Tough Like Tessa

Although Tessa’s surgery went well, the surgeons weren’t able to remove all of her fluid-filled cysts. She had hundreds of micro cystic spaces inside her hip/thigh/pelvic area, and following surgery some of those spaces moved together and formed larger macro cystic spaces. These cysts are capable of producing their own fluid, which is why Tessa has the drains in place. If we were to remove the drains, these cystic spaces would just keep growing in size. We had all hoped her body would scar these cysts down, but that wasn’t the case. The cysts started producing too much fluid, so we needed to begin sclerotherapy. Tess needs to be put under each time as the process is very painful. Her radiologist injects medications through her drains, directly into the cyst. She leaves it in for awhile as the medication eats away at the lining of the cyst. Eventually this causes the cyst to collapse. Because the process is painful (last time Tessa woke up while the medication was still in there and was crying and writhing in pain) they can only use small amounts for a limited period of time, which means we don’t know how many procedures it will take to collapse the cyst.

These drains prevent her from taking a bath or going to school, and require quite a bit of care. We’re ready to bid them farewell, but we have no idea when that will be, which can be frustrating and hopeless. It’s a lot for Tess: she constantly has to endure Covid tests (done at Mayo, where they don’t believe in a gentle nose swab) and being put under (where she turns into a lunatic the second she sees the sedation mask). The whole process is exhausting for both of us, and we need to do it over and over.

So I humbly ask that you would join me in praying for a miracle. She heads back early tomorrow morning for sclerotherapy round 3, and I am praying it will somehow be her last one. It would take a miracle, as her numbers are still very, very high, but I serve a God who specializes in miracles. He may not choose to perform one just yet, but thankfully He already knows what lies ahead and has equipped us to handle whatever comes.

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