Thank You – An Open Letter to the Body of Christ all over the world

We have had the awesome and humbling experience of watching Christ be glorified through His church this week and want to use this, our very first blog post on Give Me Your Heart, to hopefully glorify Him even more by proclaiming His great, wondrous, unfathomable mercy.

On Monday afternoon, Dalton found Michaela face first on the floor next to the bed where she had been napping.  She had vomited and was awake but was lethargic and unresponsive.  We called Clint to come home and spent the next couple of hours praying for direction and treating her for the stomach flu.  She was in her Daddy’s arms when he said her heartbeat was getting rapid and to get a bowl before she threw up.  In the next seconds she began to have the first seizure that we have witnessed.  It was only then we realized that she had had a seizure during her nap.  We got her to our local emergency room where she was stabilized and life flighted to Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh.  While at Children’s she underwent testing that showed she is prone to seizures but the neurologists were unable to pinpoint a cause.  She began a seizure medication on Tuesday evening and today at noon she was discharged and we were able to bring her home to her very relieved and excited siblings.

We saw God work many, many miracles in the last 48 hours.  Our young friend Chase helped his mama bring us supper tonight and he said, “We’ve been praying for you together like every single night.”  We love that!  We know that hundreds of you have joined Chase in his prayers the last two days and especially in the evenings as a family.  God graciously showed us just a few of the ways He answered those prayers and we want to share them here so that tonight when you gather with your families you can praise Him for these things.

  • Michaela was able to get off of her back, out of bed, and was face down on the floor after her initial seizure.  She did not hurt herself or choke on her vomit.
  • Our vehicle was in the shop and our friends offered us the use of their van while they are on vacation this week.  The mom said, “This van belongs to the Body of Christ.  It will just sit in our garage and we want it to be used.  Take it.”  Clint drove us in that van to the ER, our women’s ministry leader drove me to Pittsburgh in it and Clint brought us home safely in it.
  • Michaela was given Ativan when we arrived at the ER and was in critical condition. She would not respond to anyone.  The flight team assessed her and called the pediatric neurologists for consult; they would have to intubate before flight if she did not become responsive.  As the men began to rearrange her oxygen mask to begin the procedure she became irritated and barely said, “Mama”.  They got her and her daddy on that chopper without further intervention or delay.
  • For whatever reason, Michaela’s second seizure would not stop on its own necessitating the Ativan.  If we had been at our farm in MO it would have taken 20 minutes to reach the nearest hospital .  Our rental house here in PA is three minutes from the hospital.
  • This year our family has been memorizing the book of James.  Clint and I hovered over her in the ER quoting the first three chapters over and over in her ear and singing Scripture songs.  We were at peace because God caused us to be in perfect peace.  “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”  James 1:2-3  A young woman working in the room approached us in a quiet moment and confessed she wanted to pray with us but thought she would cry.  We were able to share with her.  Please pray for her that she would be bold in her faith and used mightily for God as she ministers to families in the ER.
  • The women of our church were at summer Bible study when our Pastor called them about Michaela.  That call was made as she arrived in the first ER.  An entire church of dedicated prayer warriors were already gathered together and they stormed the gate before any prayer chains were even started.
  • Prayer chains were started literally all over the world.  From an Air Force base in New Mexico to missionary families in Asia people we will not meet until heaven were praying for our family.  The best part?  This happens every day because God is so great and marvelous.
  • When the helicopter landed Michaela was taken inside and immediately began talking to Clint.
  • A former member of our church who is a pediatric nurse at Children’s received the prayer email and came to the hospital with our Pastor’s wife.  She was able to help us ask questions.
  • During the first night Margie slept in bed with Michaela.  Michaela sucks her thumb and plays with her neck to go to sleep.  Due to her iv, she couldn’t bend her arm to touch her neck.  The next best thing was to play with mom’s face.  Needless to say it was a challenge for mom!  After several hours she finally conked out and mom was able to sleep for a few hours.  All of the prayer through the night definitely brought patience.
  • The MRI was scheduled for late in the afternoon on Tuesday and Michaela could not eat or drink because she had to be sedated.  We were told the MRI would probably not even happen on Tuesday and she wouldn’t get to eat again on Wednesday.  In answer to all of your prayers they surprised us and came at 3:00 on Tuesday.  Her MRI was completed and she was back in her room for supper by 8:00.
  • The EEG was abnormal on the right side of her brain which coincided with the fact that her seizure was contained to the left side of her body.  The neuro team prepared us for the possibility that her seizures were being caused by something structurally abnormal in her brain but the MRI was completely clear.
  • She qualified for the safest seizure medication available.  On Tuesday evening they started a dose in her iv and told us to expect some behavioral difficulties as a side effect.  She was asleep before 10:30 and didn’t wake up until almost 8:00 the next morning.  We always characterize her personality as “sunshine” and so far this medicine has not changed her one bit.
  • The entire time we were gone a good friend coordinated people we trusted and love to come and stay at our home with our children.  Others brought food and we have meals being delivered through Saturday.
  • Michaela is officially diagnosed with epilepsy but that is constantly going to be reevaluated and the initial outlook is great that she will outgrow her propensity to seizures.  If not, we know God has her in the palm of His gracious hand and will use epilepsy for her good and His glory.

While in the hospital we read Psalm 28.  If you choose, please read it tonight with your families.  In the first few verses the Psalmist petitions God to hear him when he cries for help but just a few verses later he blesses the Lord because He has heard his prayer.  He makes it plain that He believes the Lord has heard his prayer and acted on his behalf even before he has finished praying or seen any evidence of God’s intervention.  We hope you understand and see from our list above that the Lord acted on our behalf even before the emergency situation began.  Praise Him!  In the last two verses of Psalm 28 the Psalmist switches from blessing God because of what He has done for him and he begins to pray for God’s people.  We echo those last two verses and we will be praying them tonight as a family for all of you,  God’s people who have faithfully prayed for our family; some of you the last 48 hours and some of you for as long as we can remember.

Thank you for loving us,
Clint and Margie

PS For those who do not know us, Michaela is the preschooler in the pictures here on our site.  We hope you can see the sunshine in her eyes!  She sings on the cd as well and it melts our hearts every time we hear it.  We are so thankful for her life!!  Thank you again for your continued prayers for her health and also for children around the world who need medical interventions they will only receive because of faithful prayer and giving on the behalf of the body of Christ.  God bless you and your family and may He be glorified in all we say and do.

Share
9 Responses to Thank You – An Open Letter to the Body of Christ all over the world

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *