In God's Hands

Family and Friends,

Mark and I have been blessed beyond measure with our two precious daughters. We are thoroughly enjoying being parents to Sarah and Hannah. We realize that our children are not ours, but they are God's children here for us to merely raise as for a short time to honor and glorify our heavenly Father.

We noticed when Sarah started walking she would not put her heels down, but instead she would tip-toe. As parents, we of course began to watch more closely and would remind her to put her heels down or walk flat. The constant reminders did not seem to work but would only frustrate her. When she was 3 years old, we took her to a pediatric orthopedic specialist who told us she was a habitual toe walker. He said she would most likely grow out of it, but to come back in one year, if she did not. So, another year went by, and she continued to literally tip-toe through life. We returned to another pediatric orthopedic specialist who recommended surgery to correct the problem. Of course, as parents we were stunned thinking - SURGERY - really??? We left the appointment in shock, and it took months of coming to grips with the idea of putting our little girl through such a traumatic ordeal, so we made an appointment with another pediatric orthopedic specialist who also recommended surgery. Over the course of both doctor visits, we were told she was unable to walk flat on her feet, because her tendon in the back of both legs are too tight, which cause her legs to hurt when she stands flat. So, even if she tries to stand flat, it is painful for her to do. Still we were uneasy and perplexed as what to do. We decided to let it sit for a while to ponder and pray. After much agonizing, pondering, praying, and discussing we have decided to go through with the surgery on December 27. We have been as open as we possibly can with Sarah (a 4 year-old) about the whole process. She is trusting her Mommy and Daddy to do what we think is best for her. However, she is adamant about not wanting to go through with it - to the point of begging us to forget about it and just not go to the hospital. We know the Lord is going to comfort her when we cannot and where we are not able HE will be covering her. So, on December 27, we will hand over our little girl to a doctor to perform what he calls on a "surgery scale" of one to ten - a .5. Although, the recovery process will be a little more intense: 2 weeks of non-walking casts, + 4 weeks of walking casts, and 6 more weeks of nighttime leg braces. We are asking you as our family and close friends to please be praying for Sarah to have peace, to be comforted, and healing to come through this procedure.
Here is the website about toe-walking in case you are interested: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1235248-overview

Now for Hannah! A little over a month ago, Hannah went through a sickness involving fever, vomiting, and diarrhea for about 10 days. The doctors were unsure as to what was causing all of this. The doctors were under the impression she had a really bad virus; however, she was not getting well. Finally, after 10 days of having a fever, loads and loads of laundering from the vomit and diarrhea, the doctor decided to test her urine. The afternoon of the urine test, the doctor called back with a positive urinary tract infection (UTI). The next day the culture was completely full of bacteria, so the doctor prescribed an antibiotic, which wiped it out. However, the doctor was concerned about Hannah being so young and getting a UTI. So, she had us go down to Scottish Rite Hospital for some tests: a sonogram and an x-ray. I took both girls with me for this venture, and they both were amazing! The only time I was not able to be with Hannah was during the time of the x-ray. I cried as I had to leave Hannah laying on the table with these strange people surrounding her wearing masks and using probing tubes. Sarah and I were on the other side of the door listening to Hannah sob, and poor Sarah had to watch me sob as well. Anyways, after the surgery the doctor informed me that Hannah's left kidney does not empty the urine out properly, instead the urine travels back up to the kidney, which is called Kidney Reflux. We went back to Hannah's pediatrician, Dr. George Stickeny (amazing doctor), who gave us the run down. There are 5 levels to Kidney Reflux: one being likely to outgrow and 5 needing surgery to correct. Hannah was diagnosed with level 2, which means will likely outgrow the condition in 2 to 3 years. We are treating it now with a daily antibiotic to prevent further UTI's. Each UTI causes kidney scarring and over time too much kidney scarring causes kidney damage. We are going to see a pediatric urologist next week as well just so we can closely monitor Hannah's situation. She will have the sonogram and x-ray procedure every 6 months to monitor her kidney reflux. Here is the website for Kidney Reflux in case you are interested: http://www.drgreene.com/azguide/vesicoureteral-reflux

Whew!!! I am tired after all of that - how about you??? We know the Lord is in control and our girls are in HIS hands of protection. We also know that we are immeasurably blessed by our Heavenly Father. Mark and I know that both of these conditions are very mild in comparison to so many other problems people are facing. So we don't want to sound like we are complaining, simply asking for your prayers for our girls. If you are reading this, we know you have a special place in your heart for our family and just want to share ourselves with you.

We look forward to what God is going to do with both of our girls!