Positive signs this morning

Firstly, thank you to everyone who has prayed. We have desperately needed it and been sustained by it.

It has been a pretty traumatic and stressful 24 hours or so and it has often been very hard to update our family on what the latest situation is.

We are so grateful for people standing with us in prayer and spirit during this difficult time.

The ETV surgery was deemed a success and the fantastic neurosurgeon and his team managed to get some good size piece of the tumour to biopsy. For this we are truly grateful and pray that the ETV will start to relive some of the pressure in her brain as some of the spinal fluid starts to drain.

Following a short stint in the recovery room, Eloise was sent back to the paediatric surgery ward to recover. Unfortunately after a short while Eloise started having some really bad seizures that we couldn’t get under control.

Eloise was then taken to have a CT scan to assess her brain. The scan showed that during the surgery, air had got trapped into her brain (where there is normally fluid). This trapped air is irritating Eloises sore brain and the most likely cause for the more severe seizures.

As result, Eloise has been admitted into the paediatric intensive care unit and has been put on oxygen to expedite the absorbation of the air in her brain into the blood.

Thankfully this morning Eloise is improving bar a fever (which is now also coming down). The Neurosurgeons inform us that this is not uncommon for post neurosurgery but Eloise had further blood tests to check it isn’t an infection – which early signs show it is unlikely.

The anti-epiletic drugs also appear to have kicked in and Eloise has mercifully only had one small seizure this morning (including navigating a blood sample without having a seizure!).

Eloise will continue to be monitored in intensive care for the rest of the day (unless there is a sudden rush for beds) with a view to moving to the post-surgery recovery ward in due course, all being well.

Thank you so much for all your prayers, encouragement, picture, links to videos and messages. It truly has been a very frightening and traumatic 24 hours and we are exceptionally grateful to all of you. Thankfully it appears that Eloise is through the worst (for this round) and on a more steady path to full recovery.

Your continued prayers would be hugely appreciated. Specifically for:

• Gratitude for Eloise’s improved condition, for God’s presence with us in it all, for the care and excellence of all the staff at St George’s.
• That we would achieve some permanent level of seizure control for Eloise through the new medication
• That Eloise rests well and smoothly adjusts to her new ‘normal’ pressure in her brain – giving her greater stability and balance and for a full recovery from the surgery.
• For a positive result from the biopsy – that the tumour is low grade and that we would have some low risk options to start treating it.
• Gratitude that we both allowed into ICU. Please pray that they continue to allow 2 of us in / ability to swap for as long as possible.
• For Anna to be protected from the anxiety and stress and not feel abandoned as we left her quite abruptly.