Saturday Update at 8:15 pm CT
Heather has had a great day. She has only had one therapy today which was Occupational therapy and basically all they did was manipulate her right arm. The weather has been kinda crazy down South lately which has prevented folks from being able to visit. However, she has had visitors the past two days. The days get long here, so it is a nice pick me up for her when others can come and see her. Bro. and Mrs. Hicks, who attend our Church in Hixson, TN were on their way back from a funeral of a family member in Illinois and stopped by to see us. We ordered food out and went downstairs and had a picnic together in the cafeteria. It was a real blessing to me and to Heather as well!! Earlier I was reading through some of the old posts from 2013 when Heather had her left hip replaced. It brought back memories of a very stressful time. It seemed like what could go wrong, did go wrong. We didn't have a calm or a peace during that time because we were so afraid that Heather was going to lock into seizures around the clock, and it seemed as if no one was listening to us. So, she eventually did lock into status epilepticus or nonstop-able seizures (over 100 seizures per day for 14 days.) I can't explain to you how thankful we are, and how blessed we feel, to know that her seizures are gone! We no longer have that fear that we can't stop them, because they are no longer a threat, and Praise the Lord, the Rasmussen's disease is gone as well. Through the years, we have had to learn to quit trying to figure out what the Lord may be wanting to do at times with Heather's illness. So, instead of trying to figure out what we thought God was thinking, we began trying to hear His voice through each phase of the trial. When we gave our little baby back to the Lord in the hospital room over thirty years ago for the Lord to take her life and use it for Him, we really had no knowledge of what that meant. We never dreamed that it would be His will for Heather to go through the fire of suffering. I've thought a lot recently about others we may have studied in History, such as a Fanny Crosby. I can't imagine what these individuals had to overcome especially in a day when medical knowledge was so limited. What I do believe is that our Lord has given Heather and others that have gone through such great trials, a special grace, strength, courage, bravery, desire and power to be able to overcome their trials with His joy. If you were able to watch Heather's video as she thanks each of you for your prayers, you see a little bit of her ability to be able to make you feel loved as this very confident, young woman, (who now only has one side of her brain) smiles and thanks you for praying for her, and then she remembers to thank the Lord that she hasn't had any seizures. This story is an incredible story of faith, bravery, courage and grace and each day the Lord brings someone new into the story to help us, or for us to help them. Someone asked are you concerned about the paralysis in the right arm and leg, and we would have to say, no. We believe the paralysis is only a temporary problem. We believe our Heather, who hasn't been able to walk freely in years and years, is going to walk again, and we believe it will be sooner than later. There is still so much more that the Lord wants to do with her life. Just as the doctor was confident that he was able to divide the diseased hemisphere from the healthy hemisphere, and stop the seizures; we are confident that the Lord still has greater plans for Heather's life. This isn't the end because the seizures are gone, this is only the beginning. We cannot tell you how many people have sent notes, or emails or comments that the Lord has used Heather's story to help them to be a better witness to folks, or that they have been able to accept their own illness or problem, or to say that their faith has been restored, etc... I don't know about you, but I really needed to see God at work in performing current day Miracles, and we are all getting to see Him at work. As the song goes, "I was sick in my body, I could not get well... the doctors had told me, all they could tell; then the Great Physician, came by my way, Oh, I know the Lord is good!" And He is good! He was good when there were seizures, and He is good now that the seizures are gone, and in case there were still seizures, He would still be good!
"For thou are great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone."
Psalm 86:10
The picture above was taken today with Bro. & Mrs. Hicks from our Church.
