and the results are in

the pediatrician called early this evening. bug's mri results were back. we are praising our Father that it was not a tumor. this had been my biggest fear and we are so thankful that cancer is not something we are facing.

the spot that was seen, though, is an arachnoid cyst. i am just learning about this myself so i will spare you my little knowledge. all i know for sure right now is that the doctor told us we can now breathe a sigh of relief. this cyst is not fatal. it can grow and cause some problems so it is necessary for us to meet with a neurosurgeon at duke. our pediatrician did already consult with the neurosurgeon and was told that right now with the present size of the cyst surgery does not appear necessary. after our appointment with the neurosurgeon i am hoping to have a clearer understanding of the cyst. so far in my googling this article from the children's hospital boston has been the clearest and most comforting.

God did answer so many of our prayers for our girl so i feel bad that i am not completely relieved. i would much prefer it to be nothing than to be the not so bad diagnosis. i find myself asking God why this is necessary. i want to understand. and yet i realize that i may never understand why God does some of the things He does. my trust and faith continues to be challenged. i hope to come out of this stronger in faith and closer to my God.

we do still covet your prayers on bug's behalf. please pray that the consult with the neurosurgeon will go well and will bring some clarity and pray that the cyst remains small in size and possibly even goes away all together. thank you for your prayers as we awaited the mri results - they were not in vain!