Next week has crept up on us quickly and quietly, due to life being busy with her in school, camping and everything else that keeps a family busy.
However, there was one other event that we were not counting on that made for some busy days, and that was another trip back to Cincinnati. We were there in August (see last post), where we met some amazing people, two of them being Tanya and Christian. We were blessed to be able to spend some time with them in the hospital, as Christian was fighting melanoma.
A week and a half ago, God called Christian home. While it was and is still so hard to believe and take in, we are so thankful for the time we were able to be with him. "I am so glad I could make him laugh, mom." said Keziah, when I told her that he is now in heaven.
And so, thanks to some amazing friends and family who were able to take the kids at a moment's notice, I made a quick trip down to Cincinnati for three days, to be there for Christian's funeral. It was oh so hard, but it was such a blessing to be able to do these difficult days with some of our nevus family again.
Tanya asked me to take some pictures, which I did, but I am waiting for her permission before I share them here. We pray for Tanya every day, that God will continue to uphold her in the very difficult days, weeks, months and years to come.
It really hit home with Christian's death that melanoma *IS* a risk with the type of birthmark Keziah has. It may be slight, but that risk is there. And so it has made us truly grateful that we are doing what we can to eliminate that risk by removing the birthmark. While there are no studies (yet) that say removing it removes the risk, to us it just seems to make sense. I mean, aren't we always told to watch the little moles on our bodies for changes? And then have them removed if there are changes to lower the risk of it turning into melanoma?
And so, on we go with this journey.
Next Tuesday, Keziah will be admitted in for surgery at 12 noon. No expanders this time (yahoooooooo), but what the plan is, Dr. Zuker will do a procedure called an excision. You can read what that means here. Dr. Zuker is going to cut away the birthmark under her eye, up her temple and shorten her eyebrow as much as he can, as right now it goes way past her eye. Here are some pictures:
Yesterday we went to the doctor's for her pre-op check up, to weigh her, get her vitals and to fill out forms.
Usually I do this with just her, spending some time together, making it a bit of an adventure. But this time we were accompanied by her two cousins, as they are staying with us for a week. That's an adventure in itself, all right!! So here they are, all three boys sitting nicely, waiting patiently:
Keziah has no problem going to the doctor's as long as there are no needles involved. She is also well aware of what is to come and is okay with. She is just nervous about the smelly stuff that puts her to sleep: "They said it smells like fruit, but that is NOT what fruit smells like!" :o)
And not even 10 minutes later, we were out!! I think bringing in the troop helped to move things along quickly :o)
And so we hunker down for the next 5 days to get mentally prepared for another surgery. What better way to do that than to go camping!? And so that is what we will do, to celebrate our Thanksgiving weekend. This is good, because it is hard not to get carried away with our worries and concerns about this surgery - it is *so* close to the eye.......we are praying hard that what is done next week does not distort her eye by pulling it open and down. That is a BIG risk with this surgery. Please pray with us, that God will guide the hands of Dr. Zuker and his team as He has done so far. Thanks!
Doesn't looking at this bright smiley face make you forget all your worries?! Ah, how we love her and her zest for life so much!!
she is such a cutie!!!
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