I love my family!

Today was a great day! It was just an ordinary day, but we got to spend time as a family. Its amazing how a few weeks of craziness can really put things in a whole new perspective. We used to take for granted all of the time we get to spend together, but now each moment is cherished. Before a day with the family would tend to make me crazy, but now I live for each happy moment and big smile from both of my boys and at the end of a day together I smile and thank God for the time he has given us together. I know I will forever be changed by Carter's diagnosis and hope all the lessons I learned will stay with me forever. Today we got birthday pictures taken and then went to Chuck E. Cheese. I was dreading Chuck E. Cheese, but it was so much fun!!! Obviously Evan loved it, and I truly enjoy making him happy!

I will show you a few pictures from today, but you will have to check back for just Carter pictures. I will post those on his birthday. I have big plans for a birthday post (next Thursday) so be sure to check back. I'm sure it will be emotional so bring tissues! I can not believe he is 1 already and at the same time I can't believe he has only been here for 1 year.

Aren't we cute?

Brothers

Favorite of my big boy!!

Hope you all have a great rest of the week.

Curious?

Many people have asked to see Carter's incision and I thought maybe all of you would like to see it too. This picture was taken over a week ago, and looks much better now. The little hole is where the chest tube was. Apparently he had no stitches on the outside but he did on the inside because today I noticed that there is a stitch hanging out of the corner of his incison. I hope you all have a great holiday weekend. Stay safe!

"Normal" Life

Sorry it has been a while since I updated. I wasn’t sure what to write about, but I realize you will all quit reading if I don’t update soon. I started back to work this week, which means Carter had to go back to daycare. He was a little spoiled in St. Louis so this transition has been a little hard on all involved. On Monday I cried when I dropped him off. I felt like it was the first time I took him all over again. He only took a 30 minute nap on both Monday and Tuesday which made for a short night with mom and dad. He fell asleep very quickly after coming home both nights.
On Wednesday we went to the Springfield zoo with some of the ladies in one of my bible studies. It was fun to get out in the warm weather and be with both of my boys. We also had a picnic and Evan got to play at the park.
I took Carter to his regular pediatrician this week, and she was happy to see him looking so good. He had an ear infection whenever they found the tumor and he still kind of has it. The Dr. wants him to see an ENT and possibly get ear tubes. I know ear tubes are so simple compared to what he has been through, but I don’t want him to go through one more procedure. So, we will see the ENT next week and go from there.
More info on the big birthday bash:
We will have Carter’s party at Southern Hills Baptist Church on June 7, at 2:00 p.m.
In lieu of gifts we will be collecting donations for Friends of Kids with Cancer or Polk County Relay for Life (American Cancer Society).
Friends of Kids with Cancer is an organization that gave Carter a gift card and they give kids with cancer different gifts such as tickets to ball games, toys, etc.
Carter will be in his first Relay for Life in June. I know this will be emotional for me because it always is just to see all the people who have dealt with cancer, but I know actually being a part of it will be even more emotional.
For not being sure what to write about, this is becoming a very long post.
Please continue to pray that the cancer cells left in Carter’s body will disappear completely. I am having a hard time knowing there is cancer left in my baby’s body. When I talk to people and tell them our story I feel like I am talking about someone else, this whole thing still seems so surreal. I think I will always cringe when I hear, think or speak the “C” word. I am so thankful for all of you, and can’t wait to see who comes to Carter’s big 1 year of life celebration!

Home Sweet Home

Yeah!!! I'm home! It is so wonderful to be home. I have always wanted to move back to St. Louis, but after the last 2 weeks I am very grateful for where the Lord has placed me. I love my family, and do wish to be closer to them, but I have such an awesome support system here and a great "family". I cannot express how thankful I am for all of you. We have been so blessed during this time. During the hard days I would get so mad at God but I know he carried me through those days. I know I could not have got through this without Him. Many people have told me I am so strong, but I want to clarify that without God I am very weak. I know the Lord has placed all of you in my life for a reason and during this time it was for blessing, strength and encouragement. I know God has a lesson for me in all of this, I have already learned several things. I keep asking God why he chose to give my son cancer, am I that stubborn that He couldn't teach me those lessons in a different less traumatic way!! If it was to show others who Christ is, couldn't it be done without giving my son cancer? I will probably never know the answers to all my questions and I am starting to be ok with that. Its so easy to praise the Lord when things are going good, but I hope I can also praise Him in the bad, because he is always there and saw us through this mess of two weeks.
Can anyone tell me where May went? I can't believe its half over. All of this started on May 1.

