A peace that passes all understanding...

That is truly what I am experiencing today. I cannot describe to you how amazing it is to KNOW that God has it all under control. I feel like I should be freaking out or something, I mean seriously, my 10 month old is having brain surgery tomorrow morning! But honestly, I can tell you I feel so "ok" about it all. I am not in shock or numb or in denial, just truly resting in the arms of the Father and trusting until the very end that it is all in His plan.

Karter went in for his MRI this morning at 9:30 to do the markings for surgery. He came out with six little black felt marking on his forehead...he looks like he has polka dots everywhere. All went well and we were home by noon. Now the packing and organizing starts.

So here are a few things to mention:

Surgery time-7:45 am Friday morning...we will arrive at Children's at 6:30am

Surgery length- 4-5hours

Surgery schedule:
1-they will do EEG and MRI right in the OR, this is to locate exact positioning
2-they will open up his skull
3-they will remove the abnormal tissue
4-they will do EEG and MRI again...to make sure that they got all of the tissue
5-they will replace the bone and stitch him up and take him to ICU for recovery

Karter will be in ICU for at least 24 hours, we will not be able to stay with him the first night. He will then be moved to the ward where one of us can stay with him 24/7. They have warned us about sever swelling and bruising after the surgery. He most likely will have one or two black eyes, his eyes may swell shut and there will be a lot of bruising. They have told us that is really the worst part of it for Karter, it can be quite irritating for him. Pain wise...he will be on morphine for the first 24-48 hours, then Tylenol with Codeine and then he will go home just on Tylenol if needed. His incision really will not cause him any discomfort, the stitches will dissolve within 2 weeks. Apparently, they bounce back remarkably fast. The swelling and bruising should subside in a week or so and he should be back to himself in about 14 days.

Obviously, we need your prayers tomorrow. For the guidance of the surgeons hands, for all the technicians doing the mapping and other things, for the nurses and doctors who will be caring for him. For us, for continued strength and peace. And mostly, for Karter that he has no complications during and after the surgery, with medications or anesthetic.

We continue to pray and have faith for healing for Karter. Whatever that looks like, we lay him at the foot of the cross and give him over 100% to his Heavenly Father.

Thank-you for your support through this. This weekend marks the turning of a page for us in many ways. We are thankful that we are here and we know that this marks the beginning of something big for Karter. As best we can, we will keep this Blog updated throughout our hospital stay. We should be home sometime on Tuesday, when we return I will give a full update on Karter's journey and his condition, if I was unable to do so until that time.