Friday, December 5, 2008

Praying...

This has been a tough week for our school family. You know when you are with people each day, they become a part of your family...you hurt when they hurt...you laugh when they laugh...you cry when they cry...and when they need prayer...you pray...hard.

The wednesday before Thanksgiving, my friend Andrea's parents were in a car wreck. Her dad, Preston, had a seizure and blacked out. They hit a telephone pole head on. Preston is epileptic, but hadn't had a seizure in nearly 15 years. Preston had some broken ribs and lots of bruises. Jennifer, her mom, took the brunt of the impact. Both were in ICU for those first days. She had a crushed ankle, both arms broken and a brain bleed. She has had 2 surgeries. The first to repair her ankle went well. The second surgery which happened Tuesday gave the surgeons a run for their money. There was more damage than anticipated and what they thought would be a 4 hour surgery, took 8 hours. When it was time to wake Jennifer from surgery, she would not wake up. She was unresponsive from 9 pm until 5 am when they were finally able to wake her. Lots of people were praying for her - and it is no coincedence that at 5 am when she woke, someone was praying! The rest of the week has been a week of healing for her. She has been in tremendous pain - pain that makes her body shake. They have changed her meds and she seems a bit more comfortable now. She is developing bedsores so they ordered a special bed that alternates pressure between the right and left side. There is some concern about moving her and if the bed will cause more pain due to the gently movement. Preston continues to recover at home, but is struggling with feelings of guilt for "causing" the accident. One big point of prayer is that the family is looking for a nurse to stay with them as they will both need 24 hour care for a while. Her mom will be in the hospital for a few more weeks, but her dad is home and needs someone with him as he is still in much pain.

Rememer Erin, the sweet angel who went to be with Jesus in March? You can read her story by clicking on the link on the right side of the blog. Her mom, Kimberly is in need of prayer. Of course, the holidays are tough and the family needs prayer for their emotional healing, but right now, Kimberly needs physical healing. She has had some stomach issues for the past several years. She had her gall bladder out (with many complications) 2 years ago. The past few weeks, those stomach problems continue to surface. Wednesday, she passed out at school. Her blood pressure was very low. She was admitted to the hospital where they have done a number of tests. Today, the neurologist told her that they have discovered "white matter" on her brain. They said this could be a sign on lupus, MS, or something else. They need to do more testing. I just don't know how much more this family can handle. I know and they know that the Lord has said He will not put more on us than we can handle, but it just seems as if this family has been through enough...and what I've shared with you is just the icing...so many more struggles...

Anyway, please pray for Kimberly - that the "white matter" would disappear...that her stomach problems would cease...that whatever "root" is causing these issues would be healed and that she could get on with her life as a healthy woman - physically, spiritually, emotionally, mentally...

Pray for Jennifer and Preston, that they would continue to heal...that Jennifer would not require surgery to repair her other arm...that her pain will be well controlled...that she would regain strong use of both legs and arms...that life could return to "normal" for them both.

God is good...all the time. Even when I questioned why Erin had to go to be with Him, he was showing his goodness in ways we may not understand here on earth. I fully trust in his goodness and know that he is aware of and cares about every need...every hurt...he is constantly working on our behalf!

1 comment:

Alana said...

I will be praying!