Jaden's Brain Cyst Update

Yesterday we met with Jaden's Neuro Team to discuss what the next plan is for the cyst that surrounds Jaden's Brain Stem. After 4 weeks of waiting for Jaden's Surgeon to review the images of his latest head CT's and images, he set us down to let us know we had 2 options. The first option being that we do nothing to the cyst and Jaden never physically improve or progress. Second being that we perform another Craniotomy; this surgery from a different angle from the back of the neck. He stated going in from behind the left ear which Jaden has a VP shunt that runs behind his left ear which poses a risk for a shunt malfunction working so closely to it. But normally this procedure from the left side of the skull is only performed on older adults, he told us that Neuro Surgeons don't usually travel this path of the brain in pediatrics but he is willing to try since this is the only route we can take to get to the top of the cyst instead of the bottom like from the first attempt. He gave us less than a 50 % chance of this helping to relieve the cyst and for it to reduce in size. He shared with us how dangerous the procedure is to Jaden being that normally they don't travel this path in a child of Jaden's age, poses the main risks of permanent damage to the brain tissue, bleeding, and infection, but he said we have to follow our hearts. That's all he has for us. He is top notch Brain Surgeon and has been with us every step of the way since Jaden was just only 4 days old when he suffered that terrible brain hemorrhage. He knows every tiny detail of Jaden's brain. He has done all 10 of his brain surgeries. We know beyond a shadow of doubt he has put much thought into what to do next for the cyst but as we sat there he told us that this is all there is and the chances of it not working is great, greater than it working and for us to go home and think about the risks and to let him know. He said he is more than willing to approach the cyst from the side in hopes to get to the top and see what it looks like from a different angle, however he currently has a CP shunt that is sticking right through the dead center of the cyst that was placed back in April of this year and it is not draining anything off. He can't explain why this shunt is not draining it away because we know that all the devices are working properly. He hated to tell us that if this procedure fails then he was completely done with helping Jaden's brain. It's completely out of our hands. Only the Lord knows what the future holds. James and I have prayed and prayed and prayed, and prayed, and prayed some more we have full confidence in Dr. Moriarty and we know that he is doing all he can. We prayed for the Lord to give him that perfect plan and that plan is to try to approach the cyst from a different angle one that is not done normally in children and we are so thankful he has thought of this and that he is willing but our hearts are telling us that less than 50 % chance of working is not enough for us to let this surgery happen to Jaden. Our hearts are telling us to get a second opinion. Not because we think that our Surgeon is not fully capable because we know he has thought and pondered Jaden's cyst for many, many, many months now and if our second opinion tells us that yes Dr. Moriarty is right, this is all there is to do for this cyst than that will be our answer to go ahead and do what Jaden's surgeon has suggested what if our second opinion  sees something new something that maybe was missed or a different plan all together that gives us a better chance than less than 50 % that's what our desire is more than anything in this whole world. Our ultimate desire is for the Lord to heal Jaden's brain completely apart from having another surgery 17 being that number. We know He can do this but for some reason the Lord has placed us here in this very moment for a purpose and plan that only He knows. Jaden has touched so many people’s lives and we will never know just how many until we all get to Heaven. James and I have grown closer to the Lord this past 2 1/2 years; He's the only thing that can help us. We have been reading a book titled "Finding Hope When Life's Not Fair", we have struggled with this and in our darkest days we have clung to our faith. We have discovered that true faith is hanging on to God no matter what's going on in life. Tomorrow we go to Neuro, Kosair and to Jaden's heart team to pick up every single medical document and we will be mailing it all to be reviewed by a Neuro Surgeon at Children's Hospital of Boston. On our way home from Louisville last night James and I were talking about getting a second opinion and how we should go about it. When we got home we looked up the number one hospital for pediatric Neuro Surgery and Children's Hospital of Boston came up. They are rated #1. So we thought we will give it a try and see what we come up with. So this morning I sent them an email and shared with them our story and what we had just found out about Jaden's brain cyst yesterday from our Neuro Surgeon and that we are at the end of our rope. My email was all typed up and I hit submit. I received a confirmation note saying allow 3 business days to receive a call back so I thought that will give us time to ponder what our Neuro Surgeon has said to us and wait until Boston call us back. It wasn’t 5 minutes after I hit submit of that email that my phone was ringing with a strange number. I answered and the lady said this is the secretary of Children's Hospital of Boston Neuro Surgery and we was calling in reference to you r email that was just received. My heart sank and was beating out of my chest as I shared with her our hearts and what had just went on just only yesterday. She assured me that 2nd opinions are best and some of her families that come to Boston are there to get 5th and 6th opinions. The more opinions the better for Jaden. She shared with me that Dr. Warf is from Kentucky and that he attended University of Kentucky she also went on to tell me that he knows our Neurosurgeon and would be so glad to review Jaden's records to see if there is something they can do and if so they will discuss everything with Dr. Moriarty and we will go from there. Our hearts are relieved knowing that someone that has never reviewed Jaden's images will be looking and we are trusting that the Lord is going to show a better way, one that will give more than a 50% chance of being successful and that Jaden will recover and will progress. We know the Lord's way is the best and we are praying that the Lord's will be done. Please continue to lift up this new doctor that's reviewing all of Jaden's medical records. If he tells us that Dr Moriarty's plan is the only way to go then by all means we are going to go for it, then James and I will be relieved that we got a second opinion about our only option that was told to us and the only one that’s left to do. We are overwhelmed by your prayers and we feel them. As we wait we will pray for wisdom to know what's best for Jaden.