This Friday is Nick’s golf tourney! Tomorrow (Monday) is the deadline for last minute sponsors and gifts for the raffle/auction and there’s still room for more golfers. Get all the info here...
A message from Lisa, Nick’s mom:
Do you remember the pictures of my son lying in the PICU with a machine breathing for him and 19 different tubes going in and out of him? (see that photo) Do you remember what your thoughts were?
Did you have the faith of a mustard seed or did you feel like the disciples who were told by Jesus to seat the crowd of 5000 men, women and children and then feed them from the 5 loaves and 2 fish (Matt. 14:13-21)?
No way, God! Are You going to pull this one off?!
Then immediately after he performed that miracle he tests their faith again. He takes them out on this boat and Jesus goes to pray by himself. When he gets back, the boat has drifted out and the wind and waves are crashing all around. So instead of waiting for them to come to him, he takes off walking on the water toward them! They freak and say it is a ghost.
He says "Take courage! It is
Wow, he really socked it to them that day! So, when they couldn't - or didn't believe - he still came through for them. At least that is how I view it.
But what if they would have run out of food or if the waves would have knocked Jesus over? Would I still see it that way? Would their faith still have grown from those experiences?
God has been the Great Physician these past 8 months for Nick - I can't see it any other way. Yet I have this one area of my life that I am just out on that boat with the waves and wind feeling like they are going to swallow me. And even though I know firsthand the works of my God, I struggle and question with what I sometimes see as the hypocrisy of my faith. Can I step out and grab hold of His Mighty Hand once again even if the ending doesn't turn out the way I want it to? If you feel so inclined, please pray for His strength and discernment in my life.
I pray that strength for my children also, as they continue to come out of the shell-shock of this experience with their brother and find a place in their lives to continue building a solid faith.
I pray for Nicholas, too. We had been dealing with this for a couple months when he woke up from his coma. I will never forget him asking me how long he was "gone for." When I told him 2 months, he said, "That's weird." It seems like he keeps trying to catch up with where he has been and is now.
So where is Nick in his recovery?
Well, Oct. 30th he could stand for 3 minutes unassisted. It took a lot of concentration to stay balanced.
On Nov. 20th he started the hyperbaric oxygen treatments - he has had 30 treatments and when I tested him the other day (it was 8 weeks since his last test), he stood for 16 minutes! He was rock steady, with little thought to the task. The only reason he fell over was because his little brother tackled him!
He uses his walker for half to 3/4 of a day and can do several pushups. The tremors in his hands are pretty obsolete too. In spite of all this progress, he is not as confident as he was before that he will walk. (The tortoise is taking longer than he would like to cross the finish line.) Pray his doubts will be wiped away.
This week is the golf tournament for Nick. Thank you to all of our angels that are working so hard to make this happen.
Thank you for walking this journey with us in 2007 and may we all keep our eyes on Him and not our circumstances in 2008.
Love you all,
Lisa
6 comments:
wow nick im sitting here in the office and me and mrs. Dee Dee are amazed at how well you are doing! and very proud that you pulled through!!! i see you at school and i wanted to cry because i knew that only a mirical would pull you through...and i prayed everynight and everyday that would be ok and you were! your progress looked great in your pictures! everyone at lfcs is sooo PROUD! you fought through a long battle and you won!
love always
mrs.Dee Dee & cara and zack!
<3
PRAISE GOD!! I read about you on the Covenant Newswire, and I am blown away by the faithfulness of our great God. I have a 12-year-old son and I can't imagine what you all have been through, but I am so excited to see the work of God in your lives and the power of his healing. Grace and peace to you, and continued recovery.
