Ahhhh…I’m back at home in my comfy spot on the couch trying to rest…but feel the need to do a quick update.

Little Craig has defeated death thus far!  At this moment he’s had a solid 15 hours of “stable” status – PRAISE THE LORD!  His CO2 is back within typical range, and they have been able to very, very slowly in small baby steps, start stepping back some of the meds.  The doctors and nurses are being EXTREMELY cautious as he deteriorated so quickly that they want to be extra careful taking meds away and stepping down the level of the ossicilator.

I left around 2:30ish pm today, after breakfast and hanging out talking to Craig’s parents.  I believe God’s working in many areas in this special family!  Good things are ahead!

When I saw Craig last this morning, his extremities were warm – last night all his blood was rushing to his heart & brain fighting to keep him alive.  Warm arms and legs compared to the cold ones we felt last night was just another small blessing!  The only negative thing I heard from the Medical team was that he has a fever.  Well, if we can pray and fend off death, a fever should be a piece of cake, eh?  They still are taking things hour by hour…but things are slowly looking better and better each hour.  Most likely he’ll be on the ossicilator for several days, or weeks…no telling right now…so we still have a long row to hoe!  The team is still trying to figure out what all is going on (why he deteriorated so quickly) and the results still aren’t in yet on the type of pneumonia.

Here’s a precious picture of the little guy with his “guardian angels” by his side.  The Lion, I’ve nicknamed The Lion of Judah, and the little koala I gave him symbolizing hugs from Miss Libby!  (Warning — this picture is not for the faint of heart! Print it out if you desire, lay hands and pray over it to declare heath and every whit whole over this little boy!)

Now we just need to start praying that Craig continues to get well enough to loose these silly tubes one by one!

God bless you all!  Thank you so much for your prayers…we all worked a miracle last night!  And please, don’t stop until we get this little boy home and back in children’s church where he belongs!

Blessings!

I’m probably going to get admonished by several of you, my dear Xanga pals, by admitting this…but do know I prayed about it and felt God’s peace and go-ahead to go.  All that to say, Craig took a very bad turn for the worse and has pulled through it by the grace of God and thanks to all the powers of the prayers of the saints!  So…it’s 4:44 AM (yep, you read that right) and I’m sitting in the conference room next to Craig’s PICU room typing up this blog to you.  (Don’t blow a vessel.  Yes, I do know tI just had surgery.  Go back and read the first sentence and find your peace! Smile!!!!)

I got a call from Roxane, Craig’s mom earlier this evening (Friday) stating that Craig’s CO2 stats were continuing to get worse and they were sedating him to a medicated coma in order to ventilate him.  I got another call about an hour later stating the vent wasn’t getting his O2 stats up high enough, so they were putting him on an ossiclator, the MEGA vent of all vents.  The ossilator puffs short breaths of air very, rapidly into the lungs and helps not only inhale but exhale.

After talking to her I went on to church and spoke to several people to do all I could to get all the prayers going for Craig and his parents AND the medical team.  Turns out they needed that desperately as by the time I got out of church, into my car and driving out of the church parking lot Roxane called again to tell me that Craig coded (pulse stopped) and they performed CPR, etc. and got him back.  It was 11 PM and we were in mid conversation when she stated, “There he goes again…he’s coding!  I call you back again when I can!” and hung up!!!!  The fear of God shook me and helped me dial the needed numbers to get a more intense prayer chain going with the updated info!  We needed Warriors on board AND NOW!!!

I went to Craig’s house to check on his bird, Alberta.  His nurse Tamala met me there, as she was on her way down to Kansas City to be with Rick & Roxane to help pray Craig through this.  We grabbed extra clothes, bibles and other necessities and she ran on to KC.  I wanted to go…reason told me I shouldn’t…I prayed and told the Lord that I felt like I needed to go.  I felt peace about going…I asked my dear hubby his opinion and had his blessing to go. So I went!

