The Road Not Chosen

Grad Pictures

My bro-in-law e-mailed a couple of pics tonight so I thought I'd post them. Harold & I don't look too bad for people who spent an hour crying through graduation. Ev just looks handsome of course! The flower lei's Ev & I are wearing are courtesy of the family of one of the graduates  who had them flown in from Hawaii. (We had a Hawaiian themed reception!)

 

The Speech

Evan prepared a speech for last night's Graduation Ceremony. (Each Senior got a chance to speak.) He got nervous once he was up there & Harold had to read it for him. The words are all Evan's. 

I want to thank God for all my teachers.

And I want to thank my teachers:

Thank you Patsy Golden.

Thank you Janet Miller.

Thank you Mona Veatch.

Thank you Lori Gilliland.

I want to thank you Mom and Dad.

I want to thank my pastors:

Thank you Tom Bedford, Thank you Roger Moore.

Thank you all teachers for teaching me to love God and God is good to me.

I promise to serve God.

I will bless the Lord forever.

Thank you for loving me.

I love you, too.

After Dad was done reading, Evan asked if he could pray. The prayer was even better than the speech & there wasn't a dry eye in the house!

After the Vice Principal, Patsy, handed out scholarship awards to the Seniors she gave a short speech about how Evan may not have earned a Scholarship to college, but he has something more important, jewels in his crown in Heaven. She spoke of how hard he had worked over the years & then presented him with an Award of Excellence. It reads: "In recognition of his exceptional accomplishment in leading the way in loving the Lord Jesus Christ and loving and encouraging his friends." Evan received a standing ovation as the award was handed to him.

It was a wonderful evening & we are all worn out & recovering today. My brother-in-law took a bunch of pictures, some of which I will post when I get them from him.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend, everyone!

The Graduation Post

Well, it's almost time for Evan to walk (roll) the aisle & get his high school diploma. The last 13 years have been quite a journey. When he entered Kindergarten the principal told us he could stay in this school for "as long as was feisable". No, she wasn't a mean woman, they just had never had a child with any kind of major developmental delays before. That was big job for a small private school!

Each year came and went, full of its own challenges, triumphs and sleepless nights as Harold & I wondered if we were doing "enough" in regard to our son's education.

We learned to coordinate classes at the public school with classes at our church school. Fortunately, we didn't have to do a lot of fighting with the public school. There was the occasional tussle but overall things went well.

The teachers & staff at our school have been tireless in seeking for new ways to help Evan learn, to make sure he was "one of the gang" and to help form him into a wonderful young man who loves God & loves those around him.

Evan has been fortunate to have spent his entire educational career at one school. He has made friends that we believe will last his whole life. They have touched his life & he has changed theirs. Inclusion really can work if those involved really want it to!

What lies ahead for Evan is a bit unknown at this point, something I was feeling nervous about at 5AM yesterday morning, laying in bed, looking at the ceiling. I realized, however, that most graduates aren't exactly sure where their life is going to lead them. Evan is no different. For the moment, we will work on his physical rehab. He is anxious to be well enough to start his job as janitor hopefully by the fall. There is also a lot of talk from this young man about moving out. He is determined to find somewhere else to live so in the months to come we will look into alternate living situations for our son.

To sum it up, we are proud, nervous, happy, parents who are very grateful to our Lord for giving us our son and making his walk down the aisle this Friday night possible.

The time goes by faster than one could imagine...

 

What To Say, Feel, Think

In reflecting about last week's events, I have come to the conclusion that I am stumped. Maybe dumbfounded would be a better word. Or one of these: agape, amazed, astonished, blown away, bowled over, flabbergasted, floored, overcome, overwhelmed, puzzled, shocked, speechless, staggered, startled, stunned, surprised, taken aback.

It is for me almost an odd thing that God chose to move on my son the way that He did. We didn't expect it or even really specifically pray for it. Does that show a lack of faith & expectancy on my part? Perhaps. Perhaps not. God is after all sovereign, moving when and as He chooses.

I can say that I knew without a doubt that God would get us through whatever challenges lay before us. Never did I think that He would leave us in the valley of despair. Even in the darkest of times, and there have been for me some of the most horrible times of my life during this, that bit of hope that can never truly be extinguished from the Christian's heart, shimmered at the distant end of our black tunnel.

So here we are as a family, feeling as if we've been picked up and moved forward in time several weeks. It's as if I have a spot of amnesia & am trying to remember what that last surgery-that-never-happened was like. It should have happened. I should have the memory of it. Yet it's not there and that has left me feeling (pick one of the words from the list above!)

