Colby's Brain Surgery

Less than 2 weeks after John started back at Vestas and just a few days before Halloween we got a phone call from my dad at night.  He told me he was on the way to the hospital because they had just found a big tumor the size of a peach in Colby's brain.  WHAT???  That is something you NEVER expect to hear.  It was totally out of the blue, completely unexpected. This is a perfectly healthy and active almost 16 year old boy.  They weren't sure what type of tumor or much of anything that night, but would be doing an intense surgery the next morning.  That night was the most sleepless night I think I have ever had.  Between all the worrying and praying and still getting up to nurse a 4 month old a few times, I hardly slept at all.  I'm not even sure how I was able to get up, get ready and get Jackson to school the next morning.  I definitely felt like I was in a state of shock.  On the way home from dropping Jackson off, I stopped at my really close friend, Kim's house.  She knows me so well and could tell something was seriously wrong.  She sat me down and listened while I cried.  Then she did the best thing ever.  She hugged me and told me that I needed to go down to CA to be with my family and that she would watch my boys and take care of everything back here.  She even right then and there found and helped me buy my flight and make the needed phone calls to everyone.  I don't know what I would have done without her! I needed a steady mind and hand that morning to help me figure it all out.

The next day, Halloween, I found myself and Morgan on a flight to California.  My older sister Shannon picked me up from the airport and we went straight to the hospital where Colby was recovering from surgery from the day before.  The surgery went as best as it could have gone! When they got in there they discovered it was a cavernous angioma and not a tumor.  They were able to remove it all just in time.  He is expected to make a full recovery.  He came so close to dying, but he is going to be just fine, thanks to many prayers, fasting and divine intervention.  I won't go into too many details about what he had and his recovery here because while I was down there I started a blog for just that:

colbybaron.blogspot.com

I am so grateful I was able to go down there and be with him.  All of my siblings were able to make it down there within a day of his surgery and be together.  It was a difficult, yet miraculous time.  It was such a blessing to be able to witness the outpouring of love and support from all of our family and friends as well as the miracles that aided in his recovery.  I will never forget that week I spent down there.

Colby really enjoyed seeing Morgan in the hospital.  He brightened right up when he saw her and wanted to hold her, even if he had a hard time remembering her name at first.  This is my favorite picture I was able to capture during the visit:

We are all feeling so happy and blessed that Colby is now doing so well!!