UPDATE on Malachi 

Malachi went into surgery yesterday Nov  18, 2025, afternoon and came out around 7pm. It’s been a long, emotional night. 

Once he made it through PACU and after we spoke with the neurosurgeon, he was taken for X-rays and a CT scan before being brought back to his room. When he arrived, we immediately noticed something was different. He wasn’t able to communicate the same way—just mumbling, gesturing, and clearly confused. 

As the nurses came in, speaking loudly and checking meds, I saw Malachi’s face tighten. I knew instantly that pain had hit him hard. At the same moment, Reiff noticed the monitors and realized Malachi was holding his breath for a minute at a time, trying to ride out the pain. Tears began streaming down his face—something that never happens unless the pain is truly unbearable. 

Watching our kids respond like this is a type of pain that breaks us in ways we can’t describe. Reiff was in tears, and I worked with the nurses to get pain meds into him immediately. Those 3–5 minutes waiting for relief to kick in felt like forever. 

Through the night he stabilized, but this morning we learned that his CT showed his brain port is kinked. They’ll be accessing his chest port again to see if it’s functioning properly as it did on the operating table. If not… we’re looking at another surgery. 

We’re praying everything is working the way it should and that today can be a day of true rest for his body. 

Thank you—seriously—to so many of you who are praying for our boy and for our family. We feel every single prayer holding us up. 

More updates on our Batten's Fighting kiddos soon

Sabrina & Reiff ❤️