We Finally Have Answers and Surgery is Scheduled!

I just wanted to update everyone on how Kayla is doing. She had to return home early from her mission after 1 year of serving when she started having trouble swallowing food and difficulty breathing. She went to 4 hospitals in Brazil, saw multiple doctors, had throat scans and an endoscopy and no one could find out what was wrong. In the meantime she lost 26 lbs. Luckily she had gained 15 lbs when she got to Brazil to help cushion the drastic weight loss. The last time she was able to swallow any solid food was Jan 1. Since then she has been living on a liquid diet consisting of protein shakes, broth, drinkable yogurt, smoothies etc. Her mission president felt inspired to send her home to find out what the problem was and get it resolved. We picked her up at the airport on a Friday afternoon then went to Tropical Smoothie for lunch since it was the only place she could eat anything. After drinking a small amount of her smoothie she said it felt like the breath had been knocked out of her and it was difficult for her to breathe. We went to the stake president's office where she was released as a missionary. It was so painful for her to remove her name tag. She wanted more than anything to still be serving as a missionary in Brazil. We went straight to the ER after she was released. We prayed for the doctors to be guided and inspired to know how to help her. After a few hours and lots of tests and scans they knew what the problem was. The ER doctor came in and told us there was a mass in her abdomen the size of a baseball. We later found out that mass was actually a tumor the size of a cantaloupe. It is impressive Kayla is hiding it so well in her small frame! Another ER doctor came in and told us he was surprised the Dr. that ordered the scan that found the tumor ordered that particular scan. He said based on her symptoms it is not a test he would have ordered but we believe our prayers were heard and the Dr. was inspired to order the test to find the tumor. They admitted Kayla into the hospital that night for more tests and scans. She didn't even get to sleep in her own bed her first night home from her mission or see her dog which she was pretty sad about. They released her Sat afternoon and told us to come back for a biopsy on Monday. Many people fasted and prayed for her on Sunday including our ward, family members, friends and Kayla's mission for which we were very grateful! She had the biopsy on Monday. They told us we wouldn't have results until Thursday or Friday. It was so hard to wait not knowing if the tumor was benign or not. Luckily with the help of Kayla's uncle who works with the pathologists and Kayla's friends dad who is partners with the oncologist that saw Kayla in the hospital they were able to get the results pushed through sooner and the oncologist called Tuesday to tell us the tumor was BENIGN! We wept with joy and gratitude. They referred Kayla to a surgeon up north who specializes in tumor removal from the abdomen. Apparently she's one of the best in the state. We had a consult appointment with her last Tuesday. We were very impressed with her and again feel the Lord directed us to her. She took over an hour with us explaining what the tumor was and how the best way to remove it was. It is a ganglioneuroma tumor which is very very rare but is more prone to be caused in young people. She is the one who told us it is actually the size of a cantaloupe and probably weighs 5 to 10 lbs. Her brother was kind enough to give the tumor a name for Kayla. He named it Flavio. It appears to be attached to her diaphragm but no other organs although she did say it would have a blood source coming from somewhere. She is going to have a pathology board review the biopsy so she knows exactly what to expect when she removes the tumor. She is also going to have another surgeon available to assist her as well as a thoracic surgeon on standby in case they have problems with her lung collapsing since the tumor is so close to her lung. If that were to happen the thoracic surgeon would put a chest tube in. We are praying that won't happen and that all will go well without any complications. The surgery will be done at the Huntsman Cancer Center on March 4. She will have to stay in the hospital 3-5 days but should make a full recovery and be able to return to finish serving a mission 8 weeks after the surgery. She would love to go back to Brazil but it will depend on being able to get her visa renewed etc. She said mostly she just wants to have her name tag back on and would be happy to finish the remainder of her mission wherever the Lord needs her. She has a good attitude and is in good spirits. She is enjoying spending time with her new nephew Holden and her family while she patiently waits for Flavio's removal. We appreciate all of you and the fasting and prayers that have been sent up in her behalf. Please keep those prayers coming. We need them and can definitely feel them. They have carried us thus far in this journey.

Love, Laurel