Thanks to the God of Miracles

Prayer Warriors isn't it amazing that God is still perfect, holy and righteous no matter how He answers our prayers? It doesn't change Him to answer our prayers, it changes us. I'm in love with Him because of how He has answered my prayers. Starting first with my prayer to come and take up residence in my heart on November 10th 2006. But He is gracious beyond words to still answer our prayers...

Its Anna's third birthday and it feels right to collect the answers to prayer from this last year. As I revisited the old prayer e-mails from the last year I grew glad because of His faithfulness shining through.

From discovery to treatment stem cells were a big part of last year for Anna. Among the 26 prayer e-mails more than half of them ask for prayer about stem cells. As we embarked on that journey a year ago I wrote this paragraph, and it still resonates well with me:

"Somewhere in the PT, OT, Speech, Feeding and Music goals, there is the "what are we believing God for regarding Anna" goals. Miracle therapy if you will.  God's plans for a full healing will never be out of the question, its simply a matter of when. Anna's days of CP and reflux are numbered. We long for a healing today, actually it is tempting to demand it, and make it an idol. However God knows we need Him just to stand as Anna's parents. So when we find a therapy, miracle, and medicine for healing Anna we humbly ask that God might glorify Himself through it. Its His instrument."

God's answered the prayers we prayed:

Stem Cell Treatment:

-God is faithful to us because He gave us guidance, education, and testimonies about cord blood stem cells and if they were a possible benefit for Anna.

-God is faithful to us because where our income and insurance said "no" to this treatment God said "yes" by opening doors we had not considered financially.

-God is faithful to us because 8 hours of travel with Anna and Simon came and went, God also kept us safe in a strange place, we were directed when our Spanish failed us. God gave us kind Panamanian people to be with.

-God is faithful to us because He gave us more than what we were asking for by having our friends journey with us to Panama City, having our condo sell at just the right time for just the right price, for the passports coming in quickly and work supporting the time off for all of this.

-God is faithful to us because we have seen great improvement to Anna's vision and a lesser spastic quadriplegic tone.

Shunt Revision:

-God is faithful to us because on Mother's day Anna's shunt was malfunctioning. She lay constantly sleep unresponsive to even needle pricks. We had emergency surgery that night.
-God is faithful to us because He calms us in the storm. we sent out hurried e-mails desperate for God to show mercy and glorify Himself. We needed help trusting as the uncertainty in the moment grew. We received phone calls full of prayer and a pastor that wanted to wait with us that Sunday night.

-God is faithful to us because He brought due process by an accurate diagnosis, hospital transfer, a skilled neurosurgeon we had never met. He replaced the tube going to Anna's ventricles in her brain.

-God is faithful because as soon as the ordeal started it seemed to conclude. Anna recovered so quickly. Prayer warriors lifted her up in prayer as she had to cycle through hand-foot-mouth disease right after the surgery.

-God is faithful because His plan caused our plans to be surrendered up to Him. We canceled our trip to Chicago for graduation without regret because Anna needed to be well. Its always healthy to remember that God is in control of our lives and our plans are an offering to Him not something to fight about.

Intensive Therapy:

-God is faithful to us because He raised 90% of the funds to finance our trip to attend a clinic in Portland Oregon for three weeks.

-God is faithful to us because we had accommodations better than a hotel for the three weeks at a place seeking to minister to us through hospitality.

-God is faithful to us because through the hard therapy we saw Anna capable of more than we thought and we became charged to push onward.

Other answers to Prayers:

-God is faithful to us because He brought a second income this last year by Lindsey becoming Anna's CNA caretaker, we prayed for a way out of a bad company that first employed her to a better one that holds the CNA accountable.

-God is faithful to us because we asked for a medical bed and a wheel chair to suit Anna for many years to come and both were given to us this last year.

-God is faithful to us because in He brought an Occupational Therapist and an overnight nurse. We were asking for several them times last year.

-God is faithful to us because He brought us through three virus infections one of them was the RSV from October to January.

-God is faithful to us because He restored the canceled trip to Chicago as we headed out there in January.

-God is faithful to us because our IEP process was covered with blessing, counsel, and detail.

-God is faithful to us because He made Simon to be a warm presence and close companion to Anna.

-God is faithful to us because our insurance coverage covers so much that we can focus our funds on stuff not covered by insurance rather than paying off medical debt.

-God is faithful because Anna has received weekly speech, PT, music therapists in our homes, massage bi-weekly and vision monthly. 

The Waiting Room: Prayers We still hope to be answered:   

-God is our hope for core muscle building in Anna resolving reflux and giving her head control.

-God is our hope for the CES waiver which we are reapplying to, this waiver allows for more therapy coverage and modifications to cars or home.

-God is our hope for more skilled training for us parents for brain injured children

-God is our hope for Anna to return to doing intensive therapy so that her ability to walk would inspire amazement.

-God is our hope for Anna to eat solid foods and to have a clear airway. May God grant ability in her throat especially when sick.

-God is our hope to extend the vision progress we are seeing Anna experiance. Bring ability, caring teachers and cool toys.

God is so able, He proves that to me by this list and this doesn't even include the little things.

Love,

Nic, Lindsey, Anna and Simon