Caleb's Tummy

(This was supposed to be posted 3/15/07)

For those of you that don't know, Caleb has been fighting a nasty stomach virus now for four days.  We just took him to the Dr. and he is going to be admitted for fluids.  We are going to MTMC for a 24 hour period where he will be observed and given the fluids his body needs. He is very weak and lethargic and has lost two pounds as a result of this.

The prognosis is good and we are thankful to have access to medical care but would appreciate your prayers for a speedy recovery for the tooterooski.... He is pretty sad right now.

I will post back as we have more information.

Greetings...

Just wanted to drop you all a note and give you an update on things here.

Caleb is doing great.. other than the daily bruise from falling down or running into something (walls, furniture, doors, etc) he seems to be healthy as a horse. He is starting to get what we are afraid may be a cold.. hopefully it won't turn out to be like his last one.. it was a good one.

Nicole is scheduled for a trip this weekend with Penny to Dallas for a wedding. This leaves Dad and Caleb to fend for themselves all weekend... pray for us. ; ) I am sure we will have movies, popcorn and video games scheduled... we just have to be done by 8:00 or Caleb turns into a pumpkin.

I posted a few new photos in the gallery. If you curious to see what odd faces he has been making lately take a look.. You will also see a few of him hanging with his buddy Emily Kramer at the park and our house... the two have become quite fond of each other.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.. please keep it up.

Aaron Browning...

Just wanted to give you an update on Aaron Browning. Yesterday he had his surgery and he made it through perfectly! He is now in recovery and is moving his arms and legs and is responding to questions properly.. these are all very good signs. Dr. Pearson reports that the operation was a success and that he was able to remove all of the mass.

I would like to thank all of you that prayed for this family and ask that you keep it up. They are now waiting to hear if the tumor is benign... which of course we are all hoping very much for.

If you would like more information check out www.aaronbrowning.com for details.

Thank you

Austin & Nicole

Rally for Another...

It sure is strange how it seems like a month ago I didn't even know anyone who knew anyone who had a brain tumor and now I seem to be running into folks all the time who are either going though something very similar or have gone through it in the past. Just this week the fourteen year old son of a friend of ours was diagnosed with a brain tumor... his condition is much more advanced than Caleb's and they have opted to operate on him on Monday morning.

The Browning family is in desperate need of your prayers. At 07:00 on Monday morning the very same Dr. keeping watch over Caleb (Dr. Pearson) will operate on Aaron for 10-12 hours in a very delicate procedure. Please ask the Lord to heal their son and grant Dr. Pearson wisdom as he operates on Aaron. The Lord has seen this family through some amazing things and we have no reason to doubt He will do less in this circumstance.

If you would like more information on Aaron check out www.aaronbrowning.com where you can sign up for the latest information.

Thanks for your time.

Austin & Nicole Henderson

Another One Down...

Today we met with Dr. Pearson (neurosurgeon) to review the MRI from last week. As you know we were praying that the mass would be gone. While we didn't get this news, which is saddening, we did learn that the mass has not changed and this is a good thing. This means that the they are not concerned with the potential that we are dealing with an aggressive tumor, and for this we are thankful.

The next steps for us are really more of the same... Caleb will see the eye doctor in early April and he will have another MRI in three months. Until then we will just be praying that the mass will be taken from him, that he will continue on the path of development he is on, and that he won't have complications from the tumor.

Thank you all again so very much for your prayers and concerns... it is a wonderful feeling to know there are so many friends who care for our family. We love you all.

Austin & Nicole

Made It Through...

Well we made it through the MRI.... Caleb did a GREAT job, he sure was brave. This time they put a bit of gel on his hands to ease the pain of the I.V. and boy did it make a difference. He didn't shed one tear when they poked him, which is a lot more than I can say for the last time.

Unfortunately we probably wont know much more for about a week. We are scheduled to return to the Dr. on Wednesday the 21st for our review of the scans. The basic hope is that we will review the images and find no change or better yet.... that the mass is gone!

We will keep you all posted as soon as we have new information.

Thank you all for your sweet calls and notes today. We have been so humbled by God's demonstration of grace through each of you that we really do not even have words to convey our feelings. Please know that we are thankful to have each of you on our side as we walk through this time.

Sincerely,

Austin & Nicole Henderson

MRI Date Changed...

Hello all,

Just wanted to let you know that are MRI date has changed. The reasons are not really related to the urgency of the scan but rather some scheduling conflicts and procedural issues. At any rate the MRI is now scheduled for Tuesday the 13th.... you're right.. that's two days from now. So for those of you would like to pray for us and the outcome of this procedure we would appreciate your prayers this Tuesday. A great many of you have stated you will be fasting on this day and I want you all to know how much we truly appreciate your dedication to bringing this cause before the Lord... Please continue to do so on our behalf.

As far as updates go all we really have to say is that Caleb is a fun-loving and goofy little kid who is basically running all over our house and cutting his 8th tooth! It seems like yesterday that he was born, my how time flies.

Thank you all for your thoughts and concerns... we will update you when we have more information.

