Rabekah's condition has not changed. We tried backing off the vent and she is unable to control her breathing at this time. The plan is to try again tomorrow after introducing a different medication, and weening her off the meds that are keeping her in a sedative state. We are asking that wherever you are tonight at 10:00 pm, please pray for Rabekah, pray for guidance, healing and direction. We thank you all for your love and support during this continued fight. Much love - The Hicks Family

Rabekah is resting in the hospital and is very restless. She has perked up over the last 5 hours. I think it is the most excitement we have seen out of her in weeks. Even being on sedation she is breathing over the vent and is wanting the tube out. The Doctors will not pull the tube here, they want to get her to Maine before doing so. Glenn, Bekah, Daniella and I have a 10 am Medical flight tomorrow morning that will transport us back to our Hospital in Maine. We will consult with her Doctors there and decide what is best for Bekah and where to go from there. Lots of battles were fought today within our family, Emotional and spiritual. We spent the day preparing for the worst but tonight (as usual ) Bekah told us a different story. She certainly has a strong will and is not cowering to this fight. Even at the most painful moments she still finds a way to make us smile. Especially today since she managed to tell off anyone who walked in the room. She wasn't able to make the words but you knew she meant business. That's our Bekah!! We are asking for prayers of guidance and direction and for her complete healing. We will update once again when we are settled in Bangor. Much Love, Team Hicks

Rabekah was admitted at Arnold Palmer Women's and Children's Hospital this evening. She did not have a very good day and was really having a hard time breathing. A CT Scan was done and there have been no changes since last Friday but after speaking with our Neurosurgeon in Maine by phone everyone agrees this is progression of the Tumor. She is able to breath in oxygen the problem is she cannot blow it out. Her CO2 level was 100, the normal is 40. She is very sick. Glenn and I have decided to intubate and give her a high dose of steroids as well as fluids and some time for her body to rest. It is our hope that this will be effective and she will perk up long enough to get her back to Maine. Thinking on the positive side,,, this very thing has happened twice before and we hope this turns into another viral infection that she just needs to overcome. We made it to Florida but not to Disney, guess she wants to wait a bit longer to tackle the parks! A Princess has to be able to Dance at her Castle right? We just have so much hope and so little strength. My oldest daughter Kaylee is so sad and scared that she might loose her best friend. She told me she had a dream that Bekah came to her School and she was walking again. She also put her arm around me tonight and rubbed my shoulder and said, it's okay Mommy, Bekah will be alright. Such honest trust. Our hearts are breaking, it's hard to imagine that God would allow one of his own to bare this kind of pain. We pray for wisdom, guidance and understanding of the path he has chosen for our family. We know Rabekah has painted our life with so many Beautiful colors and she has reached out and painted every one of yours as well. Say a prayer for her tonight, but not just any prayer. Let her colors fill the words you use and let her fight become your surrender to God. Much Love, The Hicks Family

Hi Everyone, Rabekah is doing better today. Praise the Lord. We believe He is answering all of our prayers. We certainly feel the strength and energy that is being sent out to her and hope that within her precious little body, a miracle is unfolding. We are still planning on heading to Florida, as long as her health continues to get better. She said three times this morning, I want to go to Disney!!! So here we go. We are so looking forward to this trip as a family. We hope and pray all goes well and Bekah's energy holds strong. We look forward to these next two weeks to give us memories we will cherish forever. There is a song that we would like to share with all of you. Martina McBride - Anyway. This song shines hope on the face of our daughter and gives us the strength and courage we need to keep our heads up and believe that God's plan is worth waiting for. Just seeing the passion Rabekah has when she tries to sing this song among the few favorites of hers is what keeps us going. It is our hope that someday, she will sing for all of you! We leave for Florida Tuesday afternoon and will be updating and hopefully posting some pictures of the first day at Disney. We love you all and Thank you for sharing your prayers with our family. Much Love, Glenn, Shannon, Kaylee, Bekah, Abby & Dani

Rabekah has been having some trouble the last few days. Yesterday before we left for NY we took her to have a CT Scan done just to make sure the shunt was still working. Everything looked good. The Neurosurgeon said it looked like the cyst was causing the problems. We upped her dose of Steroid to 1 mg and today she has been having some difficulty breathing. She is still breathing okay and is getting enough oxygen but she cannot really talk and she said it's hard for her to swallow. She is in good spirits and will have nothing to do with going to the Hospital. We feel it is extremely important to keep her resting, quiet and happy. When she gets worked up she doesn't do well. We spoke again with the Doctor this morning and she said it does sound like the Tumor is the cause. We have upped her Steroid again to 3 mg a day. Right now all of our plans are on hold until we feel she is doing better. We may be at the point where we need prayer for direction in decision making. Quality of like is most important for her. Our plead to God of all things is that his hand be tipped to fill our daughter with good health, restore the peace within our home and make her the example for all to see, that we all carry within ourselves the ability to change things with positive, continual prayer and thinking. This truly is a test for us all. Times when we know God is close he still feels too far away. We pray for direction, wisdom and understanding and hold her outstretched before God begging for his Mercy. We will update again tomorrow. Much Love, Glenn, Shannon and The Girls

