Our CHOP Visit

Well - we got back about 2 hours ago now.  Sorry it took so long - we had prescriptions to fill and children to fetch and get settled....



Kate was checked and also had an echo-cardiogram.  Her heart is perfect.  Her pulse is still off.  The doctor feels this is because of the fact that she is dehydrated, but also believes that there is definitely some "electrical" problem in the heart itself.  We were given the option of medication for life or a procedure called catheter ablation.  After talking it over with both the doctor and Katie, we feel that the procedure is our best route.  This is a tough decision since Kate could have this the rest of her life and it is not life threatening, but the procedure (although considered incredibly safe) carries with it some risk.  The idea of her being on a restricted diet and on beta blockers for the rest of her life wasn't really appealing either.  And the doctor seemed to feel that even if we went with the medications for now, we are looking at the procedure in the not so distant future since she can have these episodes even on the medicine.  Only after the procedure (she was very forward about the fact that this is not a surgery) would she be considered "cured".  Plus although the SVT itself isn't risky, she could be at risk if she were, say, crossing the street and passed out, or passed out while riding a bike - things like that.  And the doctor is pretty sure she was near to passing out on Sunday.  All that said - we should be getting a call in the next day or two with a surgery date.  The doctor thought probably the first or second Monday in June (she only does surgery on Mondays).  In the meantime, Kate cannot have caffeine (including chocolate), is still restricted in her activity, and will be taking the beta blockers to help prevent another episode.

We are tired from the day, and mostly just trying to get some rest from all the excitement.  It is awesome to know that the Lord has had his hand on us all throughout the day.  We are grateful that Kate's heart is OK other than this, and that through out all of this she has never been in any real danger - and that the episode she had on Sunday did not do any damage to her heart at all.  We have much to be thankful for!!  I will let you know when we have a date.  Also - to add a twist, we have an appointment for Chris this Saturday (previously scheduled!) to get a date for his jaw surgery as well.  It looks like we will have a busy summer!!  Thank you for praying!!  

(This is me and Kate at her last birthday party- fun stuff!!)

My Girl.....

Here is our Katie!!  This picture was taken around Christmas time.  Oh how precious she is!!  This post is in response to a new journey she finds herself on - and one we will be traveling with her.  On Sunday, my son came to me to let me know that Katie was crying and said she needed me.  When I got over there, she told me she felt really dizzy and could not feel her legs.  I decided she was tired and over stimulated and told her to lean on me and we would put her in the car where she could rest and get some air.  I made her walk out to the van.  Once I got her in, a friend who had watched us leave and followed me out climbed in after her and started taking her pulse.  Other friends followed and took the boys back into the building, others went after some water, and another went to get a second nurse to check her out.  The second nurse consulted with the first nurse, and both strongly encouraged us to take her straight over to the ER to be checked out.  Dehydration was one possibility, but no matter what - something was not right.

When we got to the ER I sent Mike ahead with the boys to his sister's (we were having lunch with them for his father's birthday), since I assumed they would check her out, maybe at worst give her in IV with fluids, and we would be on our way.  No need to make a fuss, right?  By the time they got her hooked up to the monitors, all the alarms started going off.  Next thing I knew she was being wheeled down to the other side of the ER, they were putting in an IV as fast as they could, and the doctor kept making me talk to him and look at him.  He informed me that in a minute she was going to feel weird, started a fast 3-2-1 countdown, Katie gasped, and all the alarms stopped.  Apparently her heart rate was around 223 - not good.  After the medication (which stops and "resets" your heart) it dropped to 105 and stayed there.  In the meantime, Mike was making his way back and the doctors were in touch with CHOP and talking about transporting her by ambulance to be monitored by their Pediatric Cardiology department.

Praise God we were able to be released to go home.  Her heart rate has stayed "normal", although she is not to exert herself AT ALL until her appointment at CHOP on Wednesday morning at 10.  The diagnosis is SVT, and we are traveling to CHOP to find out the cause.  We have this in our family (both Mike's mother and Uncle have it - they are siblings), and because Mike insisted I tell everyone I came in contact with in the ER, they figured it out pretty quick.  And Kate was simply amazing - it was so clear the Lord was with her.

Thanks for all your prayers!  It's going to be a long day tomorrow in Philly, but we know His hand is on us!  

In memory of my Poppy...

        On Monday morning, we received word that my grandfather had passed away.  He had been sick off and on for a while now, but had recovered more than once from his illnesses.  He was the last of my and Mike's grandparents.  Most of my memories of him are actually in relation to my grand mom - they were quite the couple, and, truth be told, he was never the same after she passed - he really couldn't live without her......  They were both very quick witted and their flying insults followed the Italian way of communication.  She always said he was a pain and she hated him - while smiling the entire time.  And he would "Yeah, yeah, yeah..." right back at her.  THAT'S true love.  : ) This is picture of him and our family in 2010...  

Services are this Monday - please pray for my family both immediate and extended.  This is my mother's father, and they were very close, so pray for her especially during this time.  We will miss him.  Dearly.  

And more in my inbox......

These two posts have come through my dashboard since I posted - wanted to add them to the incredible amount of thoughts swirling through my head!!

“Because the gospel is not just salvation from sin but salvation from self-righteousness, we don’t need to worry about filling every spare second with unrestful duties, even ones we think are in service to God. God desires mercy, not sacrifice (Matt. 9:13). Christ made the sacrifice sufficient.”

— Jared C. Wilson
Gospel Wakefulness
(Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2011), 101
from Of First Importance


And another intriguing set of thoughts and wonderful reflections from Sunday's sermon like this one :


"We are the afraid, the shamed, the lonely, the stubborn, the proud and the wanderers that’s who.  We have hardened hearts as Israel of old and steel ourselves against hope.  And I love Him and have pledged my life to Him, yet this is still often how I approach the Truth given that I might be free."


