Success

Today is the day we have been waiting for!!! We are both giddy with anticipation and a bundle of nerves. Everyone is ready to leave the house at 5:50 am so we can pick up Husnia who will translate for the doctors and nurses, and get to the hospital by 6:30 am to check in for surgery. Things move along in quick succession, and by 7:15 Ali is gowned, has his IV, and is watching TV while we wait for Dr. Bertsch to greet us on her way to scrub. The one concern that he has is about the stitches that will be placed after surgery. He showed us a scar on the palm of his hand that he got from being cut by a piece of metal that required stitches, and remembering the removal of those stitches were the cause of his concern. Dr. Bertsch assured him that this time it would be different. (She was in fact able to use all dissolvable sutures and steri-strips, so there are no sutures to be removed) The sedation began to work within 2 minutes of being pushed into his IV, and 2 hours later he was back in his room, requesting to go home. Still groggy and silly from the anesthesia we managed to keep him there long enough to eat half a pop tart and drink enough coke to satisfy the recovery room nurses that he could in fact, go home.

My relief is replaced by gratitude and I am struck by the gift that Solace for the Children has given this sweet and loving young boy. A gift that will transform his life from being the boy who is an outcast to the boy who went to America and returned to Afghanistan healed. I am grateful to the doctors and hospital who made this gift possible, and to our God who through all things are possible.

Peace,
Meg

Kites

Okay so I admit it... this isn't as easy to keep up with as I thought it was going to be. Time just gets away from me and before I realize it we're half way through our 6 week stay and I realize I haven't posted in more than a week! So here we are sitting at Holden Beach, NC for a week of sun and sand and waves and kites and a family gathering that is the glue in our lives. Nawroz has never been to the beach, or seen the ocean or the dunes of sand that lay between Serenity's Star, our home for the week and the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean. The pure joy and wonder at every turn and at every site is his gift to all of us. This annual week at the beach is truly soul food and rejuvinates the spirits of all of us. And it's will be the perfect preparation for the surgery that will happen on Friday July 24 at 8:00 in the morning. Our visit with Dr. Bertsch was exactly what we've been praying for, and although she had yet to see the actual CT results or report (not sure why I actually expected those to be in her hands before the appointment) she is certain that the Lipoma can be easily removed. She will make an incision along the base of the mass and remove it, then reduce the excess tissue when she is finished, and everything should be hidden by his natural hair line. He is giddy with anticipation and his face lit up with such excitment when the translator told him that the surgery would be done. We are grateful to the hospital and Dr. Bertsch who will so generously give this life changing gift to the little boy who has changed our lives forever.

Peace,
Meg

Firsts

Everything has been a first. First time swimming, first boat ride, first popcicle and icecream cone and very first time there has been a ct scan of the squishy mass on the back of his head. And for the first time we can see that it is totally outside the brain and appears to be just under the scalp. Our visit to the surgeon on Thursday will tell for sure, but from all reports it appears that the growth can be removed. Still I'm trying not to look beyond today, but as the pieces of the puzzle begin to fit together, it's hard not to try to see the big picture of the impact we will have if we are indeed able to perform surgery. The difference we will make in this little boy's life will change him forever. Not only through the surgery we hope to perform, but through the love and laughter that we surround him with. To see the bonds that have developed already remind me that language is less important than actions and that love does build bridges. Slowly the trust contines to build, and each day our lives grow richer because of the firsts.

Peace,
Meg