Have peace Lisa. I read your story on the Covenant website. Though not life-threatening our 15 year old son faced major surgery this past fall for a serious bone condition. Isn’t it amazing to look back at where it all started? All the questions, and doubts,--Why did this happen? How are we going to manage this? Financially? Logistically? What will this set back mean for our child? Will it be okay? What are we going to do? And everyday, God measured out how much, patience, support, and direction I would need to handle that days questions, forms, phone calls, logistics, and range of emotions. So many prayers from so many. Everyday, we would check more and more questions, and doubts off of the list. When surgery day came and we were all ready, I thought I had done everything I could do. The right doctor, the right treatment, the right hospital, the right time, the right way. I thought my job was done and now it was in God’s hands. When Kyle was in surgery, I was in deep prayer. And God sort of bonked me on the head, and said, “You do know I brought you this far, so do not worry anymore where we will end up!” And then I looked back at the whole chunk of time worrying and planning, and preparing, and I realized though our miracle wasn’t some instantaneous ‘boom!’ like we may think they ought to be, I was experiencing a miracle nonetheless. I had lists and lists of worries, from some real biggies like, Is my son going to be crippled? to What car should we drive the 3 hours to the hospital that week? And all of them were taken care of. Everything fell into place eventually, and brought us to the point of restoration and healing. This really saw me through his first two weeks of recovery which were physically brutal, and emotionally challenging. I don’t know how God is so patient with me? I still worry—but my worries are cast off to Him much quicker than before this experience. We share a first-hand assurance that God shifts circumstances around, and creates peace and hope in the midst of whatever you are going through, and looking back, we can look forward and face challenges with a peace that passes all understanding. Look forward in peace!
K. Boersma
Harbert Community Church
Harbert, Michigan
DEAR NICK AND HIS FAMILY,
I TOO, HAVE JUST READ YOUR STORY ON THE COVENANT NEWSWWIRE. IN 1997I SUFFERED AN AMPUTATION OF BELOW THE KNEE, LEFT LEG 2/15/97 I WAS 41YEARS AT THE TIME.- I AM A BRITTLE TYPE 1 DIABETIC, AND HAVE BEEN SINCE I WAS 5 YRS OF AGE. ANYWAY 2 DAYS AFTER THE AMPUTATION I SUFERED A STROKE WHILE UNDERGOING A DYALASIS TREATMENT, IN MY HOSPITAL ROOM, AT SWEDISH COVENANT HOSPITAL - CHICAGO. BUT PRAISE THE LORD- THE STROKE DR. WAS RIGHT OUTSIDE MY ROOM AT THE NURSES STATION. IT IS HARD TO BELIVE THAT IT'S NOW COMING UP ON THE 11 TH ANNIVERSARY, OF THAT LONG YEAR! I STARTED OFF AT SWEDISH 11/22/79- I HAD GONE THERE AFTER TEACHING ART AT ONE OF MY SCHOOLS- TO MEET A DIABETIC EDUCATOR- TO LEARN ABOUT INSULIN PUMPS. SHE TOOK ONE LOOK AT ME- CALLED MY DR., WHO ADMITTED ME RIGHT AWAY- MY KIDNEYS HAD FAILED, SO BY 12/6/96-I HAD AN INSULIN PUMP, AND A GRAFT INSERTED IN MY LEFT ARM-TO DO DYALASIS TREATMENTS.
I WAS RELEASED BEFORE CHRISTMAS, THAT YEAR. BUT BY 2/7/79, MY KIDNEYS WERE POISIONING MY BODY- THUS THE BELOW THE KNEE AMPUTATION, AND I WAS PUT ON THE KIDNEY DONOR LIST IN IL.
- ANOTHER MIRACLE- THE STROKE ONLY AFFECTED MY LEFT SIDE- AND I WAS UP WALKING , WITH ONLY ASINGLE CANE , BY 9/29/01 ( MY SISTER'S BIRTHDAY, AND A COUSIN'S WEDDING DAY! YES IT TOOK A LONG TIME, LOTS OF PRAYERS, A STRONG FAITH, AND DETERMINATION, WITH COUNTLESS PT SESSIONS (BOTH IN CHCAGO, AND MY HOME TOWN OF S. BRNE, IN! BUT THE LORD IS GREAT, AND GOOD! I STILL WALK WITH MY SINGLE CANE-BUT AM HAPPY THAT I CAN GET AROUND, WITH IT AND A PROSW5HIC LOWER LEFT LEG! IN '97 I BASICALLY WAS IN SWEDISH COVENANT HOSPITAL FROM 2/7/79- LATE JULY OF THAT YEAR- WHEN I WAS RELEASED IN JULY I WENT TO MY THEN HOME IN CHICAGO-TWO DAYS LATER I DEVELOPED A HIGH FEVER, SO HAD TOBE READDMITTED, FOR 2 MORE WEEKS, THE FALL OF THAT YEAR I HAD TO BE READDMITTED SEVERAL TIMES, BECAUSE OF MY GRAFT BECOMING NON-FUNCTIONAL- THUS IT HAD TO BE REPAIRED. THANKFULLY THOSE TRIPS BECAME OVER NIGHT TRIPS. DEC.'79I DIDN'T PASS MY HEART CATHERIZATION TEST, WHICH WAS A REQUIREMENT FOR A KIDNEY TRANSPLANT.- WHICH MANY PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD WERE PRAYING FOR ME TO RECEIVE!
