Get Up

For Christmas, I thought I'd share my favorite passage of Scripture for this past year. When I read it, it gives me chills.


While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”

Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him.
After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. Mark 5:35-42

We have all lived this passage together this year. God is STILL with us. Merry Christmas.

Lawnmower Man

Down Under

Before Benjamin went in for surgery on Friday morning, Dr. Digoy explained to us that Ben would be undergoing a procedure called marsupialization. This is one of the more amusing medical terms I've heard so far. Ben already exhibits some of the characteristics of a koala (cute from a distance, but possessing perilously sharp teeth and claws) so having him marsupialized seems somewhat redundant. Dr. Digoy went on to explain that this just means he would be talking the crud out of the middle of the cyst which would leave an empty pouch to heal back normally.

The procedure took a few hours, but everything went smoothly. While Dr. Digoy was working on the cyst, he found some other problems that will require more surgery before Ben can get the trach out. Because the cyst was so large, it pressed against the false vocal folds so that they are now also blocking Ben's airway. If the folds do not move back to their normal position once the cyst heals, Ben will have more surgery in 4 to 6 weeks to remove some of the tissue that is still blocking his airway.

Dr. Digoy also noticed that Ben's trachea has collapsed above the area where the trach was inserted so he will probably have to use a piece of one of Ben's ribs to reconstruct part of Ben's trachea. In spite of all of this, Ben's doctor is hopeful that the trach could be removed in the next three to six months if these other procedures go well.

We're all back at home now recovering from a tiring weekend, and we want to thank all of you for your prayers. God continues to give us strength through your faithfulness.

Whit, Adrienne, and the koala

Cyst Removal: Take 2

Ben goes in for laser surgery to remove the cyst that is blocking his airway at 9:30 on Friday morning at OU Children's Hospital in OKC.

Woodchuck Gallery

No wood surface is safe in the Gatewood house these days.

That last photo was taken by Ben's uncle Hal while he and Emilie were visiting from Montreal last week. For more photos of Ben and family, you can check out Hal's Flickr page.

A few weeks ago we took Ben down to OKC for a second opinion by Dr. Digoy, and things are now moving forward quickly. Dr. Digoy said that the cyst that was blocking Ben's airway appears to have grown back. We're going in for an MRI and overnight observation on November 30th, and then Ben will have another laser surgery to take another shot at removing the cyst. The good news from all this is that if the procedure goes well and Ben heals properly, he could have the trach out in a few months instead of years like Ben's other doctor was talking about. We are pumped about that and would love your prayers over the next few weeks.