Update on My Little Buddy

I just wanted to post an update on how my little buddy, Jack, is doing.  He had his surgery yesterday and his mom just posted an update on facebook ~

I know people have said this phrase before, that "words cannot express" how they feel about something, but it is a statement that rings very true for us. Words really cannot express how blessed we are, or how thankful. Jack's condition, although a VERY scary thing, has shown us how loving and faith-filled our family, friends, neighbors, and even folks we've never met in person truly are. We've always known how blessed we are - 3 beautiful children, wonderful family and friends, and a caring community - but this crisis with Jack has brought all of this to the forefront for us. There aren't enough words for us to thank each and every one of you for everything you've done for us - the gifts and words of encouragement for Jack and the rest of our family, running errands and helping to provide for Derek and Emma for us, and most importantly prayers for Jack and our family. If anyone ever has a crisis of faith or questions God's grace in their lives, I challenge them to hear Jack's story and know that the power of prayer WORKS and the Father's blessings rain down upon us in times of trials and fear!
As written previously, Jack's surgery was VERY successful!!! Many hours of tears, fears, hopes, and prayers led to a joyful conclusion. The neurosurgeon was able to remove all but .3 % of the tumor!!! He purposefully left this very small piece behind because it is right near the brain stem - since that controls breathing, swallowing, his heart, his central nervous system, etc, he did not feel that it was worth the risk to remove it but then put Jack's life in jeopardy by doing so. So, once the oncology report is back, (in the next 5-7 days), we'll decide the next course of action on Jack's road to recovery.
Our prayers were answered, everyone!!!!! The surgeon's hands were guided true and all of the other health professionals involved in Jack's surgery were watched over as well. Praise be to God!! We thank Him beyond measure for every one of you out there who prayed for him and kept him and our whole family in your thoughts during this difficult time. We understand that we are not unique or special.....we are not the first family to have a sick child, and, unfortunatley, we won't be the last. But we do feel special in that all of you out there sent prayers and love to our little guy, and we truly feel that that made all the difference! We are in exactly the right spot for Jack to receive phenomenal care, but your prayers were the turning point!
Jack will have a breathing tube all weekend, and he will be sedated as well in order to keep him comfortable while he is assisted in his breathing. Once the doc's feel that he is breathing well on his own and the brain stem was not compromised during surgery, he'll be slowly taken off sedation and his breathing tube will be removed. Right now, he continues to open his eyes now and again when he hears us talking to him; he squeezes our fingers when we ask him to, as well as stick his tongue out at us; he also lifted his legs! He is a tough little guy who we're sure will make a remarkable recovery.
If anything changes this weekend, we'll try to update everyone. Also, as so many of you have suggested, we'll look into getting a Caring Bridge account for Jack since there are some people who would like to be updated who are not on Facebook.
Thank you all for listening to my ramblings!!!  You know me - I talk a lot anyway!  Maybe I should let Tom do these updates from now on. ;-)
Happy Saturday, everyone! And in Jack's words before the surgery - - "Boo Michigan. Go Irish!!"

Praise the Lord!  Thank you to all who have been lifting this litte one and his family up ~ prayer really does matter.