Thursday Night

Some great news, Cami is home!  We keep feeling like we need to pinch ourselves!  We can hardly believe that Cami is progressing so quickly, especially when at this point after the last surgery Cami was still in a coma.   We give God ALL GLORY AND HONOR AND PRAISE!!!  Nausea is gone, Cami has been able to get some more rest, and pain is controlled through medication for now.  We are just so baffled right now!  Praise God!  Please continue to pray for no complications as well as reduction in swelling (Cami's face is pretty swollen).  Thank you for joining us in honoring God through prayers and praises today!  We'll continue to update!

Wednesday Night

Just a quick update on Cami's status.  She was able to move out of the ICU tonight and into the monitoring wing.  We are still on track to go home sometime tomorrow so we should be sleeping in Brownsburg tomorrow night.  Dr. Pritz says he expects Cami to be very tired for a while so we may still hold off on visitors for a little while, but we will be excited to see you all very soon.

Thanks for your continued prayers,
Seth

Tuesday @ Noon

We have had several more answers to prayer today.  Today Cami saw her speech therapist for her evaluation and did great.  She was actually told that she wouldn't need any additional speech therapy after she is released from the hospital.  A little while after that her physical therapist came for her PT evaluation and the results were just as good.  She was able to get up and walk around (something she couldn't do after  2 full weeks last time) and her therapist told her she probably wouldn't even need any outpatient therapy.

This is just such a blessing to see how well Cami is doing after the surgery.  After just 24 hours she already looks, feels, and acts better than she did after several weeks after her December surgery.  Even when she first woke up Cami could tell a huge difference.  She told me that her first thought was "Thank you Jesus, I'm not in a coma!!"  We know that a huge part of this is a direct result of the amount of prayers we received.  I just can't even to begin to explain how much better she is doing in comparison to the last surgery.  We praise and thank God for just the work he has done and continues to do.  I'll continue to let you guys know how Cami is doing.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support, they are definitely being felt here.

Seth

11:00 p.m.

Things continue to go well but Cami is still very nauseous and is having a lot of pain in her head.  Her nurses have said that this is normal considering what she just went through, but Cami would love prayer about these two things.  Prayers that we would both be able to get some sleep tonight would also be appreciated.  Tomorrow will likely be another long day (of a different sort) and a good nights sleep would be helpful for approaching the day.

Thanks again for continuing to lift us up in prayer,

Seth

7:00 P.M.

Great News!!!  God truly is good.  I was just back with Cami for the last 30 minutes or so and she is doing great.  She is awake, alert, and was extremely happy to not be in a coma.  She was able to respond to everyone here and talk with us.

Some other good news, we talked to Dr. Pritz and the AVM is completely removed.  Cami is still on bed rest so we don't know what sort of side affects there will be, but we continue to trust that God will continue to bless us and whatever side affects there are that Cami will be able to overcome them quickly.

We thank you so much for your prayers and are so excited for when we get to see you all again.

Love,
Seth and Cami

3:45 Update

Dr. Pritz just came and spoke with us.  Cami is out of surgery.  Everything went well and the AVM is gone.  She is in the recovery room right now and will be moved to the ICU later on today.  I'll update after we have had a chance to see her and find out anything else about the surgery.

Seth

3:00 Update

We just got word that things have been going well and they just closed on the surgery.  Dr. Pritz should be coming out soon to talk to us and to give us more information on how the surgery went.  I'll update more as I find out more.

12:30 Update

We got another update a little while ago.  Things are continuing to go well and as planned.  Thanks for continuing to think about and pray for us.

Seth

11:00 a.m. Update

I just got another update on Cami.  She started surgery around 10:00 and things are still going well and as according to plan.

Seth

Monday 9:00 a.m.

Good Morning All,

Now that we are at the hospital I will try to send out updates whenever we get them (generally every 2 hours or so).  Cami is back in the OR.  Everything was routine as she checked in this morning and they should actually start operating at any time.

Thanks again for your prayers this morning.

Seth

Praises and Prayers

Hi Everyone!  Before surgery tomorrow we wanted to share a few things.  First of all, we wanted to remind ourselves of the many specific ways God has taken care of us and proved Himself faithful during this time in our lives.  We thought it’d be neat for you to hear all the incredible ways He’s been working.  We praise God for these things.

