I promise to pray every night for her sir.

These are the words left on my son's facebook page from one of his soldiers.  Simple words that touch my heart and ease my soul.  I have never wanted to post about the difficulties that may come my way as everyone has hardships.  However, I am asking for any prayers, any strength and good wishes you can send my granddaughter's way.  She is in the hospital from a clot on her brain and has just been diagnosed with AVM or Arteriovenous Malformation. An AVM is a tangle of abnormal and poorly formed blood vessels (arteries and veins). They have a higher rate of bleeding than normal vessels. AVMs can occur anywhere in the body and never come to the surface.  Brain AVMs are of special concern because of the damage they cause when they bleed. They are very rare and occur in less than 1% of the general population.  Who knows why these things happen and to the smallest of us. The most innocent of life are children.  I will not dwell on the why but on the how we can help and support this sweet child so she is back to her princess dress imagination days.

Mom and dad are with her and will be living at the children's hospital for the next few weeks.  She has an MRI in the morning to see how far the swelling has gone down and how far the bleeding has diminished.  Once the bleeding has stopped, she will undergo an angiogram to determine the next step.  It appears that surgery to correct the AVM may be necessary.  My sweet 5-cheese ravioli has a long row to hoe and I believe in the power of prayer when it is given with love and care to one who needs it.  We will know more as the days go by.  Sea Witch