We are home from the hospital. The attending doctor basically wants us to keep Lila in a bubble until we go to Denver. I'm not sure she was quite ready to let us go home. Lila has definitely started heading back downhill. She is resting more frequently, in between bouts of energy and cuteness. If you catch her at one of those moments, you would never even know she was sick. It's hard for her not to be able to keep up with Samantha. But. She is home. She is holding her own. And I feel sincere gratefulness for that.
The gifts have continued to come in. Since I last updated about this we have received $6100. We have received from friends near and far, the largest gift coming from friends who are a constant inspiration to us and reminder of God's presence in our lives and our own call to live out our faith. We were truly humbled and bowled over, and we hope to share more with them for years to come. The other large gift came from the community and church of North Middletown where Ben served for four years and where both girls were born. They still claim us and love us and words cannot express how it feels to know that a whole town is praying and journeying with us. I am running out of ways to say thank you. But I will keep trying. That puts us at around $16000. Around $4000 of that has been given explicitly to help with trip expenses, and the cost of being gone for almost the entire month. The good news is that we have $12000 to put toward costs from the hospital. That is enough that we feel safe going. The total still looks to be around $20000-$25000. If we can get to $15000 we can finance the rest. It looks like we will. When we first heard about this and realized that the only way to get Lila this help was to spread the word and ask for any help anyone wanted to give, it seemed completely impractical that it could happen. I am in shock. I know of nothing else to do but to surrender to this wave of gratitude. This is a miracle to us. We have the temerity to ask God for another miracle, to give us answers to heal our girl so that she can run and play and stay out of the hospital.
We leave for Denver a week from today. This time next week, we will be in St. Louis, our first night on the road. The preparations are huge. I am more and more nervous about this trip, about what we will put Lila through and what we will find out. I will update frequently while we are out there. Her first day at the hospital is July 14. We found a Disciples church to attend while we are out there and spoke with the minister. It always fun to see what a small denomination we have - we knew several people in common. It will be nice to have a place to worship; I need that time and space right now and will as we go through this. We also found out more about the Ronald McDonald House that we will be staying in. They provide a real ministry to families, and I hope we will be able to serve also when we return.
I am overwhelmed. I am tired. I can't imagine normal. I am dreading putting Lila through even more. But there in the midst of all of this, like a candle light glowing through a thick fog, there is hope shining. The love and kindness we are experiencing are keeping it burning, and I pray that God will continue to help me fan the flame. Thank you all for your care.
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I am so glad Lila is home. I talked with your Mom to see how everyone was doing. I went to Texas for a month once when the boys were small to help m mother-in-law and it was a Huge undertaking, I can't begin to fathom what you guys are trying to plan since so much is uncertain. Isn't our God wonderful! Evn though we suffer from illness, fear etc. He always provides a safety net. In this cae, the loing support of so many. I knew that when others heard your need that God would lead many folks to your side to comfort you with prayers, monetary gifts and love and all those little things that make it easier. Know that we are continuing to pray for blessings, safety, comfort nd most of all, healing for Lila. Be safe and try to let God hold you up in your worries and fears. Love Aunt
ReplyDeleteheri,Uncle Jay & Grandaddy.
I work for a Restoration dry cleaner. We mitigate mold in textiles. I spoke with the owner and we'd like to help if possible. It sounds like all of the cleaning has been done but if there are any blankets, clothes, area rugs, pillows etc we can do them. I can drive down to KY and pick up whatever you have in storage or wherever, clean them and I will return them to your home. I'd hate to see residule spores continue to be a problem. And obviously, we added Lilac and your family to our morning prayer list. Let me know what we can do. crdntannya@aol.com
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