Better late than never...

After my last post, I never posted any follow-up. . .though the lack of post certainly doesn't represent a lack of something to say. God was truly our "ever-present help" and our "refuge and strength" during the time leading up to Charlie's scheduled surgery. The more details we learned regarding the surgery and post-op time period, the more difficult it became to go forward. Things such as the following: his eyes would swell shut for several days following the surgery, he would have massive amounts of swelling in his head, we would possibly be sharing a room with four other patients, he wouldn't be able to sleep on his side (as he normally does) for quite some time, etc. How our hearts trembled at all that lay ahead. But as I said before, the Lord was wonderfully near, and the prayers of the saints were more than abundant on our behalf. The short story is that we canceled Charlie's scheduled surgery, and scheduled an appointment in St. Louis for two second opinions. On the next day his sniffley cold that he had been battling turned into a fever of 105. We felt the Lord's confirmation of our decision. He was supposed to have had surgery on Friday--the following Monday, we met with the doctors in St. Louis and were told by each that they disagreed with his diagnosis and felt that surgery was certainly not necessary. They gave him the diagnosis of Benign Hydrocephalus, and said they would like neurosurgery to see him back this fall to make sure his head was growing appropriately. Otherwise, they felt this diagnosis was most likely due to simply having a large head and that he should grow into it by the age of 2-3. You can only imagine our joy! Truly, we were (and still are) "like those who dream." The Lord's lovingkindness never fails.
Though we of course do not know the future nor the end of this whole saga, we have experienced the Lord's peace and presence both in the deep waters and out of them. We know He will lead us all the way. And as far as how Charlie is doing right now--he's never been better! At his last well-baby visit, the doctor informed us that his head was in the 90th percentile now. . .previously, it was over 100%. Praise the Lord!