Archive for Prayers

Many Thanks and Another Prayer Request

May 10, 2013 Gifts, Prayers, Updates 3 comments

We are grateful for many things. The greatest right now is how well Miriam is healing from her surgery. Since her skin breakdown was repaired she has been doing really well in her recovery. Her scars seem very solid and she has had hardly any pain. We visited Dr. Williams on Wednesday for a check-up and he was pleased with her progress. We will see him for a pre-op visit in July and then she will have her first expansion sometime in August. She has not grown much or gained much weight yet, but he is not concerned because 4-year-olds often experience a lull between growth spurts.

We are also grateful for the amazing generosity shown to us by many people, both friends and strangers. Several of you reading this contributed to our youcaring site to help with our expenses, and we wish to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for carrying us through the surgery without worry of immediate financial burden. And on top of that, we were extremely blessed by several members of the choir of Becky’s home parish of St. John the Evangelist in Davison, Michigan. They took it upon themselves to organize a Victorian Tea fundraiser for Miriam, and far exceeded even their own hopes for the event. Over 250 people attended and donated enough to cover the remainder of Miriam’s bills for this year and into the next. We can never thank all of these generous donors enough, especially those who worked to put together the event. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

We are asking for renewed prayer as we head into next week. Miriam is returning to the surgery center on Monday to have another endoscopy on her throat. Her voice is still making occasional strange sounds, and she is still making a few sighing noises in her sleep. Her symptoms are far less severe than before her two previous excisions. Her ENT will be checking once again to see if there is swelling or any kind of a growth in her larynx around her vocal cords. We are praying there is little to nothing there, because if something has grown back we will truly be in uncharted medical territory. Please pray for protection over her in surgery and for guidance and wisdom for her doctors. Thank you as always for your generosity in prayer. It is obvious in Miriam’s peace and joy despite all she has been through.

A Tangential Complication

February 25, 2013 Doctors, Prayers, Updates 5 comments

About a week after Miriam’s VEPTR surgery, we began to hear a sighing sound from her room while she was sleeping. As the weeks have passed, that sound has become more prominent, and her voice has also gotten increasingly raspy during the day. We took her to an ENT today to have her vocal cords checked. She had to have a numbing spray and then a flexible scope inserted in her nose, which she did not enjoy. The doctor saw she has developed a cyst on one side of her vocal cords, probably due to the irritation caused by the respirator tube from the surgery.

This means Miriam is headed for a minor surgery on Monday, March 11, to remove the cyst. The procedure does require general anaesthesia, but should only last 20 – 30 minutes. She should go home the same day. The doctor told us he was surprised to see a cyst, but that it was much easier to treat than some of the other possible complications he was anticipating based on her symptoms. He also said there should be minimal pain after the surgery. Please join us in praying that this procedure is easy and smooth and does indeed heal her so we can hear her sweet voice back to normal again!

Holy Family Novena

January 4, 2013 Gifts, Prayers One comment

Grandpa Deacon Dan requested that I be remembered at nine daily Novena Masses by the Missionaries of the Holy Family.

Thanks Grandpa Dan!

Holy Family Novena

 

Holy Family Prayer

JESUS, Son of God and Son of Mary, bless our family. Graciously inspire in us the unity, peace, and mutual love that you found in your own family in the little town of Nazareth.

MARY, Mother of Jesus and our Mother, nourish our family with your faith and your love. Keep us close to your Son, Jesus, in all our sorrows and joys.

JOSEPH, Foster-father to Jesus, guardian and spouse of Mary, keep our family safe from harm. Help us in all times of discouragement or anxiety.

HOLY FAMILY OF NAZARETH, make our family one with you. Help us to be instruments of peace. Grant that love, strengthened by grace, may prove mightier than all the weaknesses and trials through which our families sometimes pass. May we always have God at the center of our hearts and homes until we are all one family, happy and at peace in our true home with you. Amen.