• I have never signed up for any of the “extra” insurances offered through my work until last year, sort of on a whim, I signed up for short term disability coverage.  God saw ahead of us and provided financially for us before we even knew I had an AVM.
• After finding out about my AVM we learned that pregnancy can be a very dangerous thing for a woman.  The very same day that Seth and I officially had the “I think we’d be open to trying to get pregnant” discussion was the day I had the seizure, which is how we found the AVM.  God protected me.
• Generally people have to “jump through the hoop” of seeing a neurologist first, then be referred to a neurosurgeon, etc.  For some reason (we’d say God’s provision!) our first appointment happened to take place with my neurosurgeon, who is one of the best around, and he was able to see us right away.  He has been very accommodating and knowledgeable.     
• God has provided Seth for me as an amazing support, and I also have a loving and supportive family all living in the area willing to help out in any way possible.  Not to mention we have an amazing support in our friends and other family members....that would be YOU! :-)  THANK YOU!
• A friend of mine sent me a Bible verse early on in all this that really meant a lot to me.  A few days later 3 of my dearest friends gave me a daily devotional book.  On the day they happened to give it to me, the exact same scripture was the verse that was highlighted in the devotional for the day.  (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
• The AVM is on my left side, and I’m left handed.  This means a few things.  1st, most people’s speech is controlled by the left side of the brain, but because I’m left handed mine is likely controlled by the right side, so it’s not likely my speech will be affected. 2nd, because the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, if I have lasting numbness or paralysis from the surgery it will at least be on the right side of my body rather than my dominant side.
• The timing for the first surgery has worked out well for Seth in order for him to avoid taking a ton of work off. The majority of my stay was over his Christmas break.  I came home from the hospital on January 3rd, and he started back to school on the 4th.
• We have been blessed to hear stories of God’s glory being revealed to many as they’ve journeyed with us.  Praise God!  
• I have been able to reconnect with a friend from high school who had brain surgery as a teenager.  Although our stories are not exactly the same, it has been beautiful and therapeutic to hear her story and be able to share mine with her, someone who understands many of the things I’m going through.  Julie, you are inspiring!
• I have experienced rapid healing from my first surgery. 
• I’ve had incredible nurses, and it has almost seemed like I was given certain nurses at certain times to fulfill exactly what I needed at that specific time.    
• There are likely a million other things we are leaving off the list, but those are some very specific ways we’ve seen God working.

We also wanted to ask you to pray over some specific things as well as anyway you feel led to pray.  Please pray for:

• All medical staff involved:  surgeons (Dr. Pritz is the lead surgeon), anesthesiologists, nurses, other doctors attending to me, and anyone else we’re forgetting!   
• No coma or hallucinations this time!  
• A smooth and successful surgery.  That surgeons would be able to completely and safely remove the entire AVM.
• No paralysis or increased numbness
• No speech or vision problems
• No complications from anesthesia 
• Overall safety and physical protection
• Peace and comfort for waiting family and friends and Cami as she goes into surgery
• Ability to rest and for a speedy recovery and protection from scary thoughts during recovery
• God’s glory to continue be revealed to many 

Again, we thank you so much for your commitment to praying for us and journeying through this with us.  God bless you!  

Love,

Seth and Cami

Prayer Times

Friends and Family,

It is about that time again.  Monday Cami goes back to the hospital for her second surgery.  While we are both nervous, scared, apprehensive, etc, we are also excited with the prospect of being able to put this ordeal behind us, and feel so blessed with the way God has watched over us and provided all of you to lift us up with your thoughts, prayers, encouragement, cards, food, etc. over the last several months.  We ask that you continue to lift us up this week as the surgery day draws closer.

Something that we did for the last surgery that we would like to do again was to set up a page where people can sign up to commit to prayer during a certain part of the day.  It was reassuring and uplifting to know that from 6:00 a.m. until almost midnight on the day of the surgery, at least one, and many times two or three people were praying for Cami.  I have set up the same Wiki site at http://pray4cami.wikispaces.com/  If you would like to commit to praying for a specific 15 minute period during the day to ensure Cami is being lifted up in prayer throughout the surgery, please visit the site and sign up.  If you are unsure of how to sign up, feel free to email your name and a time you would like to sign up for and I will add you to the list.  As with all of our emails, blogs, and anything else we send out, feel free to share this with whomever you wish.  We had over 180 people signed up to pray last time, several of which we have never met and do not know and that is thanks to you all for forwarding our message along.      

Again we thank you all so much for your prayers.  We could not have gone through this without you. 

Love,

Seth and Cami

Surgery Date Set

Hello to all!  All tests on Thursday went very smoothly.  Thanks for your prayers.  We talked to my surgeon while we were at the hospital, and he told us my next surgery will be Monday, February 20th.  This brings equal amounts of relief and anxiety to me.  I am ready to be one step closer to the end of this though!  We don't know details about the time yet, but we assume we will need to report very early like last time.  As the time approaches we'll send out another page like we did before to sign up for prayer times.  As I always say (and could continue to say forever) thank you for your prayers and support.  

Love,

Seth and Cami

February 6th

Hello everyone!  I'm just writing with our latest update.  I am scheduled for a CT scan and arteriogram this Thursday, February 9th.  This will help the surgeon see what the current status of everything is so he can be best prepared for the second surgery.  We don't know yet when the actual surgery will be but anticipate it to be 2-3 weeks after Thursday's tests.  We ask for your prayers for safety at Thursday's procedures, that the results would be clear and helpful to the surgeon, that there continues to be no AVM bleeding before my next surgery, and we ask for prayers for peace as we anticipate the next surgery.  We praise God for the rapid healing I've experienced as well!  I know I will grow more anxious as the day approaches, but I also know God is in control.  I'm leaning on that a little more strongly everyday, but as a human, I'm also finding it's never as easy as I'd like it to be!  As always, thank you for your prayers and support.  We'll never be able to say it enough!  You mean the world to us!

Love,
Seth and Cami