Prayers for Adele

I realized yesterday that I have been really really out of the facebook and even the blogging loop. I was shocked beyond words when a post came across my fb news feed talking about the baby daughter of a friend of mine. It said that she (Adele) had a brain tumor and was going to need surgery. My heart sank into my chest. Then it hit me.....

I had talked to her mom Melissa a while back. I can't even remember why. It must have been on fb and she had asked me to say some prayers for Adele as Adele was having some health issues. I remember saying prayers for her nightly for awhile and I heard nothing else (because I obviously wasn't paying attention). Since Melissa had not elaborated at the time....it never occurred to me that Adele might be seriously ill. After seeing today's post....I wanted to cry.

Melissa writes a blog Work in Progress which is actually one I read quite often....when I read the blogs. I love her blogs because they are always about her family, her faith or sometimes about ways to save money or organize. Yeah....I am all about the organization right now so I should have been reading! At any rate....I immediately went to her blog and sure enough....she had been detailing Adele's health since the onset of her symptoms and giving daily reports on what the doctors are thinking. Let me say here....there are lots of doctors, several medical opinions and the family is still keeping their options opened for the most skilled neurosurgeon and the best hospital to perform the surgery that it is looking like little Adele is going to need.

Let me back up and say.....I first met Melissa several years ago. I met her through a friend I worked with and I went to a Mary Kay/Thirty-one Gift/Jewelry/several other vendors party at her house. She invited me to bring cheesecake so I could get some orders just on the word of our mutual friend. What a kind thing to do. I liked Melissa right off because she was laid back and friendly. She was also the first person that I knew that hard core bargain shopped and I believe she might even be a bit of a couponer. At any rate....she had a small stockpile of stuff she had purchased at deep discounts and I was totally impressed. I think that was the first stockpile I ever saw. We became fb friends after the party and have kept in touch ever since.

As time went on....I discovered that Melissa and I actually had quite a bit in common. First of all she is Catholic and second.....she is a dedicated pro-life advocate very much involved in Kansans for Life. She is also a wife, mother of three (and when Adele came along...mother of four), very involved in her church, politics, working out and blogging. She is the me I would like to be if I was 20 years younger. She is smart, well versed in politics and she seems to be able to keep up on current events and keep her house clean and organized, all at the same time. Is there any wonder I stand in awe of her?

Melissa's faith is very deep and very strong and whenever I would post on fb about David going into the ER or David having a health issue....she was always one of the first to offer prayers....and trust me....those prayers were all that got me through at times. She like myself knows that there are times when prayers are the most important gift one friend can give to another. I know her prayers have helped to pray David well on numerous occasions, so today....when I saw the news of Adele.....I knew it was my turn to return the favor.

Adele started out with what they thought was Bells Palsy. When it did not go away....she was given an MRI where the tumor was discovered. A more detailed account is in Melissa's blog . At any rate the tumor was felt to be benign but very unusual in someone as young as she is. A local neurosurgeon definitely suggested this be checked out by a neurosurgeon who was highly specialized in just this sort of thing in young children. After talking to a neurosurgeon at  Johns Hopkins and sending him the MRI's ....he felt that the tumor was both benign and  stable and for now could be watched. Surgery didn't seem immediately necessary. An appointment however to get into JH was weeks away. Worried that the wait might not be the right thing.....Melissa and her husband got an earlier appointment and took Adele to St. Louis Children's where the neurosurgeon there checked her out. He wanted another MRI done and this time after the MRI was complete and had been checked out by the STLCH tumor board....they felt there had been change in the size (getting larger) and also that it might be spreading. This indicated that it was likely not benign and would require immediate removal. In fact....they want to remove it Monday. Meanwhile....JH still feels the tumor is benign and stable.

As you can imagine....Melissa and her husband are beside themselves. Their healthy baby has gone from Bells Palsy to a benign tumor to now a dangerous and possibly malignant tumor all in a matter of weeks. Doctors are not agreeing on the severity or even the need for immediate surgery and they are living a nightmare trying to figure out which doctor is right and if they are risking Adeles life if they wait to be seen at JH. It is every parents nightmare as they try to figure it all out, make the best decision for their daughter and at the same time.....they feel completely helpless as parents.

There are also possible side affects to the surgery whether the tumor is benign or not. She could have loss of hearing and nerve damage for the rest of her life. Of course in the big scheme of things.....those things you can live around quite nicely. There are just no easy answers and no definite direction yet. Melissa stated that she had been given a few more names and contacts for JH and she was going to follow up on those today in hopes of getting Adele in much sooner than scheduled.

So here's the deal. As I said....I have many prayers to pay back and as a mother, my heart is breaking for what Adele and her family are facing right now. What I am asking is first and foremost......PLEASE pray for this little girl and her family. Prayers are powerful tools and Adele needs all she can get right now. Pray for a complete healing, pray for her parents to be pointed in the right direction where doctors and hospitals are concerned and pray that Adele comes through this and has a very long, very healthy and very happy life ahead of her. Second....if you read this and you have any information that might help Melissa (ideas how to get an earlier appt., the names of top neurosurgeons in the country or anything that you think might be helpful) please comment on this blog. Your thoughts or ideas might be ones they haven't yet come up with and it might just be what helps Adele. Also...please share this blog. The more people that see it the more prayers we have going. Also....check back with Melissa's blog for further updates as she is updating almost daily.

This is a situation no parent wants to find themselves in. I know that Melissa and her husband are strong and they have an awesome family, friend and church support system....but the worry and the fear when it is your child are sometimes over powering. Sometimes you just need to know that there are prayers.....lots and lots of prayers going up for your child and that is something that we all can do for them and for their precious little girl.



*******Adele's picture is not mine and I have no rights it.