7 years...then the MIRACULOUS!

Dale and I always said that we would continually tell our story to be a testimony to those around us.  So, on this special anniversary, I feel so blessed to be able to tell an amazing and miraculous story of our precious Felicity’s life!

Seven years ago, today, Dale and I rushed a very sick Felicity to the hospital; we never thought that this trip would lead to one month in the hospital, nearly losing her and 7 years of health struggle.  On July 15, 2004, Felicity had already been sick for 3 days; by this point she couldn’t even keep water down.  Baptist Hospital immediately admitted her and there our long road began.  We were told that Felicity had an infection in her intestines and needed to be admitted and put on antibiotics.  After a week at Baptist, Felicity only got worse and, by this time, could no longer talk, walk or use the bathroom and she was so swollen that she gained 11 pounds and hadn’t eaten in 2 weeks.  The hospital’s only option was to send her to Children’s where they dealt specifically with children; here she was rushed to a room and hooked up to all kinds of things.  Within hours she was taken to surgery where she was given a platelet and blood transfusion to ensure she didn’t bleed to death.  They inserted a catheter into her abdomen to try to pull fluid out of her from failing kidneys.  By this point the infection had run so rampant throughout her body that her kidneys had stopped working and her blood was destroyed as the infection attacked her body.  After 24 hours of this particular type of dialysis, the docs determined that it wasn’t working and she needed surgery again; this time to insert a different type of catheter.  After surgery they immediately took her for dialysis.  Dale went with her and I went to her room to rest because we knew it would be a long night.  After 3 hours, for what should have been 2 hours, they brought Felicity back where they proceeded to tell me that Felicity had coded and had to be resuscitated; I nearly lost my mind and couldn’t imagine being Dale, who watched it all happen.  A few days later, her potassium got so high that her heart began to shut down again; we were awakened to a room full of machines and doctors trying to make sure we didn’t lose her again.  After a couple of weeks of watching our precious angel be sick and no sight of her getting well, our doctors told us the worst news we have ever heard…”call your friends and family in to say goodbye, we can’t do anything else to save her”.  Completely numb, we watched as everyone who loved Felicity came in to say their “good-byes”…I sat and just prayed that God would wake me up from this nightmare.  The very next day another doctor came into her room and said that he thought of something we could try, but that the top risk was death; at this point, we had nothing to lose…she was going to die if we didn’t try it, so we started plasma exchange.  Within 2 days Felicity began to wake up; within 4 days she could talk and by 6 days she could sit up in bed, walk and use the bathroom!  Then came physical therapy; we had to teach our 7 year old how to walk, talk and, yes, we even had to potty train her again!  On August 13, 2004 we got an answer to prayer when we were told we could go home.  We left with her still hooked up to a “pic line” for nutrition, but we didn’t care…it was home!  The words the doctor’s said haunted us though as he told us that she would never have 100% kidney function again and would be on medication for the rest of her life. 

For the last 7 years, we have fought for answers; we knew that something wasn’t quite right, but couldn’t put our finger on it.  We have prayed that God would heal her and stood in faith, knowing that someday Felicity would be whole and healed…the Word of God said so!  After countless trips to countless doctors and more tests than Felicity cares to remember…we got an answer, she was diagnosed with Celiac Disease.  BUT, this is certainly not where this story ends!  Remember the docs who told us Felicity would “never have 100% kidney function and be on meds forever”?!  In May 2011, we received the miraculous news that Felicity’s kidneys are at 100%!  This month we began the process of taking her off her medication and by Christmas she will only have her asthma inhaler on her medication list!  We are told that Celiac is a forever disease, but we also know that God has already performed countless miracles in her life; so, we sit patiently and wait on God as we know, without a doubt in our minds, that Felicity will see her body 100% disease free!  God has already saved her from death (twice), healed completely damaged kidneys and caused her body to function properly without medication!  We know that our God is so much bigger than these things and is certainly bigger than Celiac Disease.

When Felicity was 3 years old, someone prophesied that she would be in the ministry someday!  In the last 7 miraculous years of her life she has led a little girl to Christ on the school bus, showed an example of what it is to persevere, stood in faith even when it looked impossible and can tell you, without an ounce of doubt in her mind, that God has called her to be a Missionary Pediatrician!  This, my friends, is the God we serve! 