On June 7, we are going to have the biggest birthday party for a 1 year old ever!!I can't wait to celebrate this little boys life, and you are all invited!! We don't want gifts, but we want everyone to come celebrate with us. I'm not sure on a time yet, but it will be at Southern Hills Baptist Church.

I have wanted to post things I have learned, but I am afraid if I start to write them I won't remember all of them at once and I don't want to leave anything out. However, one thing for sure is I won't sweat the small stuff. Today, Evan dropped a bowl full of eggs on the floor, and we had no more eggs. So what? I didn't care! No one got hurt, he didn't do it on purpose, why yell and get mad when we are all home, safe and happy? When something big like this happens (cancer) it kind of puts your whole life into perspective. What a blessing and a miracle children are!!
I hope you all have a great weekend. The weather is beautiful!!!!

PRAISE THE LORD!!!

First of all I want to thank all of you that have been praying with us for our sweet baby boy. Carter's MRI did not go as well as planned, but none the less it is over. His IV was working when we got there this morning, but by the time they sedated him it started leaking so they had to take it out and give him a new one in order to keep him sedated. It took another 5 tries!!! However, we are done with test at least for a while. We met with the oncologist today and she gave us very positive news. Yes, Carter does have stage 2 cancer, but with the type of cancer that it is, Neuroblastoma, he does not need chemo!! Both his MIBG and bone scan came back clear, and we are still waiting on the bone marrow, but she is pretty confident it will also come back clear. There is a small piece of tumor left that they will watch very close and if it grows they will then have to do chemo. There is a good chance this cancer will go into remission on its own.
I feel so relieved and so excited. He will come back for check ups monthly for 3 months then every 3 months for a year. I cannot tell you enough how grateful I am for all of you. Please continue to pray for my sweet boy that this tumor does not grow back. Oh yeah guess what else, I get to go home tomorrow!!!!! I can't wait until we are all together as a family again, it has been 2 weeks. I will probably post more later tonight. Love you all,

Crazy Day Part 2

Today was just a very tiring and draining day. I don't really feel like writing tonight, but just wanted to ask you all to pray hard for us again tomorrow. Carter had the MIBG today and also they took some of his bone marrow (surprise, but glad its over). I can't explain to you all how hard all of these test are for Carter and myself. Its not natural for them to put your child to sleep like that, and it is so hard to watch. To those of you who watch out for me ( my HCA fan club, you know who you are) I am not down, I am just really tired and drained both physically and mentally! :)
Today we talked to an oncologist about the piece of tumor on his aorta. They will know more after all of these tests, but if it is small enough and the cancer has not spread it should regress on its own, and they will just watch it very carefully for several years.
On Thursday he will have an MRI (hopefully the last test) and then we will meet with the oncologist for some results. Please pray its only good news. Thank you for all your thoughts and comments. Please keep praying.

Pushed back

I just got a call that they moved his MIBG scan back until 2p.m. I feed him at 6a.m. and then they told me I could give him more clear liquids in the next 5 minutes, so he got more apple juice. Please pray that the apple juice will keep him from starving and he will not be so mad by the time this is over. Also pray that the apple juice doesn't have a negative effect like it sometimes can. We have enough yucky diapers as it is!! Don't forget to also pray for Leslie her surgery is at 1:30 today.
Thank you all,

Crazy Day

Where were my prayer warriors today?? Carter and I wondered if you abandoned us. Until last week I underestimated the power of prayer. I knew it worked, but I had never been on this side of it. When Carter was in surgery(last week) and our world was falling apart in front of our eyes Mike and I felt calm and could definitely feel all of your prayers. Things went very smoothly last week and we knew it was because of you, our prayer warriors. But today, I think you all were sleeping!! :)
Today should have gone well, but everything that could have gone wrong did. Carter had to get an IV, and it took 6 tries!! It took the nurse over an hour to finally get it. Then we went to get the nuclear injection and there was a confusion(on my part) about the insurance and I thought the guy said this test wasn't covered unless he was inpatient, I thought well admit us! But like I said, it was just a misunderstanding. I then realized I couldn't take anymore and need help, so I called Jenelle which called on my women bible study prayer warriors. Thank you all so much!

