If you remember a few weeks back, I asked you to pray for our cousin's daughter, Hannah. Hannah has hydrocephalus. The treatment for that is to have a shunt implanted to create a pathway for the fluid that builds up on her brain to drain and be pumped into her stomach. A few weeks before Christmas, Hannah was scheduled to have her shunt revised as a test showed it was not working properly. However this procedure was postponed due to Hannah having a cold. I recently recieved an email from Hannah's mother, Allison. I have reprinted parts of the email here for better understanding of this situation but also, I wanted you to see this mother's humble prayer request in her own words.
"Well after gathering some more information the past couple of days and talking repeatedly with the neurosurgeon, Nate and I and the neurosurgeon have decided to actually put off the surgery for at least three months."
This was decided due to the fact that Hannah is showing no signs of increased presure on her brain and an opthamologist confirmed that Hannah's optic nerve is not swollen which is another indication that there is not any additional pressure.
"So, it seems that Hannah is draining some of the CSF on her own (which is something that we have been praying for)."
Allison and Nate have concluded that due to the possible difficulties involved in this type of surgery, the benefits may not outweigh the risks at this point.
"Nate and I have been praying that God would guide our footsteps and make it clear what decisions we should make. At this point I feel like God used Hannah's cold to force us to take more time to consider all of the possibilities. Over the past two days we were forced to wait and we feel that waiting three more months would be the best thing at this point. We have to consider the possibility that her ventricles will increase in size over the next three months and so I am asking you all to pray that if they do at all then it would be obvious to us (she would display symptoms) and we would know without a doubt. Also, please pray for her brain, that God would continue to heal her and protect her, and that the Lord would make clear to us what the best course of action is. Also, I know that God's hand is in this and that he is capable of performing miracles. Please pray that when we go back in three months that God would perform a miracle in her. Lastly, please pray that Nate and I would continue to place Hannah in God's hands and trust that He is with us and love's her more than we possible could. I know that the Lord can and will continue to show is grace, love, and power through our lives and I am thankful all of these decisions do not rest entirely on my shoulders. Thank you for your prayers and support."
I am heading over to the prayer meeting today at Significant Source. Please feel free to drop by and leave your own requests or just visit the comments section to pray for others. Thank you!
