💛 Bowen’s Battle — Finding Hope in the Gray Areas 💛
When you’re walking through a journey like this, you learn quickly that medicine isn’t always black and white — sometimes it’s made up of impossible choices, unanswered questions, and prayers whispered between each heartbeat.
For Bowen’s family, this week was one of those moments.
💬 The Meeting That Changed Everything
They went into Monday’s meeting with Dr. Klimo, Bowen’s neurosurgeon, expecting to discuss a
VP shunt surgery — a device that helps drain excess fluid from the brain. It was something they’d been prepared for. The MRI images showed enlarged ventricles, and the team at St. Jude had said the procedure was likely unavoidable.
But after a careful exam and long discussion, Dr. Klimo said something no one expected to hear:
“I think Bowen might not need the shunt after all.”
It was a shock. For weeks, they’d braced themselves for another surgery — another scar, another recovery, another setback in the long list of battles their little boy has already faced.
🧠 A Rare Case — and a Complicated One
Bowen’s hydrocephalus — a buildup of fluid in the brain — isn’t typical. Most cases are fast-moving or caused by trauma. But Bowen’s is
slow, stable, and strangely unique.
When surgeons removed his large brain tumor months ago, it left behind trauma and stretched ventricles that now have to reorganize themselves. His brain, in its own remarkable way, is trying to find balance again.
According to Dr. Klimo, the “filters” inside Bowen’s ventricles — tiny channels that regulate brain fluid — might be clogged from a mix of chemotherapy, blood transfusions, and the body’s own proteins. That buildup can cause
temporary, stable hydrocephalus that ebbs and flows instead of progressing dangerously.
In other words, Bowen’s brain is doing something rare: it’s managing to hold steady.
It’s hard to believe when you see the scans — fluid where it shouldn’t be, a visible swelling where part of his skull was removed during his last operation.
But that missing skull flap, strangely enough, has become a blessing in disguise. It allows doctors to
see what’s happening beneath the surface. When chemo weeks hit, the swelling increases slightly. Then, between treatments, his brain returns to baseline — more sunken than bulging, but stable.
Dr. Klimo reassured them that Bowen isn’t at risk of brain tissue strangulation because the opening from the bone flap is wide enough to prevent that kind of pressure. If it ever reached a dangerous point, they’d have time to act.
That reassurance — after months of fear — felt like air after drowning.
Still, Bowen’s brain is exposed, and that remains a constant worry. Even without the shunt, he’s vulnerable to injury. Every bump, every tumble, feels like a moment to hold their breath.
But installing a shunt comes with its own dangers: infections, delayed chemo, complications. There’s no easy choice — only the “least risky” one.
⚖️ Choosing the Gray
Bowen’s parents left the meeting with mixed emotions —
relief that another surgery was off the table for now, and anxiety that everything still feels uncertain.
“We’re choosing the devil we know,” his mom said quietly. “Because nothing is guaranteed.”
In less experienced hands, the decision might have gone differently. Many doctors would have operated right away based on the MRI alone. But Dr. Klimo’s experience and deep understanding of Bowen’s condition gave them something precious —
time.
He explained that if Bowen can make it through his remaining rounds of chemotherapy, his next surgery — the bone flap replacement — may help correct the problem naturally. But right now, Bowen’s body simply isn’t strong enough for another major brain operation.
So, for now, they watch, they wait, and they pray.
💛 Finding Peace in the Uncertainty
There’s no perfect choice here — only faith and trust.
“We’re in uncharted waters again,” his mom shared, “but I’m choosing to feel grateful that Bowen doesn’t have to go through another surgery right now.”
They’ll monitor him closely — every lab, every change in behavior, every little sign that his brain might need more help. But for now, the focus is on what matters most: keeping Bowen safe, comfortable, and happy.
And somehow, through all the medical jargon and impossible decisions, Bowen keeps reminding everyone what resilience really looks like.
🚲 A Boy Still Being a Boy
While doctors analyze scans and parents battle anxiety, Bowen — the heart of it all — just keeps living his best little-boy life.
He zips down hospital hallways on his scooter.
He jokes with nurses.
He devours cheeseburgers with a grin that could melt the coldest heart.
And through it all, he keeps making progress in therapy — walking stronger, talking clearer, smiling bigger.
There was a scare one night when his port looked inflamed, and panic set in. But thankfully, it turned out to be just bruising. Crisis averted.
Now that surgery is off the table, Bowen will move into round three of chemotherapy. His body will be prepped with fluids before another high-dose methotrexate treatment — a powerful but necessary weapon in this fight.
🙏 The Hope That Keeps Them Going
Every day feels like a balancing act between fear and faith, between what they know and what they can only hope for.
Bowen’s story isn’t one of clear answers — it’s one of courage in uncertainty.
It’s learning to live in the gray areas.
It’s trusting that even when things don’t make sense, there’s still meaning in the fight.
And through it all, Bowen keeps teaching everyone around him the same lesson:
You don’t have to be big to be brave.
You just have to keep going.
💛 Please continue to keep Bowen and his family in your prayers — for strength, for protection, and for wisdom in every decision ahead.
Every good thought, every message, every prayer matters more than you know.
Because though this road is long and uncertain, Bowen’s light continues to shine — bright, steady, and full of hope.
