I attended Church today at the Cowboy Church in Lone Oak. One of the families lost their beautiful daughter this week in a tragic accident. She was 20 years old. She had some car trouble and was rear ended. I don't have all of the details but I know that her family is going through such pain so please pray for them. The family is from Emory and their last name is Bird. The Cowboy Church family is really dedicated to reaching out to this family and that is what will carry them through. I know because of people reaching out to me wanting to just pray for our family is what has and still is getting me through Caitlin's accident. Also, continue to pray for Evan, Barry Ryan Jr ( he had a setback and needs you now as much as ever) and April Watkins, and Charles Fullington. These are wonderful families struggling through difficult times with their kids. Evan's illness may simply be a virus rather than a problem with his shunt so praise God for that but continue to pray for him to get better. Caitlin may have caught the same virus as it is going around OCH. She was throwing up a lot as well... Continue with your prayers as God continues to answer them all!

God Bless you all

Gina

I will visit Caitlin tomorrow when I go for nurse training at OCH. She is still waiting to get news about the Baclofen pump. They postponed the trial until she was off of her new antibiotics. I hope to know more tomorrow. I received an email from the Child Life Specialists and she said she had some good news regarding Caitlin's education but I don't know what the good news is yet. Guess ya'll will know when I do.

I have asked for prayer for Little Evan. He is still at Children's Hospital and continues to throw up. He cannot go back to OCH until he stopps throwing up and they don't know what is causing this. I told his mother that I would continue to ask for prayer for Evan. His mother said that she sent an email out about Caitlin and she assured me that she was not giving up on her and I would like her to know that we will all continue praying for Evan until he is better and then we will thank God when he is. They took Evans things from Caitlin's room today. OCH had told his mother that they would never put him in a room with "like a sixteen year old girl" and so it seems very strange that they did. We would both like to think that this was Divine intervention. Although I have met other mothers and other families online going through serious illness with their child, it brings it closer to home to meet someone face to face. I had been totally isolated from other families as Caitlin had a private room and have not formed friendships from being in the same boat. I have been able to lean on some very dear people that I have met online, and their support is not any less important, it just nice to see someone face to face.

We are all in a unique club in that we have children who are seriously ill. It is not a club that people are lining up to join. When we talk about pinning our hopes and dreams on our children and our children are our future, we don't just mean that the children will carry on where we left off. As parents, we would like to believe that we can continue on through our children... a kind of hopes and dreams transplant if you will. We are donors of our knowledge, our experience and our past. We believe that our children will take a sample of that and allow it to grow within them until it is fulfilled. So when we have a child who for whatever reason is unable to be that recipient, as a parent, we have to learn to accomodate that which is not fulfilled. At least where Caitlin and Evan are concerned, we still hold on to the hope that it will be fulfilled, even when the doctors paint a very bleak picture. As a mom... I hold my own paintbrush... ready to repaint.

God Bless

Gina