Once upon a time, there were three brothers. They all had kidneys that worked just fine.
One day, the eldest brother’s kidneys began to fail. Doctors told him that he’d need a transplant very soon. The other two brothers were tested and both were considered matches. And so there was great discussion among the three brothers about donating a kidney to the eldest brother and which of the brothers would donate.
But as these discussions took place, the kidneys of the eldest brother stabilized. They weren’t particularly effective. Yet they weren’t bad enough to warrant an immediate transplant. One day passed. Then a week. A month. A year. God had stood time still, or so it seemed. Talk of a transplant dissipated.
Almost ten years later, the kidneys of the eldest brother once again began their downward spiral and discussions about a transplant ensued. The youngest brother stepped forward and said he would be the one to donate one of his kidneys. They scheduled the transplant for April 20, 2010. They underwent additional tests to prepare for the surgery.
Now…they wait.
Lord willing, my two brothers will go under the knife one week from today and my younger brother, Steve, will donate one of his kidneys to my older brother, Wes.
I humbly request that you join me in prayer for this surgery, that all will go well and that both of my brothers will recover quickly and fully. My prayer is that come this time next week, I’ll have two brothers, each of whom has one perfectly healthy kidney.
Thanks,
Dave
Elise, a six year old with Tay Sachs, is not doing well right now. Her dad posted this on her caringbridge site today:
I hate to write this, but we need to. Elise is doing really bad now. Her O2 sats are not coming up, and she is severely anemic. We can’t do much else for her now except keep her comfortable and prepare for the end. I wish we didn’t have to let her go, but it has to happen, I guess. We’ll let you know what happens as time progresses. She’s on oxygen and just had some morphine to help calm her. —John
Elise’s 7th birthday is a week from Friday. Please pray for Elise and her family. I am praying that Elise will pull through this and her family will be able to joyfully celebrate her 7th birthday. And I’m praying that Elise will be comfortable and that her family will feel God’s love, comfort and peace.
Update Tuesday night from Elise’s parents:
With an aching heart…Elise officially earned her angel wings at 7:07 p.m. She was being held by John and I as she took her last breath, surrounded by her loving family and friends. Rest in peace Sweet Angel.
Lately both Dave and I have been feeling overwhelmed. We are in survival mode, not thriving mode. Are we going to make it is a question we often ask. If yes, how?
Recently, Carlos over at ragamuffinsoul.com posted perhaps his best blog ever. I’ll send you over there but in quick summary, Carlos had an amazing encounter with a homeless guy named Danny. Most of us wouldn’t think that a homeless guy is exactly making it in life but Danny would disagree. He actually told Carlos that he is not just trying to make it, he is making it. And that God says, yea though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death… and He places some of us in that valley.
I’m still not sure how we are going to make it through this valley but if Danny is making it, I pray Dave and I will too.
We sure could use your prayers for strength for each day.
Click here to read Carlos’ blog and watch the AMAZING video of Carlos and Danny.
***
Dave would certainly appreciate your prayers too. He went to the doctor this morning and has bronchitis. He started an antibiotic today and hopefully it will work fast!
Thanks to Tammy and Jason for the delicious chili, cornbread and salad. I am just about to go eat more for lunch!
Lana is hanging out at the hospital. Hopefully she’s getting some sleep since she didn’t get enough last night. Carmen is doing better today after several days of fever and severe congestion. Her night nurses are wonderful and always seem to know the right “tricks” to help Carmen!!
Speaking of nurses, our case manager called this morning to let us know that Carmen was approved for four more hours per day of nursing coverage. We’re super excited and grateful! Thank you, thank you, thank you, God!!! And thank you, Tricia. The additional hours will be huge.
Thank you all for your prayers! We’re hanging in and hanging on and will persevere through these trying times! I sort of follow a pastor in Charlotte, NC named Steven Furtick. I haven’t read his blog in quite awhile but decided to click over to his site earlier today. This was his current blog post. I think he was writing to me 
. He might have been writing to you too.
Thank you all for your offers of support. Thank you, Monica, for sitting at the house last night so I could go visit Lana while Lauren slept at home. And a big THANK YOU to Sun, who drove over to the hospital yesterday afternoon to sit with Carmen in the parking lot while I went into the hospital to visit Lana. Children under 12 aren’t allowed — or are greatly discouraged from going — into the hospital because of rampant swine flu.Please forgive me if I’m forgetting anyone else. My memory isn’t as good as Lana’s!
Lana is back at the hospital. This time, she was admitted. We’re hoping that it’s just overnight but are expecting it to be longer.
In short, we went in for her follow-up doctor appointment early this afternoon. Apparently, a week of strict bed rest didn’t quite do the trick. Upon examination, the doctors found that Lana is 1 cm dilated. She’s in the hospital now. They are giving her additional medication to try to stop the contractions and are also giving her steroids that will increase Baby Hope’s lung capacity in the event of a delivery in the near-term.
I’ll head back to the hospital tonight, after the night nurse arrives to take care of Carmen and after Lauren is asleep (kids aren’t allowed at the hospital due to rampant swine flu). I’m going to add a Twitter feed on the right side of the web page to post short updates. Look at the “Twitter Feed” section.
Appreciate the prayers!
Comments (12) 
