Pray For Liam

I met Carli McKeon (now Webb) when I was about nine years old or so.  Her family moved into our ward (church congregation) and she was a couple of years younger than me.  Carli was a hilarious trip from the time she was little and I loved her.  She had three younger siblings at home, and for some crazy reason her parents had me start babysitting them when I was only thirteen years old.  Yeah, considering she was not much younger than me and I was a horribly immature clown, it did not ever go well.  It was like a wild party every time I'd sit for them.  We would destroy the house, I would let them do everything they weren't allowed to do, her parents would yell and scream and take me home...and then they would call me again and again to babysit.  To this day, I have no idea why!  But it was always so fun.

Fast forward a million years in the future.  Carli and I are now moms and up until two years ago (give or take) she and her husband had also been living in Utah.  But they moved back to Houston and I won't lie- I'm horribly jealous of their move because it's my dream to live back in Texas too.

Carli's oldest child is exactly three weeks older than Lauren, also a girl.  Carli and I had babies two years later at the exact same time, both boys, her son Liam being one week older than Devin.  I guess you could say we were drinking out of the same fertility cup!

Carli and me pregnant with Liam and Devin, about six weeks before D-Day

Liam and Devin just before they turned two

For the last few weeks, Carli and her husband Christian have been worried because Liam hadn't been able to hold his head up straight.  It kept tilting to one side, which at first looked kind of cute but they soon realized that there could be a problem.  They got him in to the doctor and they were told that he probably had a slight muscle injury or something and to just give him ibuprofen as he healed.

He never got better, only got worse.  Carli started trying to find a specialist to take him to, but the earliest appojntment she could get was the end of June!!  She is seven months pregnant with her third baby, on bed rest, and due right around the time of Liam's appointment.  Naturally she and Christian were very frustrated about that, but they felt like there was nothing they could do.

Yesterday, several people (myself included) were pushing Carli to take Liam to instacare or the ER and to NOT leave until they did some tests!  Most people thought it was nothing- maybe just a neck injury like the doctor said.  But being at the ER would give them access to the equipment needed to properly diagnose him with whatever it was- even if it was just tissue inflammation.  So Carli took him in yesterday afternoon.

And then came the news, so shocking, that no one was expecting it.  They did an MRI and found a large walnut sized tumor at the base of his brain.  You can see it's the greyish/whitish area toward the bottom of his skull.  I can't even imagine what started going through Carli and Christian's minds.  I am not his mother, but I turned into a puddle of tears when I heard the news.  I cried most of the evening yesterday as I thought about this precious and sweet boy, and I looked at Devin who is the exact same age and it was impossible not to internalize it.

He's currently in the ICU at Texas Children's Hospital in downtown Houston.  Honestly, they could not live in a better city in this situation.  Houston has one of the leading children's hospitals and cancer institutes in the world, only twenty minutes from their house.  She updated us today and said the doctors think the tumor is benign and operable.  However, they won't know until Monday's surgery his prognosis. 

If you are a religious person or believe in any type of Higher Power, you are being called on to pray.  Pray like you've never prayed before for this precious boy who is loved so dearly by so many.  Pray for his mother that she can deal with this trauma and the pregnancy that has already been difficult.  Pray that the tumor is in fact benign and that it can be safely removed.  Pray that whatever complications may arise (God forbid) that he will be healed and that the family can have peace to handle whatever may come.

This Sunday April 14th, there is a group fast taking place on behalf of Liam.  All are welcome to join in the fast, no matter what your denomination.  If you are unaware of what fasting is, let me explain- Fasting is a type of faith based sacrifice given to God to receive a certain blessing in return. In our church we fast from all food and drink for at least two consecutive meals in a day and devote that whole time to prayer, and pondering, and focusing directly on the blessing needed. Anyone can do it- God listens to ALL prayers. And for those who are unable to go without food due to medical reasons, you can sacrifice something else- something that is otherwise very important to you. It is similar to Lent in a way.

We need a miracle and we need it now.  So please- gather all prayer warriors to help us.   Let's call upon the powers of Heaven to heal this child.  If ever there was a time to pray, that time is now.

UPDATE AS OF 9:00 p.m. April 12th-  Just found out that the tumor is malignant.  That's all I will say right now.