I cannot express how much I need all of your prayers for the rest of the week. Tomorrow, Carter will be sedated so I can only feed him clear liquids after midnight and nothing after 6 a.m. The test isn't until noon. Obviously that will make for a cranky baby. On Friday when he was sedated, his oxygen level went way down (fixed by repositioning his head) and I don't want that to happen again. They did send us home with the IV today, so pray it is still good tomorrow. I don't think we can go through any more pokes.
Tomorrow when you pray for Carter, please pray for my friend Leslie as well. Leslie has breast cancer and is having surgery tomorrow.
I love you all.

Good day!

Carter and I had a really good day together. We went to the zoo, and just had fun.

I don't have much to say today, but I wanted to answer a frequently asked question (and post a cute picture).

We are not sure if they got all of the tumor out. I understood they got most, and the oncologist understood they got it all. So, the MRI on Thursday should show what is left if any, and then we will know more after that. If there is tumor left, we don't know what they are going to do to get it out. Basically, there are still a lot of unanswered questions and I REALLY hope to find out more later this week. I feel like I have been saying that since day 1, but hopefully we will have real answers. Thanks for more blessings we have received and all the prayers.

Happy Mothers Day

Sorry for not posting in a while. I have had a lot on my mind and not really sure what to write. I am still unsure what to say, but I know some of you are anxiously awaiting my next post. First of all, thank so much to those that have blessed us in recent days. We have been blessed way beyond comprehension. We have been blessed with your prayers, financial gifts, visits, calls, food, cleaning of our house, and much more. I cannot express enough gratitude, but you have really blown our socks off!
I am happy I got to spend Mother's day with my grandma and my precious baby boy. However, I really missed Evan and Mike today. Because of this trail, my life will forever be changed and I am thankful for every moment and try not to dwell on the negative things. Carter has had two REALLY good days. I have heard many people say babies rebound quickly, but I never thought he would amaze me like he has. No one would know this baby had surgery just 5 short day ago. He has been playing and giggling like a very healthy boy. Carter got to take a real bath today which I think was more exciting for me than him. His incision looks great, and is healing very well.
When Carter had his bone scan on Friday he had to be sedated and during the sedation his stats started to drop. This obviously really freaked me out and has made me very nervous about the next 2 tests and sedation. Please pray with me that these tests will go smoothly and the sedation will not have a negative affect on him. I have been trying not to worry or be scared of all that is going on, but I think that would be nonhuman if I wasn't (and I would be lying if I said I wasn't worrying). I know the Lord is in charge and going to take care of Carter, but as a mother I want to be in control. I know God is teaching me a lot through all of this, but its hard to learn when you just want to mother and take care of your baby.
Here is the schedule of events taking place this week, please pray for these things:
Monday I have to give Carter drops to protect his thyroid from the injection he has to get.
Tuesday we go to the hospital and Carter will get an IV and then a injection of nuclear medicine.
Wednesday he will get an MIBG scan at noon. (This is what the nuclear medicine is for)
Thursday he will get a MRI at 8 a.m.
I will return to Bolivar either Thursday or Friday, but probably Friday.
On both Wednesday and Thursday I have to starve him and he will get sedated both times. Thursday will be the 5th time I have starved Carter and I am afraid he is going to start catching on. When he finally gets to eat he eats as if I won't feed him again for a long time. Please pray this doesn't phase him and he will do just fine.
I am so grateful for all of our friends and family. You have all been so wonderful during this time.
I know God does not give us more than we can handle and I have questioned him A LOT in the past week, but i know He has carried us through this time of trial and can't wait for Him to get the victory when it is all over.
Thanks for all your prayers.

Finally!

We are finally getting to leave the hospital. Today has been a long day and I don't care that we won't be leaving until after 9, I am just glad we get to go back to Nana's.
The report came back from his biopsy today (that was done when they removed the tumor) He does have Neuroblastoma and it is not in aggressive form which is amazing! There is a smaller chance that it has spread, and now we will just wait for the other test to be done next week. I will write in the morning hopefully with a report of a (much needed) restful night.

