2-20-10 Encouragement and Joy

I woke up Saturday morning to tons of encouraging replies to my email about Dean. It was so uplifting to be assured that people would remember us in prayer. Ben was at work, so I kept calling him to tell him of the sentiments I was receiving. Since I couldn't call any hospitals on the weekend, I tried to answer the emails I had received. In my email to my aunt, I told her of the options I had learned about. I explained the things I read about the Minimally Invasive Endoscopic-Assisted Craniosynostosis Surgery. It boasted two small incisions, a 1 hour surgery, 20% chance of a blood transfusion, one day in the hospital, and a helmet therapy (for approx. 9-12mths.) Minutes after sending my email, she called me. (She had been a surgical nurse before becoming a chiropractic doctor, so I value her opinion.) She told me that she thought John Hopkins was the best hospital in the country and that she personally knew people that had been treated there successfully. She also told me that it had been her experience as a nurse that many problems from surgery came from anesthetics and the duration of surgeries. This additional information was very encouraging to me, and made me feel even stronger about the minimally invasive surgery. My aunt also highly recommended craniosacral therapy, which brings me to God's next step in providing for us. After getting off the phone, I saw am email from a friend of mine who is an iridologist (another natural health care provider.) Her email included the name of a nearby craniosacral therapist (Ann) that specialized with infants. I thought I'd try calling her even though it was Saturday. Anne answered and went on to tell me that she had worked for several years in the neonatal unit at Geisinger Hospital. She said she wanted to see Dean right away. The appointment was an hour long and it consisted of a light massaging mostly on Dean's head. (I do not understand all of the benefits of craniosacral therapy, but it works with the body's connective tissue, and can soften the sutures in the scull among other benefits. I believe this treatment will allow Dean to be in the best possible health going into a surgery and will really help in the reshaping of his head after surgery. I wish I could better explain the therapy, but I am still learning about it myself. Here is a site that Anne recommend to explain some of it http://upledger.com/ ) I was so pleased to be able to start a treatment to help Dean and talk with so many people, that despite Dean's situation, I felt immense joy. Only a great God can give peace and joy in such a trial.