We feel the news we heard today is the best news we could have heard. At Daddy’s last appointment, the LVAD was discussed as a possible option for a bridge to transplant or even instead of one. We were thrilled to know of another option, but didn’t feel in the long run this was the best one for him because he would still be in heart failure. Also, the LVAD would be a little cumbersome because he’d have to always have the battery pack with him and would always be “connected” with a tube. The LVAD is wonderful for those who have a long wait for transplant or for those who are not good candidates. However, transplantation truly gives Daddy a new lease on life.

I inquired about the high calcium levels, low platelet situation, and parathyroid issue. All of those things were discussed in the meeting this morning but none of them are contraindication for transplant surgery. Daddy was told it is most important that his heart is taken care of. Then those other issues can be tackled. We are prayerful that he will be able to wait for his heart at my house and not in the hospital. That way he can continue to experience the benefits of around the clock entertainment and good meals. Daddy is not a fan of boredom or hospital food.

Being a type A+ blood and a 1B status puts Daddy in an excellent position. There are no others on the list with his blood type which means as soon as a heart in western NC becomes available that is a good fit for Dad, he will be notified to make his way to Charlotte for surgery. The average wait time for this facility is 2 months. However, Dr. Thomlison indicated that most likely for Dad, the wait would be shorter. However, there is, of course, no way of determining this.

We are so thankful for a good appointment today. We’ve put this whole situation in God’s hands and we trust Him. If we were told today that Daddy wasn’t a good heart transplant candidate, we’d still be thankful for the Lord’s guidance. We wouldn’t want him to go through this if it weren’t in his best interest. However, we all admit that “listed” is the word we wanted to hear today. For us a new heart means hope for a longer and better quality life. Daddy went to bed thinking of all the sermons in his head that he wants to write and deliver. He wants to exercise and get stronger. We all thank the Lord that hopefully very soon, he’ll be able to do those things and more.

My favorite deal, however, I found for myself! Now THAT is a rare thing!  I had 30 minutes to browse while Nathan was in physical therapy across the street and I came across an all cotton, stylish Bass cardigan for $3.50. I just LOVE it! So, I spent $7.50 for all three great finds!

C.J. Mahaney  Humility: True Greatness

Anna is a beautiful dancer. She has a sophisticated sense of style. She’s articulate, witty, and outgoing. I love these things about her. However, I rejoice when I see her articulate what the Lord is teaching her. She recently knitted a sweet baby hat for little Holland. Precious. Lord help me celebrate evidences of true beauty in my daughter – that which is beautiful in your eyes.

Christina is Miss Creativity. She is fun. She can sew, knit, play piano and cook. I love these things about her. However, I celebrate her passion for honoring the Lord. She loves to hear God’s word. I can see the fruit of the Holy Spirit when she sets aside her creative agenda to serve her toddler sister or help me with the laundry. Her compassion for God’s creatures is precious. Lord, help me to encourage her creativity in ministry, heart for people and desire to grow spiritually.

My Bethany can draw and cook and knit and keep the house running in my absence. She pays close attention to detail. She too loves to dance and I enjoy all these gifts the Lord has given her. However, I rejoice that she desires unity in relationships. She loves people and cares deeply about the feelings of others. I am thankful that she would rather spend an hour baking for our 90 year old neighbors than playing Wii. Lord, help me to always encourage her desire to serve you by serving others.

Nathan has been gifted intellectually and musically. He began reading at the age of 4. He is a geography whiz. Musically, he amazes us. I am thankful for his gifts and pray that as his mother, I can show him daily that God has great plans for him. Not long ago, he saw an ad in World Magazine asking for donations for children in 3rd world countries born with cleft palates. “Mom, I want to help children like that when I am grown and I don’t want to charge anything to fix their mouths.” I love to hear Nathan’s music, but comments that reflect the heart of a future missionary doctor are more beautiful than any song that even the greatest musician can play. Lord, I don’t know what your future plans are for my son but help me to point him toward you in all things.

Little Sarah can sing and dance and she smiles a lot. She is spunky. She is smart. She can do anything she wants to do. All her gifts are wonderful but I pray she finds her joy in Jesus. She makes friends so easily. Lord, help her to point her friends towards you.

Esther’s curls are beautiful. She is delightful. She is only 2. She sings “Jesus loves me.” Help me Lord to show her just how much you love her in the years ahead.