By the time I got my stuff gathered and got back into the car it was 12:30 AM…still with no word from Roxane.  I kept telling myself, no news was good news!  Craig’s faith declaration for these scarier trips to the hospital is Psalms 118:17 - I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.  As I was getting ready and driving I was either praying in tongues or like a broken record, repeatedly stating, “Craig shall not die, but live to declare the works of the Lord!” over and over and over.  At this point I still didn’t get an update call.  Halfway down to KC a peace just flooded the car and over me and I was able to breathe easy.  Whatever happened, I knew Craig was okay and at least temporarily out of the woods…my spirit just “sensed” it.

I parked and made my way to the PICU.  Rick came and got me and led me back to Craig’s room.  They are letting us…Craig’s parents, myself, Tamala (& her husband Dan) and Rick’s cousin sit/stay in the conference room within the PICU during this rough patch.  This is not typical and is something the staff allows for only the most critical kiddos!  I would rather be in the waiting room!! 

I gowned up and got to go see the little guy.  As I stated earlier he’s in a medicated coma and he has so many tubes and gadgets connected to him.  I counted about a dozen IV pumps and probably about 5-6 IV sites.  It looks to the natural eye very bleak…but faith doesn’t come by seeing!

Turns out during my drive he made it through the 2nd code and about an hour later started to code a 3rd time.  The 3rd time the doctors tried a new drug combo which prevented him from fully coding and helped to open up his airways a bit better.  That happened just about the same time I felt peace flood my car!  God is so good!!

Craig is still listed in very, very critical condition…they are not talking about days at this point…it’s hour by hour.  But we prayed for a 180 degree turn around and it’s currently happening!

Craig being guarded by his Lion that Pastor Alan got him and covered in his yellow prayer blanket!

The PRAISE REPORT is for the last 5 1/2 hours he’s been stable…meaning NO coding!  He’s by no means out of the woods yet.  So don’t stop praying yet! But that’s 5 hours better than the 5 before!

We also have an insider WOLCer who works in the PICU here, Mrs. Ashlie Zahnd herself.  She’s not his nurse tonight…but she’s here and close enough to see what’s happening in order to instantly pray!

I’ll be here until the morning…I’m gonna sign off and get a little shut eye. But before I do…here’s a bit more of Psalm 118 for us all to pray, claim and stand on:

5 I called on the LORD in distress;
         The LORD answered me and set me in a broad place.
 6 The LORD is on my side;
         I will not fear. 
 8 It is better to trust in the LORD
         Than to put confidence in man.
 9 It is better to trust in the LORD
         Than to put confidence in princes. [or doctors and nurses]

21 I will praise You, For You have answered me,
         And have become my salvation. 
 28 You are my God, and I will praise You;
         You are my God, I will exalt You. 
 29 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
         For His mercy endures forever.

What a powerful Psalm to pray through for a time like this!

Keep praying folks!  God bless!

Hello my Xanga pals!  Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve sent you an update.  Recovery is boring for the most part so I really didn’t feel like I had too much to say….I napped today, took 2 pain pills and made it to the bathroom 3 times…Whoopee!!  Surely that’s not entertaining!!  HA!

The best part so far of recovering is:

• The homemade meals delivered by an amazing crew of ladies!  Yummy!
• Seeing my step-Mum Dia and having her here for a week.  What a blessing!
• Staying up on all the latest TV shows, daily Soaps, Rachel Ray, BBC, TLC and HGTV shows — they’re the BEST!  Although they too get old!
• My comfy couch!  Thank God we got one with a chaise!! I’ve lived here FAR TOO LONG!
• My laptop and internet!  Without Xanga, Facebook and other blogs I would be extremely bored.  I’m living my life vicariously through yours!  So go do something incredibly exciting, take pictures and BLOG about it, will ya!
• Webkinz…you get the stuffed animal (kinda like beanie babies) with a sealed code.  The code allows you to adopt the animal online and create a virtual world for it.  You play games for Kinzcash, their idea of $$ and buy things for it.  Oh it’s great fun and I probably need an intervention!!  Thanks to my good friend Kathy I’m addicted…she’s the one that introduced me to it!
• And the BESTEST part of recovering from surgery… Yep, the motorized carts while shopping at places like HyVee and Walmart!  (I don’t think our Target has these or I would have been there a 100 times!!)  My driving record is superb much to my good friend CoffeeBoss’ dismay!  She was secretly hoping I’d knock over a display and drag it a ways!  Geewhiz!  She was more than ready to bust a gut when the act did occur.  So Sorry Charlie!  (It would have been funny…but it would have hurt my belly too much to laugh that hard!)  I will say that if you’re trucking along in one of these things and UNDER the age of 60, you almost need a shirt stating your cause! People gave me some of the weirdest looks…I must look way too healthy to drive one of those things!

