We finished our journey to North Carolina today, arriving at the treatment center at about 5 pm. The trip out went very smoothly - thanks to all for your prayers. Seth did great in the van and adjusted to our numerous stops without major problems. It has been a lot of new places in a short amount of time for him. I expect that this first week may be the toughest with him as he processes all these changes.
We are in a rural mountain area. The drive to the treatment center today was beautiful with lush, green mountains, burbling streams with some mini rapids, and sections of roller-coast like roads. Bella & Luke would have really enjoyed those roller-coaster like road sections. The nearest grocery store is about 20 minutes away in West Jefferson, which is a smaller community. Boone is about 40 minutes away with more shopping choices including an organic foods grocery. Tonight I decided to stay put and get settled in our housing unit - we'll have to make a grocery run tomorrow. We stopped at Whole Foods (love that place) yesterday so we've got enough to get us through for a couple days.
Our housemates are Elena an JD, a mom and son who live in Maryville, TN. JD is 14 and fairly high-functioning with mainly social skills issues. He seems very sweet and his mom and I spent a couple hours already chatting and beginning to share our stories with each other. We are both chatty Kathys so I think we'll get along well.
The true adventure begins in the morning. Our first dive will be at about 7:30 am central time. I'm a bit nervous now that we're so close to beginning about how Seth will tolerate the treatments. But I am confident God has brought us this far and will carry us through the next step of this journey.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
The Preparations are Almost Completed
Most of the packing is done, apart from loading the van and one last trip to Wal-mart for a few last items needed. I'm sure there are many things I have not packed that I will wish I had, but it's just hard to know what all to bring for a month-long trip. I'm pretty convinced Seth does not have a clue of what is to come, but many are praying for us so I have a peace that things will go smoothly.
My excitement continues to grow as I hear from more and more people who have seen great results from this treatment. As many join us to pray for God's healing hand upon Seth during this intervention I am more hopeful than I have been in a long time. I am praying to experience the tree of life spoken of in Proverbs 13:12 - "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life."
Below is a list of specific prayer requests for our trip. Unfortunately I can't get the prayer card up on my blog - I will email it to the friends and family I have email addresses for. If you don't get one and would like me to email you one, please let me know.
Please pray for:
Travel mercies - Jenn & Seth will be traveling to and from NC on May 8th through the 10th and June 3rd and 4th.
Living Arrangement Transition - please pray that Seth will adjust to the new living quarters without major problems.
Treatment Toleration - please pray that Seth has no sinus or ear pain during pressurization and that he tolerates the hood (a clear large, clear bubble-like apparatus) that he will have to wear on his head during treatments.
Treatment Effectiveness - please pray Seth responds well to the treatment - pray God will work in a miraculous way!! The treatment session dates are May 11-June 2nd. He will receive treatments Mondays through Saturdays - Sunday is our only day off.
Thanks to all for your prayers and support. Next time you'll hear from us,we'll be in NC!!
My excitement continues to grow as I hear from more and more people who have seen great results from this treatment. As many join us to pray for God's healing hand upon Seth during this intervention I am more hopeful than I have been in a long time. I am praying to experience the tree of life spoken of in Proverbs 13:12 - "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life."
Below is a list of specific prayer requests for our trip. Unfortunately I can't get the prayer card up on my blog - I will email it to the friends and family I have email addresses for. If you don't get one and would like me to email you one, please let me know.
Please pray for:
Travel mercies - Jenn & Seth will be traveling to and from NC on May 8th through the 10th and June 3rd and 4th.
Living Arrangement Transition - please pray that Seth will adjust to the new living quarters without major problems.
Treatment Toleration - please pray that Seth has no sinus or ear pain during pressurization and that he tolerates the hood (a clear large, clear bubble-like apparatus) that he will have to wear on his head during treatments.
