| January Surgery, 2010 12 noon Friday, Jan. 29 The surgery finished around 10 a.m. It went well and Yverline looks fantastic and is talking and smiling. She will probably come home late Saturday or early Sunday. Thank you so much for all your prayers! Please continue to pray that there will be no complications and she will recover quickly. 8:50 a.m. Friday, Jan. 29 Yverline is just being taken into surgery now. The fluid drain via a needle last night was incredibly successful. She went from being practically comatose to smiling and laughing in about a half an hour. After an hour, we had our girl completely back. Since this procedure was so successful, the doctors are rethinking the surgery and want to revisit the valve they installed at the last surgery. Yverline's big issue at the moment is the pressure from the fluid in the cyst attached to the tumor, not the tumor itself. Therefore the surgery this morning has been changed from shaving down the tumor to adjusting the positioning of the valve tube in hopes that future surgeries will be able to be avoided by a simple in-office procedure of draining the fluid. Please pray for success in this surgery - if we can avoid surgeries in the future, it will make her life so much better! 10:10 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 28 Yverline went to the emergency room at Kaiser Sunset at 7:30 p.m. tonight because she has been really lethargic. Her CT scan and blood work came out okay - no bleeding or infection. However, her surgeon saw her and said he does not think she will make it to Tuesday and they must do the surgery sooner. They are prepping her immediately to have a procedure where they insert a needle and drain as much fluid as possible from the cyst in order to prevent a possible stroke. The only problem with this procedure is that they cannot put her under; they will use a local anaesthetic only. Tomorrow morning they will do the surgery that was scheduled for Tuesday. Please pray for comfort, peace and strength. It's going to be a long night followed by a long day! 1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan 26 Yverline's surgery has been rescheduled for next Tuesday, Feb. 2. The doctors have determined that the rash is either impetigo or shingles. Shingles come out usually in adults who had chicken pox as a child; Yverline had chicken pox in Haiti, but because she is undergoing chemotherapy, it is possible that she could be manifesting shingles even at such a young age. She is now being treated for both conditions in an effort to clear it up before the surgery. However, if the rash spreads by tomorrow, she will have to be admitted to the hospital. Please continue to pray for the Knutsons as they go through this emotional roller coaster. Pray also that the rash would clear up quickly. 10 a.m. Tuesday, Jan 26, 2010 Although Yverline had surgery just four months ago, she started declining (showing weakness) after Christmas. At first we thought it was due the fact that she was having less Physical Therapy, but in the last two weeks it has rapidly gotten worse and it became obvious that something was going on with her tumor. Last Friday, Jan. 22, Yverline had a CT scan and while nothing was immediately obvious during the test, the results came back yesterday that the cysts part of her tumor had filled up with fluid. During her last surgery, the doctors installed a tube leading from the cyst to a valve in the back of her neck. Yesterday the doctor tried to use the valve to drain the cyst, but the end of the tube had moved so that it was up against the wall of the cyst and it was blocked. Today at 1 p.m. Yverline is scheduled for surgery to drain the cyst, shave down the tumor and poke holes in the cysts sac in an attempt to stop it refilling. Past experience shows that the cyst simply grows a new wall when this is done, but it's worth a try. There is a possibility, however, that the surgery will be rescheduled, as Yverline has developed a rash near the surgery site. It may be a simple allergic reaction to the dye from the test on Friday, or it may be impetigo. If it is impetigo, they will probably not operate until it is healed. Our biggest concern is that the chemotherapy does not appear to be working. This puts us in a position of having to make difficult decisions. Do we do a different, more intensive chemotherapy protocol, which would mean more time at the hospital, as it wouldn't be able to be done at home, or do we go to radiation, which would mean Cynde would pretty much have to live at Ronald McDonald house to be with Yverline on a daily basis. Please pray for wisdom for the doctors, healing of the rash, the surgery itself, wisdom for the Knutsons regarding future treatment and strength and comfort for all involved. Coming so quickly, and on top of the earthquake in Haiti, this is harder to deal with that previous surgeries, and Cynde says, she just doesn't feel ready for this one. |
Yverline
Knutson's
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Knutson's
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Surgery Updates
3:45 p.m., Tues. March 2
Yverline looks good; she is awake and her eyes look okay. She is talking but very tired. Thank you for all the
prayers and keep praying!
1:25 p.m.
The surgery is over - no news from the doctors yet on how it went, but they will be able to see Yverline
around 2 p.m.
10:45 a.m., Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Yverline went into surgery at around 9 a.m. This is a very aggressive brain tumor/cyst reduction surgery.
Pray for the surgeon to walk the balance between removing tumor and preserving function.
Then 2 weeks after the surgery she will start Radiation treatments for 6 weeks.
Yverline looks good; she is awake and her eyes look okay. She is talking but very tired. Thank you for all the
prayers and keep praying!
1:25 p.m.
The surgery is over - no news from the doctors yet on how it went, but they will be able to see Yverline
around 2 p.m.
10:45 a.m., Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Yverline went into surgery at around 9 a.m. This is a very aggressive brain tumor/cyst reduction surgery.
