Prayers and #candlesforCourtney

I've been following Mary Lenaburg's blog Passionate Perseverance for years now.  Though I've never met Mary or Miss Courtney, I feel like I know them.  Courtney is in her final hours at this point.  If you can, please light a candle for Courtney (#candlesforCourtney) and offer up a few prayers for a peaceful passing for Courtney and also some prayers for her family.  Here's the most recent blog post from Mary.  Join me in lifting the Lenaburgs in prayer.

Please Pray For Me and My Unborn Baby

I began to blog about my current situation but it's a very long story and I can only type one handed at the moment.  I had a serious infection in my finger that landed me in the hospital on Friday night.  I fought to go home on Saturday only to get a call this morning telling me that my blood culture shows that the infection is in my bloodstream. This, I am told is a serious risk to me and our unborn baby.  So please offer up some prayers for me.

This is how my finger looked on Saturday morning.  It's not as swollen or red now.  The redness is cellulitis which ran up to my armpit.  It is mostly all faded now.

I feel fine with the exception of my finger that is swollen and hurts at the wound site that is just over a joint.

The infectious disease dr. tells me only one of the two blood culture vials shows bacteria, so it may be a case of the vial being contaminated,  We will know what the culture results are tomorrow.  If the clean vial still shows no infection in my bloodstream I will go home.  If not, I will be here until it is clear.  Please pray that I don't have an infection in my blood stream.  I very much want to go home and be with my family and rest knowing that my baby's life isn't in jeopardy.

All this because I somehow closed the car door on three of my fingers and one got cut in the process!  Watch where your hands are when you close your car doors!

A Moving Encounter

I had one of those mornings where the day wasn't starting off well.  It's take your child to work day today and Madeline really wanted to stay home with me.  Not too long ago she told me I didn't do anything because I don't work.  It's true I don't have a paid job, but I do work.  My day starts by 6:45am every day and I'm busy pretty much from that point until around 9pm or later.  Yesterday she came home from school and suddenly she was telling me that she wanted to stay home from school today and proceeded to tell me that my work as a stay at home mom was important and she could learn about it by staying home.  Bryan and I discussed it and we thought it would be best for her to go to school.  This morning I considered letting her stay home but decided against it once I saw all the kids she told me would be staying home at the bus stop.  At that point I started getting texts from her while she was on the bus first telling me she hated me and then pleading with me to sign her out before lunch because no one would be there.  I was feeling frazzled by the time I loaded Katie in the van to head to Mass.

Once we got to the church I was mentally preparing myself for whatever Katie might throw at me over the next half-hour (figuratively and literally).  Just as I was a few steps away from the doors a woman who I had seen at Mass many times before stopped me and wanted to know what size Katie wore.  I thought it was an odd question but I answered it figuring that maybe she was trying to gauge the size of a child she was buying a gift for or something like that.  It's not the first time someone has come up to me to ask what size one of my girls is wearing to figure out what size to buy for a grandchild or niece, but usually it happens when we're in a store.  Then she said something that I wasn't expecting.  "I just buried my two year old."  I stood there and felt stunned and overwhelmingly sad for her.  She told me that she had seen Katie at Mass with me several times and had been wondering about her size.  She has been going through her daughter's clothing and thought perhaps some of her little saint's clothing might fit Katie.  At this point I couldn't keep myself from crying.  I talked to her for a few minutes, told her I needed to give her a hug,  and asked her name and her baby's name so I could pray for her.  When she told me her daughter's name I realized I had already been praying for them but I didn't tell her that.

I spent most of the Mass trying not to lose it.  I felt like a wreck.  And Katie, well she was so incredibly well behaved.  Usually she empties the contents of my purse all over the pew and then takes my Magnificat and tries to rip it when we're at a daily Mass.  Today she happily played on the kneeler and didn't make a peep.   My usual Mass intention changed immediately after my encounter with this woman.

I cannot imagine the sorrow this mother must feel having lost her sweet child. I have seen her and her husband at Mass many times in the past six weeks.  They usually sit near me and I had noticed about a month and a half ago that they looked like they were carrying a very great sadness and I have wondered about them. Their little one passed just two months ago.

I only spoke with this grieving mother for a few minutes, but I am in awe of her faith and her strength.  Even in her sorrow she praises God.  I'd like to think I have that sort of faith, but I suspect on some level I'd falter.

I'll be praying in a special way for little Sarah's Mommy and Daddy.  Will you join me in lifting them up in prayer?

What a week!

This week seems like it has gone by really fast but at the same time the days have all seemed really long.  On Monday Katie seemed like she was coming down a cough and was having a little tummy trouble.  By Tuesday her cough was becoming worse by the hour.  It was so bad that in the middle of our lunch at Bertucci's Bryan had me call the pediatrician to see if she could be seen that day.  Minutes later we were having our food packed up so we could go home.  The coughing had become that bad.

Bryan took her to the doctor's since Ellie had a friend over for a playdate that afternoon.  They suspected that she might have pneumonia based on the cough, the fever and this weird grunting sound she was making when she breathed, but they didn't hear any fluid in her lungs.  They tested her for the flu and it was negative, so they sent her for a chest x-ray.  The x-ray came back negative.  Bryan was told that we needed to watch her breathing to see if the grunting sound continued or worsened, and we also needed to watch the fever.  Tuesday night she wouldn't sleep unless one of us was holding her and even then she wasn't sleeping well.  The ibruprofen and tylenol weren't doing anything for the fever.

By Wednesday morning she had almost zero interest in eating or drinking.  She was lethargic and only wanted to sleep.  At one point I took her temperature and it said she was over 104 which I was certain had to be a mistake.  We called the pediatrician and they had us bring her in.  When we got there her fever (with ibuprofen) was 105.7  she was seen within minutes by a couple of nurses and the nurse practitioner.  We were sent to the ER where they quickly triaged her and had her in a bed.  They ran a bunch of tests on her and gave her some fluids via IV.  It wasn't until they did another chest x-ray that they diagnosed her with pneumonia, which had been suspected by the dr. who saw her the day before.  We left the ER shortly after they got a bag of antibiotics in her.  By the time we left she was looking a lot better thanks to the fluids.  Her fever had also dropped down to 101.

This morning I was hopeful that she was on the mend when she drank about 1/3 of a sippy cup with no prompting and then ate about half of an icee.  I didn't want to leave the house with her today, but I had to pick up her antibiotic and get juice and a few other things we needed for her, like Jell-O and batteries for the ear thermometer.  Of course, I get home and realize that I forgot to get her ice water and ice pops, so one of my awesome neighbors ran to the store and got them for her.  Things were going well until about noon.  At that point she was refusing to drink or eat anything.  Her breathing wasn't sounding too great and her eyes were glassy again.  Once I let Bryan know what was going on he rearranged his schedule so he could come home.  A few minutes later the pediatrician's office called to check on her and I was told we need to give her a syringe full of liquid every five minutes until she perks up.  It appears that she's on the verge of dehydrating.  She wouldn't take any of the liquids from me, but once Bryan came home he was able to get her to take them.  He also managed to get her to east some goldfish crackers.

Now we're just trying to keep her hydrated and keep her fever at bay.  It's been under 101 today so that's good. But her eyes are glassy and she's still not interested in taking fluids.  Fortunately Bryan is good at getting them in her.  Tomorrow we need to take her to the pediatrician again.  I'm praying that she will be doing better and that we will not have to go to the ER to get fluids in her.  I was already warned that it's possible that she may need another bag of IV fluids if we can't get enough in her.  It doesn't help that now that we have fluids going in that she keeps having diarrhea.  I feel like we are fighting a losing battle here.  I just want to see her on the mend.

Katie is just worn out, and Bryan and I are both pretty exhausted. Any prayers you can offer up for us are greatly appreciated.  We're hoping to get through this without needing to go back to the hospital.  I know Katie would very much like to avoid having to get hooked up to an IV again.

Preparing for Hurricane Sandy

Sometime in the next few hours we're expecting to get hit by Hurricane Sandy.  We assume we will lose power at some point so my blog will wind up going silent as a result I expect.  My parents who are about 40 minutes south of us lost power a couple of hours ago.

Our house is more or less prepared for the storm.  We did discover that the crack in our basement wall which had been repaired six years ago is now leaking.  We're a little concerned about how much water will come into the house once the full force of the storm hits us.

While we sit and wait I've been looking at the pictures my friends have been posting of my hometown/island.  If you are familiar with Morey's Pier in Wildwood, there was a picture posted many hours ago that showed the water about 18 inches or less below the bottom of the pier. Mind you this pier is about 8-10 feet above the beach.

 Then I saw another picture of the street where I grew up where the highest end of the street is flooded and looks to have at least a foot of water or more at low tide.