So I’m healing pretty good…I have days where I feel good and want to do more and then days where I pay for feeling good and doing too much.  My pain is nothing compared to what it was.  I’ve learned to NOT sleep in my bed at night.  I sleep too deeply and am too restless…I wake up 4-5 times a night twinging in pain cuz I moved without “thinking”…who thinks in their sleep anyway???  Again, thank God for comfy couch!!  I’m now cleared to drive…but try to limit it to one item errands or drive-thru type trips (bank and lunch, etc.).  I played Bunko last night which was great fun…but lots of up-down, in & out of chairs.  I slept really good last night and am more tired today…but it was well worth the fatigue!

PRAYER REQUEST

There’s a little guy who is near and dear to my heart who is needing some intense prayers sent up for him.  Meet Craig, a very bright, bubbly, cute as a button little guy!  He’s 6 yrs old and so smart he SKIPPED Kindergarten! 

He has a disorder called breath holding syndrome which causes him a great deal of respiratory difficulties.  His mother, Roxane, called me yesterday morning as they were on their way to take Craig to Children’s Mercy’s ER as he was very sick and went into a spell that took longer than usual to get him out of.  He was admitted and then at 11:30 pm last night, Roxane called again to tell me that he was being moved to the PICU. 

At this point it looks like Craig has some time of pneumonia and is currently on 10 liters of blow-by oxygen (masks that partly covers the face and blows by his mouth & nose) to keep his oxygen stats where they need to be.  His body is having a hard time expelling the CO2 out of his body…which is very dangerous!  Something similar occurred 4-5 years ago where Craig was at CMH for 1-2 months and really regressed on his developmental skills (we had to reteach him to crawl, walk and talk, etc.). We are praying they caught this early enough so this doesn’t reoccur!!!

Rick, Roxane & Craig have no family locally, so Word of Life IS they’re family.  I have been apart of this little guys life for about 5 years, so thus I’m like a 2nd mom to the little guy!  They would appreciate you adding him to your prayer list and any other prayer list. 

Craig’s case is very challenging as he’s not your textbook case for his condition…he’s creating his own textbook for the doctors to study!  It’s also kind of challenging for his parents right now as they are dealing with a whole new team of doctors who haven’t worked directly with Craig, however, due to his rareness most have at least heard of him.  So prayers are also needed for the medical team to have wisdom and insight on what is going on with the little guy!

Thanks so much for the extra prayers!  I and his parents appreciate you taking the extra moment for such a special little guy!

God bless!

(Guest post by Angie Washington due to Xanga being blocked by the WiFi at the hospital)

Hello everyone!

The surgery went well, thank you for all your prayers! You can continue to pray that the complete recovery goes great too.

Libby sent me an email in the typical Libby style. She said I didn’t have to get technical… but who would want to edit our bubbly, wonderful gal? And I quote:

 You don’t have to get all that technical if ya don’t want too!  But
overall I’m doing well.  I probably should take a nap…but I’m too
excited about dinner coming soon, hubby showing up with my latte and
then my Dia (step-mum) coming in from Tulsa!!  I’ll nap later tonight!

Libby can be contacted by email or Facebook and would love to hear from you!

Okay…now I’m a little nervous.  I have about 10 minutes before we leave the hotel and go to the hospital.  Renea (formerly known as VanTeglan) and her husband Bob Hale are coming to sit with Curt while I’m in surgery, so I know I’ll get some good prayers and hugs and kisses before I go back to the operating room.

Your prayers are my peace.  Thank you for each little word and thought you think my way.  They are each like calming hugs surrounding me!

God bless!!

