Good evening, HAVE ONE ESPECIALLY URGENT PRAYER REQUEST FOR KATHERINE REED....READ ON.... Just getting home from church at 5 pm. But Ruth and I had a wonderful afternoon with a dear friend, a widow, from our parish. Our lives first crossed maybe 36 years ago or so; after that long, times and dates dim somewhat. But it was wonderful to sit down to lunch with her and take time to chat about everything in God’s wonderful creation, good times and sad times. I need to get a prayer note out to you quickly – Katherine Reed (4 years old) will be having spinal chemo tomorrow, a regimen she will be under approximately every two months for the foreseeable future, besides being on a daily low-dose oral chemo. I am told the doctors say to her parents that by putting her under, she won’t remember the taste or smell of the chemo. Katherine has proven them wrong, even under sedation, she not only remembers the taste, but the smell and the feelings it gives her. Her mom asks for a couple of specific prayers in addition to the prayer that everything goes will with Katherine tomorrow – pray against any adverse reactions to the chemo and pray for Katherine’s emotional well-being both going into the procedure and coming out of it. Pray that her blood counts remain normal. Evy Tomlin is in Haiti in the missionary field. She asks for prayer and for guidance of the Holy Spirit. She would like to begin each day with a devotional time at work. She has the agreement of the Head of Missions there, but needs to receive approval from (the Board?). Pray that she be granted favor. I ask your prayers for my sister Carolyn. My youngest son and his family were visiting in Michigan over Thanksgiving. He shared that Carolyn has a bladder infection and was hurting Thanksgiving day. Pray that the infection and all lingering effects be gone in Jesus precious Name. Our prayers are asked for Marilyn. She was taken to the ER yesterday and they discovered an aneurism in her aorta. While in surgery they discovered a blood clot in her lungs, so they will deal with that first. She was admitted, put on blood thinners and given something to settle her stomach. Then they will try to encase the aneurism and finally schedule gall bladder surgery. That’s a whole lot on one person at the same time! Please pray for Marilyn. Mila, a very young baby, born at 28 weeks, is in Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital and is in need of prayers. Pray for the life of this precious gift of God. I saw brief video on Facebook this morning that really warms my heart … Cannon Wiggins is speaking! Granted only a few words now and one is “Dad”; he has a wonderful relationship with Michael, his dad. When I think of where he was a year ago and where he is now, all I can say is “Thank you Lord for miracles.” Cannon and so many others who have come so far. Over the last couple of years we have followed the lives of 46 children in their fight against cancer of one type or another; 8 of whom have gone to be with the Lord. Every life is so very, very precious. I just stopped to try to determine the lives of those who have touched and shaped mine over the years… It’s impossible, and yet I know each and every life was very important and is still very important. After all we believe in the Communion of Saints and their labor of love doesn’t cease once they’ve passed the veil from this life to the next. We spoke this afternoon about some of the Early Church Fathers and how their messages still teach and inspire us today. Every life is worth the struggle, the fight. Wes Pak (8) has had a horrible couple of days. Because of the constant nausea, they had to do some GI tests to see if there are any blockages caused by his recent abdominal surgery. They had to give him a contrast dye through his NG tube, which also caused him to be sick; he had to lay on his abdominal incisions for part of the scans. They did discover that the dye was not going beyond his duodenum, indicating a blockage there. He was sent back to his room without his mother learning anything further. So she researched it in order to be able to speak with the doctors tomorrow. Pray for this young man and for his mother Krista. The weekend staff are reluctant to do anything further until the head doctor comes back tomorrow. Ethan Wright needs our prayers as well. Today is day 48 in the hospital. He has seen some improvement, but in other ways there has been no change. Ethan is suffering greatly with mouth and tongue sores following his transplant. Ethan is in the 9th grade and is trying to keep up with his school work in the hospital, at least on those days when he is well enough to do so. He is looking forward to progressing along