Easton Dierks Recovery

Hi My name is Lindsey Clark and I am fundraising to help out with the expenses of Easton Dierks medical recovery. Easton is in my son Corbin’s class and is the sweetest little boy. His family has not asked for any assistance other than prayers and I know living first hand in this community the kind of support we give when rallying for our neighbors. If you can contribute financially, any little bit could help and if you can’t I know they would appreciate just as much if not more any prayers! Below is Easton’s story posted by his dad Tim Dierks.

 

As some may or may not have heard, Thursday, July 29th Alyssa Dierks and I received the one of scariest news a parent could hear. Easton (our five year old) had a cough for 6 days that progressively got worse and then developed fevers the last three days. We thought we had escaped the fevers Wednesday but just before bedtime he spiked another and his cough kept him up most of the night. We knew we had to take him in to the urgent care and with diminished lung sounds they did a chest x-ray. Immediately Alyssa knew something was wrong as the entire right lower portion of the screen of his right lung was white. The radiologist report said could not rule out a mass and partial collapsed lung.

 

Those that know Easton he is a ball of energy and never stops so we had no reason to suspect anything. We immediately took Easton to children’s hospital to obtain a CT scan to get a more definitive answer. It obviously was not the news we wanted as we were told the CT confirmed a mass that was rather large and they were not sure what it was but it could be a benign growth or something worse so we were admitted to a hemotology oncology unit.

 

Alyssa and I’s emotions were high filled with fear, sadness, anxiety, grief, and lots of tears as we did not know what will unfold in the coming days of testing. To top it off Easton aside from a cough felt fine and did not understand what was going on.

 

The last two days we received amazing care at children’s where we began navigating what will be a journey for our young family. We have received promising preliminary news that things are pointing to a benign growth that will only require a surgical removal but also years of follow up scans post. Easton has pneumonia that he will need to resolve prior to scheduling a surgery but we are glad to be able to manage this at home.

 

I write one to update those that may not have known but also to say that it is easy in these times to be angry and ask God why. I would be lying if that did not cross my mind at one point but after really sitting back and looking at how this all unfolded God was looking out for our family. This mass was discovered because an X-ray was performed in an instance where they are not always done (Alyssa is an X-ray tech and confirmed this). My parents also happened to be in town where they could be supportive and watch our daughter allowing Alyssa and I to stay with Easton the entire time. Alyssas parents were able to take over when they had to leave and our families were offering all support so we could focus on being there for Easton.

 

From the minute we began updating family prayer chains started reaching many people. I want to say God was listening because we asked for peace of mind to be strong for Easton and for it to be something that will still allow our child to heal and be with us. As our stay lengthened and preliminary tests were coming back the physicians were coming in giving us hope that from what they saw it seemed to be benign. Today the preliminary pathology report confirmed this and it’s slim chance the final result will change. Prayer when lifted up for someone or something on the magnitude it was for Easton and our situation can move mountains. I thank God for this news today and I cannot thank all those that have lifted our family up in prayer! Our God is an awesome God and his timing is always right! Many things lined up and while I wish we were not dealing with a mass at all we have the peace of mind that this is curable and best case scenario.

 

We have a long road ahead and surgery in the near future so if you could please continue to pray we greatly would appreciate it. Pray for confirmed pathology report, Easton’s pneumonia to clear up with the medication provided, and for his future surgery to go smooth and problem free. Again thank you everyone that has sent love and lifted prayers! God is so good!

 

Easton went on to have surgery today, September 7th and below is an update from his dad on how it went:

 

An Easton update!

 

Today was the big day for surgery. We arrived around 0750 this morning to start the next leg of our journey with Easton’s “booger!”

 

The pre-op staff, anesthesia, and Dr. Aldrink were all great and came in to discuss the plan for surgery including plans b,c and d if A didn’t work. Of course we prayed and hoped for plan A as that was minimally invasive and least amount of stay.

 

Easton parted our side at 0950 and it was a waiting game from there. At 1130 we received notice that they were beginning the procedure so anesthesia worked for an hour or so after his prep to get his lines established and then intubated prior to that message we received.

 

About 90 minutes in we received notice that they unfortunately had to go to plan B and perform a thoracotomy (larger incision) as the mass was too large in his smaller chest cavity to safely proceed with the robot and she needed to go hands on.

 

At about 3pm we received notice that they were closing everything up and things were going well. The surgeon came out about 45 minutes later to discuss how things went:

-mass was large as advertised (her words) which lead to the need for open.

- it appeared to align with everything we have been told and know that it is in the ganglion neuroblastoma/neuroma spectrum and we should not have to come back for a removal as it should be removed and done! (That’s our one of our needed prayers)

- she did say she had to leave small areas due to the area it was up against (vital organs) as it was pressing against the esophagus and aorta at one spot. It was also “sticky” along the spine but she is confident she got enough that what little spots were left should not be an issue.

-there is a risk for what they call a chyle leak (lymphatic system) and/or Horner’s syndrome (fixed pupil and possible droopy eyelid) due to the nerve the mass grew off of - praying that this does not happen.

- Easton does have a chest tube that will buy us several days as a given stay and he has an epidural for pain management. Prayers the drainage tapers off as it should and it can be removed in a couple days!

-once tube out his pain levels will determine a discharge date!

 

God has been with us and Easton throughout. To be honest Alyssa Dierks and I have been calm, collected, and in good spirits knowing God had a handle on this. It needed done and we are fortunate to have one of the best facilities to perform this procedure within an hour of our house! We appreciate all of the love and prayers! Easton is eating well and tolerating fluids so that is a positive!

 

We still have a road of recovery to travel but if you don’t mind praying for comfort and healing for Easton and a healthy recovery with no post op complications it would be appreciated! God bless everyone and thanks for all the well wishes and prayers!