My mind is going a thousand miles a second trying to take care of all the last minute stuff.  My surgery is tomorrow at Olathe Medical Center, but Curt and I decided to get a hotel room and play in KC later this afternoon and evening.  A perfect way to take one’s mind off an impeding surgery, eh?  Our plan is to go to Dave and Busters to possibly eat and most definitely play video games.  The hotel we’re staying at is right across the parking lot from the hospital…making the 6 o’clock checkin time much easier than the 3:30-4:00 AM wake-up call and drive from St. Joseph.

For those of you who have my cellphone number, you have my permission to call and bug Curt and ask him how things are going.  My step-Mum Dia is coming in from Tulsa…I’m looking forward to having her here!  There’s also some mighty kind ladies planning to bring by meals and stuff too.  Katie Landers is coordinating all those interested in bringing meals…so if you’re interested, contact her via Xanga.  And in advance…I THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU…and my husband LOVES you!  I’m not a daily cook…so I’m sure he’ll be spoiled rotten.  I’ll have to get all the recipes later! SMILE!

Anywho…you know me…I could sit here and write a small novel…but it’s 10:30 and I still have TONS to do before hubby gets home from his half day at work!

I covet your prayers for safety and quick healing!  Each of you are such a blessing! 

Hello my Xanga Pals!!  I’m so sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to writing.  It was a busy Spring wrapping up 11 school districts with last minute evaluations, meetings, etc.  It’s so nice to be on a summer pace with just 2-3 kiddos to see a day…how refreshing!

Lately though we’ve had some excitement in our house.  Last night we found blood in little spots all over the floor and the antique couch.  We found the four footed culprit, our precious puppy Tigger…Tiggs for short.  It looked as if the groomer accidentally clipped his paw or something.  Thank God our vet has after 5 hours at the usual price and that dear hubby was home.  We wrapped him up in a towel to save our shirts and the car and took him on to the Vet. 

Once at the Vet, we waited 45 minutes to be seen.  Poor little Tiggs was NOT excited about the visit as he was just there the week before getting his annual shots and beloved Kennel Cough down the nose medicine — SUPER YUCK!  Not to mention he’d already been to the groomer this past week too…poor little pup!  The Vet told us he had a growth/tumor between the pads of his foot which looked like it ulcered to the point of bleeding and recommended surgery on the little guy.  We decided to take care of 3 birds with one stone and also had removed a little wart on his back and did the awful dental cleaning procedure they always recommend but we haven’t yet done.  We kissed him good night and left him in their hands for surgery early this morning.

I picked him up this afternoon and he still looked really groggy.  The nurse told me they removed the tumor on his paw, the wart on his back and pulled out 8 teeth!!!!  Poor thing!  And they say he can still eat dry dog food after all that!!!  I got him loaded up in the car but he didn’t really perk up until I went to McDonald’s…oh he LOVES their fries!  Bad news is he can’t eat until tomorrow as the anesthesia is still wearing off.  My pup is not so young anymore…12 years old which is 84 doggy years!  But don’t tell him that…he still gets around like a puppy!!

Now onto my news.  The Gearing up to gear down stuff.  I am having surgery next Tuesday the 24th.  I have been hooked up with a specialist who will be taking out my uterine fibroids.  It’s a blessing in disguise as I have been sick so much the past 8-9 months it’s not even funny!  Unfortunately, I’m not a candidate for the laproscopic myomectomy (surgery to take out the fibroids) which would mean an outpatient surgery with 2-4 day recovery.  No, instead I get the abdominal incision, 4 days in the hospital (with clear liquid diet! Oh JOY!) and a month’s recovery! I call this surgery the C-Section MINUS the baby!!  (I’m believing for 2-3 week super healing by FAITH method!!).  And yes, I will still be able to have kids after the surgery!  My surgery will be at Olathe Medical Center in Olathe as that is where the specialist is.

So with the upcoming surgery, I’ve been busy cleaning out a closet and putting only comfy clothes, etc. in it, seeing all my summer school kids, and wrapping up a variety of little projects, clearing out clutter, and just prepping me and the house for me not being able to go up/down stairs, bending over to touch the floor, etc., etc.

