November 20, 2009 Update

The morning started out with the awesome smell of fresh banana bread with blueberries and walnuts. Erika was up early baking an assortment of bread, muffins and cookies for her neurosurgeon. It came from a heart full of gratitude for someone who could have rushed her to surgery, but was slow and methodical. We have been very pleased with Erika’s neurosurgeon and the care she has received.

Erika had another CT scan today. As the doctor put it, “the white crab of death is gone.” He is referring to the area of blood that shows up white on the CT scan that resembles a crab. It was very prevalent on her earlier scans and thank God it is gone! He also told us that although he isn’t sure where the bleed came from, he does know the region of the brain and said that it was not a "subtle" bleed. The plan is to do another arteriogram in a couple months to take another look to make sure nothing was missed.

It will be possible for Erika to graduate on time if she can keep on schedule with her remaining rotations. Please pray that she will have the strength to keep up the pace and the wisdom to know when to slow down. She still feels quite weak and tires easily. Also, the headaches are much improved but are still present.

Thank you for your continued prayers,

Tim