MRI results were normal.........

Well, I guess we got good news from the surgeon today, although Erik didn't get to visit with the surgeon, as he got called to emergency surgery. The Nurse practitioner said the MRI results from Monday showed nothing is abnormal in his brain, so his head and face pain is still unexplained. They set up an  appointment with his facial pain Dr. at this same neurology clinic at Jefferson Hospital, for tomorrow. His name is Dr. Stiles and we do really like him. Please continue to pray for wisdom for this doctor and God's healing on Erik's body. (We would love for him to not be dependent on pain medication.) So, we continue to wait and trust God for direction. It's hard to see our child suffering, but we keep remembering and believing that our loving Lord is in control and that He has a plan in all of this.

Need prayer for Erik's unexplained head pain please....

Erik's post-surgery appointment with the surgeon, one week after the surgery went very well.  The post-surgery MRI looked good. The Dr. said he removed all of the tumor that was actually growing, so because of that he doesn't need to see Erik for a year. They will do another MRI then and check it every year just to make sure no cells are growing. So no radiation is needed! The Dr. said he was releasing him to do his normal activities with no restrictions.
Erik did very well for a couple of days, and was even up to being outside walking and being up and around and actually felt great with very little discomfort.
But by Thursday morning the 10th  he started having severe nerve pain in his face and throbbing head pain. By Friday it was unbearable and I/Laurie took him to the ER in Philadelphia per his surgeon's nurse's direction. They admitted him overnight,  and started another round of steroids for swelling which helped considerably, and sent him home. I was scheduled to fly back to Nebraska on the 13th, but we decided I should stay.  As the meds tapered off  midweek,the pain started again, not quite as severe, but still very painful. The surgeon is concerned and ordered yet another MRI, which was done yesterday, the 21st. He sees the surgeon tomorrow. I flew home last Saturday and Erik's roommates and Nate and Sharon and his other friends are helping him out. Nate and Donald will go with him to his appointment tomorrow.
We would greatly appreciate prayer for a proper diagnosis of the origin of his pain and wisdom in treating it, or if God would so choose, we know he could bring miraculous healing again.
We continue to place Erik in the loving hands of our wonderful heavenly Father and pray that He would be glorified.

ERIK IS HOME!!!!!

Is it hard to believe humanly, but we know that with God, all things are possible! We are so thankful for the literally hundreds of people who have prayed for Erik's successful surgery and quick healing. God has chosen to work miraculously in Erik's body and display His wonderful glory and mighty healing power. God gave Erik an extremely skilled surgeon(Dr. David Andrews), great hospital (Jefferson Neuroscience Hospital), and awesome nurses(David, Cortney, Heidi, Lori).  But He also brought quick healing and allowed no side effects of the surgery to Erik's body. We don't believe in accidents or good luck! God could have had another plan for Erik and not chosen to bring healing to him.   God uses everything we go through good or bad to reveal Himself to us and point us to His Son, Jesus Christ.  Erik and our entire family trust fully in Him and His sovereignty, righteousness and love for us. Paul and I dedicated and surrendered our children to Him when they were babies and we firmly believe that Jesus has a perfect plan and purpose for their lives and ours. Our great joy is that they all have chosen to surrender their lives to Him.  So what Erik is going through, is part of God's plan for pointing and revealing Jesus to everyone through Erik's life and through each of our lives. Everything in our lives is for that purpose.
We had him to his house by 1:30pm today.  He chose to come to his house so he could sleep in his own bed, sit in his recliner, rest, listen to worship music and watch ESPN & Netflicks. Other than his head pain from the surgery, he is doing very well. I/Laurie will be around at least another week to help him out, when his great roommates aren't around during the day. He needs no rehab, just rest so more healing can take place. Erik has rested this afternoon and now we are all going to Nate and Sharon's for dinner. Erik says he wants to go, so there you have it!  Praise Jesus!

Day 3 - Good News!