Well, Rabekah is home now and doing much better. She had a few very challenging days but made it through. We just need to be extremely careful with the whole germ thing. A small cold for her ends up in a Hospital stay. We hope and pray she gets over this cold quickly and is able to travel. The Disney trip is coming up so we all need to be healthy. She is looking forward to this trip as well as the rest of us. We all need a break and are looking forward to spending some FUN TIME together. Thank you all so very much for continuing to pray for Rabekah's complete healing. We have faith and trust in the Lords hands and know that better days are still ahead. We will update you from Disney and hopefully add a picture or two. Much Love, The Hicks Family

Rabekah was admitted to the PICU at EMMC early Monday morning and was intabaited due to poor Respiratory Response. She was tested for RSV, Influenza and just about anything else you can think of. All came back negative except for the Sputum (mucos) grew out a bug, and basically she does have an infection in her lung. She has been on Antibiotic for over 24 hrs now and has been on lots of pain and sedation meds to keep her calm and resting while the Breathing Tube is in. They are all set to pull the tube and see how she does but,,,, Rabekah has decided she wants to make them wait and is still sleeping. If you know Bekah, she likes to do things on her terms!!!! That is a great sign. This does not seem to be an effect of the Tumor, just a really yucky cold. Because her Respiratory System is sensative and she is immune-compromised she just can't handle the extra secretions that the body makes when it is sick. We ask that you cotinue to keep her in prayer and we will update again to let you all know how things are going.

Rabekah had her Shunt Revision this morning. She had a rough go in the beginning with the anesthesiologist trying to access the port. He was unsuccessful after 3 tries and lots of aggravation and discomfort they ended up doing a regular IV in the arm. The procedure went well, no complications!! Praise the Lord. The Dr found that the valve in her head was completely blocked and there was alot of pressure. The Dr did give us a little good news, most patients are completely shunt dependant which means if there is blockage they would generally get very sick within a day and possibly go into a coma and die, where in Bekah's case she is only partially dependant meaning that she is able to pass and absorb some of that fluid on her own. This is a good thing!!! She was supposed to stay in the Hospital for 24 hrs but wanted to come home right after she came to so,,,, they did a CT Scan and everything looked good, no bleeding and shunt is in good position so they let her come home. She is very happy, resting and was excited to see her sisters and Bella. She looks really good, her eyes look straighter and less bloodshot. She is drinking and eating as normal and hasn't complained of any aches or pains at all. God certainly has his hand upon her. Thank you all for the prayers and wishes of good luck. We have been trying to put pictures on the website but have been having trouble. Hopefully they will post soon. We will keep you updated on how she does the next few days. Much love, The Hicks Family

Hi all, I know you all are wondering why I haven't updated yet. I have it just takes at least 12 hrs for the update to post. Bekah was very brave and did great during her CT Scan, only a two minute scan but to a child,,,, it's forever. We then went to meet with her Neurosurgeon to discuss the scan. She did find that the shunt is not working well. There is blockage and a very large amount of fluid in her ventricles which is why we have been noticing some minor setbacks in her lately. She is scheduled for surgery at 8:15 Monday morning to have a Shunt Revision. Basically the same operation she had when the shunt was placed only this time they think the blockage of the valve is located in the head some if that is the case they will only need to make the one incision there. If they find blockage elsewhere they will then go in at the two other locations, another on her head and on her stomach. Hopefully that won't be the case. This was in a way comforting for us to hear, the fact that this is a fairly easy fix and not Tumor Activity is such a blessing. She will only need to stay in the Hospital over night and if all is well the next morning she will be able to come home. Doing this procedure will help Bekah to feel better and hopefully give her more strength and energy once again. She remains strong willed and cannot wait for her Disney Trip. She has been asking everyday, how many more days till we go Mommy? Ariel has called her from the Castle 3 times and she is so excited to meet her!!! Keep her close in your prayers and ask that God's hand be used for wisdom Monday morning and that he fill her with the renewal breath of strength and complete healing. We know in our hearts that Gods lessons are great and now we look forward to a Beautiful New Year of his Miracles. Much love from our family to you and thank you all for believing in Gods unseen Miracle, for it is then that the miracle is seen.

Love, The Hicks Family

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