Ava, Day 4.

We are hanging in there. Today we find out exactly what type of cancer Ava has. There is much to find out over the next couple of weeks to devise the plan of attack for this piece of crap that is trying to hurt my girl. Rest assured, it will be beaten into submission.

Ava had a good night last night. They are working on getting her ICP (internal cranial pressure) down so that they can take the drain tube out of her head, but that is a slow process. In the mean time, she was joking with us and while kinda slurry and groggy, was having a good time without much pain. She is a fighter. I am so grateful God made her that way. It will serve her well in the months ahead. She will continue to get better and have less pain over the next few days.

We are on a two track plan right now...

Track 1: Get her well from surgery. Get her body responding and doing the physical and occupational therapy necessary for her to regain all of her function. We are currently on the tail end of the window that is "critical" to watch for bleeding and major swelling. Praise God for no major complications so far. Each minute further away from the surgery is another minute we are less likely to have those life threatening issues arise. He is good and has blessed us incredibly with a world wide prayer network and docs and nurses at one of the top pediatric hospitals in the world. Track one is moving along well and we may actually be out of ICU after tomorrow if all continues to go as expected. The docs are mostly pleased with her surgery progress.

Track 2: Fight cancer. Later this week she will have a spinal tap to find out if the cancer cells went anywhere into her spinal column. If that is clean (which is a huge prayer request) then the road ahead is a bit better. None of it will be fun, but the less cancer we have to fight, the better it is for the little warrior. We'll know a lot more about this stuff in the coming weeks.

On a personal note, I am ok. Lisa is ok, too. We have moments of great confidence and moments of great despair and unbridled emotional pain. We love our little girl. It is weird to be assigned to protect someone who is being attacked by their own self. I will learn how, but I'm not all that confident in those skills yet. It already feels like we have moved into the hospital and the care staff is quickly becoming like family to us. The ICU nurses have been absolutely amazing with us and Ava. They care for her as if she were their own. It's incredible to watch. I admire them.

Many of you have thanked me for being public about this battle. To that, I say, "Thank you". I am talking and writing about this because I know it lets you know how to pray. Knowing that literally thousands around the world are praying gives Lisa and I great peace. We know God has her and she is His. I write also because it helps me. It helps me to put down on paper what usually will only come out in tears. It makes it productive for me and not just a way to kill time by babbling about it to a single person. I will keep updating.

Thank you all for being a part of Ava's healing and our strength. We are at peace knowing God will be glorified by this, but seeing the pain of the hour sometimes clouds that lofty thought. Ava needs you to keep praying. So does Lisa. And for sure, so do I.