The Plan — leslie thomas

We just met with Dr. Greenfield and spent about 30 minutes with him discussing everything regarding the surgery in the morning.

THE DETAILS:

1. We will arrive at 6:00am (5:00am Texas time)

2. Surgery is scheduled to start at 7:15am

3. Surgery should take around 4 hours

4. Henley should stay in the ICU for the duration of her time here at Cornell. We are thinking she will get released probably on Sunday, give or take a day, depending on how everything goes.

5. Dr. Greenfield feels like he would like to give Henley a big enough window between being released from the hospital and her post op appointment just to make absolutely certain she is safe to get on a plane and head home. At this point there is talk of that either happening on Friday afternoon (the 17th) at the VERY earliest which would have us flying home Saturday or Sunday, but more likely seeing Dr. G on Monday or Tuesday (March 20 or 21st) to be cleared to come home after that appointment. We don't have return flights home yet so we are just playing all of this by ear.

SPECIFIC PRAYER REQUEST:

For all of our Prayer Warriors, here is what you can be praying for specifically.

1. Dr. Greenfield. Pray that he has the best nights sleep of his life. That he wakes up peaceful and has unbelievable clarity tomorrow. Pray that Henley's surgery is the best surgery he has ever performed and the results are PERFECT.

2. Pray that the LORD'S hands are performing the surgery in the place of his hands.

3. Pray that there are NO complications, NO Infection (meningitis is a big risk with this surgery), NO spinal fluid leaks, NO spinal fluid collection or any need for extra blood, and that the time she is under anesthesia is minimal.

4. Pray for her heart to be strong, her lungs to be clear, and her brain to function properly.

5. Pray that this surgery is THE LAST surgery she will ever have to have and that THIS surgery will alleviate the need for any future surgeries. (Because this is one of two potential problems she has regarding compression on her brainstem and we are addressing the most important of the two issues tomorrow)

6. Pray for the nursing staff to be EXCEPTIONAL. For them to be sweet and caring, kind, compassionate and that they will go above and beyond to make sure this is a good experience for Henley.

7. Finally, pray for PEACE for us, and for Henley. She is so nervous. She is worried about the pain she knows she is going to be in and we are anxious at the thought of not being able to do anything to make it better. It's unbelievably hard to know that you are willingly walking your child into a situation that is going to cause her a lot of pain. Even when you know it's the right thing to do and that it's the doorway to a much better life. It still doesn't make this any easier.

We will have a LOT of time to sit tomorrow and I will be updating this site regularly as we get updates from the Operating Room. Tomorrow I will detail out exactly what they are doing during the surgery. As of this moment it's kind of like a "we need to get in there and see what we are dealing with first" type of thing. Thank you all so much for praying. We love you.

P.S. Tomorrow is "Brave Day" If you have purchased T-Shirts or anything else from www.bravecampaign.com make sure you wear it tomorrow and any other time over the next several weeks. Post on Facebook and tag us in your post. We are showing Henley all of the pictures and she LOVES seeing all of the photos. If you have not checked out the fundraising site for Henley's Brave Campaign, check it out and grab a shirt, necklace, or bracelet to show your support.