THEN THE LORD PROVIDED ANOTHER ONE OF HIS MIRACLES!
THE DIETITION AT SWEDISH CALLED ME UP ONE EVENING AUG.97- TO CHECK ON HOW I WAS DOING- SHE ASKED ME IF THERE WAS ANYTHING I NEEDED- I TOLD HER, WITHOUT REALLY TTHINKING ABOUT IT, THAT I NEEDED A KINDEY! SHE RESPONDED BY SAYING I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT IT, AND I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE YOU ONE OF MINE-WHAT DO I NEED TO DO?
I HANDED THE PHONE TO MY MOTHER, WHO WAS, A LONG WITH MY DAD (2 OF MY BIGGEST CHEERLEADERS) LIVING WITH ME IN CHICAGO, AT THE TIME.
MOM TOLD MARY (THE DIETATION) WHO TO CONTACT ABOUT THE KIDNEY DONATION - SHE HAD TO BE TESTED TO SEE IF SHE WAS A MATCH-SHE WAS HALLELUYA!
SO MY KIDNEY TRANSPLANT WAS SECHEDULED FOR 12/18/98! WHAT A BLESSED CHRISTMAS!
I HAVE TESTED THE LORD IN MANY WAYS THROUGHOUT MY LIFE. BUT HE IS ALWAYS FAITHFUL!
TO FINISH THE RST OF MY VERY LONG STORY - THE DR., WHOM DID MY TRANSPLAT- WAS INTERESTED IN HELPING DIABETICS- SO ON 1/7/00 HE DID THE FIRST OF A PANCREATIC ISLETS TRANSFUSSION IWAS OFF MY INSULIN PUMP, BY APRIL, THEN HE DECIDED I NEEDED ANOTHER ONE SO 3/9/0-I HAD MY LAST ONE! I STILL HAVE TO TAKE A SMALL AMOUNT OF INSULIN, BUT THE AMOUNT HAS BEEN GREATLY REDUCED! - THE LORD HAS BEEN SOOOOOOO GOOD TO ME!
I KNOW THIS HAS BEEN A VERY LONG COMMENT- THERE SOME THINGS I'VE LEFT OUT, BUT I'VE WITTEN MORE THAN ENOUGH!
I JUWT WAN EACH, AND ALL OF YOU TO KNOW, THAT I'M THINKING OF YOU AND KEEPINGG YOUIN MY PRAYERS - KEEP WORKING HARD NICK- IT MAY SEEM STRENIOUS, AND YOU MAY FEEL LIKE GIVING UP AT TIMES, BUT THE LORD IS ALWAYS WITH YOU IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCE-JUST CALL UPON HIM HE IS THERE!
A FELLOW BELIEVER AND FRIEND WITH BEST WISHES,
MARTHA A. MELANDER -1317 E.WAYNE ST. SOUTH, SOUTH BEND, IN 46615-1044 ( martlan@sbcglobal.net)
nick its ashley..i am stting on my computer seeing how muchh better you have gotten.i makes my so happy.it remeinds me of yesterday when i was wrighting homeworkkk on the board and you were trying to pull my hair lol.its soo fun having you in my class all of my prayters and my familys prayers have came true.
you are much better now and i want it to always stay that wayyy
Nick,
It's been a long hard road for all of you, but you are getting there and you will be whole and a powerhouse on the outside just like on the inside. Way to Go!
Don't forget this meditative exercise: wash over purple from one side and green from the other. It's the colors of healing and manifestation...Your spirit already knows!
Stay strong and Happy!
Love,
Kathi Matronia from Ohio
indirectly related to Bev Kenny
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