ICU

We finally got to go into the ICU to see Charysse.

It didn’t take long for her snarky side to come out. About a minute after we got there, someone said something and she corrected their grammar. Attagirl.

She’s in a lot of pain—who wouldn’t be after getting a craniotomy—but they are working to get ahead of it.

I didn’t get to stay long as they only allow two visitors in the room with her at a time: Marvin and mom deserve that privilege.

Tonight, we will rest and return to be with our girl tomorrow. We are so proud of who she is, her will to fight, to beat this thing, and for her brave spirit to undergo a FOURTH craniotomy. I know you all are proud too.

We can’t say thank you enough. Please don’t let the repetition weaken the sincerity.

Goodnight from UCLA.

—Kyle (& mom, dad and Marvin)

PS. One of Charysse’s greatest sources of encouragement are your comments. She reads every single one of them. I invite you to be generous with them. They mean a lot to her and us.

By Charysse|2016-10-15T20:56:41-08:00February 24th, 2011|Brain Surgery|27 Comments

About the Author: Charysse

I am married to Marvin. I have 2 boys. Tyler is 9 and Trent is 5. I am an 8 year brain tumor survivor, and am currently fighting a recurrent grade 3 Oligo-Astrocytoma.

27 Comments

Alyssa February 24, 2011 at 10:55 pm

PRAISE GOD! What a day of blessings. It was great to read that all went well. The pictures were fabulous by the way. Praying now for complete recovery, pain management, and more great news. Love ya. We are all so proud of you. You have no idea how proud. God is so good.
Rachel Gerster February 24, 2011 at 11:25 pm

WONDERFUL! Just checked in before I go to bed. Thanking God He carried you through today. Praying He will continue and KNOWING He will! Also thanking Him for pain meds and praying for yours to kick in! Sleep soundly. :o)
Sharon Parks February 24, 2011 at 11:25 pm

Charysse, I am praying that you will continue to be blessed by God’s goodness and grace.

Sometimes we miss God’s goodness when we face a time of waiting, giving our energy to frustration, anxiety, worry, and stress, refusing to believe it could be God’s will to wait. So we must intentionally relax, quietly wait, putting our energy into seeking God, asking to be empowered with a new, fresh, strong, expectant trust and hope during waiting times in order to engage with Divine goodness.

I believe that God wants to pull back the clouds of worry and anxiety to show you His Son, who wishes to carry them all. Say out loud…”I cast you clouds off…in the name of Jesus”! I Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

And we all love and care for you too!! Come home to us soon!
Heather McCarl February 25, 2011 at 12:06 am

I am so thankful this step is over, now praying for God-speed healing. .. and more miracles. I believe we will NOT STOP praying for completely healing and for the rest of of tumor to disappear! My entire class of parents, my friends, my mom’s friends, my dad and his bible study we are ALL continuing to pray. I had them calling me tonight for updates. How cool, God has connected us.. I thank you for giving me the privilege to pray for you and your family. You have effected me with a perspective that I am eternally grateful!
I will Praise you in the storm.. being in Franklin, TN tonight .. shear winds and all 🙂
Blessings, Heather McCarl
diane Kempton February 25, 2011 at 12:08 am

Praise the Lord , SO good to hear this, YOU look as pretty as ever even laying there in the hospital… We know there are going be bumpy roads yet to come, But we all are still praying for you and continue to have you and the family in our thoughts..And Charysse You are a super wonderful strong Mom and Wife an Sister and Daughter and Friend…We are all so so so PROUD of you!!! We love you and May God Bless you and give you strength, Spiritually, Physically,emotionally to hold up and to stay strong, we cant Imagine what you have dealt with But with God beside you have been Great.and know that you are a fighter an will conquer this to what the Lord allows.. SO we ask to Give this wonderful Lady Charysse Peace and Comfort thru this trial and the bumps she has to go over in the future..Please Lord let it be asier then what she has already had to cross, she needs a Break now…In your name Amen… WE LOVE YOU Charysse!!!!!! God Bless You and all the family
Amy Hall February 25, 2011 at 1:06 am

