Monday, December 15, 2008

Blessings Abound

My past few weeks have been somewhat hectic as I am sure everyone can relate to. As I have scurried to buy the last minute presents, food, clean the house, etc. I have not fully focused on what I needed to focus on. Our Lord's birth. I was reminded of this yesterday morning from Pastor Phil's sermon. Please check it out at www.fbcpowell.org.
I also wanted to share with you what I have encountered this past week to make me stop and reconsider the unimportance of the "secular" part of Christmas. I have been blessed abuntantly this week. The blessings have come from a couple of families. One we are close to and love very dearly, and the other we have only known for a short time, but also love them dearly. These two families have both experienced recent difficult trials right before Christmas. To see them glorify God in these trials has been an ultimate blessing to me. That was really all that I needed to be blessed with. God, however, chose to use me and many other individuals, as channels of His provision for these two families. That has been the most awesome blessing! It is truly much better to give than to receive. It starts a spiral effect that is absolutely intoxicating. I have been giddy with excitement this past week knowing how God was using myself and these other idividuals to help out these two families. It has meant so much more to me than buying that shirt for so-and-so, or another toy that the kids sure don't need. I had a concrete example for my children this week of ministry! That is a gift that you can never buy from a store. It is a gift for a lifetime that I hope the kids will look back on and remember. So I wanted to say thank you to the Hodson family and the Richard family for truly blessing me this past week. I pray that you continue to glorify God in these difficult times. Thanks for being a reminder that we should all celebrate Christmas the way it should be celebrated. Love, Giving, and Sacrifice should be our theme, just as it was the theme 2000 years ago. Thank you God for the gift of Jesus

I also want to mention how proud I am of Tristan. Her Sunday School class has been raising money for the Lottie Moon offering for missionaries. Tristan had what I thought was $30.00 saved in her wallet. She decided to give half to Lottie Moon. I was so thrilled with her decision. So when I went to get her from S.S. yesterday, Mrs. Kandy told me that Tristan had given $50.00. I was surprised. She had some more money stashed in another wallet. So when I was asking her if she was sure she wanted to give all of her money, she did not hesitate and said, "Yes, mama". When we got in the car I told her how proud that we were of her and so was Jesus for giving her money to the missionaries. She said, "Mama, I had to give it to them, because that is what Jesus told me to do. The missionaries need it". Oh, to have that attitude. So once again God used my own child to bless me yesterday. It was a great week.
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Ty's birthmark

Ty's birthmark
Ty before laser treatments

Tyler's Birthmark

A port wine stain (PWS) is a congenital birthmark that affects approximately 3 out of every 1,000 people. They are most commonly found on the face and neck, but they can be found elsewhere. The underlying dilated blood vessels cause the red/pink color of the PWS. When Ty gets upset or hot the blood flow to his face increases causing the birthmark to appear redder. When Ty is colder and the blood flows away from his face the PWS can appear invisible. If left untreated, the vessels may become enlarged and elevate the skin causing the surface to take on a cobble appearance. Sometimes the PWS can also develop into a deep purple color. Occassionally, the vessels can create overgrowth causing the area where the PWS is to become larger than normal.
PWS are present at birth and usually clearly visible. PWS grow with the person and never regress. The problems of PWS can now be treated by laser.
With different wavelengths a laser beam can be made to react upon materials of only certain colors and densities. The laser is tuned to only affect the darker more dense blood vessels deep in the skin that cause the birthmark, leaving the lighter less dense outer skin with minimal damage.Unfortunately, at this time, most people do not see complete removal of their birthmark by laser treatments. 10%-15% of those treated see 75%-100% fading, 70%-80% see 25%-75% fading, and 10%-15% see 0%-25% fading.
Treatments have a better chance of being effective when a person is still young. The skin is thinner and the mark is smaller. The skin has also not been exposed to the sun as much on a young infant or child. The sun thickens the skin and makes it darker, which in turn keeps the laser from penetrating the skin and hitting the vessels. Ty has had 15 treatments so far, beginning when he was 2 ½ months old. He will be 5 years old in Sept. 2008. He has had 80%-90% lightening in most areas, and almost complete clearing of the pws on his neck. The hardest areas to treat are the mask area around the eyes, and his lip area. Ty’s laser doctor is Dr. Roy Geronemus. He is the director of the Laser and Skin Surgery Center in New York, Ny. Ty goes to New York’s Eye and Ear Infirmiry for his laser treatments and eye surgeries/appointments for treatment under anesthesia. The healing time varies for Ty’s laser treatments. It is usually between 10-15 days, but we may see fading for up to a few months. There's no definitive number of treatments that Ty will need. So far we have always seen some improvement so we continue to get them. He will always need to maintain treatment in order to keep the PWS from getting darker again.
A PWS may also be a marker for associated syndromes such as Sturge Weber. Sturge-Weber Syndrome (encephelotrigeminal angiomatosis) is a congenital, non-familial disorder of unknown incidence and cause. It is characterized by a congenital facial birthmark and neurological abnormalities. Other symptoms associated with Sturge-Weber can include eye and internal organ irregularities. Each case of Sturge-Weber Syndrome is unique and exhibits the characterizing findings to varying degrees.
Ty has had three MRIs to check if the vessels were involved in his brain. Brain involvement is one of the symptoms of SWS, and it can cause seizures. All MRIs were clean for vessels in the brain. Ty does have a malformation behind his eye in the area called the chrodial area, which is another marker for SWS. Since his birthmark covers his eyes, the blood vessels are causing the intraocular pressure in his eyes to elevate. Therefore, he has been diagnosed with glaucoma in both eyes. This malformation, along with his glaucoma, attribute to Ty’s diagnosis of SWS. One reason why his eyes stay so squinty and red all of the time is due to his glaucoma. Glaucoma can cause light sensitivity and watering of the eyes. It can also cause loss of vision and enlarged corneas. Ty has had 9 surgeries to control his glaucoma. Unfortunately, it can not be cured only controlled. He takes three different types of drops two times every day. He will most likely have frequent surgeries on his eyes for the rest of his life, or until a cure for glaucoma is found. In May of 2007, Ty developed a severe bacterial infection in his left eye. He was in the hospital for a week getting his eye injected with antibiotics. The result of this infection coupled with his severe glaucoma has left him blind in his left eye. This is also the reason for the droopiness and the physical appearance of his eye. He has since been able to see an ocularist. She formed a new partial prosthetic eye for him. You can not even tell that it isn't real. It is so cool. We are still learning day by day about PWS/SWS/Glaucoma. The hardest part about Ty's condition is not knowing what the future holds for him. We just take it day by day and rely on our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to help us through.

Thank you for taking the time to learn a little about Ty and his condition. For more information, please visit the sources of the above information at http://www.sturge-weber.com/, http://www.birthmarks.com/, and http://www.laserskinsurgery.com/

What Ty's skin looks like after having a laser treatment

Tyler after 15 laser treatments

Sturge-Weber Syndrome Awareness