New status

I have had a hard day today and I am going to be very open and honest to all of you and ask that you please pray for us. I realized somewhere between last night and this morning that Mike and I have reached a new status in our lives. That status is being a parent of a child with cancer. We did not ask to be put in this status, it didn't give us a choice, it didn't ask permission, we didn't get an invite, it just happened. I'm not ok with this and I am mad. I don't want to deal with this and I don't want Carter to have to deal with this. This is harder than anything I could have ever imagined. I know Carter is going to be fine, and I don't even think he will need chemo, but he still has/had cancer. He has been through so many tests and I hate to put him through anymore. He has been poked, starved, sedated and through many machines. I'm sorry for complaining but I just wanted all of you to know how we feel and what we are going through.

Carter got his chest tube out finally!! He will get an x-ray at 7 p.m. and if everything looks good we will get to leave.

This journey is not almost over, its just beginning. PLEASE continue to pray for us. This will continue to be a long journey, and we cannot do this without your prayers and support.

Perspective

Lucky is the last word I would use to describe what we have gone through in the last week however, one of the other parents here at the hospital used exactly that word to describe our situation. Lucky... I feel very far away from lucky, and when people used the word lucky I usually change it to blessed. I do feel blessed, but I am not sure that even describes the past week. I could list a bunch of reasons why I feel blessed, but that still doesn't describe this week. Sirena's mother is the one that called me lucky, and I would like to tell you a little about this precious girl so you could pray for her. Sirena is 14 months old and has been in and out of this hospital since November. In November they removed a tumor from her brain, and she has been on chemo ever since and will remain on chemo until this November. After her surgery they were here for 4 months, and now are here because she got an infection in the port she gets chemo in. When I look at Sirena and then I look at Carter I do feel "lucky" and very blessed. I do not want to watch my little boy go through chemo, or any other procedures. Please pray fervently for these next few tests. We are trying not to worry and just pray, but I am not doing a very good job at this.
Carter did not sleep well last night which means we didn't either. He is so tired at this point, he can't fall asleep. If they sedate him for his bone scan today at 1, he may just sleep until tomorrow morning! (one can only hope) Carter is going to get a chest x-ray today and if everything looks good they will remove the chest tube. Please pray they remove this today so we can go "home".

Yesterday we got to take Carter in a ride around the hospital in a wagon. I think this was more fun for us than Carter but that's OK. Carter also got to see big brother Evan, which was more exciting to Evan than Carter. I feel like Evan has grown up so much in the past week.

We have been asked if people could bring Mike meals next week while he is home and I am not, please direct your willingness to help to Martha at the church, she is coordinating all of that.
We have been so amazed at all of your prayers, comments, calls, and willingness to help. We REALLY appreciate all of you. You have been a blessing to us.

Amazed (by Daddy)

I am truly amazed by everyones prayer. I wanted to say thank you. I'm amazed over and over again by everyones comments and encouragement. One verse that was shared with us which has become a favorite of mine is Isaiah 40:28-31. I read this scripture to Carter this evening and I had to fight back tears because it really spoke to me. I feel like these scriptures were written just for Carter.

Another thing that amazes me is how in the midst of their trying time, the Bayless family is praying for our little guy, and that means a lot to us. Thank you Daniel and Jenni for praying for us, and we will not stop praying for Granton. Daniel (Granton's dad) wrote a very encouraging comment to us that said he had learned not to worry, just pray. Please continue to pray for the 2 Bolivar boys.

"For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11. This is our prayer that God will continue to make His plan evident to us, even when we don't understand.

Mike

Lots of tests

Today has been a pretty good day for Carter. They took the suction off of his chest tube today, and will probably remove the chest tube in the morning!! He has only needed pain medicine once and I'm sure he will get it before he goes to bed. Tomorrow he will get a bone scan to make sure the cancer did not spread to his bones. (By the way I still hate that word). Its a good possibility we will get to go "home" after that. Then next Tuesday we have to come see the doctor and Carter will get injected with radioactive "stuff" and Wednesday he will have a scan to see where the radioactive "stuff" went. Finally, on Thursday Carter will have a MRI and a bone marrow test.

