Aneurysm: the other "A" word

Janet's arteriogram went well yesterday even though it got started late. She is pretty sore and has to take it easy this weekend, but generally she's OK. As far as the results, the doctor’s first words were "it's complicated". She does have an aneurysm, but it is a different kind and in a different location than what was expected based on the MRI. The aneurysm is located on a smaller connecting artery where it joins a bigger one. Monday beginning at 7:30 and lasting most of the day Janet will have a "craniotomy". Her surgeon will remove a small part of her skull and go into the brain to clamp off the aneurysm. She will spend the first night (at least) in ICU, and her total stay is supposed to last 3-5 days. Mark will be able to stay with her overnight, even when she's in ICU.
Although surgery and recovery are never fun, we are glad to know exactly what the problem is and that the surgery will be over soon. Thanks again for your continued prayers.

God is crazy but good!

Translation . . .

God is trying to get our attention and help us trust that He is in control (even when life seems to be falling apart).

You may already know that we've experienced a roller coaster ride of emotions over the past two weeks, but right now we're feeling great because we just found out who our son from Russia is!

This is Spencer Reid Carlton.

He is 14 1/2 months old (born November 2, 2006), which makes him 7 months older than Nathan Daniel. His medical report (from two months ago) said that he is "calm, active, sits up on his own, and stands with something to hold onto".

Now to explain the crazy circumstances of how we learned about him. Many of you know that Janet found out on Tuesday (1/8) that she might have an aneurysm. She is having an arteriogram this week (1/24) to see whether or not she really does, and whether or not she will need surgery to fix it. Obviously we were a bit shaken up after learning this.

And then it got crazier ...

On Wednesday (1/9) we got a call from our adoption agency telling us they had a referral for us. Normally when you accept a referral from Russia they tell you to book a flight to meet your child in 2-3 weeks, but Janet might not be able to fly for several weeks if she has surgery. So we had to say No to this referral, which was VERY difficult. It had come sooner than we had dreamed possible, which made it feel like torture to say no. It didn't make sense, but we just had to hope that God was going to work things out somehow. Our agency told us to call them when we were ready to accept a new referral.

God, however, had better plans.

On Wednesday (1/16), we got another call from our agency. We thought at first that they were calling to tell us we had been denied completely because of the possible health problem. Instead, they told us they had spoken with their counterparts in Russia about our situation, and they agreed to do something they've never done before. They are letting us accept this same referral we had to turn down last week, but we won't have to travel until we are ready--whether that is in 2-3 weeks (if Janet doesn't need surgery) or 7-9 weeks (if she does). We just have to tell them when we are ready, and they'll set it up. WOW! This has God's sovereignty written all over it, because no one has ever been given this kind of concession before. We feel very grateful for getting this emotional boost that we really needed.

We still don't know if Janet will need the surgery, but we will let you know what we find out Thursday.

Stay tuned!