Chase is Going into Surgery Tomorrow

After another long day of evaluations we are stuck with some hard decisions. We tried like heck to support Chase’s removal from the intubation today, including a long stint on CPAP. We thought that with a decent amount of pressure, his airway would remain open and Chase would be able to breath fine, particularly since all of his vitals continued to look good as long as the airway is held open. Our little Trooper was very compliant and cooperative once again – he worked for quite a while with the CPAP, even though we know it was very uncomfortable with the mask. He tried his best to keep his lungs filled and was able to do so for almost an hour, but it was quite a struggle.

In the end, we realized that it wouldn’t be worth Chase expending all of his energy to breathe when we need his systems to continue fighting off and shrinking the tumor. Thus, our only real option is to have a tracheotomy, which is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. Fortunately, this will be a reversible procedure and as soon as he’s over the hump with the nerve repair, we can have it removed, leaving a small wrinkle of a scar near his throat.

We also decided to go with a permanent shunt so that he can get the cranial pressure relief as we continue to work on shrinking the tumor. What we’ve learned about how this process is likely to continue to evolve is that as the tumor breaks down, it will become necrosis and liquidy in more areas, which will again cause further swelling before it shrinks. Thus, any additional pressure relief will become even more critical from here on out as we work diligently to get the tumor drained and purged from his body. We’re waiting to confirm the timing, but this procedure will likely take place on Friday and with any luck we are hoping to take Chase home again on Monday.

With these very important procedures behind us, we will continue to focus all efforts on fighting the tumor and getting it shrink as quickly as possible. The following link is to a file of images that are useful in visualizing with us Chase’s body succeeding in this battle of purging the dead tumor cells from his body. The sequence that we use is to clearly visualize a hologram of Chase before you in his healthy state (like the picture on his website). Then to imagine all the blood vessels inn the vicinity of his tumor becoming permeable to white blood cells – one illustration depicts the tumor and then in the next one, it is surrounded by white blood cells. Visualize every white blood cell in his body being drawn to the tumor and eventually there are so many surrounding it that they form a colony around it, completely engulfing it. Picture the white blood cells eating away at the tumor – they grab to tumor cells, pull them inside of them and then digest the cancer. Visualize the tumor shriveling up as the white blood cells eat away at it and then they carry away the debris. At the end of this sequence, use the waterfall picture to visualize pure light energy flowing over and through Chase, which is soothing and relaxing as it energizes and cleanses him.

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/chasesammut/files/Visualization%20Images/

Hopefully you find these images helpful. We like to think of them as clearly focused and specific intentions for our prayers. If it helps, you can also use the image of Jesus from the Divine Mercy Novena file on the Yahoo group site as standing behind or next to Chase during the visualization, as the source of his healing energy. We’re getting through this critical week and hopefully he’ll soon be back home on his way toward a more rapid recovery. Thanks again for all the prayers and support!

God Bless!

John & Carol Sammut
Chase & Barbara Ann