The Promise...

Well as you may know, the last few months have been very interesting! And this first post is to get you get you caught up to speed... just in case you forgot to fasten your "5-point safety harness" or "full-face mask, helmet, riding jacket and boots"! And just as a side note...you may want to now, as you journey with us!

About two months ago, the Lord laid it clearly on Kelly and my heart that a move was coming! And at first, our response was..."are you kidding? We are three months pregnant with our third, we just came through a miracle with the motorcycle accident, we are not yet transitioned fully into my role with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, and you are asking us to move?" But as we drew close to Him, He laid the desire on our heart to trust Him, and yield to the Spirit's prompting to put our house on the market and walk by faith, not by sight! He gave us the scripture reference of Joshua 4, where Joshua and the Israelite Nation stood at the bank of the flooded, Jordan River with the promise of a miracle on the other side! And even though there were so many reasons that this world and the ways of man told us it was not the "right time", and that there was no way the waters could part (not having or even knowing of the home we were moving too, the declining market in Western PA/Pittsburgh, our economic status, etc.) ...we got our feet wet and signed the papers!
So...the house "officially" went on the market Monday, June 15th with the first showing scheduled for 8am. And now...the parting of the waters - are you ready for this? As I was preparing to speak at Westminster College that morning for the Rotary Youth Leadership Conference (RYLA), I got a txt/email message at 11am that an offer had been made on our home for more than the asking price! 3 hours on the market...that's it! Now - tell me how awesome our God is! When He moves...He Moves!
So over the last three weeks, we have been moving forward with the appraisal/closing/moving/home inspection repairs and getting everything lined up to close July 24! Now the crazy thing about all of this...and now looking back, not so crazy at all...is that we could not find a home to move into. We spent endless hours searching the internet, networking with our friends, family and community, taking exhausting afternoon/Sunday drives looking for the "one", and even praying through a huge move to Charlotte, NC - which is a place where both Kel and I would love to live! An hour and half from the beach - hello!!!!!
So here we are two weeks out - and truly have no place to move in to! But over this past weekend, my mom and dad sat down with us to have a "realistic/in case of emergency" conversation about temporally moving into their home on the farm, where my dad grew up outside of Dayton, PA, if nothing else opened up. But that is not the reason for this blog or the end of the story, as many of you know...
And so as the house search and moving process continues - but the scripture reference changed! There began to be elements/situations/experiences that were "waves" over the last two weeks as we walked on water! And that is when the wise counsel came from a dear brother in Christ...his text message read: "When you are walking on water - all eyes on Jesus!" We were no longer at the Jordan River, but Christ had called us out of the boat and we were walking on water - and the storm was raging! Waves, wind, thunder - the whole deal...and it was time to re-fix our eyes on Jesus, and man He reached down and grabbed us up out of the water, and into His arms and began preparing us for what came next!
This past Tuesday we headed into Magee Women's Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA to have our routine ultrasound at 20 weeks, and to hopefully find out what we were having! I know, I know...you who like surprises are crazy! We are two "first-borns", with two already, and we needed to get planned up! And yet again...God reminded us that when walking on water - His plans only, and not ours! As we gazed in amazement at the ultrasound of our baby boy - we knew something just wasn't right as the nurse studied Jackson Douglas' heart! (yes, Jackson is his name - which we have known for many months now, and there is no correlation with Michael Jackson's death, even though I am a huge Thriller fan!) Our concerns were confirmed as the nurse retrieved Dr. Speers to take a closer look - and then the news came! The ultrasound showed a heart defect with the left side regurgitating the blood between chambers, with the doctor's unsure about normal development of the aorta and the severity of his condition.
Well, yesterday - Thursday, July 9, 2009 - after an echo cardiogram, Tuesday's findings were confirmed. Jackson has a very severe heart defect. The leading pediatric cardiologist, Dr. Sherman, shared that on a scale of 0 to 5, 0 being normal, Jackson's condition is a 5. He has aortic stenosis, where the aorta is so thick that the blood is unable to pass through the aortic valve out of the left ventricle, causing pressure to build on the left side of the heart, enlarging it severely and not allowing it to pump/contract/function. Within the next couple of weeks - the left side of Jackson's heart will collapse and form what is called "hypoplastic left heart syndrome". This defect is fatal condition if there we would choose not to intervene

Our first option is the "natural course of action" - meaning Kelly would carry Jackson full term, deliver around the beginning of December, and Jackson would live for only 2-3 days. He is currently developing normally, besides the heart defect, being right heart dependent in the womb, and has an awesome assist partner in Kelly - supplying all the blood and oxygen he needs to develop.

Our second option - which is not an option at all for us - is terminate the pregnancy now.

Our third option - is to begin a series of surgies upon delivery to by pass the left ventricle and re-route the blood to the lungs and body. This option would require a surgery immediately upon delivery, another at 2-3 months, yet another at 2-3 years, and then most likely a full heart transplant by the age of 30.

Our fourth option - is an experimental surgery, that has only ever been attempted once in the history of Pittsburgh's Children's Hospital, which is an in-utero procedure where a highly skilled team of doctors would go through Kelly's uterus with a needle, into Jackson's chest, into his heart, then into his aorta (which is currently about the width of a dime), inflate a balloon-like device to "in theory" stretch the aorta and "hopefully" allow the blood to begin flowing out of the left ventricle and into the aorta. This procedure would have to be done within the next couple of weeks - IF the results of the Amnio come back showing no genetic/chromosomal defects. We should know the results of the Amnio late today or on Monday.

Obviously our world has been rocked! And the only way we are not curled up in a corner...is because Christ is holding us in the palm of his hands! The promise of Psalm 29:11 - is that He will give us His Strength and His Peace in the midst of this storm! He is our Rock, He is our Salvation, He is our Hope, Joy and Peace - and we stand firm that all things are possible through Christ! Which leads me to option 5! Supernatural, divine, miraculous healing! God is the one who created Jackson, cell by cell, and He knows/formed/shaped his heart - and can heal is heart in a heart beat! And yes - the pun was intended!! God is larger than this storm, and He is in every detail!

But we need your help! We need your prayers right now! It was Mr. Billy Graham that taught me that we have an awesome privilege, responsibility and power on this side of heaven - and that is through the glorious and awesome power of prayer! Please join us in prayer for strength, wisdom, discernment and healing! I have witnessed before the work, power, glory and majesty of His Healing hands through the body of Christ that is united in one faith, one hope, one baptism, one Lord that is in all, over all and through all! So please, let us join together, in tears and in prayers and ask, just as it is written in His word, that as we come before His Throne and the Cross of Christ that we be anxious in nothing, but in everything through prayer and petition that we present our requests to Him!

We love you, and we are so thankful for your prayers, friendship, encouragement and support! We trust in the victorious life we have in our Risen Lord and Savior - Christ Jesus - and we will continue to walk by faith, and not by sight...

All Eyes on Jesus!