Praying for Walker Jack

My sister, Susanne, has been friends with a girl named Missy Barnes since she was young. Missy lives in the Dallas area and last week, they found out heartbreaking news about their sweet baby boy.  Walker Jack is a happy, 6 month old little boy. Last week, he was diagnosed with a Wilm's Tumor.  Below are emails from his mom explaining what is going on....sadness beyond words. Please pray for sweet Walker Jack and his loving family, Missy, Chad and the rest of the Barnes & Rainey family.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/walkerrainey

 
To all of my friends,



I wanted to thank you so much for all of your prayers for Walker over the past 24 hours. Chad and I are so blessed to be surrounded by such loyal prayer warriors.



Here is a quick update. Yesterday we went in for what we thought was a stomach bug. What they found was a mass in Walker’s tummy. Our pediatrician sent us for an ultrasound today which discovered exactly that. We were then sent for a CT scan this afternoon and this is what we know so far. Walker has a 4 inch tumor attached to the bottom of his right kidney. It looks to be growing towards the middle of the kidney and wrapping around the vein that drains the kidney. There are also lymph nodes involved as well as a few suspicious spots on one of his lungs. We are not sure if it is benign or malignant at this time. We have a 1:00 meeting with an oncologist, and possibly a surgeon, at Children’s tomorrow.

Chad and I humbly ask you to get on your knees tonight and lift our little boy up to The Lord. Please pray that this tumor is not cancerous. Please pray for the wisdom of the doctors that will be looking at the scan as well as diagnosing Walker. Please pray for Walker to be strong and stand up and fight whatever this is in his little body.

For those of you that have never met Walker, he is a precious, happy and energetic 6 ½ month old. He smiles at everyone and never meets a stranger. Not to mention he has rolls upon rolls of chubbiness, which make him irresistible. J


I promise to keep you updated as time permits. I have a feeling this next week will be a bit of a blur. Please just know that Chad and I appreciate your prayers and support more than you can imagine. It is what is keeping us going right now.


We know God is a merciful God and we are resting on that promise.

I love you guys,

Missy

AND Friday PM update:

Update on our precious Walker Jack….



First of all, Chad and I are completely humbled and lifted up by the support and prayers of EACH ONE OF YOU!! Words cannot express to you how grateful we are to have such a loving group of friends rallying to Walker’s side. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We felt your prayers today, I assure you.

Here is the latest….



The Rainey household was pretty much sleepless last night, aside from Walker. He was as peaceful as a little angel. Chad and I spend lots of time on our knees next to his crib last night, praying for God’s mercy. We would sleep for a while and find ourselves right back up in his room on our knees again. It was by far the scariest night of our lives. But in the middle of the night Chad and I committed to standing strong as a couple and fighting for our little boy, no matter what the news was the next day. We woke up to a happy, hungry little boy that was ready to see his momma and daddy’s smiles, just like every morning. And that is just what we gave him. Mimi, Granddad, Gram and Pop arrived shortly after we woke up and our day began. Thank the Lord for our parents. What a pillar of strength they are to us. They gathered around us and Walker and prayed so hard for that little guy before we left for the hospital.



We arrived at Children’s Medical Center of Dallas, Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. Talk about a door you never want to walk through. We filled out some paper work and waited in the waiting room for the doctor to call us back. In the mean time, Walker is flirting with everyone he can make eye contact with, and showing off those chubby cheeks of his. It’s hard to be scared when you look at the happiness in this little boy. We get called back and the doctor entered the room. His name is Dr. Paul Harker-Murray and he is wonderful. He had such a great bedside manner and a demeanor that truly was calming. Without beating around the bush, here is what they told us. They think Walker has what is called a Wilm’s Tumor. This is a cancerous tumor that attaches to the kidney. Dr. Harker-Murray and the surgeon, Dr. Joe Murphy, both think they will be able to go and in get this tumor out. Walker will lose his right kidney and go through about 25 weeks of chemo, but will more than likely be cancer free when all is said in done. However, they will not know for sure until they open him up. If they find that the tumor has spread to any of his arteries or his lungs, the plan will not be so easy and the chemo will be much more intense. We are having more scans done on Tuesday to take a closer look. So, while our news was generally good, we still have some fear of the unknown. We can only hope and pray that the tumor inside Walker is just a Wilm’s tumor, and nothing more. There were some suspicious spots on his lung, as well as some swollen lymph nodes in the first CT scan. So we pray they do not discover more after open him up. This is our biggest variable, and prayer focus right now.



We are scheduled for surgery next Wednesday morning at 7:30 AM, at Children’s. We will then be in the hospital for at least a week, as Walker heals.



We ask that your prayer now be

· For this tumor to be exactly what they think it is and nothing more.

· For Dr. Murphy to have steady hands as he works on our little boy.

· For Dr. Murphy to be wise in what he sees, and have confidence in the decisions he will make while he is in surgery with Walker.

· For Walker to be calm and fearless during all of this.

· For Walker’s little body to heal perfectly when the surgery is over.

· For Chad and I to get some rest so we can be strong for Walker next week.

· For Chad and I to know the questions to ask the doctors and nurses at the appropriate times.

· And most importantly, for thanksgiving to God for the news we received today!!!



We never thought we would be thankful for a cancer diagnosis, but this seems to be the best case scenario right now.



If we could see each of you, we would wrap our arms around you and thank you for praying for our family. Pray is so powerful, and we lived that today.



We could not love you guys more,

Missy , Chad, and Walker Jack