Pre-op Day at McMaster for Liam

Yesterday was Liam's pre-op at McMaster Children's Hospital. It was a long tough day especially for Jason and I. As always even in a tough day there were moments when God reminded us that He is in control and that He will work everything for good. The first was when we pulled into the underground parking at Mac. I was starting to get a bit nervous and wondering if we were doing the right thing bringing Daniel and Caroline. Liam out of the blue said to us all. " I know why I have this brain tumour. It is so I can tell people about Jesus and not get in trouble." I hate it when my eight year old is smarter then I am. Here I was worried about us and he was already focusing on what God might be asking him to do.

As always when we go for an appointment somewhere Liam brought a bible to give away. He decided today was the day that he would give away the bible that Jack from The Family Christian Bookstore in Burlington gave him. It is geared for kids Liam's age. Our first stop was to wait to see a child life specialist who would explain the surgery to our children and answer any questions that they might have. She showed them pictures of the operating room, some of the equipment and did a great job of putting their minds at ease. It was in this children's waiting area that Liam decided that this would be a good place to leave his bible. Please pray for the child that picks up the blue bible. We saw so many families yesterday. Families in crisis trying to cope and I just can't even imagine what it is like for them and for their children without the comfort of Jesus. Pray that they will read Liam's personal message inside the front cover and hear his heart sharing about His God who saves, who loves them and who cares about what they are going through. After Liam arranged the bible on one of the kid's tables just so we were off to take him to get his blood work done and meet with Liam's surgeon.

Liam really does not like needles. Who does? He was really brave and was holding tightly to his prayer bear from Biltmore Baptist as the nurse got ready to poke him. As a looked at him large crocodile size tears started to spill down his cheeks. I went over and held his hand and got him to look at me. He was really very brave and it was over quickly. Although he was a bit concerned with the amount of blood that took from him!

Our final stop for the day was to visit the neurosurgery clinic and Dr. Singh. We had an amazing moment when Liam started looking for one of the bibles that he had left on an earlier visit. He was very excited to discover that someone had taken it home! It was no longer anywhere in the waiting area and believe me he looked! Please continue to pray with Liam that the person who took this bible will begin to learn about Jesus and will come to know Him.

Our meeting with Dr. Singh was great for Liam but hard on Jason and I (we had to sign consents and listen to all the risks associated with the surgery). Dr. Singh is wonderful. As she walked into the waiting area. She called to Liam. "Hello Sunshine!" He is at ease with her and she did a wonderful job explaining some of the unpleasant things that Liam will feel after the surgery. After Liam left the room, Dr. Singh also did a great job of explaining to us what they saw on the new MRI. There is not much change from his last set of pictures which is good news as the tumour has only grown a little. She is still confident that is not cancerous and that because it has grown we are doing the right thing by having it removed now before it causes significant problems for him. We are continually thankful to God that he allowed us to find it now rather than later and that he has put together such a fabulous surgical team. There will be four neurosurgeons in the operating room! Liam's surgery will start at 9am on Wednesday November 5th and will last approximately 6-7 hours. They will even allow one of us to go into the operating room with him and stay until he is asleep. This is an answer to prayer as my biggest fear was having to leave him alone when he was awake and scared.

Thanks to all who have already signed up for a time on Liam's prayer partner list. He loves to see all the emails come in. He gets very excited. If you have not signed up yet please just send us an email with the time or times that you would like to pray. We have divided the days into 1/2 hour slots all day and night every day from November 4th - November 14th. Thank-you to all who prayed for us yesterday. It is comforting to know that we are not alone in all of this.

Watch for a post later in a couple days. Liam is shaving his head and donating the hair to a charity called Angel Hair for Kids. This charity makes wigs for children who have cancer. We will take before and after pictures. Also we are getting ready for our annual Halloween event that we host at our house. This event reaches out to neighbours in our community. Our worship team plays music on our front lawn and last year we handed out over 400 pieces of candy with scriptures. Pray that we will shine for His light on Friday night to those that come.