!!
He is resting now and will continue to do so as we wait for the swelling to go down so he can get off the ventilator.
We are so thankful that our sweet Jesus loves him so!
Tag: judahfthacker
Specifics to Pray
Here are some specific ways you can be praying for Judah during surgery tomorrow (Thursday 7/11):
Judah goes into surgery clam and unafraid.
That his happy and hopeful spirit is protected in the face of pain and changes he can’t understand.
Pray against the depression he’s been suffering since he’s been stuck in a hospital bed for a week, and probably another week to come.
Surgeon and surgical team are well rested, alert, surrounded and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Anesthesia is precise and effective.
No long term residual side-effects to speech, breathing, swallowing mechanisms.
No cognitive damage.
No motor skills damage.
Majority of tumor comes out easily and without damaging surrounding tissue.
That the removal of tumor relieves Judah’s symptoms – apnea, nostagmus, facial paralysis, balance and coordination issues.
Swelling goes down quickly and the brain resumes normal flow of spinal fluid.
The tumor be very low grade/benign.
Judah resumes normal, unaided breathing quickly and maintains full control of his airway.
That the recovery team and nurses are both wise and kind.
As little pain as possible during recovery.
That the 5-8 hrs of waiting for Judah to come out of surgery be filled with a peace that only the Holy Spirit can give. That we will not be anxious or afraid but trust in God’s goodness.
For Wendi and I we’d ask prayer for strength for the days to come, hope in a glorious outcome, and faith that our sweet Jesus will provide what we need to get through this.
Judah’s Life verse and Matthew and I picked for him when he was born is
Psalm 91:14
Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him because he knows my name.
When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.
Judah’s surgery day: hr by hr
Below you will find a collection of updates and prayers from the day of Judah’s partial brain tumor resection:
We just got down to surgery holding. He says he’s so hungry. Then he told us what he wants us to order him when the nurse says he can eat. Bacon, strawberry yogurt, a banana, and a carton of milk. So sweet. He was so sad when we told him we couldn’t go with him into surgery. He said, I want you to be with me when they take the ball out. But our Sweet Jesus is going before us because he just fell asleep!
The nurses just came and wheeled him back to surgery. Surgery won’t actually start for an hr or so as they prep him. He stayed asleep for theist part, waking only when we kissed him and told him we loved him. Our God hears our prayers for peace and no fear for our little boy.
Started the surgery at 10:18am
Just got the call that they are opening his head now.
Just got an update. Vitals are good, working on the tumor. Everything is going fine.
Dr. Wellons just came out and told us he’s out of surgery! He said he did really well. They got most of the tumor in the 4 ventricle but were unable to get any of the tumor in/above he brain stem or spine. When they tried to get the tumor that was growing from the brain stem the 9 nerve reacted (swallowing) and the 12 nerve reacted (tongue). Shortly after, Judah’s heart rate jumped. That was their sign to stop.
Dr. Wellons said his goal was to ‘debulk’ the tumor, get the tissue to pathology, create paths for the spinal fluid, and cause minimal disruption to surrounding tissue. He said he met all those goals barring the part of the tumor growing out of the brain stem.
We are elated that this part of the journey is over and praising God for his steadfast love and faithfulness. He has shorn us up from the beginning and will continue to do so.
Please continue to pray:
That there are no residual side effects from the surgery
That when they wake him in a little bit, he will be able to move all of himself
That he will be able to control his breathing, swallowing, and speaking tomorrow
Thank you all!
Dr. Wellons said his goal was to ‘debulk’ the tumor, get the tissue to pathology, create paths for the spinal fluid, and cause minimal disruption to surrounding tissue. He said he met all those goals barring the part of the tumor growing out of the brain stem.
We are elated that this part of the journey is over and praising God for his steadfast love and faithfulness. He has shorn us up from the beginning and will continue to do so.
Please continue to pray:
That there are no residual side effects from the surgery
That when they wake him in a little bit, he will be able to move all of himself
That he will be able to control his breathing, swallowing, and speaking tomorrow
Thank you all!
Little boy for God’s glory
We got up on Wednesday, July 3rd, to take Judah to his MRI. Our prayer was that the test would be clear and concise with definitive results giving us and the doctors direction to diagnosis and treat Judah. I was tense. Not because I thought they would find something but because anesthesia makes me nervous. So when the doctor came in 30 minutes into Judah’s scan and sat down, I knew we were about to be rocked to our core. He said, “There’s a tumor in his brain and it’s putting pressure on his brain and brain stem. We are going to move him to the PICU.” I fell apart.
In my heart, I screamed, PLEASE DON’T TAKE HIM FROM US! STOP!
Remember: My God is good AND my son has a terrible tumor in his head. These things are NOT mutually exclusive. My God is good and he will supply all my needs according to His great riches.
Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him for he shields them all day long and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders. Deuteronomy 33:12
The following are excerpts of the updates I’ve sent out to our amazing friends, family, and church:
7/4 It’s been a LONG day. We have a ways to go but we finally have some news. The neuro surgeon here at Children’s was just here and went over Judah’s MRI (from this morning) with us. He explained that the tumor is in the lower back of his brain, in a tear drop type shape, going down into the brain stem and possibly the spine. They couldn’t tell how far it went from this MRI they did today and said they will do another of the spine Friday morning to get a better look.He said the part of the tumor that is in the brain is pretty straight forward but the part going down into the brain stem and spine are more complex. He wouldn’t really say more than that. What he did say was that he thought the tumor is causing the apnea, coordination, and eye shakiness…So that’s something.We are in the PICU for the night and will more than likely move to “the floor” tomorrow if all goes well. They have him on iv steroids to reduce the pressure in his brain and that will hopefully reduce the symptoms. They will do the MRI of the spine Friday and said that if he looks good we can go home Saturday. Surgery will more than likely be early next week.Thank you all for your prayers, emails, and texts! We have felt God’s covering and are overwhelmed by the support y`all have shown us. Emotions are still raw and we are obviously nervous but trusting. We KNOW that God has this. That He is bigger than this tumor and that He has plans for Judah. We will trust in the the Lord and not be afraid! Is.12:2
7/5 After another long day of testing and scans we are finally laying down to rest. Judah’s swallow study came back normal so he is finally getting to eat and drink on his own! He ate enough for both of us at lunch and between complaining that his tummy hurt (because he had eaten too much)he begged for gummy bears. He’s been a trooper and we are so proud of him.Now the tougher part:The 2nd MRI showed that the tumor is also present on the C1 and C2 of his spine. This is much more complicated than we initially thought and are struggling with the decision of where/who should be removing this thing from our little boys head. We have had the blessing of my dad (general surgeon), my brother-in-law (OBGYN at Vandy), and my brother (pastor in Memphis) calling in favors with colleagues, friends, and friends of friends to get us second opinions at both Vandy and Le Bonheur. Both doors are open to us. This is where you all come in. PRAY FOR DIRECTION! We don’t want to do anything without God having a say first. We believe that God is living and speaking to his people so we ask that tonight and tomorrow morning you talk to God on Judah’s and our behalf. Where does God want Judah to be? And share it with us. We will be praying and seeking and reading His Word with you.To echo Tae, thank you for being a praying people!
Here is where I want to add in God’s favor for us. The details of the mountain moving that my family has accomplished can only be attributed to God’s amazing hand. My dad and brother-in-law drove the MRIs to Vanderbilt Friday afternoon to meet with a pediatric radiologist friend of Josh’s. He called his best friend, who happens to the head of pediatric neuro surgery at Vanderbilt, who called 2 other pediatric neuro surgeons and they all looked at the scans together. FAVOR. The surgeon said, “My goal is to give his parents back their son the same way he was before surgery. I will not do anything to detrimentally effect who Judah is. We will find another treatment plan if that is necessary.” I do not need to tell you what a relief that was to hear. So Matthew and I spent Friday night and the better part of Saturday praying, talking, reading His Word, praying more, reading your responses and praying into them, talking some more and during this time several things happened. First, Matthew felt an overwhelming peace that when choosing between Vanderbilt and Le Bonheur, there was no WRONG choice. That God’s plan was in motion and that HE would equip the surgeon to fulfill HIS plan. The pressure was off. Second, The events that occurred in the above paragraph. Most doctors don’t put themselves out for anyone, let alone total strangers. This was 4+ drs/surgeons, who were not working, on a Friday night, taking time away from their families, lives, holiday weekend plans, to spend 2 hrs with my Dad and brother-in-law looking over my son’s brain tumor and discussing it with heart. They wanted to give us back our son. This was the among the very few times over the last yr where someone who had the power to help him, made the effort, nay, wanted to help him. As a mom, it was almost enough to make me load Judah in my car and drive him to Nashville myself!
Another email excerpt:
With the news that the tumor is in the brain on the brain stem and in the C1 & C2 we have decided to go to Vanderbilt.
Thank you to all who prayed for direction and then shared it with us!…We feel an amazing peace about our decision to transfer to Vandy.
The transfer will happen sometime tomorrow and the surgery is looking to be Wednesday or Thursday. When things are more certain, I will let you all know.The big prayers right now are:1) That the tumor will NOT grow any (and even shrink) until the surgery so no emergency actions have to be taken.2) That the transfer to Vanderbilt stays on schedule (which we have heard is near impossible), goes smoothly, that the “red tape” is minimal, that insurance pays for the transfer, and we get checked into Vanderbilt PICU before dinner. That Matthew and Judah stay calm on the ride from Children’s to Vandy.
Thank you for covering us in prayer. We feel it.
~The Thacker Family
The Holy Spirit has saturated us with his comfort and peace and though no one would ever want to be where we are, I am so grateful that the God of the universe is ALSO the the God who created my son precisely, gave him his precious voice and imagination, AND loves us so much that He gave up His son for mine. He loves Judah more than we do. He has plans we do not know and cannot understand. I do not know what will happen through all of this. What I do know with all my heart, is that MY GOD IS GOOD! He will empower us to get through this, whatever is to come.
I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. Isaiah 42:16