Redirect x3: Please Read

I don't often send my many blog readers on wild goose chases to other reading opportunities...

But I ask that you take the time to read each of these:

Please add this precious family (friend of a friend of a relative's friends, I'm serious!) to your prayer list. Their precious 5 year old will start 5 rounds (about 5 months) of intense chemo for a brain tumor. Read that again. Five years old. Five rounds. Five months. That's a serious dose of reality. My heart breaks for this family; but we serve the God of all hope, and that is what carries us.

And after you read about Kate, please take a moment and read my precious friend Allison's blog. She wrote the most beautiful post on Hope. I have no doubt you will be blessed!

And after finishing Allison's post, on a completely different note, please stop by Katherine Arnold Wolf mom's blog. You can read about their story along the right hand column.

I promise I have a post with pictures in the works!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Please Pray

This sweet baby boy is having heart surgery today, made even more risky due to his age and size. People from all over the world are wearing orange in honor of Stellan and praying for him throughout the day. Close to 500 pictures (and still uploading) have been sent in and added to their blog! As I write this, he is still in surgery. It was supposed to last at least 3 hours, but they are up to 5 hours and still going as far as we know right now. Please join us in praying for the doctors, his family, and his safety. These next hours and days are critical for his recovery. You can click the button above for updates.

We also have several family friends in need of prayer. I'm not sure if they'd want their names or blogs/caringbridge sites mentioned here, so they'll remain nameless, but please lift them up as well baby Stellan:
-a high school/college friend who's fighting uterine cancer
-a college friend who's husband is fighting testicular cancer that's moved to two lymph nodes
-a teacher from my school who just found out she has a possibly malignant mass between her pancreas and stomach
-a high school friend's mother who's very ill with lymphedema
-we also just got word that two college students were killed this morning that attend the university where my mom teaches, one of which is the boyfriend of one of the volleyball managers who did so much to help my mom with her Komen Walk

We know that God is good, and our prayer is that He alone will be glorified through the faith of these men and women. For He alone is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us! {Eph 3:20}

Sweet Baby Stellan

This sweet baby boy has been hospitalized again. He was having respiratory issues that have developed into heart issues (like he had in utero). At birth (and for months after), they could find no indication that his heart was still sick, but a recent nebulizer treatment triggered his heart to go into Supra Ventricular Tachycardia (SVT) again.

Please pray for this precious angel, that God will again intervene and heal his tiny heart.

Please Pray

Please say a prayer for two of our friends:
1.) My dear friend from high school/college was diagnosed with uterine cancer several weeks ago. She is undergoing chemo every Monday; and even with the challenges of treatment, God is already doing mighty things to heal her body. You can read about it here.

2.) A dear friend from college (who is married to another dear friend from college) fell down their stairs yesterday. After discovering many dislocations and 4 breaks, and then undergoing a very long surgery where they inserted a metal plate and 12 pins, he's got a long recovery ahead of him. You can read about their sweet family here.

We know that "all things work together for good" and that our God gives us nothing that we cannot handle without Him. He is "with us wherever we go!" (Joshua 1:9) and constantly reminds us "not [to] fear...because you are Mine!" (Isaiah 43: 1) Please join us in praying for these precious families!

Baby Stellan

Thank you for praying for Baby Stellan! Make sure to read the updates on him here. He's doing significantly better...but still has a long way to go before being well!

Update on Prayer Request

We received an update from my friend Diane today on her stepbrother Charly. A quick recap: he is 20 years old, in the army, and developed a sore which rapidly developed into flesh eating bacteria. He has been in a hospital in Seoul, Korea for about 3 weeks now. You can read more about him here.

He is now at Walter Reed in the DC area where he will remain through the skin grafts (that start next week) through the end of December at least. Her mom and his dad are flying out tomorrow morning to be with him. Since the doctors requested their presence, all flight and hotel expenses are being paid (another answer to prayer!). Charly is more alert to the fact that he almost lost his leg and life, but this is allowing him to persevere through the pain even more knowing that he will again walk one day. Talks of a medical discharge and disability are being entertained but nothing has been decided yet.

Diane said, "Once again, thank you so much for all of your prayers and concern! We firmly believe that God heard your prayers and is healing Charly! The fact that he is here in the United States is also miraculous--anyone who knows how the Army works understands that you don't just request a place to be and then get there! We are so thankful, and so blessed! Please continue praying through the skin grafting process, which will be very painful, and also for safe trips to and from the hospital. We love you all!"

We certainly have much to be thankful for! Praise God for his indescribable gifts!

Prayer Request

*Update #2: Good news! (excerpts from Diane's email)
Charly has gone 24 hours without a fever, for the 1st time in over 10 days! No more infection has been found since last night; but he has been left with skin only on the back of his calf on the leg where the infection started. Bottom line: He is still in danger of losing his leg. He is still in danger of losing his life! But his chances of surviving this with his leg are much better than they were yesterday!

We are praising God fervently!!

Please continue to pray for Charly's health: physical and emotional. He has a very long road to recovery ahead of him with some tough decisions to make (or accept: possible medical discharge). The tentative timeline: 1-2 weeks of continually cleaning out all new tissue that grows. Begin skin grafts. Five days of complete bed rest to heal. One to two months of rehab and home for at least month.

Diane's mom is still hoping to be able to fly to see him. Please continue to pray for wisdom and discernment for her. We love this family so much, and know that God is and continuing to bless them even through this difficult time. Thank you for your sweet prayers!

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*Update: Charly is now in stable condition! His family is currently trying to make the difficult decision whether or not to travel to be with him.

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My best friend (since 2nd grade) Diane emailed us a few days ago with a urgent prayer request. Her step brother Charly, who is stationed in Korea with the Army, was rushed to a hospital in Seoul with an extreme infection in his leg. What started as a minor injury, rapidly progressed into what the doctors originally called cellulitis. Only days later, he was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, what those of us not in the medical field know as "flesh-eating bacteria." And only days later, he has had no less than 10 surgeries to remove leg skin and tissue infected with this bacteria. What started on the lower portion of his leg, has spread down to his foot and up to his upper thigh. The doctors are consulting with specialists in Hawaii but believe it best to have him remain in Seoul and receive his care there, where they are desperately trying to save his leg.

Diane's mother and her husband are frantically trying to decide whether to travel to Korea or not. The contacted the Red Cross, who originally seemed to be willing to help them; only to find out today that the Red Cross doesn't give assistance unless the ill individual is dying. While the doctors have deemed it life-threatening, he is not dying! (which is a blessing in and of itself!) Jobs have to be considered. Financial aspects have to be considered. But most importantly, what's best for this young man has to be considered!

So, please pray for Charly, who is only 20 years old and half way around the world with a life-threatening illness. Please pray for the doctors, for their wisdom and discernment. Please pray for Charly's family, for peace, clarity of mind, deciding whether or not to travel to Korea, and safe travel if they decide to go be with him.

Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

Prayer Request

*update: wow! click here*

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As some of you know, I've been following the "My Charming Kids" blog written by MckMama. Her 4th child, Stellan, will be born tomorrow (Wednesday) at 9:30am via c-section. He currently has an enlarged heart but is thriving in utero! The doctors told them he'd surely die 14 weeks ago, and he's still very much alive! So...please be in prayer for this family, the doctors, and of course baby Stellan. God has already performed so many amazing miracles here! Here is her most recent post.