Growing Inside

Friday, July 17, 2009

Urgent Prayers Needed for Rudi

Rudi has a collapsed lung, and the doctors have inserted a tube to reinflate it. The blood clot in his leg is now traveling to his lungs. So he is in challenging shape right now and needing HUGE prayers and love sent his way. Thank you for holding him in your hearts.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Double Rainbow

The double rainbow shining over Rudi yesterday...

The love and prayers you are sending to Rudi are really helping him and his family. Rudi continues to make progress. Each day he needs less oxygen from his ventilator, and all of his vitals are normal. His temperature went down to normal too, and he no longer needs blood pressure medication. His breathing is continuing to improve. He is still being sedated, though less than before, because of the ventilator tube - and his awareness is limited. He sometimes opens his eyes, and his amazing wife Janie thought he recognized her this morning. He has responded to some of the doctor's questions by nodding.

Rudi's progress is projected to be steady over the next several weeks. They will gradually wean him from the oxygen, ventilator tube and sedation. This means that he is likely to be in the ICU for 1-2 more weeks, possibly longer. Please keep your prayers, love and good thoughts coming. Thank you!

Makenzie Update

Makenzie's xray was negative.
She is doing okay.
Reflux, they say.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

More Prayers for Makenzie

Please continue to pray for Baby Makenzie.
Her oxygen level keeps dropping so they are getting ready to do an xray.
They think she's getting an infection.
Thank you.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Connection

A truly amazing connection with Gannet Girl...

This Is Love

by Rumi

This is love:
To fly toward a secret sky, to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment.
First to let go of life.
Finally, to take a step without feet.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Update on Me

I have been a nail biter since I was about 4 years old.
I think I took up this nasty yet incredibly comforting habit by watching my mom bite her nails.
I don't bite them down to the skins, and I've never taken to biting the skins themselves.
But I definitely bite them, and they rarely get very long.

On and off - mostly off - for the last 34 years, I have stopped chewing on my nails.
Rarely for very long. I think the longest I've gone was about a year.
I resumed the habit around the time Tikva was born,
Appreciating that God had given me these really useful things to chew on that would always grow back,
Giving me endless hours of comfort and something fidgety to do during stressful times.
I swear that biting my nails has helped to keep me calm MANY times in my life.

A few months ago, I looked down at my hands and thought, "My nails look like crap, and my fingers look stubby."
So for the past two months or so, I've managed to stop biting my nails.
Sort of... occasionally, usually when I'm bored or distracted, I will chew one down a bit, then file it round to make it fit with the rest.
But all in all, my nails are long now, and look much better than when I chew them.

The inside of my lips, however, is faring less well than my nails.

Hey, something's gotta give...
There's a lot going on right now.
And as I explain to Dahlia when she complains that being a kid is no fun,
Being grown up is no walk in the park.

Love, Thoughts and Prayers (Updated 5/12/09)

If you scroll down to the very bottom of this page, you'll find a list of people in need of loving thoughts and prayers of hope. I will note the date of the latest update here. Please visit this section regularly and share your love and hope.

The most recently updated or added requests will go at the top, but all of them are important, so please scroll down to see them all.

In the words of my sweet husband, "We are all made of the same stuff as sunshine," and we are all one, in this together. Thank you for extending your hearts in infinite ways.

You'll notice that some people I had listed before are no longer here. This is because I have added the links to their blogs under "Words About Loving, Losing and Healing" so you can check in with them directly. Or it's because they no longer need our prayers.

Special People Needing Special Prayers: Thank you for holding them in your hearts.