Pray for the surgeon to walk the balance between removing tumor and preserving function.
Then 2 weeks after the surgery she will start Radiation treatments for 6 weeks.
6:15 p.m. Tues. March 2
Here's a snapshot of Yverline post-op.
What a beautiful smile!
Here's a snapshot of Yverline post-op.
What a beautiful smile!
7 p.m. Wed., March 10
Yverline is feeling much better with less crying
and outbursts. She did great with her MRI and
sedation. The doctor said that her tumor was
reduced significantly and her cyst is Empty!!!
There is an air pocket that should go away that
causes headaches. She is on schedule for
radiation. Thanks for praying. Mesi Jezi ♥
10:30 a.m. Monday, March 8
Yverline has been VERY emotional since her
surgery. She cries frequently and has had several
angry outbursts. She often refuses to eat. Cynde
spoke to her doctor and he said that the area he
was the most aggresive in during the surgery
controls emotions. Would you please pray for her?
We're hoping most of this is swelling.
4:30 p.m. Friday, March 5
Bad news= No MRI as they screwed up, again. So
on Wednesday she will go in all day and be sedated.
Good news= SHE IS HOME!! She is very tired and
is having vertigo, but she is home where she
belongs and now everyone can sleep. ; ) Please
keep us in your prayers we really need it.
Blessings, Cynde
10:45 a.m. Wed. March 3
Yverline is doing well, but her head hurts and her
eyes are flipping, we think due to swelling. This
should go away. MRI tonight and more info will
follow. We will be posting about ways you can help
in the next few days. Thank you again. ♥ Cynde
9:45 p.m. Tues. March 2
THANK YOU EVERYONE!!! And may God alone get
the glory. Yverline is doing so much better than
we could have hoped. We will meet with the
doctors tomorrow , they are still going back and
forth about which type of radiation treatment
they want her to have. She is also showing signs of
some weaknees on the right side. Keep praying and
thank you again.
Yverline is feeling much better with less crying
and outbursts. She did great with her MRI and
sedation. The doctor said that her tumor was
reduced significantly and her cyst is Empty!!!
There is an air pocket that should go away that
causes headaches. She is on schedule for
radiation. Thanks for praying. Mesi Jezi ♥
10:30 a.m. Monday, March 8
Yverline has been VERY emotional since her
surgery. She cries frequently and has had several
angry outbursts. She often refuses to eat. Cynde
spoke to her doctor and he said that the area he
was the most aggresive in during the surgery
controls emotions. Would you please pray for her?
We're hoping most of this is swelling.
4:30 p.m. Friday, March 5
Bad news= No MRI as they screwed up, again. So
on Wednesday she will go in all day and be sedated.
Good news= SHE IS HOME!! She is very tired and
is having vertigo, but she is home where she
belongs and now everyone can sleep. ; ) Please
keep us in your prayers we really need it.
Blessings, Cynde
10:45 a.m. Wed. March 3
Yverline is doing well, but her head hurts and her
eyes are flipping, we think due to swelling. This
should go away. MRI tonight and more info will
follow. We will be posting about ways you can help
in the next few days. Thank you again. ♥ Cynde
9:45 p.m. Tues. March 2
THANK YOU EVERYONE!!! And may God alone get
the glory. Yverline is doing so much better than
we could have hoped. We will meet with the
doctors tomorrow , they are still going back and
forth about which type of radiation treatment
they want her to have. She is also showing signs of
some weaknees on the right side. Keep praying and
thank you again.
| How You Can Help |
| Monday, March 8, 2010 The Knutson family needs us to come along side them in prayer and to help them manage Yverline’s radiation treatment schedule, maintaining their household and caring for Olivia. If you are able to help in any way please log on to their care page and sign up to be a blessing to this family during this difficult time. http://www.carecalendar.org/ HELPER Logon: Calendar ID: 34298 Security Code: 7057 Please forward this to those in your life groups, bible studies and ministries. God bless you, Pam Maury & Angela McDonald King’s Harbor Church Congregational Care Ministry Volunteers 310-375-5592 |
This is the current situation:
After a year of failed Chemo Therapy it has
been decided to move to radiation treatment.
This will require driving to treatment everyday
for 4-12 hours a day for 6 weeks. As you can
imagine, our other daughter Olivia (14) has
spent many hours alone already, which has been
hard. She rarely complains (she even gave up
ALL her Christmas presents to kids in the
hospital), but this new treatment will leave her
home alone (we homeschool) for most of the
day. This also doesn't allow much time for
housework or shopping.
After a year of failed Chemo Therapy it has
been decided to move to radiation treatment.
This will require driving to treatment everyday
for 4-12 hours a day for 6 weeks. As you can
imagine, our other daughter Olivia (14) has
spent many hours alone already, which has been
hard. She rarely complains (she even gave up
ALL her Christmas presents to kids in the
hospital), but this new treatment will leave her
home alone (we homeschool) for most of the
day. This also doesn't allow much time for
housework or shopping.