Mike and Evan will hopefully get to go to Bolivar on Saturday and Carter and I will stay with my grandma all next week. Evan desperately needs to go back home for some normalcy. He is doing really well, but I don't think he could handle another week. And Mike is ready to be back at home as well. (We all are but just 2 out of 4 will have to do for now)

Please pray that:

• ALL of Carter's tests come back negative for the "C" word. Remember that if there is no cancer anywhere else that means no chemo. I would hate for my little guy to have to go through chemo.


• Continued rest and peace.


• Healing of Carter's incision (it looks pretty nasty)


• No pain for my little man


• We get to be released from the hospital tomorrow.

Again, we cannot express how much we appreciate all of your prayers and comments. Just because he is getting better doesn't mean we don't still need prayer.

What a difference a day makes

As you can tell Carter looks much better today. Its so much easier to see him like this. I know some of you cried after seeing him yesterday, and hopefully this makes you smile. It sure makes Mike and I smile. Please pray for a restful night, healing for Carter, and another good day tomorrow.

Updated at 8:20: I know Carter looks really good in this picture, and he is doing much better, but I just happened to get him with a smile on his face and for most of the day he was poutty. If you click on the picture it gets bigger, and you will notice he has yes written on his chest. They did this so they operated on the right (left) side! I think its hilarious. His incision is about 5 inches long, and is below his armpit around to his back. You can not see the incision in this picture. Carter is now sleeping and I pray he sleeps well and does not wake up in pain.

Roller Coaster - The Ride Up

The tumor is exactly what the oncologist thought it was going to be. It is the same thing she talked so hopefully about, so I can now breath a sigh of relief. We still have to wait for tests and answers but things are again hopeful. Carter needs to have a bone scan and another type of scan and they will draw some bone marrow before we leave the hospital. Next week sometime (hopefully the end so we can go home, to Bolivar, for a few days) he will have to get an MRI to make sure there is no tumor in the spine. He does have neuroblastoma and yes that is cancer, but the oncologist says its not the kind of cancer we normally think about when we think of cancer. At this time he does not need chemo, but it depends on what the other scans show. If it has spread then he will need chemo, but the doctor thinks if this cancer progressed enough to need chemo he would be sick. Praise the Lord, Carter has not been sick!!
He is recovering very well from surgery and will be moved out of ICU very soon. He is slowly getting back to his "wild man" self. I will post a new and encouraging picture later. Mike and I have been very peaceful today and I know its because of all your prayers. We are so thankful for all of you and can't wait to get back home. My family is here, but "our family" is there. We miss you all so much.
Someone asked if we needed to bank blood for Carter and the answer is no, but thanks for being so willing. We also do not know of anything we need done at home or around the house but thanks to all who have called to ask. We love you all.


for the whole family

Roller Coaster Ride

Sorry it has taken so long for an update, Mike and I are really in a state of shock and did not want to write and face reality. Reality is that the tumor is cancerous. Aghhh.... I hate that C word. This is something that a parent should never have to face, especially when we are talking about a baby that is not even 1 year old. The surgery went really well, they were not able to get all of it, but did get most of it. It was attached to the aorta and could not cut it from there because he would have bled to much. The tumor was the size of a ping pong ball which is pretty big for a little boy. He did have to get some blood when he was in surgery because he lost more than they wanted him too. The oncologist was not in the hospital today so we don't know a lot of answers because she has to answer our questions about the cancer and what to do from here. She will be in tomorrow and I will update when I know. If anyone has questions feel free to ask because maybe its something we haven't thought about but should. When we first saw Carter after surgery it was a little more than we could handle. We took pictures because we thought if we had to see it, all of you should too. Isn't that nice of us!

We are very overwhelmed because all of this has happened in the last 5 days. Our emotions are so crazy right now we don't even know what to think.
Carter has already gotten his breathing tube out, and looks much better. He is doing very well breathing on his own and will probably get out of PICU in the morning.
Mike and I are staying in a parent room here at the hospital tonight.
Please pray for a good night rest for all of us, a good report from the oncologist, and quick healing from the surgery.