Treatment Effectiveness - please pray Seth responds well to the treatment - pray God will work in a miraculous way!! The treatment session dates are May 11-June 2nd. He will receive treatments Mondays through Saturdays - Sunday is our only day off.
Thanks to all for your prayers and support. Next time you'll hear from us,we'll be in NC!!
Monday, May 4, 2009
An Interesting Week
It's going to be an interesting week leading up to our departure. The H1N1 flu has our country and our community in quite a craze. Marshalltown schools have closed for the week due to the flu scare. I'm not sure there have been any confirmed cases in our community yet - just 5 or 6 suspected cases. According to the CDC website as of 11 am EST this morning there is only 1 confirmed case in the state of Iowa and that case in the southern part of the state. I guess better safe than sorry.
Reports from health officials indicate that this "outbreak" is not showing itself to be as severe as they had initially thought it would be. Now they are saying that it will not be worse than the "normal" seasonal flu. I'm hoping it's mainly media hype. It's definitely interesting living in a community that is being affected by this.
Seth woke up with a fever this morning which is not a real comforting experience with all the talk about the flu outbreak. But it's not a high-grade fever and he doesn't have any of the other symptoms of the H1N1 flu, so I'm thinking he's just fighting a little bug. He laid on the couch for the first 3 hours after he got up, but is now up and playing in the family room. We'll be praying that he gets over whatever he's got quickly and is healthy for our trip.
Yesterday we were blessed by an outpouring of support from our church family. We shared with our congregation about the trip and asked them to join us in praying for a miracle in Seth's life through this treatment. We are so thankful for Christian family and friends who are joining us in our prayers for Seth. The family of God is such a tremendous blessing!
Here's praying for less excitement as the week progresses!
Reports from health officials indicate that this "outbreak" is not showing itself to be as severe as they had initially thought it would be. Now they are saying that it will not be worse than the "normal" seasonal flu. I'm hoping it's mainly media hype. It's definitely interesting living in a community that is being affected by this.
Seth woke up with a fever this morning which is not a real comforting experience with all the talk about the flu outbreak. But it's not a high-grade fever and he doesn't have any of the other symptoms of the H1N1 flu, so I'm thinking he's just fighting a little bug. He laid on the couch for the first 3 hours after he got up, but is now up and playing in the family room. We'll be praying that he gets over whatever he's got quickly and is healthy for our trip.
Yesterday we were blessed by an outpouring of support from our church family. We shared with our congregation about the trip and asked them to join us in praying for a miracle in Seth's life through this treatment. We are so thankful for Christian family and friends who are joining us in our prayers for Seth. The family of God is such a tremendous blessing!
Here's praying for less excitement as the week progresses!
Friday, May 1, 2009
One Week and Counting
We leave for the big trip one week from today. I've started packing a few things, marked some of the things off my to-do list and added more things to all of my lists. I've been talking with the friends we're stopping to stay with and am excited to see some old friends along the way. It's such a blessing to have places to stay and generous friends who are willing to host us. The list of things remaining to get done is still long, but I'm feeling like it's more manageable as I begin working on it little by little.
Some friends have been shocked to find out that we are driving such a distance. There are several reasons for this decision. Seth has never flown and I didn't feel like taking on this first alone. Seth rides well in the van and with the entertainment system in the newer van we got last summer I think he'll deal with the trip very well. The treatment center is in a rural area and we will need a vehicle while we are there - renting a vehicle for 3 + weeks would be very costly. And with the generous friends mentioned above we won't have to drive longer than 8 hours in any day.
I'm still working on the prayer card I mentioned a while back and will post that over the weekend. Thanks to all for your support and prayers through this journey! Have a wonderful weekend - I'm going to enjoy my final weekend with the whole family and maybe even squeeze in a date with my hubby!
