Hank Gets a Port

Our day began around 4am, as nurses came in to draw blood for labs. Hank is terrified of "pokes" and once he spotted the needle, it was a loud room full of fearful cries and pleas for "no pokes." It was extremely hard to not be upset with the nurse and technician trying to draw the blood. I had specifically asked for a numbing cream if they were to draw for labs again, since the night before had been incredibly traumatic. Instead of a numbing cream, they had brought a "pen" that had high pressured release of topical numbing meds... but it was loud and scared Hank when the force would hit his hand. Then he began screaming that his IV port on his hand was hurting him. I heard "ouwie" more times than my heart cares to remember. It was rough. Taylor, Hank and I were all tired... it was 4am after all... and after multiple tries, in the dark, the nurses finally took out his old IV line and put in a new one, drew blood, then placed a numb guard over Hank's IV port to keep him from bumping it. He still complained of pain, but collapsed out of fatigue after the nurses left. We all slept until about 9.
The nurses came in around 9:30 and told us that we were set for surgery at 12:20. Then we decided to go down to the playroom for some crafts or wii playing. Shortly after, we were told the OR had an opening, so someone would come get Hank shortly. We were taken down to sonography first for an ultrasound of Hank's lymph nodes. This ruled out the need for biopsy on those. Praise be to God. Then Hank took a CT of his chest, to rule out a couple questionable spots that showed up on his CT yesterday. And indeed they were clear. Again, Praise the Lord, oh my soul! Finally Hank was rolled into the Operation Room where the surgeons performed a bone marrow biopsy, then placed a port in Hank's chest.
Soon Hank was in recovery and woke up really well from the meds. Again, our hearts were rejoicing in the Lord! So many praises to lift to the Lord our God. Once Hank was back in his room, our oncologist, Dr. Laetsch, came up to talk to us. He shared the results of the clear CT scan on the chest, the fact that we would not be going into the lymph nodes for a biopsy, and then he let us know that some of the pathology results had come back. Hank has been diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma. This was what we assumed was coming as the diagnosis, but now we have to wait for the rest of the pathology to confirm which type of RMS Hank is going to battle. Embryonal (ERMS), the first type, less likely (still a possibility) to require radiation than Alveolar (ARMS). You can learn more about those here.
We are asking that you pray with us, that the Lord might be merciful to Hank in bringing about the confirmation of ERMS, Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma, that we would have a successful and swift treatment plan, and that Hank's body would recover easily from any and all treatments.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our cries for our dear little Hank. We bring him before you, to bless and watch over. Lord, please grant us a diagnosis of ERMS, that Hank's cancer might be more swiftly treated, cured, and recovered from. We pray you protect his body from long-term side effects, from any further growth of cancer, and Lord, please allow Hank to regain his strength quickly after treatments. We thank You and praise You for Your mercies today in having protected the rest of Hank's body from the growth and spread of this cancer. We pray you begin now, even before treatment, to shrink this cancer. Lord allow the team of specialists to make careful and guided decisions for Hank's treatment plan. Bless the nurses, doctors, surgeons, and staff that have ministered to us, and will continue to minister to our needs. We pray You remove the burden of anxiety from Hank's family, especially Taylor and I. We pray you protect Corin from the lies of Satan and grief over his brother's pain, that he might trust in You more for peace and comfort during this time. We praise you greatly for the friends and family you have placed in our lives and the support they have constantly poured out upon us throughout this journey. We lay our precious Hank before you, trusting in Your goodness and mercy... and ask that you would stir up a desire to know you fully in his heart. We pray that Hank would come to trust in You, Jesus Christ, for his salvation. We ask all this in the name of the Jesus Christ our Lord, now and forever. Amen. 
LL

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.  For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.  If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort." ~2 Cor 1: 3-7

Ending the day all snuggled up with your new TMNT blanket, toys, and of course... "nice little baby" makes for a pretty great ending. 

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