Thank you so much for all your prayers and encouraging comments, please don't stop!!

Update

Carter is still in surgery. They let us know that he would be done around 4. The surgery started at 2, even though they took him in at 12:45. Please pray that they get all of the tumor. If they don't get all the tumor he will probably have to have chemo to shrink it and then they will try to remove the rest later. I can really feel all of your prayers. Mike and I have been playing cards with my family to help the time go by faster. We really have a peace that could not come from within, but from our heavenly Father. They told us he will probably still have the breathing tube after surgery for a few hours, pray they have no problem taking it out. Thank you for all the comments, we really feel loved and enjoy knowing you are all thinking of us. I will update as soon as I can to say how the surgery went.
Love,

Carter's in Surgery

Gina just called and asked me to post an update. Carter is in surgery this very moment. He went in at 12:45, and the surgery will last anywhere from 2 to 4 hours. Keep praying!

Gina's friend, Jenelle

Today is the day

I just talked to the hospital and they want us to come now. They may do the surgery earlier than noon, which is fine because I just want it over. I know so many are praying for us and I really appreciate it. Carter is a little mad because we can't feed him but I think he will fall asleep on the way to the hospital. I will update as soon as I can. Love you all!

Surgery Scheduled

We went to the hospital today thinking we were going to be admitted, but we weren't. They said they hadn't scheduled the surgery but it would be sometime this week and Carter was on the list. He had to get another chest x-ray and his lungs looked clear. We got home and decided that Evan could come here until Carter has surgery and we told him he would see mommy and daddy tomorrow. Then the doctor called... The surgeon just called and said surgery would be tomorrow! That is good and bad, good because we want it done, bad because I wasn't expecting it. This whole thing has been a roller coaster ride. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PRAY for my baby. The surgery will be between 12 - 1 in the afternoon. It will take around 2 hours, and he will have to stay in the hospital for 5 days. He will have chest tubes because of where they have to make the incision and it will effect his lungs. They will remove the chest tubes when they are sure there are not leaks in his lungs. I can't explain to you how scared I am. I know Carter is going to be fine, he is such a little fighter but its still so hard. Continue to pray for Evan because he is so sensitive, and I know he doesn't understand what is going on. I don't want him to think his mommy and daddy abandoned him. I will post in the morning to let everyone know for sure when we have to be at the hospital and what time surgery is.
Thanks again for all your prayers and support during this crazy journey.

11 months old!

I can not believe Carter is 11 months old today. He sure has put us through a lot in the past 11 months but we wouldn't trade our time with him for anything in the world. We are getting ready to go back to the hospital, my emotions are going crazy today. The closer we get to knowing answers, the more scared I get. I know I have written about being scared and nervous, but I want you all to know we do have faith in our great God, but a parent can never be ready for something like this. Pray for our nerves and that we do not let the enemy steal anything from us. We know the Lord will take care of our precious son. Also pray for Evan, it broke my heart to talk to him this morning and listen to him tell me he wanted to go home. He is having a blast with my aunt, but he really misses his mom and dad. We really miss him too.
I will update more as soon as I can.

Pictures

I just wanted to post some pictures of Carter. This is from yesterday of him in his cage.

He was actually very happy in it.


This is from about a month ago, but I thought it was cute.

Getting to fine

I have a million thoughts in my mind, but not really sure what any of them are. Please pray for Mike and I. This is obviously not a situation we ever wanted to find ourselves in. We don't want to be here, and we don't want to do this! We have no doubt that Carter is going to be fine, but we want to get to fine. Getting him to fine is going to be the hard part. Even if all they have to do is surgery, we still don't want our baby to have surgery. The doctors think his tumor is neuroblastoma. I'm not sure what that is exactly, basically it has something to do with his nervous system and the cells tend to cluster together. This is the best kind of tumor to have so we are praying that that's what it is. To be honest I am having a hard time being hopeful. We were very hopeful that it was just a cyst and now its hard to be positive about anything else.