Some friends have been shocked to find out that we are driving such a distance. There are several reasons for this decision. Seth has never flown and I didn't feel like taking on this first alone. Seth rides well in the van and with the entertainment system in the newer van we got last summer I think he'll deal with the trip very well. The treatment center is in a rural area and we will need a vehicle while we are there - renting a vehicle for 3 + weeks would be very costly. And with the generous friends mentioned above we won't have to drive longer than 8 hours in any day.
I'm still working on the prayer card I mentioned a while back and will post that over the weekend. Thanks to all for your support and prayers through this journey! Have a wonderful weekend - I'm going to enjoy my final weekend with the whole family and maybe even squeeze in a date with my hubby!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Getting Overwhelmed - 9 Days until Departure
The lists are growing longer and longer. I have a list of things I need to get done before I leave, a list of things I need to pack, a list of therapy and homeschooling activities to do on the trip. Lists, lists, lists. I'm starting to feel more than a little overwhelmed by all I need to get done before I leave. I'm sure there are many things I have left off the lists too - aaahhh!! "Do the next thing" is the phrase that keeps coming to mind. One thing at a time and it will all get done, or all that has to get done will get done. Some things on my lists may not get accomplished like making freezer meals for Mike to help him feed the kids while I'm gone - sorry Mike! Many from church have so generously offered to help while I'm gone, which I know will be a tremendous blessing to our family.
Mike's biggest challenge while I'm gone will be getting Bella ready for dance pictures - which of course are the day after I leave - couldn't have been the day before I leave :( I think he'll need help with hair and makeup - it stresses me out getting her ready for pictures. I know that it will all happen - people will help out and she'll have her pictures taken. I know that overall Mike will do a great job while I'm gone. I'm sure there are many times when we'll miss each other and that we both will have a new appreciation for all the other does in the life of our family. I will miss his regular help with Seth, how he is always there to jump in when there's a meltdown to help stabilize the situation. I will miss watching the sweet moments between Seth and his dad and siblings that take place on a daily basis.
We continue to pray that this time apart and the many sacrifices required to make this happen will result in much progress and growth in Seth's life. Lord - please bring healing to our little boy!
Mike's biggest challenge while I'm gone will be getting Bella ready for dance pictures - which of course are the day after I leave - couldn't have been the day before I leave :( I think he'll need help with hair and makeup - it stresses me out getting her ready for pictures. I know that it will all happen - people will help out and she'll have her pictures taken. I know that overall Mike will do a great job while I'm gone. I'm sure there are many times when we'll miss each other and that we both will have a new appreciation for all the other does in the life of our family. I will miss his regular help with Seth, how he is always there to jump in when there's a meltdown to help stabilize the situation. I will miss watching the sweet moments between Seth and his dad and siblings that take place on a daily basis.
We continue to pray that this time apart and the many sacrifices required to make this happen will result in much progress and growth in Seth's life. Lord - please bring healing to our little boy!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Expecting a Miracle
God continually amazes me. This weekend the message my pastor preached seemed to be tailor-made for me. I'm sure it spoke to many people in our congregation, but I was so touched by how specifically it ministered to my heart in the midst of my life at this time. Our pastor has been preaching a series on the heroes of faith from Hebrews 11. This week we looked at the story of Jericho and the life of Rahab who is listed among the heroes of faith in Hebrews.
Jericho was an extremely well fortified city. The walls of this seemingly impenetrable city were wide and high and the army guarding this city well trained and with many weapons. Jericho stood on the top of a hill which added to the difficulty of 'stormin' this particular castle'. As I listened to this description of Jericho I thought of the seemingly impenetrable walls of autism that seem so wide and so high in my life. I thought of all we have done to try to break down those walls with little success to date.
