Evan's surgery

I just wanted to send out an update and prayer request about Evan. Tomorrow on 1/14/2009, Evan will be having surgery. He will be at Doernbecher. Check in is at Noon. The surgery is expected to last about 2 hours, with one overnight stay. If excessive bleeding occurs, he may have to stay an additional night. Recovery is expected to be about one week. Here is a glimpse of what they will be doing:

Pharynx plasty: In some cases, despite intensive speech therapy, too much air leaks into the nasal cavity via the soft palate. This leads to difficulty pronouncing the letter K (all pressure sounds in Evan’s case) . In such cases, a mucous membrane flap can be made from the rear wall of the throat and stitched to the back of the soft palate (pharynx plasty). This operation often leads to improved speech. Preferably, this procedure is undertaken when the patient is between 2 and 4 years of age. After this surgery, air often times stops leaking through the nose. Additional surgeries are needed for some children.

For those of you who would like to pray for our family, I have some specific prayer requests:
Pray for quick healing for Evan. The 1st night is expected to be very painful for him.
Pray that this is the only surgery Evan will need to help correct his speech.
Pray for Grace to feel loved and secure during this time and to not worry about Evan.
Pray for Daddy and Mommy to have strength, patience and know how to ask for help if needed.