"Faith is not knowledge of what the Mystery of the Universe is, but the conviction that there is a mystery and that it is greater than us." (Rabbi David Wolfe-Blank)
5/12: Ann's spirit left her body on May 9, 2009. Thank you for holding her in your heart, and for your continued prayers for her husband and daughter.
5/6: Please hold Dana-Lee in your prayers. She has recently been diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma and has a big journey ahead. She is a mighty being filled with love.
4/22: Christabel's cancer is in remission! Thank you so much for your love and prayers.
4/22: Little Desmond Alfredo came home recently after spending his first month in the hospital. He is doing great and breathing on his own.
4/22: Little Carly is back home after a very long and very successful surgery that removed the entire tumor from her brain. She still has a lot of healing to do, so keep that love and those prayers coming.
3/29: Please send your love and prayers to this little one who is really needing them right now: http://maddiegorman.wordpress.com/
3/20: Alesia's sweet dog Cocoa is back home and seems to be doing well after her surgery. They are awaiting the results of what was found by the surgeons.
2/11: Please hold Stacy Raye and her partner Heather Mitchell in your hearts. A few weeks and many doctors visits ago, Stacy started experiencing excruciating pain in her right arm, and has been diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the lung (non-smokers lung cancer) and it has metastasized to her arm, neck & brain. Medically, everything has moved extremely quickly. She had cardiac surgery last week and is currently in the hospital awaiting another surgery. Please carry 48 year old Stacy in your thoughts, especially over these next few weeks as she undergoes various surgeries and begins radiation and chemotherapy treatments. Stacy is a huge lover of people and music and traveling and life. A website for more information is at: http://www.lotsahelpinghands.com/c/611315/
2/11: Please hold Rabbi Michael Lerner in your hearts tomorrow (2/12) as he has surgery related to his recent diagnosis of lung cancer (he is a non-smoker). Lerner is a leader in the Jewish Renewal movement here in San Francisco and worldwide.
1/27 Update: The doctors recently found cancer in Toney's liver and reproductive organs. They are going to do nothing for 3 months and then have another CT scan to see if there is any growth. There is a good chance it can be very slow growing, which is what we are praying for at this point. The type of cancer he has is untreatable. It is very rare and his family does not have all the answers yet. Because of where the cancer is they cannot do radiation because of the damage it would cause to his internal organs. So for now, he and his family live life each day with hope for the future. Thanks for all of the prayers. Please keep them coming. Toney and Kat are amazing people to say the least.
1/27: Please pray for little Arlie Mae, who was born just a few months ago. Arlie will be having open heart surgery on Wednesday, the 28th to repair the two holes in her heart. On 1/24 she was admitted to UCSF to keep her hydrated and fed, since she has not been eating enough. Please visualize her well, healed, and eating normally after a successful surgery. Arlie Mae's family is confident that the surgery will go perfectly, as the surgeon there is amazing...she is in the BEST hands. Send as many prayers, light, love, and healing energy as you have for her, she and her family - Sarah and Kevin - need it! Thank you.
1/26: A precious eight year old girl named Sophia is in need of our love and prayers. She was born with a hard to diagnose condition that is somewhat similar to cerebral palsy. In the past year, her health has been especially challenged and now she is in the hospital again. She continues to have more frequent spells where she can't breathe as well as seizures that go with it. They are trying to figure out if the trachial malatia (Tikva also had malatia) is causing the seizures or vice versa. She may be in for a couple of weeks while they do things to her. They are trying to decide also whether or not to give her a permanent tracheostomy so that she can breathe. She already has a stomach tube and is eight years old and weighs about 25 pounds. In spite of it all, she is an angel. She is cheerful and has the most impish smile. Please pray for Sophia's continued strength and good spirit, for her mom Celia, her dad, and Sophia's twin sister and older brother. Thank you.
Jeanette is courageously facing pancreatic cancer and bi-weekly chemotherapy treatments. Please add her and her family to your prayers. She is a very special and loving woman who has spent her life sharing her love and care with others.
PEOPLE WE'VE PRAYED FOR IN THE PAST: Korrine Croghan (returned to God's arms); Mary Kay (benign ovarian tumor); Richard Katz (successful bypass surgery); Baby Harper (at home and doing well with her family); Char (now held by angels); Christabel (whose cancer went into remission); Desmond (who is home with his family and is breathing on his own); sweet Ann (who left our us peacefully on May 9, 2009).