Ezrah JOY's Fight

We are HOME. PRAISE. The doctor's released us yesterday afternoon. (9/29) We've set up a makeshift bed for Ezrah in our room until she's a little more steady on crutches and can get to the bathroom easier. Her pain seems well managed and gosh was it a surprise to have SO MANY cards waiting for her at home. Some from unknown destinations. Some from families we don't even know. Thank you! 😭 Now....we wait. We had more lab work done yesterday...and we wait....and wait....waiting waiting....more waiting. When we know, you'll know. PLEASE KEEP PRAYING!

 12:05PM  Just met with an Infections Specialist/Doctor. Answering LOTS of his questions. There is just a LOT of unknowns right now until we have the lab results. Some are being sent to University of Washington and part of the "wait time" is getting the cultures TO Seattle. Some are being tested HERE today and we hope for those answers soon. We could be dealing with an auto-immune situation, bone infection, or malignancy. We are still at Randall's and will possibly be going down for more imaging of Ezrah's Shoulder, Hip, and Right Leg this afternoon. Still hoping to go home today, but we just don't know. It's the "hurry up and wait" that one doctor referred to as "purgatory." (I couldn't agree more.) Ezzie is a trooper through and through. Yesterday afternoon, she hadn't even been in the recovery room for 15 minutes before asking if all her siblings were ok at home. Gah. My heart. Then, she thanked Tony for being here with her. This

Ezrah is out of surgery! (Pic was from this morning during pre-op.) First, thank you PRAYER WARRIORS and supporters. We can FEEL our village holding our backs and arms up and caring so much about our "Little Ez." It's hard to keep up with the messages, but please don't stop. They are honestly what is keeping me upright. Tony and I just spoke with Dr. Umberhandt (Dr. Bob.) The initial "frozen bone" sample he took in the OR did not show immediate malignancy. This is good. However, it will take 3-7 days for the bone to de-calcify to confirm this. It's the "hurry up and wait" urgency that SLAYS me. We aren't 100% sure it's NOT malignant, but this is a good start. And we will CLAIM it! PLEASE PLEASE continue praying and adding her to your Church Prayer Lists. We COVET your prayers right now. The bad news is, we didn't get the "pus" indication we had hoped for to show that we are dealing with an infection.  We are staying at Ran

  9-26-2022 What do we need? Can I be brutally honest? I don't know. Ever since posting on "the socials" this all became so much more real. Here's what I know. I'm overwhelmed. And I'm scared. It is so hard to think and to focus. My brain is a million miles away. I still keep thinking that this isn't real. I wish I could respond to and thank the countless check-ins, and gifts. And to those bringing us meals. Thank YOU! If you've called or texted and I haven't responded, please know I'm grateful. We have a meal train set up for this week.  (Thank you Noelle) But, we are going to need help as this journey goes on. Could be months. We've been told this is going to be a "long road." What does that even mean? It was just Ezzie and I on Thursday at Randall's when the rug was pulled out from our feet, and I will NEVER be in that position again. It's imperative that Tony is with me during this. However, he's our financial prov

 9-24-22 Surgery is set for Wednesday (9/28/22) at 12:30pm. Dr. Bob had a tumor specialist in Corvalis look at Ezzie's MRI and he thinks it looks more characteristic of chronic infection in the bone. There is parts of the bone that has died. This will possibly mean more surgeries, possible leg deformity, growth issues, etc. We will know if it's malignant (bad cancer) once things are sent to labs. She also has pain in other body parts. But right now, we are targeting the leg that we know has a mass/tumor. Labs from surgery will take about 72 hrs but Dr. Bob will send samples as he's operating as well. He said we have a long road ahead of us and this will be a big team effort. We will cross the chemo/radiation bridge if it's malignant. We will be staying at the hospital most likely for "a few nights." We need the obvious prayers for this journey, but we also need to make sure that Ezzie stays well and healthy until Wednesday and pre-op.

 9-22-22  Doctors have found an aggressive mass/tumor in Ezrah's knee as well as some dead bone. We were at Randall's all day Thursday meeting with an Orthopedic Specialist and getting further imaging. (MRI) She will be having surgery on Wednesday so they can biopsy the bone, tissue and fluids. We will be at the hospital for a few days. We just don't quite know what we're dealing with other than it is aggressive. She has pain in other bones/joints as well, but, for now we are looking at the mass that was first found in x-ray last week before going further. It could be malignant, it could be an infection. Either way, we have a long road ahead of us. I am honestly in disbelief. I can't believe this is happening. I'm struggling. I am trying to stay upright and strong for my other kids.  We've been told that part of the bone that has died will need to be removed. Which will mean some possible life altering things for Ezzie. (Deformity, growth issues, etc.) We co