National Institute of Health Update

So sorry for the lapse in updates. It is always busy around the Miksch household and I am sorry for not updating sooner.

Visit to NIH
We went to NIH the last week of January, right after inauguration (much better than the week of). It was a quick visit. We arrived Tuesday and left Thursday. The result was that Bridget's tumor remains stable! God is good. She had some additional clinical symptoms--her double vision was more pronounced at a certain level. I thought maybe the baseline they did earlier was off. . . Dr. Warren said her tumor lies 1mm off of the basal artery. We talked about the possibility of a biopsy and came to the conclusion the risk was not worth it.

Bridget was amazing though. While we were there, she asked anyone and everyone to help her with her AP Chemistry and PreAP Calculus (because you know I could not help her). She asked Dr. Warren how she got her start into medicine and her career path. I do have to share with you that she almost did not get the MRI. She seemed to have symptoms of pneumonia and though she had a round of antibiotics her congestion did not lessen. During the MRI they tape her eyes shut, put a cover over her mouth, and bound her so she won't move. They wanted to watch to be sure she had no problems given the anesthesia. About an hour into the MRI, DR. Warren came out to tell me that they noticed her toes wiggling and decided to check on her. Apparently, the IV slipped out and Bridget was awake during the whole time (sleeping some). She started wiggling her toes so she could let them know she was awake. The IV was dripping down her side. . . They got it started again and she was good to go. Since then Bridget has been fighting pleurisy--very painful! Hopefully, she will get over this soon. . . it has been over 4 weeks now.

We have had alot going on since I last wrote. Bridget's great-grandma, Evelyn Elder passed away in October. She had over 150+ decedents. Emma visited colleges and got accepted to all she applied for (decisions to come). Basketball season finished for St.Michael's JV (Bridget played) and Varsity (Emma played). Abby is still playing basketball. SMCA Softball started as soon as basketball ended. Don't forget to watch our favorite Aggies--Luke and Nick Anders!

We had a wonderful Christmas season with all the family. My brother Mark (who celebrated his birthday this week 2/9) came out after Christmas with his 2 boys and his wife, Raquel. He does need to watch his speed though. . . .

Thank you for all the continued prayers for Bridget. Please keep all the children with brain tumors in your thoughts and prayers. There have been many affected by our economy. We pray for them every night, too. Also, please remember Mr. Keegan, Kim O'Meara and my uncle John Elder. I know there are many more so we pray for healing and comfort for all. God bless you all. Thank you for the guestbook entries. Jenny I tried to google the site and was not able to get anything. I will try again.