to callie's prayer warriors

from her caring bridge page, posted last night:

Mon, Jun 27, 2011 10:39 PM
Today has been a very long day for Phil and Courtney, not a bad day, just a long day. The day started off well for sweet Callie. She had a good night's rest and a good start to the day. She had several moments of peace this morning. She said, "mama," "nana," and "mal-mal." She tried to bark when they showed her a picture of a puppy dog. She even told one of the nurses "no!" She loved on a stuffed animal, and had several sweet cuddle moments with her mommy and daddy. There were a few times where she was scared, angry, and aggitated, but they were able to calm her down.

The speech pathologist came to see her today to do her swallow test, but then decided to give Callie another day or two before they do the test. They want to make sure she will be able to do her best on the test, and another day or two could make all he difference. Callie is still slowly getting better at coughing, and Courtney said she saw some signs today that she may be trying to swallow.

A highlight of the day for Courtney was going to get a manicure. The hospital had "spa-tastic" day for parents to get pampered, so Courtney took advantage of it. It is amazing what a wonderful place Cooks Children's Hospital is. From the doctors and nurses to the great volunteers, they do a great job of helping to make the most difficult times a bit easier to manage. Also, the outpouring of love from friends, family, and strangers has been felt by Phil and Courtney. They are constantly amazed at all the little things being done to help them out. And of course they are so grateful to all of Callie's prayer warriors.

The afternoon was a bit of a roller coaster. First, Callie was allowed to leave the PICU! All of her stats were, and still are looking good. She is off of the oxygen and doing pretty well. This brought a little bit of anxiety, but it is a step in the right direction. The only problem was the move was very hard on Callie. A new room and new faces was just too much for her. She became very hysterical and scared. She had a very rough evening. They finally gave her some medicine to calm her down so hopefully she can get some rest tonight.

Courtney asks specifically that you pray for Callie to have a peace that only the Lord can provide.

Also tonight, they received the pathology results. The tumor is in fact an Ependymoma. The doctors thought it was, but now the results are finalized. Phil and Courtney have been preparing themselves for this news, but it is still incredibly hard to hear.

So, on this Monday night, I ask that you pray to our Heavenly Father for Phil and Courtney to have strength and wisdom to get through the day tomorrow. Callie will have an evaluation with an optimologist in the morning and possibly another CT scan. Then Phil and Courtney with be meeting with Callie's team of doctors to determine where they will go from here.

There are no words to relay to you the emotions that are being felt on this night by a mommy and a daddy who are despretaly crying out to the Lord for their baby girl. Please continue to lift them up in prayer as they face a difficult day ahead. We all know that the Lord has done many miracles for Callie over the last week, and we know he is not through yet because He is so Big, so Strong, and so Mighty. There's Nothing my God cannot do for Callie!

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