The MRI this morning looked very good, with little swelling! The surgeon said he would have hoarseness, but he has none. His swallowing is fine. His talking is fluently. His motor skills are normal. He is walking well, just a little wobbly and lightheaded that appears to be from normal head pain from the surgery. The pain is lessened some but still pretty bad. Morphine, steroids and valium are helping take the edge off.  He is needing to sleep alot and noise bothers him so we are visiting in between his naps.  The other amazing news is that he will probably need no rehab and the surgeon said he can be dismissed tomorrow/Friday or Saturday!!!  Erik can decide when he's ready!   He will go to Paul's brother's home, Erik's Uncle Nate and Aunt Sharon's for a few days, until he feels up to returning to his house with his 4 roommates. It doesn't appear that it will be necessary for him to come to Nebraska for further recovery. We will decide that later. Paul and Mark leave Sunday and Monday, and I can stay for several more weeks, if he needs any support. Time will tell. God will make it  clear what His plan is.
Erik's roommates and friends, and Nate & Sharon were with us during the surgery and have been such a wonderful support for us all!  Erik is also blessed with a great church family and other friends here.
Paul's parents drove down from western New York state and so we've also had some special family time with them and Nate and Sharon's family!
Thank you all again for your prayers and trusting God with us!
Laurie

Day two - late afternoon - God is at work

Thank you all so very much for your prayers! Coming out of this surgery with no obvious nerve damage is truly a miracle! Please continue to pray for his recovery....He has a lot of pain/pressure that is not under control yet. Swelling is probably the major side effect or possible concern. Please pray that swelling will not be great, so he won't need a shunt for drainage and no nerve damage will result from the swelling. His heart rate is pretty high. Pray that will come down and that he will be able to rest well and gain strength. He will be having a post-surgical MRI this afternoon to look for any swelling and to see how much of the tumor is left.
We praise the Lord Jesus for His healing and faithfulness! He is    
definitely our Rock and Fortress! We trust in Him!

Laurie

Word from the doctors

Early this morning nurses strongly recommended that Erik, though being in good shape, should not receive any visitors other then family until tomorrow as he is very exhausted and still suffering from intense pain.  His stay in the ICU has deprived him of sleep and his body is in need of recuperation.  Your continued prayers are welcomed and needed though-out this time of hardship. The doctors are even now saying he may be released within the week, God is truly moving, and making his presence  known.

day two 'Mark Howard'

We arrived at the hospital around ten am. coming in a little late so as to miss traffic.  This attempt though valiant ended in failure, thanks to the Ben Franklin bridge, cheers.  We are now sitting in the waiting room, trying to get into the ICU to see Erik. However, he is detained at the moment as he is being washed down by an attractive nurse.....Just Kidding but he is getting a sponge bath.

This JUST IN. ERIK IS BEING MOVED OUT OF THE ICU, as his condition is improving. Praise God. This morning he ate toast and apple sauce, a feat he wasn't able to accomplish with his last tumor until almost a month had past, God is good. More to follow

Surgery went well.....

The surgeon was pleased with how surgery went.  He was not able to remove all of the tumor because it was touching the cranial nerves, so he left a veil of tumor next to them.   The Dr. said the 11th nerve (?), was the only one he put some pressure on to remove the tumor and that will leave him with hoarseness, hopefully, prayerfully temporary. After Erik is fully recovered from the surgery they will do radiation therapy to shrink the rest of the tumor. The tumor is  called a fibrillary astrocytoma, which is a benign, low grade tumor, but it will continue growing. After he recovers, they will do focused radiation to shrink the tumor. Thank you so much for praying, we could feel and sense your support and prayers during the whole day.
Right now, he is the intensive care unit, swallowing talking and moving, no side effects except hoarseness. He's pretty miserable the pain (morphine isn't helping). So, please continue to pray for no extreme swelling around the brain, pray that he wouldn't need a shunt for gathering fluid, and that the pain goes down.

Please feel welcome to comment on this page. Erik will be reading or we will be reading to him and following your comments on here so feel free to comment.

On To Recovery

Erik is out of surgery.  The prognosis is good.  There may have to be some radiation.  Praise God for guiding the doctor.  Mom, Dad, Mark and Cole just went upstairs to ICU to see him. Keep praying as his recovery continues. More details to come...
-Andrea, Tanya, Dina and Jeff

Waiting Room Part ???

As we wait I realize that I am not very good at waiting.  I am realizing that I am not in control, God is.  I believe that Erik has the best doctor and medical staff possible.  I desire to live in the moment with all its uncertainly and unanswered questions.

I am very thankful for the support that we are receiving.  Erik's friends are a real blessing.  Nate and Sharon are very reassuring.  They have a quiet, composed, restful spirit.

So we continue to wait.

Paul, Erik's dad

Surgery is going well.....

Erik is fine/stable. The surgeon is removing as much of the tumor as is safe it do without harming the nerves in his brain stem. They hope to be done in one to one and a half hours.
Mom/Laurie

waiting room

No news as of yet, we're sitting around at Jefferson with a big group of Erik's friends and family, praying and waiting!