Carter has been a very happy boy today. It is so wonderful to see him smile. On Wednesday (just one day before we found out he had a mass) I was at a bible study and I had mentioned how I often forget to thank God for the miracle of my children, and how I am so thankful they are healthy because there are so many sick kids. I feel its really ironic that I mentioned that while my son had a tumor growing in his body. Also at that bible study we had prayed for a friend that has breast cancer, someone mentioned that we often look for big miracles but we miss the little ones. Obviously one big miracle would be for the tumor to just disappear or for it to be nothing serious, however there have already been miracles I would like to share with you.
Miracle #1: On Friday I couldn't feed Carter until after the CT scan, and he was a very good boy! He was so wonderful all day and I couldn't have asked for a better baby.
Miracle #2: We got to St. Louis in good time and with no problems.
Miracle #3: Evan is staying at my aunt's house and is having such a great time. Praise the Lord for a wonderful family. Evan can be difficult sometimes, but he is adapting very well.
Miracle #4: They let us leave the hospital. Mike and I can not tell you how glad we are we got to come to my grandmas. Its so much easier to be here than at a hospital.
When things like this happen you tend to view life a little differently. We are trying to figure out how God wants to use us during all of this.

Please pray for: good rest tonight, many answers to all our questions at the hospital tomorrow, Evan to not miss his mommy and daddy, healing for our baby, and lots of peace.
We really appreciate all of our friends and family.
Please post comments, we love hearing from our friends. We really thrive on hearing from all of you and knowing that you are praying for our boy.

At Nana's

We were able to leave the hospital and go to my grandmas. They can not do anything with Carter, or tell us anything else before Monday so they decided we could take him "home". Carter has to be back at the hospital Monday at 1p.m. and they will probably admit him. They will know more about what to do with him on Monday. We are pretty sure they will be doing surgery on Tuesday to get the tumor out. I won't know anything else until Monday, and then I will hopefully know a lot more. I feel better about being at my grandmas. I would rather not know anything here, then not know anything at the hospital. Hospitals are no fun! Please pray for the Doctors who will be working with Carter, that the tumor is not on his spine, and that it is not cancerous. We appreciate all of your prayers. We love you all.

Saturday, May 3

Well, I don't really know where to start. This blog was set up for us by my wonderful friend Jenelle. She also wrote the first post. Mike and I want to thank all of you who have been praying for us and our sweet baby boy. This is so incredibly hard for us, and we want to use this blog to be real and to update our friends on how to pray for us. We have met with ALOT of doctors and have been given more information than we can digest. Carter had a CT scan at St. Johns on Friday that showed there was a 5.5cm tumor in his chest, behind his heart. They immediately sent us to Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center in St. Louis. We chose to go to St. Louis because this is where my (Gina) family is. Evan is with my aunt and is having a GREAT time. Evan does have a stomach bug so he cannot come to the hospital to see us but we will arrange to see him tomorrow if need be. There is a chance we will get to leave the hospital and go to my grandmas and then come back later this week for surgery. Carter had another CT today to see if there are any tumors in his stomach, the surgeon just came to talk to us and he doesn't think there are any more but radiology will have to confirm that. It sounds like they will do surgery sometime this week and remove the whole tumor. This is not definite but a big possiblity. We are SOOO greatful for all of our friends and family who have been praying for us. We can not express how much we appreciate all of you. We will try to update as much as possible as this will be easier than trying to call everyone. Please feel free to call us or send us e-mails if we can't talk we will tell you.

Pray!

Carter (and his poor, stressed parents!) needs your prayers. Carter was admitted to the hospital on Thursday with pneumonia. When the doctors did a chest x-ray, they discovered a mass in his chest. He had to spend the night in the hospital and go to Springfield for a CT scan Friday morning. It turns out, the mass in his chest is a tumor that's taking up about half the space in his chest cavity. Carter and his family were sent to St. Louis Friday evening to Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center for tests. Everything is kind of up in the air right now until more tests are done. Carter will most likely have to have surgery, hopefully Monday.

We have faith that the tumor does not have any cancer, but Carter still will have to have surgery, so he needs prayer! Pray that the tests go well. Pray that this situation is resolved quickly and easily. Pray that Carter doesn't have to be poked and prodded too much. Pray that the family will all be able to get some sleep in strange beds! Pray for Mike and Gina to stay strong (and sane). Pray for Carter's brother, Evan, who's only four and bound to get confused before too long. Pray! Pray! Pray!