Mimi and a Miracle, part I

Devotions for every day of the year...Jesus Calling by Sarah Young
February 6
Come to Me and rest. I am all about you, to bless and restore. Breath Me in with each breath. The way just ahead of you is very steep. Slow down and cling tightly to My hand. I am teaching you a difficult lesson, learned only by hardship.
Lift up empty hands of faith to receive My precious presence. Light, Life, Joy, and Peace flow freely through this gift. When your focus turns away from Me, you grasp for other things. You drop the glowing gift of My presence as you reach for lifeless ashes. Return to Me; regain My presence. Matt. 12:28-29; I Tim. 2:8.

Saturday, February 6th, 2010 we got a phone call that would change our lives in a big way. Ryan's cell phone rang at 10:35 p.m. It was his Dad, Steve, informing us that they were in an emergency room in Hattiesburg, MS. His mom, Karen, had suffered two brain hemorrages, and she most likely would not make it through the night. She was being taken into emergency surgery.

Complete shock. So much emotion. So many questions. So much disbelief. And the grief. Pure, gut-wrenching grief.

The surgeon's name was Dr. Alexander, and he informed Steve that "the list of possibilities are short, and none of them are good." He then said there was small window of time to save her life, prayed with Ryan's dad, and then to the operating room they went.

The statement, "We are all only one phone call from our knees" was made very real to us. We called friends to come be with our kids, threw some clothes in a bag, and drove through the night to get the hospital. Without a doubt some of the most difficult hours of our lives and most certainly our marriage as we drove to MS. Praying, crying, hoping, and begging God for a miracle.

We got a call from Ryan's dad about 3:30 in the morning saying that his mom had made it through surgery. The surgeon had found a tumor the size of an egg that had hemorrhaged. He went on to say that the tumor was malignant, and that they had gotten all that they could see.

Praise Jesus, he had spared her life! We were so grateful, yet apprehensive with the diagnosis of cancer and what that was going to mean for her and the potential for a full recovery. We knew there was potential for brain damage and vision damage as well. We began to ask God for more miracles. And we were not alone. Prayer chains all over the country had been called. From the East coast to the West coast and even over seas, we were truly overwhelmed with the response of people, many who knew us and/or Karen and many who didn't-- going before the throne of Jesus on Karen's behalf.

We got to the hospital about 5:30 in the morning and met Ryan's dad in the waiting room. We sat with him for a while as he retold the events as they had unfolded earlier in the night. And then at 6 a.m. we were able to go in and see Karen. Incredibly difficult, to say the least.

Ryan's sister, Kari, arrived with her husband and their baby the next morning, Sunday, around ten and then Ryan's brother, Scotty, and his wife, Dawn, flew in the next night around 8. So grateful that all of us were able to be there together.

Karen had to be taken back in for another surgery on Sunday night to remove more of the swelling and hemorrhage from the previous surgery. We waited in the ICU waiting room until 1:30 a.m., when Dr. Alexander came in to tell us that it had gone as well as he had hoped, and he believed that she would survive this to fight the bigger fight of cancer. Another prayer answered.

The following days would prove to be the most difficult...

Wednesday Wish

Grateful for the 'messes' in our life...

Wordless Wednesday

Snow Snow Snow

This year it seems as though we have gotten more than our usual share of snow. Our usual share being slim to none. I'm guessing someone has unplugged the global warmer? Because of old man winter shining on us, we have used up pretty much every single snow day built into the school calendar. How lucky could we be? We managed to capture a few snow pics along the way...