Update on Aubrey

For those of you who have been praying for Aubrey I just received an update on her.

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Good Morning Everyone!

We finished with our appointment yesterday with the Neurologist. We will be leaving for Denver Childrens Hospital this morning sometime. Aubrey has an appointment with an incredible Neurologist in Aurora , CO tomorrow (Weds) at noon.

It has been amazing to see God's handiwork in all of this! The Neurologist here gave us the choice of going to Denver Childrens, Mayo Clinic, or University of MN Research Hospital . He discussed the importance of Aubrey being at a specialty hospital, and these were the three he recommended. We talked about it with Aubrey, and she helped to make the decision. For us, the Childrens Hospital was the perfect fit.. As many of you know, we have family in Colorado , so we would have an incredible support system there. Unfortunately, the doctor we saw in Rapid would not be able to do the surgery if we chose Denver , so he had to refer us to a neurosurgeon in Denver . Our prayers were answered when we received the phonecall that it would be Dr. Ken Winston. I googled his name and discovered that he is the Professor of Neurology at the University of Colorado ! As I did more research I find that the hospital is top notch, has a Blue Distinction Award (for those who are familiar with BCBS insurance standards!) which means it is a quality facility that has to mean high criteria in all phases of care! SO...God has made the way for the best doctor and the best hospital so she'll have the best care!

The brain tumor Aubrey has, he called a Glioma. It is in the middle of her brain at the brain stem. He said it is quite large and has been growing for sometime. We'd noticed the biggest difference in Aubrey from about the middle of the school year and as the school year went on, there were changes that were more and more evident. (Her grades were dropping, it was very difficult to get her to complete writing assignments or any big projects, not wanting to do PE because she claimed to get headaches and stomach aches and she seemed to be fatigued all the time. We noticed she was talking loudly when carrying on a normal conversation, and had her tested and found that she had some hearing loss in her left ear. Now looking back it all begins to make sense.) The Neurologist here said that it is very likely that she'll need to do some radiation therapy or chemo. We are praying that will not be the case!!! We are believing that Aubrey will get to tell her grandchildren the story of how God brought her through this situation and the way He prepared the way for her to have the best! By the way, Aubrey is doing GREAT!!!! She is very resiliant and refuses to focus on anything negative!! She is a fighter in her own unique way! We have been so proud of her...what a trooper!!!

Through the suggestion of many, we will be starting a Caring Bridge webpage so you can log on and read about what is going on with her. Between Tim and I, will we keep the website updated as often as possible. If you register on the site, everytime we do an update, you will receive an email. More about that when it comes! Thank you again for all of your love, support and prayers! It has been so incredibly awesome what so many of you have done so far! I couldn't find the time to get online last night, because so many were dropping by to express their love and concern. Our family so appreciates and loves you all. (Although I have a 5 yr old who is NOT grasping why everyone is giving things to Aubrey and she isn't getting anything!!!) Please keep little Chloe in your prayers too...this has already been kinda hard for her to grasp, and at times will start crying and not know why. But together, as a family, we'll conquer this and come out on the other side victorious!!

Blessings!Brenda Bonnichsen