Update on Mason

We are home from the hospital. They let us come home yesterday. Mason had a good night and slept from 8 - 5. :) He seems to be doing well today w/ pain. If you could pray that he would poop that would be great. :) He gets constipated easily and it's been a few days. We will post pictures soon. Thank you again for praying.

Mason's Hand Surgery Update

I want to first begin by saying a huge thank you for all your prayers and words of encouragment. They were felt and greatly appreciated today. We arrived this morning at 5 am and Mason received his first pair of scrubs. He looked so cute and was loving every minute of them. They took him back to begin surgery at 8:00. They anticipated about 2 hours. At 3 hours and 45 minutes we figured out that this was more complicated than expected. First, they made an incision in both wrists to release the tendon holding the thumb down. Then they had to cut joints and tendons between his thumb and index finger. (P.S. this is a 1st grade summary of all the big doctor words that he used with us.) They placed pins in both thumbs and took skin graphs in the elbows to place near the thumbs. In the words of our surgeon, they had to do alot of surgery. As you'll see in the pics below, they casted his entire hand and have heavily sedated him. We are in ICU for tonight and hopefully going home sometime tomorrow. He is running a slight temperature but otherwise comfortable on all his pain meds. He will remain in his casts over the next six weeks. We will have a long six weeks but we eagerly anticipate the outcome.

Last weekend I read the book "Choosing to See" by MaryBeth Chapman. ( I highly recommend the book). Their family has been through some very difficult days. I know many of you know their story and the tragedy that struck them a couple years ago. In the book, she refers to the song "Fingerprints of God" written by her husband in 2007. All week I've been singing this song to Mason. Since we have yet to see Mason's fingerprints/handprint, I thought this was very appropriate. As we were driving at 4:30 this morning to the hospital, low and behold that song came on the radio. I smiled so big and sang as loud as I could to Mason. The chorus says: (Mason) is a masterpiece that all creation quietly applauds and He will be covered with the Fingerprints of God. I thanked God for the gentle reminder that He continues to walk with us in this journey.

Again, I want to thank you for keeping Mason in your prayes. Our family would not know what to do without you. We will give you an update later this week. Have a blessed day,
The Whitehouse

Hand Surgery

Just wanted to give you a quick update about Mason's surgery. We will go in tomorrow at 5:15 am and they will do surgery at 7:30. They are doing both hands at that time. I will post pictures and write more tomorrow. Thank you for keeping him in your prayers.

I also wanted to give you an update on Lily. She has started radiation treatments. They created a caring bridge sight for her. I wanted to post it so you will know specifically how to pray for her.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lilyrajala

Rays Visit

When Mason was in the hospital for his tonsils, the Rays mascot and catcher John Jaso came by to visit him. It was sooooo exciting. He signed a baseball for him to keep. So cute

Tonsil Update

Mason did awesome today! Thank you, thank you for all your prayers. His breathing has been steady and we have not had any episodes at this point. They are going to give us an asthma inhaler for emergencies when we go home. He had some wheezing but nothing close to what happened in July. We are praising God for a wonderful day. He is resting well and they are keeping him on pain meds round the clock. If he does well tonight, then we should be able to go home tomorrow.

I have a VERY important prayer request. As we were in the waiting room today, I recognized a girl that went to Northside with me. Her name was Jenny Schuller at the time but now is Jenny Rajala. Her little girl Lily was having brain surgery today. Last week they found a tumor the size of a lemon on her brain. She and her husband are in shock but have a strong faith and know that God is in complete control. They were able to remove the tumor but have concerns because it seems that it may have spread. There has been some complications with functions that she has and memory. Lily is 3 years old and you can imagine the fear that they may be feeling. I told them that I would ask my blog family to please lift them up in prayer. They have some difficult days ahead.

Thank you for being so faithful in prayer for our family and other families. We love and appreciate all the words of encouragement that you have sent. Have a blessed evening.
Under His Mercy,
Wendy