My uncle and several friends that I went through grade school and high school with are still on the island because they are either law enforcement or city workers who are needed to help with things on the island.  Their safety is certainly on my mind at the moment.

Another friend who I went to college with lives in Ocean City.  She and her family with thee young children evacuated this weekend.  She posted pictures of her neighborhood which was already underwater at low tide.  She knows that what she had inside the house must be ruined, but she's hopeful that she will still have a home with a sound structure to return to after the storm.  I can't imagine being in her shoes right now.

Please join me in praying for all those in Hurricane Sandy's path, especially those who are on the barrier islands who will be hit the hardest.

Prayer Request

Just a little while ago Bryan received word that the father of one of Madeline's soccer teammates died today of a brain anuerism. If you can, please offer up some prayers for him, his wife and their three young children. My heart aches for his wife and children. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord. And Let the perpetual light shine upon him.

When it rains it pours

Please pray for my mom.  She was admitted to the ICU last night around 8PM.  She told me earlier in the day she thought she was having gallbladder issues.  Turns out she was right, but she also has an erratic heartbeat and a few other things going on.  She will need surgery to remove the gallbladder, but she has to undergo several tests before that.

I'm chugging along in the land of VBS this week, so my stress level is rather high at the moment.  I have a busy day ahead of me.

Prayers Please

A friend of mine just sent me a message on facebook letting me know that the son of Madeline's old dance teacher drowned this past Saturday.  Her little boy shared Madeline's birthday and was just two months younger than Ellie.  I'm in total shock that this poor child's life was snuffed out so soon.  I have strong feelings about accidental drownings in pools which I will refrain from going into at this time.  Reading the news article that Bryan was able to find for me made me feel sick, angry and incredibly sad.

Please pray for Brad, his parents and his older sister Melani.

Please pray for the family of this girl

I signed on to check my AOL email and I noticed a headline that mentioned my hometown, Wildwood, NJ.  It's not often the little five mile island makes news that I'd see outside the local Philadelphia area, so I had to check out the story.

Today, on a field trip, an 11 year old girl on a field trip managed to fall to her death from the ferris wheel on Morey's Pier.  Having ridden on the ferris wheel once, maybe twice, I'm not sure how one falls out, but that's neither here nor there.  Whatever the case, this young girl lost her life today.  Please offer up prayers for her and her family who I am sure must be devastated.  You can read about the story here.

The article says that the Morey's family and their organization offer their prayers for this child and her family.  Sadly, I know just how much the Morey family's "thoughts and prayers" are worth after having listened to crudely callous comments from the head of the organization, Will Morey, on the heels of the death of a school friend's father who was killed by one of their rides many years ago.  I'd say they're as good as non-existant.

Prayer Request

Last week while we were on our little mini vacation in D.C. we got an email from Bryan's mother telling us that his grandmother had to be taken to the hospital. She was in a severe amount of pain and couldn't move her legs.  They ran some tests, determined that she had a UTI and a lot of arthritis in her hip, and they sent her home with some meds to take care of her ailments.

Today we got another email from Bryan's mother telling us that his grandmother was back at the hospital.  She hasn't been eating for nearly a week, and this morning she was gurgling and coughing in addition to a few other issues.

Grandmom is nearly 95 years old and she doesn't appear to be doing very well at all.  If you can spare a few moments to pray for her we'd greatly appreciate it.

If you have a moment...

If you have a moment and can spare a small prayer for me can you please pray that I will be feeling well enough to teach my VBS class in the morning?  I think I must have some sort of stomach virus.  I started feeling ill on Friday night and now with only a short time before VBS begins I'm a member of the vomit club.  My two concerns right now are preventing dehydration and making sure I'm fit to teach tomorrow.

Prayers Please

My Aunt Florence just passed.  Once all of her children had made it to the hospital they took her off the ventilator and she passed surrounded by her loved ones.  Please pray for my aunt and our family.

Can You Spare A Prayer?

And forgive me for having a rhyming title?  My mom called me while I was at Madeline's soccer game this afternoon and told me my Aunt Florence is in grave condition.  At the moment she is suffering from penumonia, renal (kidney) failure, no circulation in her leg, and she has sores the developed on the back of her legs.  My mom tells me my aunt is so badly off that she's being flown via helicopter from the hospital in South Jersey to one in Philadelphia.  If you can offer up a prayer or two for her I'd really appreciate it.  All of this has come on rather suddenly.  My aunt has been through many trials with her foot (she's diabetic and has had 4 1/2 toes amputated) and we thought she was finally in the clear.