Life is Fragile

This morning on my way into the hospital I ran into a very precious family whose son had been battling rejection the last couple of weeks. Just the fact that I saw them walking to their car told me that precious Zack had lost his battle. My heart is broken for them. He was a beautiful child. As I left the hospital last night to go to the apartment I spent the drive praying for him and a couple of other children here. He was only four years old and we have spent the holiday getting to know his family. They were wonderful, loving parents who only wanted the best for their son. I can't imagine the grief they must be experiencing. They too live in Texas and they will have a very difficult journey home. Please, please pray for them. I will never forget their son and how brave he was. Zach had his transplant for 3 years and his dad shared with us that they were wonderful years.

It seems so unfair that on Ashley's good days there others who are having bad ones. I almost feel guilty when she is feeling good because so many of our friends here are not. Let me just share with you how good God has been to us this morning. Ash is feeling awnry and she is showing off her stuff. During rounds this morning she was waving and dancing with her doctors. She loves music of any kind, and to see her dance in some scary way looks alot like her dads, but I am thankful that they have a song in their hearts and a desire to express it. After playing for several hours she began to get grumpy and started "growling" at me. Silly girl, all it does is make me smile to see her feeling so awnry. How thankful I am to be at the place where we are today. Life is so fragile and I am determined to enjoy every minute of my sweet Ashley. As I laid her down for her nap she "ripped" off her bow and started reaching and grunting for her new baby she got for Christmas. I handed it to her and she then proceeded to rip the bow off her baby's head too and then in literally 2 minutes they were both fast asleep. Oh, how I love this little girl.

We are on our way to CT scan to look once again at her chest. We are still trying to determine if she has a mold infection as well as the staph. She seems to be responding very well to the antibiotics and we have increased her tube feeds to 10ccs. Please join us in praying that she will tolerate them. We are hoping to make progress and to move out to our apartment before she picks up anymore infections or viruses.

Thank you so much for praying for my family. It means the world to me to know that we have such a tremendous support system. Thank you to all of our volunteers who are working hard on Ashley's behalf. I so appreciate all you do for her. We are looking forward to the upcoming concert and praying God will bless it. We love you all. Trish