The method by which God instructed the Israelites to overtake the city was more than a little unorthodox for the time. Marching around the city 13 times over 7 days, shouting and blowing horns were not standard tactics of battle. In many ways the tactics we have approached our battle with autism have not been the standard tactics either. We have fought for educational interventions that are considered extreme by professionals in our state. We have employed biomedical interventions that are very much outside of the mainstream. And our next leg of the journey may be the most unorthodox and radical of all - leaving my home and rest of my family to go and have hyperbaric oxygen therapy. To many I may seem like a complete lunatic in relation to all I have done to help Seth. But I pray I am only following the direction God has given me. All along the way I have asked the Lord to guide my steps and show me what direction to take next. It's nice to know that God has some unorthodox, peculiar plans as is evidenced by His instructions to the Israelites on how overtake Jericho.
As our pastor continued he said, "God specializes in the miraculous!!" I felt the emotion welling up in me and had to hold back tears as our pastor went on. He challenged us to expect God to move miraculously whatever formidable walls of Jericho we are facing in our lives. And then he honestly admitted that sometimes he questions whether he has the faith to believe for miracles. I too question whether I have that kind of faith. I hesitate to ask for the miraculous for fear of the disappointment that comes when God doesn't answer my prayers in the way I had hoped. And yet I know that He will answer and work out His perfect plan in my life. A plan that will be better than the one I could have dreamed up.
In the midst of expecting miracles, he challenged us to first and foremost seek the presence of God in our lives. I have felt such a heavy burden over the past few weeks to seek God and to surround this trip and intervention with Seth in prayer. Even more than a miracle in my son's life I want God's evident presence in the midst of my days. And yet even today as I continue to seek God's presence He brought me a story of a friend of a friend whose son has made great progress after doing hyperbaric oxygen therapy. I earnestly hope God is affirming the path He has put me on and I pray He is preparing me for a miracle in my son's life. I will be careful to give Him the glory no matter what.
Jericho was an extremely well fortified city. The walls of this seemingly impenetrable city were wide and high and the army guarding this city well trained and with many weapons. Jericho stood on the top of a hill which added to the difficulty of 'stormin' this particular castle'. As I listened to this description of Jericho I thought of the seemingly impenetrable walls of autism that seem so wide and so high in my life. I thought of all we have done to try to break down those walls with little success to date.
The method by which God instructed the Israelites to overtake the city was more than a little unorthodox for the time. Marching around the city 13 times over 7 days, shouting and blowing horns were not standard tactics of battle. In many ways the tactics we have approached our battle with autism have not been the standard tactics either. We have fought for educational interventions that are considered extreme by professionals in our state. We have employed biomedical interventions that are very much outside of the mainstream. And our next leg of the journey may be the most unorthodox and radical of all - leaving my home and rest of my family to go and have hyperbaric oxygen therapy. To many I may seem like a complete lunatic in relation to all I have done to help Seth. But I pray I am only following the direction God has given me. All along the way I have asked the Lord to guide my steps and show me what direction to take next. It's nice to know that God has some unorthodox, peculiar plans as is evidenced by His instructions to the Israelites on how overtake Jericho.
As our pastor continued he said, "God specializes in the miraculous!!" I felt the emotion welling up in me and had to hold back tears as our pastor went on. He challenged us to expect God to move miraculously whatever formidable walls of Jericho we are facing in our lives. And then he honestly admitted that sometimes he questions whether he has the faith to believe for miracles. I too question whether I have that kind of faith. I hesitate to ask for the miraculous for fear of the disappointment that comes when God doesn't answer my prayers in the way I had hoped. And yet I know that He will answer and work out His perfect plan in my life. A plan that will be better than the one I could have dreamed up.
In the midst of expecting miracles, he challenged us to first and foremost seek the presence of God in our lives. I have felt such a heavy burden over the past few weeks to seek God and to surround this trip and intervention with Seth in prayer. Even more than a miracle in my son's life I want God's evident presence in the midst of my days. And yet even today as I continue to seek God's presence He brought me a story of a friend of a friend whose son has made great progress after doing hyperbaric oxygen therapy. I earnestly hope God is affirming the path He has put me on and I pray He is preparing me for a miracle in my son's life. I will be careful to give Him the glory no matter what.
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