We don’t share this story for sympathy or to get attention; we share it to encourage others to continue to stand in faith for whatever they are believing for.  We tell it to show others that God is still 100% in the miracle business and, lastly, to show others that God can use anyone and any situation to bring Him glory… that satan may try to wipe out God’s chosen ones, but God is so much stronger than that!  It is our desire that you pass this story along to others that they may find hope when things look impossible!

Jeremiah 29:11-14 (NET)  “’For I know what I have planned for you, ‘ says the Lord.  ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you.  I have plans to give you a future filled with hope.  When you call out to me and come to me in prayer, I will hear your prayers.  When you seek me in prayer and worship, you will find me available to you.  If you seek me with all your heart and soul, I will make myself available to you,’ says the Lord.”

You ARE Beautiful....God said so!

Recent conversations in our home have prompted me to write this blog.  I do have two girls in my home, plus me, and I must say that I get angry sometimes at the thought of what society mentally and emotionally does to the young girls living in this society.  Our society plagues magazines, television and all forms of media with images of women who are super skinny, perfect skin and beautifully done make-up.  What they fail to tell the young girls who look at these images, with longing in their eyes to be just like the girls in the magazines, is that these images are edited, brushed up and often those that are honestly that skinny are not necessarily healthy! 

As a teenage girl, I personally struggled with this.  My pants were a size 14, I wore glasses and barely any make-up and felt like the biggest nerd on the planet.  Mostly without my family knowing, I literally struggled with food.  I tried desperately to be the “perfect” girl in hopes that just one guy would like me or for a just one second I could be popular!  Even as an adult, once I got contacts, was skinnier and figured out how to apply make-up…I still struggled with my image.  Yes, today I still do a bit…today we went to White Water and I definitely put mascara on to at least have something on my face!  However, I have also learned that I am beautiful just because God made me!  I guess a huge part of looking at myself differently came when I gave birth to a beautiful little girl.  The first thing I felt was joy, but as she grew older the more I realized that I had a HUGE job ahead.  It was my responsibility to show my daughter that society’s image is NOT the correct image.  At the age of 14 she wears very little make-up and even then I am very particular as to what colors she wears and how often.  I have already had to fight with the mental thoughts of her feeling overweight or  not as “pretty” as her friends.  Really, I don’t know how I managed to get her this far with a great self-image except that I busted my tail to show her through example that what other’s think doesn’t matter…God made her perfect! 

Now, as we have another beautiful daughter living in our house (no I didn’t give birth…she’s 20) I have realized once again how easy it is for young girls to fall into the trap of society’s perspective of what beautiful is.  Yes, those models look beautiful in their size 4 little outfits, but what girls fail to understand is that most of these girls are the least healthy.  There is a difference between being super skinny and being healthy….sometimes; I don’t for one second think that every skinny girl is unhealthy so please don’t take that wrong.  But if we really take a look at these ultra-skinny gals that society wants our young girls to view as “perfect” we will actually see girls who struggle with image, starve themselves and overall are not truly happy or healthy!  How sad is it, then, that our society tries to tell our daughters that they NEED to be just like that.

One of my girls recently said that she felt like she was fat…that broke my heart, because anyone you ask would say she is thin and beautiful.  I had to break it down for her that she isn’t fat…she is healthy and that she wasn’t before when she was thinner.  She is constantly checking her make-up and reapplying and I am constantly trying to give positive reinforcement that what she is doing isn’t necessary.  I am sure I drive her insane…she’ll get over it, but what I will not stand for is any of my girls to fall prey to society’s image of beautiful. 

The Bible says that we are “fearfully and WONDERFULLY made”.  God doesn’t make mistakes and there are no accidents.  We were each set on this Earth exactly the way God wanted us to look.  By saying we are anything less than the perfect image is to say that God made a mistake and God is perfect so mistakes in His creation are impossible.

I guess to close this off I just want to say

Daddy’s:  Tell you daughters DAILY that they are beautiful.  Pick out something about their appearance that you just love about them and that makes THEM special!

Momma’s:  Show your daughters that it is ok to go out in public without make-up!  Teach them about a positive and healthy image and constantly, yes it is a constant job, build up their self-image!

Friends:  Quit telling each other that you would be prettier “if” and start accepting each other the way God made you!

I told my girls just yesterday that we are going to have a day where make-up isn’t allowed!  Not because I don’t like make-up, but because I think we all need a reminder that we are beautiful just the way God made us and we are “fearfully and wonderfully made”!