A Reminder

Have you ever noticed how just when you think you have the corner on misery or you think you are the only one things aren't going well for, God sends you a little message that says "WAKE UP and PAY ATTENTION"  followed closely by "you should be ashamed of yourself"

This last 10 days have, to say the least, been trying and very frustrating.  I re-injured my neck over the weekend and so between the house issues and the pain level I have been hosting my own little (OK big) pity party.  AND then it happened, the message was delivered to me that made me realize just how truly blessed I am to have the life and family that I do, the aches and pains that I do, the "troubles" that I do. And yes to  make me feel ashamed of myself for entertaining self pity when there are so many out there truly suffering and dealing with so very much.


Meet little Phoebe, she is the daughter of one of our neighbors friends. 

 Last week Phoebe had surgery for a brain tumor.  Her mom has been posting messages through our neighbor Kim. Then Kim relays the messages through FaceBook. This family has no insurance and is on a very limited income.  They work for YWAM Youth With A Mission http://www.ywam.org  sharing God's word.

This is Kim's post on January 4th
"Surgery has begun to remove a tumor from my friends' daughter's brain. Please pray for accuracy and safety. The mass, in little Phoebe’s head, is the size of a baseball, shaped like a mushroom, which is in the middle of her brain and fans out at the top (like a mushroom.) It is behind her eyes, pressing on her the part of the brain that affects her personality, puberty, emotions and other things"
Parents post January 5th
Keep Praying...
"Nathan and I returned from the hotel around 6 this morning. It was so hard to leave last night, but we are realizing that in order to be there for Phoebe, we have to take time to sleep. Her grandmothers kept watch through the night. Phoebe has had fevers off and on all night and... has dozed off only a couple of times. As a Mom, this alarms me, to see her shaking and shivering and to see her awake for so long after such a major surgery. I wish she would rest.... . We are concerned about how she's acting, and the fevers, and are praying that we get to see the neurosurgeon very soon to ask some questions. Please stand with us for our baby girl, as a parent, it is so difficult not to be able to just pick her up and hold her and keep her warm. "
January 10th
This very moment I am watching Phoebe with her physical therapist. The left side of her body is weaker than the right because of the incision they made through the area of the brain that sends signals back and forth between the left and the ride sides. Right now they have her sitting up on the edge of the bed and she is encouraged to pick toys out of a bucket on her left and hand them to her brother Deacon. She is doing great, just a bit wobbly and you can tell her body wants to lean to the left. Now they have her standing, fully supported, but trying to put one foot in front of another. She is able to do this because her SODIUM IS AT 140, and her EVD tube (that drains her Cerebral-spinal fluid) was taken out this morning! She still hasn't had a real sleep, and since she is being given so many steroids to reduce brain swelling, they are not concerned because this is typical of that. But she is over-tired nonetheless........So, it seems that we are in a much different situation than we were just yesterday. What a difference a day can make! Thank you all for your ceaseless prayers for Phoebe, we are reaping the benefits of them each day. Today, we ask for prayer that her left side would strengthen, that her brain would do what it needs to do on it's own without the EVD tube, and that her sodium level stays consistent. She is still limited in her fluids until her sodium has been stable for a length of time, and she is very thirsty. Today is a good day!
Jaunary 11

Update on Phoebe from Amey(Phoebe's mom) at 10pm
"She has cancer. An aggressive cancerous tumor called AT/RT. It is very rare and there is a 50% survival rate with an 18 month long chemo regimen. They will do a minor surgery to put in a port for her to receive chemo treatments through before we leave the hospital and then she will have 12 very hard weeks of hard-hitting chemo. He warned us to be prepared. We just got this news tonight. The Oncology team will meet with us tomorrow to explain the details. We were not expecting this. At all. I will have more thoughts, and words to share with you all once this has sunk in. Right now I feel numb, and exhausted, and like I am living in a strange dream that is not my own life. Please pray for our sweet girl...and our dear boys as we look at what the next several months of our lives together will look like. One moment at a time..hanging on to Him."

 

 

 

Please take some time today to hug the ones you love and reach out to someone who needs some love.  I know God will provide this family with the comfort they need.  Please keep them in your prayers.

 

We all need a little reminder now and then of just how amazing our life and the people in it are.  How little, life's little struggles truly are.   We ALL have so much to be thankful for.  

Please say a prayer for Phoebe and her family and remember to  

  

 A reminder to live and love each moment you have on this earth and to listen to those little messages God sends our way.  Sometimes the little things turn out to be the big things.

 

Love and miss all of you

Jeanne