Can be found over at Abby's Blog, Fan the Flame  - another EXCELLENT read!!

"What have they got that I ain't got?"

Part 1 - written 3/24

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032138/quotes?qt=qt04098Scene quoted not scene pictured...

Cowardly Lion: Courage! What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage! What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist, or the dusky dusk? What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage! What makes the sphinx the seventh wonder? Courage! What makes the dawn come up like thunder? Courage! What makes the Hottentot so hot? What puts the "ape" in apricot? What have they got that I ain't got? 

Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Woodsman: Courage! 

Cowardly Lion: You can say that again!

      Well - we've had quite a couple of weeks.  I don't have a lot of time to post actually - we got caught up in baking and I have 15 minutes until the timer goes off - and, well, I have a lot more to say than I can in that time.  But - in 15 minutes I can do a quick summary and then, maybe, I will be faithful enough to follow through with a little more detail after that.  Right.  OK.

    Just recently came under the conviction that I really have a whole lot of fear.  And not just the "normal" morbid Italian type either (and I mean that with the utmost of respect - being half Italian and all.....) - not just fear of things going wrong.  Fear of things going right.  I actually fear blessing.  And I don't know why.  Don't get me wrong - I have the normal "living in a fallen world" fears.  I am afraid when I watch my son walk to drum lessons by himself now (he's 13) - maybe he will get hit by a car, or worse, hurt by someone else.  Maybe this will be the last time I ever see him.  Which of course gets me to thinking that maybe I should have thought about that when I said "Goodbye" to my husband this morning - maybe he's not coming back either.  And you know where that spiral ends up.  Let's just say that I am very familiar with the phrase paralyzing fear.  It's not a stranger in my mind.  And it's a battle I have to fight in faith - faith that God loves all of them more than I ever could.  That kind of battle, to me, is normal - at least normal-ish.    

          This battle is new ground in my awareness of my lack of faith.  And I am finding it goes much deeper than the "normal" fear I am used to battling.  It's that fear of waiting for the other shoe to drop.  It's a fear that whatever might be going well is just a set up for something going really, really wrong.  It's a facet of a battle I had thought I had already had victory in - the battle of cynicism.  And it turns out it is just as paralyzing as the other kind - but in a different way.  


Part 2 Written 3/27
    You know how faithful God is????  Just two borrowed thoughts for now.  Imagine, my surprise as I sat in church on Sunday and listened to our sermon .  As I listened near the end, sitting there crying and hearing some of these exact phrases coming out in application for a heart that is trusting in performance instead of the finished work of Christ.  Things like waiting for the other shoe to drop.  Things like being paralyzed with fear and weary.  And then, this morning, reading these thoughts from another blog - again tying in insecurity and fear to trust in our performance (definitely worth a read!!).  He is faithful to answer, isn't He?  I said this was new ground - but He was already at work.  Still reeling from the love He has for me - will get more into detail maybe later.  For now - that battles is still very much on in my life this week - and I am still fighting and "in the midst" - and it feels more and more intense as I try to cling to truth instead of fighting the "old" way.  Prayers are appreciated - but even more than that - to be able to sing to Him, tears streaming down my face Sunday "I Will Sing of MY REDEEMER" - It is FINISHED!!!  Praise the Lord!

  

The MOST delightful Bed and Breakfast ANYWHERE!!!

This past weekend we had an amazing opportunity.  We were invited to spend the weekend in a beautiful bed and breakfast down in Souderton, PA.  Our schedule only allowed us to stay for Saturday night, but I think, once you see where we were, you can understand what an amazing opportunity it really was!

Here is the view from the front....

It was in one of those farm house apartments..... this was our view from the dining room....

"Our" room for the evening.....

Our own private bath.....

The Parlor...

The kitchen - let me tell you - this is where magic happens!!

Like 3 course breakfasts (YUP - those cinnamon rolls are homemade!!)

 lunch that keeps on coming, "Mennonite Supper" and unique desserts like "Finger Jello"....

And MY personal Favorite - Brownie Triffle.....

 Not only can the innkeeper cook - she is a crafter of the highest caliber - and, for fun, made us these wonderfully CUTE tags for our coffee mugs....

Okay - maybe it wasn't just for fun.  Maybe we have had "issues" with trying to sort out coffee mugs before....  

So - jealous yet?  

Here is the BEST part of the whole weekend.....

We had the opportunity to spend the weekend with THESE people...

And their parents (who have no recent pictures I could find to lift off of the blog...... Hint hint!!!)

This is the time for full disclosure.  My friend, Bevy, has always wanted to run a bed and breakfast.  This absolutely top of the line establishment we stayed in was their home.  "Our" room was theirs - and they gave it up to serve us.  Our church had a function the evening before, and they "put us up" to cut back on our travel time and expense - at no small sacrifice to themselves.  They literally gave up their own bed for us.  Who does that?

A while back, I was doing a series of posts on Koinonia.  It is community in it's highest form.  It requires sacrifice in it's truest sense.  It is banding together in a state of "doing" not a state of "being".  A phrase we use commonly at our church is "doing life together"- this is the essence of koinonia.   This family "put us up", fed us, and in a hundred other ways sacrificed for us over this last weekend - and beyond that?  Worked through some heart issues with us.  Followed up with us in some areas of accountability they are holding us to.  Got comfortable being uncomfortable with us.  And the result - I experienced God through them.  And now I get to embarrass them publicly!  Scott and Bevy - thank you.  Thank you for all you have been to us.  Thank you for your example, your love, care, and sacrifice.  Wish there was a stronger word than thanks!  Love you and your family - and look forward to our next adventure!

Oh do we have MUCH to learn.....

That's all for now!  : )