MRI News!

We were at the hospital much longer than intended yesterday. An emergency case came in by helicopter and took Hopey's spot, so we "semi-patiently" waited our turn. Hopey was supposed to have her MRI at 10am, but wasn't taken back until 1pm. She wasn't allowed to have any food after midnight the night before, so the little thing was so hungry. On top of hunger pains, she is petrified of the hospital and clung to my neck the entire time with wild eyes of pure fear. The day was exhausting.

We thought Hope was only going to have light sedation for the tests, but turned out, they used a full breathing tube on her and knocked her out completely. She came out of sedation with a horrible sore throat and pure delirium. At one point, she threw her head back and knocked my cheek so hard I saw stars. If you see me with a black eye, you'll know where it came from.

The MRI tests were somewhat positive, so we are taking the bit of good news and celebrating BIG TIME!!! The aneurysm is not impacting her Lungs or her Coronary Artery which would have required IMMEDIATE surgery! Praise the Lord!!!

Hope's aneurysm is indeed larger, and appears to be increasing in size even though the rate of change is unknown. The cardiac team will meet together next week (a team of 16) to discuss her MRI at length and will make a recommendation to us or will present a plan to us. Until then, we wait and hold onto the good news we received.

The team is still uncertain whether the aneurysm will rupture or not....and if it does, they do not know what that would mean for little Hope. Some believe it could be catastrophic while others believe we would have time to get her to the hospital to have the hole repaired. Never having seen anything like this before, they just don't know what to do. In addition, since the surgeon could not find the aneurysm during Hope's open heart surgery six months ago, the team is not optimistic he could find it if they opened her chest cavity up again to attempt to remove it again anytime soon. (The aneurysm can be seen clearly when her heart is pumping; however, when her heart is stopped for surgery, the aneurysm blends in with the rest of her heart muscle.) We can tell by what is "NOT SAID" as much as by what "is said" that the cardio team would like to surgically do something about the aneurysm.....but they remain conflicted.

Thank you for all of your prayers; honestly, we felt each one of them yesterday. For the first time in a long time, I was able to actually breathe in the hospital without feeling like I might hyperventilate at any given moment. The Father's hands held me safe all day.

During our long wait yesterday, Lydia sent a verse from Psalms to us via text. It was perfect: "May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble. May the Lord defend you. May He send you help from the sanctuary. May the Lord fulfill your petitions."