with his friends in school in spite of his fight against leukemia. As I read his mother’s post, I see the struggle to receive enough of some medications needed to fight leukemia and to fight against GvHD and yet not cause adverse effects on other body parts such as his liver. We are fearfully and wonderfully made, indeed, and when any chemical or fluid or tissue in our body gets out of alignment, we have to struggle to get it back. Amiya Castro (7) whose family is friends with Ethan’s family, is back in PICU and needs our prayers. Her oxygen levels dropped into the 60s. She was placed on a ventilator and is now off that and her supplemental oxygen levels have been able to be decreased from 70 to 45, a sign of progress. But, she is still very ill. She had a surgical procedure yesterday to relieve some abdominal fluid. She was in extreme pain Thanksgiving Day. Pray for her family and for all the doctors, nurses and medical staff working with her. Pray for God’s wisdom for them. Prestun Seibel (5) is running yet another fever. Please pray against it. He is to begin his immunotherapy treatments this coming week if his blood counts are okay and no fevers. “Binkeez for Comfort” stopped by the Sloan Urgent Care center yesterday and gave Prestun a blanket specially designed for him, a blanket loaded with the sayings of his many “super heroes.” They call it Prestun Binkeez and other children who choose his design will receive a Prestun blanket. He put it to immediate use, tucking it around him in his stroller. I love these heart-warming stories in the midst of all these children are going through. Matthew Cecena is doing a little better now. His blood counts are up, so he is feeling better. He is still fighting mucositis and a slight fever but little by little he is getting more active. His parents thank everyone for their prayers and ask for more prayer. Zein Youssef (7) is in the midst of his chemo treatments. His father speaks of the 12 hour hospital days before being released to go home. The long waits, viewing the world through the glass of hospital windows, waiting, just waiting to hear how things are going with your son or daughter. Transfusions, gifts of life. Zein’s father posted a picture of Zein and Avi together, two children (Muslim and Jew) fighting a common enemy, cancer, and becoming friends in the process Zein is fighting neuroblastoma and Avi lymphoma. He asks for continued prayers for both boys. For himself he asks for prayers for patience, for clarity of mind, and for a steady balance. Zadee Lopez (2) wished everyone a “Texas-sized Happy Thanksgiving.” She will be scheduled for a bone marrow biopsy soon. She is still fighting tumors behind her eyes and on her spine. Wish with Wings has granted her wish for a trip to Disney World to happen soon. Noah Wilson (7) is doing better and went home yesterday. They gave him meds for his croup cough and confirmed that his blood levels were good. He has to stay low-key because he is still fighting a low-grade fever. Please keep him in your prayers. The update on Bryce Thalmann is a happy one. He and his family were able to spend the Thanksgiving weekend with their extended family. Although he mentioned his tummy hurt, he seemed to really enjoy himself and went sledding for the first time. Kristy says that Bryce still has some problems sleeping, but seems to wake up happy in the morning. Please continue your prayers. This toddler begins the next phase of his treatments on Thursday. Teeja’s mom, Tana, gave an update on Teeja. She says this last month has been beyond emotionally and physically exhausting on every member of their family. They came home a month ago to give Teeja’s body a break after hearing that the disease has progressed. Teeja is struggling against neuroblastoma. But the break hasn’t been any break at all in reality. They spent 2 to 3 days a week at All Children’s Hospital for checkups, transfusions, scans, etc. They had two trips to the ER, one of which was Thanksgiving Day. She is fighting a urinary tract infection because of the stent they had to put in place and the two tumors pressing against her bladder. Teeja is scheduled for surgery this Tuesday to remove the tumors and relieve the pressure and pain. After that they will have to explore what the next steps may be. Please keep the whole family in prayer as they wrestle with this and especially Teeja as she undergoes yet another major surgery. Okay, that is the updates that I have at this time. I pray today was the start of what will be a wonderful Advent for you. From this morning’s Gospel: “Take heed, watch and pray.” Love in Christ, Fr. Dennis
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 01:06:40 +0000