We are most certainly grateful for this great mercy God has shown Evan. We have received wonderful letters, phone calls, e-mail's, etc. from people who are rejoicing with us. The testimony of this event is spreading & all the glory is going to God, which is worth it all.

I told my friend, Sherry, that I keep thinking I should be over the stunned sense of it all, but I just don't feel like I can rush past this event in our lives. It will take time for me to absorb and comprehend  (as much as one can) this wonderful blessing from our Father. So I'm in no hurry. I plan just to sit and ponder for awhile, for I know there are lessons to be learned at this spot on our journey down the road not chosen.

Expect the Unexpected

I have no idea how to tell you all this. We are still trying to process the days events. I am exhausted so I'm just going to blurt things out as we only have a small amount of time before the computer room closes.

Evan's surgery was cancelled today. Gasp. Shock. Why? Because, well, God healed him & he didn't need surgery! He was preped & taken back to surgery. They put him under, cut off his cast, inspected his skin for abraisons (there were none). The next step was to look at his hip through the fluroscope (a real time x-ray machine). To the surgeons (both of them) shock, his femur was tilted at exactly the right angle, positioned perfectly. They moved his leg around, thinking it would pop out of socket, but it was firmly, perfectly in place, holding strong. Dr. S. called us in the waiting room, Harold talked to him & started to cry. Then Harold laughed. Hanging up, Harold told us (myself, our friends Roger & Dave) the good news. To say we were stunned would be the understatement of the century. I just laughed like a crazy woman. This was so wonderful as to be unimaginable! We all began laughing, crying & praising God.

After a while our lead surgeon, Dr. C., came in with the biggest smile in the world. He said they were going to put Evan in a brace for about a month, & then he could start therapy & begin walking. I asked him if he had ever seen a case like this. He just laughed & said nothing about this case has been normal. His only explanation was that because Evan's hip was immobilized for so long, scar tissue formed in just the right places to put the femur in the perfect spot & the muscles seemd to be holding strong.

When we talked to the other surgeon this evening, the one who has been doing this for at least 30 years, he said he had never seen anything quite like this. He was stunned also. In fact, the entire staff here is stunned and elated. The word "miracle" has been used several times & not just by us.

Evan was a bit confused when he woke up in recovery without a spica cast on. It took him a while to understand that he not only didn't have surgery, but wouldn't need a cast, only a brace. He is, needless to say, very happy to "see his tummy" as he says.

We made many joyful phone calls. At school, Debbie waited until the whole school was gathered for lunch to tell them the good news. Whoops of joy could be heard far down the halls, we were told. This was a bunch of kids who have prayed & fasted & prayed some more for Evan. What a wonderful day for them to see the goodness of God!

While there are still challenges ahead, months of physical therapy & a staph infection still to fight, things are looking a lot brighter in our corner of the world tonight. We should be able to go home Monday. And, yes, Evan will definately be at his graduation ceremony!

I must go but let me say that once again God has reminded us in a breathtakingly spectacular way, that nothing is impossible for Him in whom we believe.

Here We Go

It's been a hectic few days. I'm trying to get things finished at work & home in preparation for our departure tomorrow for the Big City. The graduation announcements are mailed, work is as caught up as possible, & the house, well, it's not going to get cleaned & I've come to accept that.

Evan was a bit out of sorts this morning. I think he's pretty nervous about surgery Thursday. I feel bad for him because he knows what's coming this time. We try to reassure him that this is an "easier" surgery but the way things have gone, I'm not sure he believes us & I can't blame him for that!

Personally, I'm exhausted, stressed, & really wanting all this to be over. Oh, and our bathroom pipes decided to spring a leak yesterday. When I got home from work, Harold said, "There's a hole in the kitchen wall." I looked at him & replied, "Well, of course there is. Why not?" The only way to the pipes was through the wall. Did I mention that his car died yesterday? Can anyone say "warfare"?

There's a lot of prayer requests today:

1) That Evan's surgery goes smoothly & he has minimal bleeding & swelling.

2) That the staph infection does not spread to anywhere else in his body or bloodstream.

3) That we have a short hospital stay this time.

4) That Evan's white count (which is 4.0 right now) stays stable.

5) That I retain (or regain) some portion of my sanity & strength.

6) That Harold remains as calm & steadfast as he has been so far. (We have a rule that only one of us is allowed to be crazy at a time.)

I'll try to report in Thursday night or Friday night. Thanks for your prayers.