I’m bummed because I will miss out on VBS at the church, two beautiful weddings and who knows what else!  The idea of not hopping in the car and going to get Starbucks or run an errand, etc is almost maddening to me.  My good friend Amy, who is also a lawyer, has set me straight with many reasons why I will not sneak into the car to go run through a drive thru, with the main reason being that I may not be able to stomp on the brake fast enough to stop for a child/dog who happens to run out in the street!  (Thanks Amy…I think you successfully have crushed any desire for me to sneak out of the house and go driving on my own!!)

The blessings in all of this is having my Dia (step-mum) come and visit for about a week…one always needs a mother around when they’re sick! AND getting my immune system stable again.  I’m currently taking yet another month long bout of antibiotics and am so tired of it I have to work VERY hard to remember to take the durn things!

So please forgive me for the long, long post…I just covet your prayers next Tuesday for my surgery and for my speedy recovery.  There’s a good chance that I’ll be plenty bored….so I will try to be a better blogger while I’m “tied down”!!

Blessings to you and yours!

Saturday night update:

I got the pleasure of going to see Cyndy & the kids this evening.  God definitely has them in the palm of his hands.  We spent an hour or so talking and me loving on Cyndy and the kids.  We had fun laughing and cried together too.  Those kids are so grown up and strong.  They will be good little helpers for their momma!  Cyndy’s doing as well as she could be.  I’m amazed by her strength…which is actually a mirror of God’s strength in her!

I believe this family is at a rough spot in life, but has many, many blessings in store for the future.  They are rooted in God…the best place to be when life brings about tragedies!

Cyndy wanted me to thank everyone for their prayers and well wishes!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It breaks my heart to even write such a post.  But with permission from Cyndy, I’m writing all of you to let you know that Bob McKinney passed away this morning at 1:30 am at Heartland Hospital.  Funeral arrangements are being made as I type.  Thus far, it sounds like the funeral will be Wednesday morning at WOLC. 

Update — Funeral is set for 10 AM at WOLC on Wednesday.

Bob McKinney…as I remember him…

Often times he looked like this:

That is until summer came around and then he looked like a whole new man…

Bob was tough as nails and had a powerful testimony to prove it! He was one of the hardest working men I have ever seen, who even had a hard time just sitting down for 10 minutes to chat!  I met Bob when I first started working with his youngest daughter Mia Rose, who is a miracle child!  Bob had questions and I answered them.  I don’t always think he always understood why we therapists did everything we did…but he knew it was helping Mia and that we both were “good Christian girls” so it was all good.  Bob had a fun sense of humor and REALLY enjoyed picking on me and of course his wife, Cyndy and three kids, Cody, Holly & Mia.  He had a laugh that was so jolly!!

Bob’s love for his children ran deep.  He taught Cody how to run a big mower at young age and Cody loved to be his father’s right hand assistant while he worked.  He loved to take his kids fishing.  One of my favorite McKinney stories is when Bob & Cyndy surprised the kids with a family vacation.  Somehow sneaking out of the house all the clothes and things they would need and just showing up at their vacation spot!  Fun and everlasting memories!

Please keep Cyndy and the kids, Cody, Holly and Mia in your prayers.  I’ll keep you posted as I hear the final details of the funeral.

Cyndy, Cody, Holly & Mia Rose…we all love you and don’t have the right words to say right now, other than we love you!  Your daddy’s with Jesus now…healed FINALLY and at peace!  God bless you all!!

It’s a super Holy day…and not just for us Christians.  According to this Time Magazine article, 6 major religions are celebrating this Holy day in some way or another.  The last time Purim and Good Friday shared the same day was in 1910.  Ironically the next time that will happen again is in 3 years, and the time following that will be 2113. (For a Jewish perspective check out this article written by a Rabbi. 

This holy coincidence really intrigues me.  For one, the story of Esther is my FAVORITE Old Testament story.   I guess I can relate or am connected to Esther in several ways.  We were both orphans, she as a young child and I in my early 20s.  She lived in the country…I lived in rural DeKalb, MO as a single chick (what was I thinking??!?).  She was set apart to meet her King.  The Lord called me to be set apart to wait for my guy.  She moved to a castle.  God helped me buy my castle I call “Haddassah” (Esther’s Jewish name meaning point of light) on my REAL birthday weekend in February 29th, 2004.  I didn’t understand the castle part until I moved in the beautiful antiques I inherited from my grandfather a month later…it left me speechless on  God’s goodness!  Therefore, Esther and I are kindred spirits…I love her story and how it has impacted my own life.  Together we share the same passion for our God and His people around us.

