Pray for Parker

Hi Everyone,

I should have done this sooner, but I've been very busy the last couple of weeks.

Rachel and I have been a little concerned about Parker's speech for the last while because it seemed to not be progressing much. While his vocabulary and ability to put sentences together have advanced, he just seemed to mumble a lot and people often can't understand what he is saying. I imagine it's a lot like what I sound like to Chinese people when I speak Chinese. So we decided to take him in for an evaluation.

Well the first step is to check their hearing, so last week Rachel took him in for a hearing evaluation. We thought it would be uneventful, but we discovered that Parker cannot hear a thing out of his right ear. We couldn't believe it and have no idea how long he has been dealing with it. We took him to an ear nose and throat doctor who confirmed that the ear drum isn't moving at all. He said there is a lot of fluid in there, but even after draining it he will most likely only ever hear up to 50% from that ear again, and he will quite possibly be completely deaf in that ear forever.

Another test they need to do is basically to see if Parker's brain is communicating with his ear. That has to be done while he is sleeping, so it will be done tomorrow while Parker is getting his tonsils and adenoids out. If brain and ear are communicating, they will also take a look to see if tubes will be a good option to keep the fluid draining. It may also lead to exploratory surgery to see what else can be done.

I am terrified. I hate thinking of my little boy in surgery, and I especially hate the thought of him never being able to hear out of that ear again. Rachel is also nervous, but we have kept those emotions hidden from Parker who is actually excited. He has been a good sport through the whole ordeal.

Please keep Parker in your prayers tonight and tomorrow. I know that there is a lot of faith in this family, and through it the powers of heaven will open and miracles will happen. We love you all very much.

Thank You,
Patrick

P.S. Kaylee and Samantha are both doing great.