Sincerely,

Austin & Nicole Henderson

Latest News...

First off let me say how sorry I am for the long delay between postings. So many of you have called, emailed or written notes of encouragement asking about Caleb, and we are so thankful for your thoughts and prayers.

The latest news is this... Caleb has seen the Oncologist and the Ophthalmologist in the past two weeks. Both doctors agree that there is a mass on his optic nerve and that it is not operable without damaging his vision. They both agree that there is a great possibility that this mass is benign and there is a possibility that it will simply do nothing. There is of course also a possibility that it will grow and cause problems that we will need to address, however we have chosen not to dwell on that which we cannot control.

As far as the diagnosis for Neurofibromatosis (NF) there is not nearly enough evidence to support even a conversation about really. After a bit of reading it turns out that while it is not a necessarily uncommon condition (1:3500 to 1:40,000 births depending on the type) it is a clinical diagnosis and the patient has to demonstrate multiple symptoms, of which Caleb has only the possible glioma.

All of the doctors agree that the best plan right now is just to observe this mass. We need to determine if it is growing and if so at what rate. He is scheduled to have another MRI on the 21st of February. The doctors will use the images gathered from this visit to compare against the previous scans.

Our prayer at this time is that they will either find no change or better still a total reversal of diagnosis and determine that the mass is gone. We believe that the Lord can take this away from him with a single breath, we are praying to this end. The word tells us that we can courageously approach God and that we do not have because we do not ask. We ask you to boldly step before Him and ask Him for this on our behalf.

As you can see from the most recent photo gallery Caleb is growing and changing all the time. He is walking incredibly well and saying daddy, which usually is pronounced di-dy. He is such a blessing in our lives and we are so very thankful for every moment we are with him. He is presently suffering from a double ear infection and a bit of a cold that he can't seem to shake, but otherwise healthy as a horse. He has a great attitude and is a joy to be with.

Thank you all for your continued support and prayers.... we are grateful for each of you.

Austin & Nicole

Today we met with Dr. Pearson, the neuro-surgeon. Dr. Pearson went through the MRI scans with us and explained the diagnosis that he was giving Caleb. Officially he has a condition called optic chiasm glioma. This is a condition where he has a tumor in the optic chiasm (the space behind the optic nerves). The tumor also extends into the optic nerves and thus it is impossible to remove without damaging Caleb's vision permanently.

The good news is this. The Dr. says that his condition is not life threatening as he believes the tumor to be benign, from its location and characteristics (though he can't be for sure). He also states that because we have no visible symptoms of this tumor, he wants to simply observe the tumor for an indefinite amount of time to see if it changes or grows. There are methods to treat a tumor without surgery, though none of them are good to talk about really without knowing that they are necessary.

He also gave us some comfort in this... there are a fair number of these reported tumors that do nothing.. they stay stagnant in size and as a result do no lasting damage.

He wants us to see two specialist in the next two weeks... a pediatric Ophthalmologist and a pediatric oncologist. We will see both of these guys by the end of the month. The goal with these doctors is to rule out any other potentially related conditions.

One of the potentially related conditions is known as neurofibromatosis. Often you find these tumors (glioma) a symptom of neurofibromatosis... though in our case none of the other symptoms are present, and we didn't sense a huge degree of concern from him on this issue. However, this is something that the other specialist will help us hopefully eliminate.

That brings you up to speed on the physical issues we are facing... for the emotional and spiritual health I can say that we feel a great deal of relief from speaking to Dr. Pearson. Knowing that most likely the condition is not life-threatening was a big answer to prayer for us. I do not intend to convey that we think the road ahead is easy, but we certainly were pleased to hear this. We have felt a great deal of peace in this process... though honestly it has been an up and down battle for us.

We would like for you to pray specifically for a few things...

• Caleb will have another MRI in a month. We are looking to that MRI to help us determine if the tumor is growing. We of course want good news from this next MRI. We would love to see it go away and believe that God can do this. Pray that the growth would cease (if it is growing) and that it would do no damage to his vision.
• Pray for the doctors that are evaluating Caleb. Their names are Dr. Pearson, Dr. Donahue and Dr. Kuttesch. These guys have all worked together before and this is for sure good to know. Their experience is great and we are confident in their abilities, but we would ask you to pray for their wisdom as they look over our son and make choices that could have lasting impact on his life.
• Pray for Nicole and me, that we would set our minds on things above and not let our minds wander, but that we would focus only on what we know and be thankful for the victories we have already gotten.

Thank you all so very much for your kind words and thoughts during the past week or so. You are all blessings in our life.

Austin & Nicole Henderson

Grace Displayed...

Nicole and I were talking this morning about the current situation with Caleb and how we have felt the graciousness of God through so many people. Nothing has changed in our circumstances, but I am confident in saying that we are comforted by the thought of knowing that so many people have personally stated that they are being intentional to pray for our family and the doctors that are handling these things for us.

There is no greater feeling than this really. We know that literally people all over the world are praying to the creator of all that is on behalf of our son. There is little that we as parents can do physically to help or "fix" this situation, but we are comforted by knowing that there is One who is able to correct this with a single breath..