Oh Charsy!! I’m so glad to hear all the good news. I love you too much to express in words. Already correcting grammar? Brilliant! All of this lifts my spirit and puts a smile on my face. Of course, you’ll want to play nice with the person administering pain meds. 🙂

Thank you Jesus for bringing Charysse, her family, and all of us cheerleaders to the other side of the surgery. May she rest in your arms and find strength and peace for the next step of her journey.
Peggy Beal Cox February 25, 2011 at 3:58 am

Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord. Our God just never stops working in awesome way, holding His children and directing their path. I just cannot image all of the tear, fears and pains that have surrounded you before the surgery but to read about your complete trust in the Lord and how He is using you for His glory is truly encouraging, refreshing, faith strengthening and lifts my spirit to give Him praise and honor. I am so looking forward to hear about the continued great things He is doing in your life as well as the rest of the family, regardless of how spread out across the country we are. I love you and am praying for a quick recovery.
Betsy February 25, 2011 at 4:35 am

Praying for a speedy recovery and great results from the doctors. Your story is a living testimony to courage and faith in the face of adversity. You are an inspiration. Thank you for allowing us to be part of your journey.
Shari Burkhart-Buening February 25, 2011 at 5:14 am

It’s 5:00 am here in Bend, and I am thanking God for His mighty hand that has carried you through! I am blessed to see your family by your side… loving and supporting your every move. It may be 10 degrees here this morning, but my heart could not be warmer knowing that you are recovering with those you love by your side.
Terah Tucker February 25, 2011 at 5:34 am

She has Yes written on her head. How could it get any better than that?

Reece, I love you SO much! We have been praying for you, and we won’t stop. Wish I could be there…
cara February 25, 2011 at 5:52 am

Kyle, what a gift you’ve given your sister this week by blogging & the rest of us who are following her story. Thanks for the updates! Charysse is such an inspiration.
Evelyn (Texas) February 25, 2011 at 6:14 am

Wow, #4 crani! I do not know you as well as I know the remainder of your family, but that gives me a big clue at what an amazing person you are….. Kyle thank you for keeping us updated. You are all precious and I am continuing in prayer for all of you.
Dana February 25, 2011 at 6:40 am

Continuing to pray for you dear cousin. Thank you Kyle for keeping us posted. Love you guys.
Lori Hart February 25, 2011 at 6:55 am

Charysse… You are an amazing woman, and we are praising God with your friends and family! You are an inspiration to so many, and a testament to God’s Word and miracles! Continuing to pray for your recovery and healing!
Pam @ Water Store February 25, 2011 at 7:08 am

Kyle… thanks for the continued updates… give her a hug from me… wishing her continued sucess in recovery and hope that the pain goes away quickly. what a fighter… Prayers traveling south!
Rob February 25, 2011 at 7:49 am

Kyle…Please let your whole family know that we are praying for all. Charysse is an inspiration and her fight is one that I am reminded of often. Vangie and I continue to pray for a complete, total and miraculous recovery for her.

Love you all!
John and Sue Marken February 25, 2011 at 8:03 am

We will write more later as we both have to get ready and head out the door. We just had to get online and check on our Recee. So many deep emotions are flooding over us. Mostly awe and thankfulness that we should be so blessed to know and love the Chowning family and our dear friend Recee. Continue to heal precious one! Love that spit fire in you!
Uncle Cal, Auntie Renie February 25, 2011 at 8:17 am

So tell us — what did you do while the docs were displaying their handiwork? We’d love to know but you don’t have to tell, if you can remember. At least we’re sure the Father drew near, even if you weren’t aware. He’s pretty good at doing things like that. How secretive He is, testing our faith with all this invisible stuff going on. Probably that’s His MO just so we can’t totally get in and really mess things up. It’s enough we see a bit out of focus, just so we know something is truly going on, though we can’t define it. His work is perfect.

Auntie Renie says to tell you she loves you to bits and has prayed continually for you for several days. She’s in the process of sketching a picture, then will send it to you matted for framing. We hesitate to send it framed, afraid the glass might not survive the trip.