Purim is a time of celebration for the Jews.  It was the day they were suppose to be executed by the mighty Haman, the King’s right hand man.  But in a beautiful turn of events only divinely inspired, Haman was hung on the very gallows his men built for the Jews!  (Interesting factoid — Ancient Aramaic versions of the
Esther story employ the term tzalab, “crucify,” to describe Haman’s
demise. The first-century historian Josephus did as well. While Jews
have traditionally ascribed his death to hanging with a noose,
historians doubt that such methods of capital punishment were used
during that period. In his Sistine Chapel interpretation of Haman’s
death, Michelangelo emphasized the Christological parallels, depicting
a crucifixion rather than a hanging. Quoted from this link.)  God’s people, the Jews, were covered by His covenant and were divinely saved from affliction!  The evil hand that had rose against them was defeated and they were again free!!

Good Friday on the other hand is for Christians a day of somber remembrance.  It was the day our Lord Jesus was beaten and tried and hung on the cross to bear the weight of our sins.  This day is also marked by God’s covenant  for His people.  This one death had to happen so we could have salvation.  This event helped to fulfill the prophecy of the Son of Man being born by a virgin, being crucified on a cross and then, three days later rising from the dead. 

Both of these holy days involve God’s people and one man dying a gruesome death.  The deaths of both of these men represent  freedom.  Haman’s death  represented  freedom for those Persian Jews for the scope of their life…it was temporal, or temporary to the boundaries of their life.  Jesus’ death brings us everlasting freedom and eternal life…something that most Jews still don’t see and understand, nor believe.

Having been to Israel on two different occasions and having met my hubby there, I have such a heart for the Jews.  This day reminds me to pray for their salvation.  As they spend the day celebrating their freedom from execution, we Christians somberly remember the death of the One Man that marks our salvation and freedom from the weight of sin — FOREVER!!!

As you ponder the cross today and this evening…say a pray for our Jewish brothers and sisters who are lost to the truth of this very day!

God bless you all!
Have an extra special Easter celebration!

I love getting cute cards like this!  Thanks Mia and CyndyMac!

I’m exicted!  I woke up early to my Dia (step-mum) calling me to sing Happy Birthday! What a wonderful way to wake up…too bad birthday’s aren’t everyday…or every year for that matter!!  I then hung up the phone and saw a text message from my new Uncle Bill who texted in his birthday well wishes at 6:37 AM…slept through that one, but I guess officially he was the 1st to send his greetings!  His wife, my Aunt Ginny just sent her wish via text as well — I taught both of them how to text the last time I saw them and they’re in their 70s!!

It’s gonna be a fabulous day/weekend/week!  You see when you only have a birthday every four years and you get a REAL birthday, you have the right to Party Hardy as long as you want!!  Today I will work with my kids and try to explain my birthday to elementary students why their OT is so young!  It will be a fun day at work I’m sure!  Then this evening there’s birthday cake this evening in the Porch, compliments of Beth (the baker of the world’s greatest Jello poke cakes!!), and church with Pastor Shea preaching!!  Tomorrow will be brunch with my in-Loves (not in-laws!) and a trip to KC with my hubby for shopping, dinner and a movie!  Then next weekend I’ll fly to Tulsa to celebrate with my step-mum and sista’s family AND my brother!  Great things are in store!

So in advance…thanks for all your well wishes!  Technically I don’t let people o ff the hook for forgetting my birthday as it’s ON the calendar!  You get off easy the other 3 years when I don’t get a little square!

Have a great LEAP day!

Interesting Leap Day reading from the KC Star! 

Look who’s older than me!

  My dog Tigger!

Check this birthday gift out…

I thought this was from a REAL church in Minnesota…but if you read the fine print you can make one yourself!