I have grown to hate this word

James 5:14-16 says "Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.  If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.  Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

As I have said a few times before to most of you in either emails or previous posts -- now is NOT the time to be bashful with prayer.  Brayden has another sonogram on Monday and we got the result yesterday.  It appears that his brain is clear of fluid - blood and water - which is good.  His brain has also "resolved" the situation with the white matter...which from what we understand means that there is no more white matter in his brain -- Praise Jesus!  However, they have now found a cyst on his brain. 

That is the word I wish I never have to hear again -- cyst.  Cysts are what kept Kelli from being able to move forward with our IVF treatments, she had a cyst that ruptured over Memorial Day weekend that landed us in the E.R. This word "cyst" is becoming the root of all evil for me. 

The light at the end of the tunnel here is...what does this really mean?  Well, from speaking to a nurse last night while at the hospital it appears that Brayden isn't the first preemie to have a cyst on his brain, nor will he be the last.  So, she said they aren't necessarily common, but they do happen.  She said that what it could mean is that he is just a little slower in his development...it could go away and there be no problems...or it could get worse which could lead to a whole slew of issues. 

Thus, NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO BE BASHFUL WITH PRAYER!!!  Seriously...what are you waiting for...take 30 seconds and say a prayer for Brayden. 



Ok, thank you very much for doing that.  :)

Otherwise, the little bugger is getting bigger by the minute - putting on weight quickly (like his daddy) which is very good.  Everything else in his tiny little body is growing just as it should, we just need some help with his brain. 

Hopefully these pics come thru, but we were at the hospital last night and were there when the nurses were changing out his mask and cleaning his face, so we got some really good shots of him with his eyes open and NO MASK!!!  

Enjoy!!

The blue tube they have in his face is pure oxygen to help him breathe while his mask is off.  Kelli is shading his eyes so he isn't squinting so bad

Here he is yawning since we woke him up to take his mask off...

This next one is just after he shut his mouth from yawning.   :)

This is probably a little close, as it looks like he has a Ginormous forehead, but the Iphone's camera is only so good. 

This last one is similar to the first one in that Kelli is trying to keep him from squinting so bad.

That's our little man -- Brayden Jackson Dowdney