WE LOVE YOU!
Megan Colburn February 25, 2011 at 9:02 am

Charysse,
Just want you to know that we are praying for you each day, as well as for the boys. We are boldly praying for healing, especially for your vision – that your eye and vision would remarkably be intact. We’re praying for your boys, while they may not know all of what is going on, they do know that they are separated from you – we are praying for peace and happiness in their lives. We are also praying for a quick recovery (go ahead and shock the doctors, it’d do them good!) as well! Looking forward to seeing you again at church!
Megan (And Nathan)
Michele Cummins February 25, 2011 at 9:45 am

But I am speechless! Charysse, you don’t know how much you mean to me. For the past 15 years I’ve wished I could go back and change time. I wish I could have done things differently and stayed close to you. You were an amazing youth & you’ve been an amazing women. When I think of the one person I’ve known in my life that I can say really lived intentionally, with the purpose to please God, it is you. You have shown his love, his patience, his grace & his boldness. Thank you for being truthful to your heart and being strong. I pray the Lord’s prayer everyday for you. I love you friend.
Susan, AGH February 25, 2011 at 10:41 am

Charysse and family, so glad the surgery went well. Priceless that you were correcting grammar right after surgery. You are in my thoughts and prayers
Lori Huhn February 25, 2011 at 11:26 am

Charysse,
you have been im thoughts all day and night. Ive been thinking about you when you were younger. You are so blessed to have such a wonderful family that is there for you.
God is so faithful.
Your faith is contagiois
Jennie Rennie Rohde February 25, 2011 at 11:42 am

Charysse, You have been in my thoughts and prayers so much and I continually think about you even tho I don’t write very much. But I was so very happy to see the good news on here and am praising God for the successful surgery. You are so strong and put up an amazing fight. Keep up the hard fight girl!! You will always be in my thoughts and in my prayers every single night! Love you Girl!! XOXO – Jennie Rennie
Heather Burgess February 25, 2011 at 11:53 am

My heart and mind have been with Charysse. I am a friend of Lori and Sara’s and I myself have had brain surgery at UCLA. I’m so focused on praying for Charysse right now because I soooo remember the fear, pain, joy, relief, uncertainty and many, many hours of prayer!!! I believe that Charysse is one of the most amazing people I know, to battle this thing for so many years and to continue to say “It is well with my soul” is something I know comes from the gold birthed through severe fire!!! My prayer is for complete, miraculous healing. Thank you so much for your candid honesty and your ability to be so transparent with us “onlookers” as well contend and pound heaven’s gates for your healing.

much love to you and your entire family.
Heather
Michelle Reger February 25, 2011 at 1:29 pm

Charysse,

I’ve been praying and thinking about you so, so, so much these past 48 hrs. I know I haven’t seen your beautiful face in over 12 yrs but it doesn’t seem that long ago we were rooming together in the old Hester House. I cried when I saw the picture of you and your brother. I so remember him on campus checking in on you and loving on you. Reminds me so much of the relationship I have with my brother. I’m so glad that you are surrounded by your amazing family. I have been sharing your amazing story with my dear friend Adrianna, I figure the more people praying the better. I’m so thankful your brother has been keeping us posted. It is beautiful to watch Christ holding onto you so tightly through this whole process.
You are loved,
Michelle
Kelly Houston February 26, 2011 at 2:22 pm

Hey Charysse! I’ve been keeping up with you online and sending many positive thoughts your way! I hope you are on the road to recovery now and this will all just be a story for the grandkids. 🙂 You deserve the best. Keep your head high… you are so loved.
xoxo
Kelly
Susan Plamondon-JBC March 1, 2011 at 2:23 pm

The prayer goup for the ill at JBC continues to pray for you-we gave a shout of praise when we learned the surgery was successful!!!!We are now praying for your recovery and pain control-I have only met you once, Charysse, and I felt the power of the Holy Spirit covering you and I was so touched by your unwavering faith-Your courage in The Lord has touched many lives! Shalom: Susan Plamondon