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The Envelope Please.

Melissa Beene Ford/ Annie+ tumor

As of today, hubby and I have decided what we want to do about Annie.

If you remember, we were deciding whether to go ahead and schedule surgery to remove the tumor, OR to watch and wait, doing an MRI every 90 days.

After lots of prayer and deliberating, we have decided to delay surgery for a while (indefinitely) and wait and watch the tumor and re-evaluate in 90 days.

We made our decision based on several factors:
* Her neurosurgeon recommended we wait. He said with no hesitation whatsoever, and I quote, “If it were my child, I would wait.” At this point we have no reason to do anything other than what her highly-trained, expert-in-his-field physician has recommended. He said, “Usually when I cut open someone’s brain to do surgery, its because there is a pressing, life-threatening reason why. I’m not seeing that in this case.”

*Annie still has no symptoms. If the tumor were causing the slightest inconvenience or pain to Annie, we would go ahead and do surgery ASAP. The tumor is ONE CENTIMETER, not obstructing the flow of ANYTHING.

*Surgery is always risky. There are always side-effects, in this case, loss of motor skills, loss of speech, etc. And even beyond the risks of surgery, there is a risk of spread of fatal infection in a hospital environment. We’ve all heard those stories, however rare, of those scary flesh-eating things that spread from patient to patient in a hospital. If the BENEFITS OF SURGERY OUTWEIGHED THE RISKS, then yes, by all means, we would do it.

*The tumor does not look like cancer or infection or anything harmful; it appears to be a benign mass, very slow-growing and contained.

We’re just not sure, like her surgeon said, that the symptoms warrant the risks of surgery at this point. As a matter of fact, it appears that surgery would be more dangerous to Annie at this point than leaving the tumor in place.

And furthermore, God gave us an immune system, whose job is to fight off infections and invaders and things like tumors. I do not believe it is completely unreasonable to expect that if we strengthen her immune system, bombard her little body with extra nutrients and whole food and good fats and really good sleep, that her immune system just might begin to fight this off and her little brain just might begin to heal itself. I don’t believe that is totally unreasonable, and definitely worth a try.

AND. God is NOT FINISHED HERE YET. We’re still praying for a miracle. Its not too late for a miracle. Like my friend Doug said, “It ain’t over yet.”

I know everyone means well, but we have felt a TON OF PRESSURE from multiple people to go ahead and do surgery yesterday. This has been an extremely difficult decision, and one that we have not arrived at easily or taken lightly. We have gone without food for days as we prayed about what to do. We have consulted five different medical experts. We believe we are doing the very best thing we can do for our child at this point.

With that said, I’m disabling comments for this post. Disagree with me all you want….but not on my blog. 😉

And I don’t want to talk about it anymore. 🙂

Thank you for respecting our decision, letting us enjoy our summer, and talking to us about anything but brain tumors and surgery for 90 days.

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About Me


Hey there... I'm Melissa! Texas girl. Mom to three + one goldendoodle. Believer. Old house fanatic. Creating a happy + healthy home with purpose is my passion. I'm so glad you're here!

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I don’t know who’s big idea it was to strip 80 I don’t know who’s big idea it was to strip 80 years of paint off of this door down to the wood and start over… but that person has no business starting new projects. 😅 My neighbors must have thought this project would never end. *I* thought this project would never end. 😰 If you’re thinking of doing this yourself? Just don’t, ok? Throw the whole door away and buy a new one. 😂🤣 Just kidding.  Old house weirdos like me… we can’t just do things the easy way. Anyhoo… after some trial and error, @sherwinwilliams Celestial is what I landed on, and I have to say… I like it. Periwinkle-ish blue looks great with the yellow house and will look even better when the azaleas are in bloom. Was it all worth it? That’s not important right now. 🤭 Will I do this all again in two years? The magic eight ball says… without a doubt. 👏🏻 I’ve already picked the next color. #gluttonforpunishment #somefoolsneverlearn #oldhouselove #oldhomelove #makinghome #southernliving #gardenandgun #azaleadistrict #tylertx
Spring in the Azalea District makes the winters in Spring in the Azalea District makes the winters in an 80-year-old house completely worth it … what broken pipes, icy hardwood floors and drafty windows? 🤔 I forgot already. #comeonspring #azaleadistrict #tylertx
Happy Saturday ☀️ Happy Saturday ☀️
Salt Lake City is always magical ✨ Salt Lake City is always magical ✨
2022 had its highs and lows for sure, but scrollin 2022 had its highs and lows for sure, but scrolling through my pics from the last twelve months made me realize how blessed and content I am. Prosperity, love, and peace have been ours in abundance, in spite of the pain of losing my dad. The second picture is the last picture of him… the last time I saw him. 💔 But God has been good to my family this year and 2022 is ending far better than it began. 😄 #2022inreview #thanksforthememories
Who wants a Christmas tour of my home? 🙋🏼‍ Who wants a Christmas tour of my home? 🙋🏼‍♀️
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That’s it. That’s the tour. (Slide two). 
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It’s a new trend I’m starting: bare Christmas tree. Lowe’s tag still attached (so quirky and unexpected)! Christmas ornaments still in boxes. Coming soon to an Anthropologie window display near you. 
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Every year I think, “next year I’ll do better. Next year I’ll have it together.” And then, here we are on the SIXTH Christmas that we’ve been in this house, the sixth Christmas I’ve dragged our chaotic bunch of Christmas mess out of a chaotic garage I still haven’t unpacked from our move six years ago. 
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Maybe this year is the year I’ll organize it all and put it back neatly so that by Christmas number 7, it will be smooth sailing. People will flock to my social media to see how I’ve pulled everything off SO PERFECTLY. Next year will be my year. 
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Seems every year there’s less and less bandwidth for all these things. There’s more grief and stress, less money. More demands, less grace. 
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I put this sign on the wall in my office so I could keep it in front of my eyes: Love. Joy. Peace. And all that. I am SO unlike Jesus most days. So lacking in all of these character qualities. And that’s WITH waking up most mornings and spending my first 30 minutes with God Himself. 
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How lost would I be without that? Geez. I can’t fathom. I REQUIRE being transformed by renewing my mind every single morning, and even then, responding to people and life with love, joy, peace and patience doesn’t come naturally. 
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It’s the goal, though. 
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This weary world needs that from us Believers during this season, more than ever… even more than an Anthropologie-window-display worthy Christmas home tour. 
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I’m working on both.
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