January 29, 2007 - Hanging on...

Good Morning to all! It has been a while since we sent out a note but it has been a busy time for us! Our household has been fighting off "stuff" for the past 2 weeks. We hope that we are nearing the end of it all! We are now dealing with all of the "secondary" things resulting from the viruses that have apparently been introduced to our home. Last week Nick started an antibiotic for an ear infecition and Erik started an antibiotic for pneumonia. Up until this point, Erik had been doing well - little to no seizure activity and eating sleeping, etc. well. This has set us back but we will continue to keep moving in the right direction. He did have a seizure yesterday that necessitated us giving him his emergency medication. This was scary because we have not seen that since the summer. We hope that this was an isolated occurrance just because he is not feeling well and that this lowered his seizure threshhold. Pray with us that this is the case and that we will see no more of this! We will keep plugging ahead. The bible verse that has been recurring over the past few weeks continuing to motivate us in the right direction is: "But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded." 2 Chronicles 15:7 NIV So often we meet parents and caregivers of "special" people like Erik who have given up. We personally have been through some tough times over the past couple of years but God has not given up on Erik or us and continues to bless us. Sometimes we have to be patient and look for his "relief" and it comes in many forms but it ALWAYS comes. Someone passed the following along it is helpful to remember it from time to time when we think God is not answering a prayer request. They said something to the effect that God has one of three responses to all requests: 1) Yes. 2) Not now. 3) I have something better in mind. Thanks to whoever passed this along because it has come in handy several times. Just wanted to share this with all of you because we all should remember this. We definantly have seen God - in His time - do all three. It still amazes us that the doctors were able to remove the AVM. We prayed and prayed, and prayed, and prayed for 6 months or so asking God why Erik's AVM couldn't be like so many others that were such that they could be surgically removed. After a time (about 6 months) we stoped praying about this knowing that God knew our request and knowing that we should start praying for other things. Who knew that 18 months later we would be standing in a hospital on CA listening to a wonderful surgeon tell us that he wanted to take the AVM out. How awesome! We never expected to hear those words! Please pray for quick relief and recovery for those in our household who are not feeling well. Also know that we pray for you daily and thank God for your encouragement and support. Love in Christ, Erik's Family