This is the update I sent out by e-mail on Tuesday, September 21st. It gives a little background info that will help you understand what's going on.
Well, it's been an interesting day. First the good news...the docs gave Spencer a pass to go to the Arts Center to see Cole's performance in Tom Sawyer. The 7th & 8th graders from Arkansas Baptist were there for a field trip and Spencer got to sit up front with three of his friends. It was the highlight of his week!
Now for the not-so-good news...we met with Dr. Carroll and Dr. Awad today with the pulmonary team. The CT scan showed that Spencer's lungs are much worse than we originally thought. Dr. Carroll said that in addition to the pulmonary consolidation areas that are in his lower left lobe of his left lung, now there are new infiltrate areas both on the left AND the right. Also, his left diaphragm does not appear to be working. In addition, his right lung is enlarged to the point that it has moved his heart over to the left side and is encroaching on his left lung. The doctor's thinking is that he is silently aspirating and that over the past year, little bits of food have been going into his lungs which is causing the infections and pneumonia he has been experiencing. Tomorrow, the speech pathologist will start preparing to test Spencer to see what is happening when Spencer eats different foods. We have no idea how long this whole process will take but I'm sure we will be at ACH for a while.
Dr. Carroll is determined to find out exactly what's going on and then fix it. He wants Spencer to be able to live his life, without being hooked to oxygen, and participate in school and sports like any 14 year old boy wants to do. We appreciate his tenacity more than he knows.
Spencer is upbeat and determined to beat this...we discussed how now is the time to FULLY RELY ON GOD!! You can't just walk with God when it's good and run for the hills when the going gets tough. This is what faith is all about.
So, if you call, I'm not able to talk about what's going on but please feel free to text or e-mail. If you come to visit, please don't mention it but Spencer would LOVE to have visitors.
Thank you all for your prayers. We love you,
Marilyn
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