Our culture defines greatness as being good at something. My children hear this definition a zillion times a day and they are listening. As a parent, I want to communicate that Biblical greatness is worth striving for. It’s easy to focus on things that are external and have no eternal value. While I am thankful for the way the Lord has uniquely gifted each of my children, I do not desire to celebrate talents more than Godly character. Well written papers, a good piece at a music or dance recital and a song well sung should be encouraged. However, I rejoice when I see my children serving others and honoring God. Lord, help me rejoice and encourage true greatness of character as my children develop – that which comes only from you.

This entry is for my writing class. Too funny! Text taken from http://networkedblogs.com/p28413228

26 Golden Rules for Writing Well

1. Don’t abbrev.
2. Check to see if you any words out.
3. Be carefully to use adjectives and adverbs correct.
4. About sentence fragments.
5. When dangling, don’t use participles.
6. Don’t use no double negatives.
7. Each pronoun agrees with their antecedent.
8. Just between you and I, case is important.
9. Join clauses good, like a conjunction should.
10. Don’t use commas, that aren’t necessary.
11. Its important to use apostrophe’s right.
12. It’s better not to unnecessarily split an infinitive.
13. Never leave a transitive verb just lay there without an object.
14. Only Proper Nouns should be capitalized. also a sentence should begin with a capital letter and end with a full stop
15. Use hyphens in compound-words, not just in any two-word phrase.
16. In letters compositions reports and things like that we use commas to keep a string of items apart.
17. Watch out for irregular verbs that have creeped into our language.
18. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
19. Avoid unnecessary redundancy.
20. A writer mustn’t shift your point of view.
21. Don’t write a run-on sentence you’ve got to punctuate it.
22. A preposition isn’t a good thing to end a sentence with.
23. Avoid cliches like the plague.
24. 1 final thing is to never start a sentence with a number.
25. Always check your work for accuracy and completeness.

~Author Unknown

The sobering news is that Daddy is really sick. Because his medication (Primecore) is relieving his symptoms, he feels better than he has in a while. He can climb stairs and isn’t as breathless as he was before his January evaluation.  Hearing phrases like “bridge to transplant” and “you may reach 1A status” is hard to hear. He also was informed that his platelets are low and his calcium is high. He’ll need surgery on his parathyroid either before getting a transplant or after. The endocrinologist doesn’t know in what order the cardiologist will want to go about taking care of this.

So now we are back to waiting. This time, however, we have been told that his case will be reviewed this coming Monday. We are very, very thankful for that! We will have waited 7 weeks for his case to be discussed on the heart transplant panel. Shannon, the PA, did tell Dad that while his case will be reviewed, it’s possible he’ll still need more tests (possibly on the platelets?). The team will devise a plan. We don’t know if that will mean parathyroid surgery before being listed, the possibility of LVAD surgery instead of transplanting, or being listed for transplant. We’ll just wait and see…

The heart transplant evaluation team meets every Monday. Daddy started his evaluations on Monday, Jan. 11th and every Monday since then, we’ve been hopeful to hear a decision as to whether he will be listed. As of today another Monday has passed. I’ll admit… I’m feeling a little impatient tonight.

Daddy has great perspective. Waiting on God’s timing is what we are doing. Thus, we have no need to be irritated that His timing wasn’t today.

Daddy has an appointment in Charlotte tomorrow afternoon. Even though we were told we’d be notified on the Monday he’s evaluated, I am hopeful that tomorrow we may have news after his appointment. We’ll see…

If we don’t know if he’s listed yet, at least we’ll know what the next step will be.

If we don’t have anything else that must be done (tests, appointments, etc), next Monday will be here in only 6 more days…

I’ve been told it’s a dangerous thing to pray for patience, but that is what I need right now.

WELCOME TO HOLLAND

by
Emily Perl Kingsley.

c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability – to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It’s like this……

When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip – to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It’s all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, “Welcome to Holland.”

“Holland?!?” you say. “What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I’m supposed to be in Italy. All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy.”

But there’s been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven’t taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It’s just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It’s just a different place. It’s slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you’ve been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around…. and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills….and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy… and they’re all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say “Yes, that’s where I was supposed to go. That’s what I had planned.”

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away… because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But… if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things … about Holland.

Lord, Thank you for my dear friends and for the gift that you’ve given them. Little Holland Grace is a gift from your hand. She has some special needs. Don’t we all? Thank you for everything about her that makes her unique. She is lovely. I pray that as she grows she will radiate your love and bless others with everything about her that is Holland. You know the plans you have for each of your children… And we trust you completely.
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