'Til We Are Made Whole

I have been terrible about updating this site and so much has changed lately, it feels a bit overwhelming to try to rehearse what’s been going on, but we so much appreciate your prayers. Here’s a brief update as to what’s been happening and how you can pray.

In September we were asked by our church and our denomination to resign our position. We remained paid for 2 months while we looked for work. None was forthcoming so at the end of November we moved in with Tracy’s parents in Line Lexington, PA. This was a challenge but also a blessing as we could be close to the world renowned Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, which is ranked #3 in Pediatric Neurosurgery.

But moving isn’t easy. It took the State of Pennsylvania from the middle of November until the middle of January to get our insurance figured out. Since Christina is a Medicaid patient we weren’t able to get in to see the CHOP people until that was set. Thankfully, our old Pediatric Neurosurgeon, Dr. Avinash Mohan, was so incredibly kind enough to keep up with us and allow us to travel to have Christina checked on without charging us.

Once our insurance finally kicked in (February 15) we were able to have Christina looked at. We had a whirlwind day of appointments at CHOP. We saw her hand plastic surgeon and her cranial plastic surgeon. We saw genetics and had x-rays of her hands taken and blood work taken to confirm her diagnosis of Apert Syndrome. This coming week we have an appointment with her Pediatric Neurosurgeon and will have a sleeping hearing test upcoming as well. We’re so thankful for the wonderful care we will receive at CHOP but we are a little overwhelmed with everything that is required of us!

Her initial hand surgery is scheduled for the end of March. She has the typical “rosebud” hands of an Apert child. They are worse than usual but the surgeon felt she would have good success and eventually good use of her hands. They will release the pinky finger and thumb first and then follow-up with other fingers later. She may have 2 or 3 additional fingers but at this point we don’t know.

Then at the end of April her first cranial surgery is scheduled. In this surgery her cranial bones will be cut apart across the top of her head and distractors installed which we will turn daily to slowly increase room in her cranium for her brain to grow.

These surgeries are just the first of many.

Thankfully I have been able to find work as a Store Manager for AutoZone. It is almost an hour away from my house so with my commute I am out of the house for 60 plus hours a week. Any day off I have is spent with doctors so we continue to ask you to pray for us. We’re especially looking for work closer to home that pays better so we can eventually find a place to live on our own nearby.

We just had our interview today with the elders of Reformed Baptist Church in Franconia, PA to become members and the church will vote on us in 2 weeks time. This church has been so encouraging to us and supportive of us over the years even though we didn’t attend that it already felt like home before we got there. This is a great place for us to serve and heal from our ministry experiences.

God is good and He makes no mistakes. We love our little cupcake and I adore her sweet and beautiful smile. Keep praying for us! We greatly appreciate it!