We have taken great comfort from the Word in this...

Psalms
33:6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.

Psalms
20:7 Some boast in chariots, and some in horses; But we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God.

We recognize that the Lord is the one who is able to accomplish this feat, we place our trust and confidence in Him. We continue to entreet you to put this before Him.

Thank you for your continued support.

Delayed...

We got news from our Pediatrician just a few moments ago that we are not going to be able to get in with the specialist today. This of course was not comforting news as we were really looking forward to getting some more solid input about Caleb and his condition. We are scheduled to meet with the specialist on Wednesday at 08:30. Please keep praying for our spirits and for Caleb's healing.

Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement during this time.

Caleb Update...

Well it has been a while since I posted to this... as can be evidenced by the date of the previous post. I posted a few new photos here for those that are interested in seeing some more recent shots. I wish to let you all know what is happening in our family as of the last 48 hours.

A few days ago Caleb went for his routine checkup (he is almost 10 mo now). The Dr. was a bit concerned with the growth rate of his head. She assured us that most likely there was little to be worried about but that as a precautionary measure she wanted him to have a CT scan. The CT scan took place on Thursday (1.11.07) and Caleb did wonderfully. We were most impressed by his bravery and cooperation. We prayed that he would not need to be sedated and God delivered on that prayer.... much to our pleasure.

On Friday the Dr. called us back and indicated that they thought they saw a slight swelling on his "optic nerve" and to be sure they wanted him to have an MRI that day (Friday). We took him in for the procedure and of course he had to be sedated for the almost 45 minute process, and while we were nervous we were confident he was in able hands and protected.

He made it through the MRI and was up and about in no time... we even had dinner out that night, which he really enjoyed. We were very grateful for the family that surrounded us during this time.

This morning we got a phone call from our Dr. to come to her office to review the findings of the test. Practically speaking we were well aware that this was not a welcomed development. We went to her office where we were told that Caleb has a small mass in his brain near his pituitary gland. They told us that in some ways this find was a "blessing from God" because the mass has nothing to do with his head size... turns out he just has a big head. Apparently there will be no signs of this mass because of its small size... On a positive note they also told us that because of the location there is a very good chance the mass is benign.

Apparently there are quite a few "types" of tumors in this area of the brain and each one can have various impacts on the gland. The problem that we understand is that there is no way to know what kind it is without a biopsy, which will be hard to get. We were also told there is a small chance that the mass is left from his development and is nothing, though this possibility is much less likely.

We were told that our next step would be to see a pediatric Neurological surgeon at Vanderbilt Children's hospital on Monday.. hopefully. There is a chance he won't be able to see us on Monday, but we are hopeful.

So that brings you up to speed with the events of the past 48 hours. If you would like to know how you can help us I have only one request and that is for you to pray for our son, the doctors that will attend to him and for Nicole and me. We know that only God has control over this situation and that He is loving and compassionate. We entreat you to go before him on behalf of our family and ask for His mercy and grace.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. We will update you as information becomes available.

 

 

It has been a while since my last post. Things are going well here at the Henderson house. Caleb is learning new things every day, and we are constantly amazed at the joy he can bring into our lives.

Caleb is into all sorts of new things now.. primarily lifting his head up and rolling over. He rolls around on the floor and in his crib for entertainment it seems.. He can lift his head up and sit up on his elbows.. he is very excited about this because he now realizes there is life over the bumper in his bed.

The Lord has been good to us...Caleb checked out great at his last visit to the Dr... though I am not sure he totally enjoyed the shots he was administered. I will post a few more pics here in case you are curious. 

Here is the little guy hanging out on the couch. This outfit is one that KG (Austin's mom) brought up for him to wear. This is one that his daddy wore years ago (we wont say how many years ago). 

Here we are with our good friends the Morrows and the Williams. The Morrows were in for a visit from sunny California. Morrow (middle) opened a series at church on the Da Vinci code where believers were encouraged to "Seek the Truth." We are fortunate to have great firends like these guys in our lives. Left to right (Emma, Noah, Grant, Liz, J.C. Morrow, Mandi, Nicole, Caleb, Austin) 

This is Austin's brother Chase... he stopped by for a few minutes to hang out with Caleb. Chase is going to make a super uncle and Caleb will love hanging out with him. 

Here is Uncle Will T getting some quality time with Caleb. Will is a proud uncle and Caleb is blessed to have him in his life. 

Things have been going great in our house. Caleb is adjusting well to life in our world and Nicole and I are coming along behind him. He actually has been absolutely wonderful, we have some things to work out in his schedule but other than that we couldn't ask for a better transition.

Nicole is healing up nicely and made her first venture out of the house yesterday... an exciting trip to Kroger! What is more amazing about this is that I was left alone with the little guy. Of course he slept the entire time, but it felt like an accomplishment to me. ; )

This picture is has a funny story with it... We just gave the little guy a bath and this picture was just to cute to pass up. What you dont see is that shortly after this picture was taken he decided to relieve himself all over shorts... to bad we don't have a picture of that. ; )