Psalm 18:1-2
I love you, Lord; you are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety."
Precious friends,
We are humbled and blessed by the outpouring of love from each and every one of you. With tears in my eyes, I type this in true humility by the love of Christ that has been expressed to us this week. You have all truly been the hands and feet of Jesus to us.
The one thing I do know, is that we serve a God who is real, who loves us, and who has been here with us every single step of the way this week. It seems kind of odd that my blog is entitled, "Living and Laughing Out Loud" as I write this entry about the trials we have gone through, but it only reminds me of our amazing God. We are not promised to never have storms in our lives. He only promises that He is the author, and in the midst of the storm, He has the authority to say, "Peace, be still."
I know most of you still don't know what has been going on this week, and yet you still have been faithful to pray for Conner. It has been a whirlwind, and yet God has orchestrated every single step.
It all started Monday, at about 2:30 p.m. Conner was playing, and mentioned that his arm hurt. He had told me that he needed to go home and put his arm in a sling, so we did. I gave him some Motrin, and he laid down on the couch. By 3:15 p.m., only 45 minutes later, he said his arm wouldn't work. By 3:45 p.m., he could not walk. At this time, I realized that this was serious, and I ran and put him in the car, and rushed him to his doctors office. They checked him quickly and said he needed to get to the hospital. That is when it all began, and though it was only three days ago, it seems like forever.
We arrived at the hospital, and by the grace of God, they took us back. I had carried Conners limp little body through the parking lot only to walk in and have a long line. That's why I say, "by the grace of God." It was at that point that He was in complete control of caring for Conner. After a CT scan, they talked with Children's Hospital in Little Rock who agreed it would be best for Conner to be sent directly there.
They flew up via helicopter, and then picked up my sweet little guy. It was at this point, that the body of Christ, began to show up to love and support Conner even at that moment. We were met at the hospital by the Bivens, who cheered him up, and told him that he should go by the "handle" of Maverick on the helicopter ride. Pastor John Dillon, from Lifespring Baptist Church in Lowell came and prayed with him. Jason and Molly Ross came to bring dinner and pray, and see him off. He was becoming more and more lethargic.
As we took off, it seemed that the days events couldn't be real, because my sweet boy was perfectly healthy just hours before.
As we flew to Little Rock, Conner was so still and quiet. He was strapped down to the table, and was motionless. He seemed to not have the strength to even talk. My flesh wanted to scream, "This is not what I want! I just want my healthy son back. Stop. Rewind. Could this be a nightmare?"
But my heart said, "Jesus, give me peace. Please heal my son." I placed my hand on his little head, and sang to him, and prayed for him all the way there. I was pretty sure that the other people on the helicopter thought I was crazy because all they could see was that I was talking to myself. It didn't matter, because God was there, and He needed to be praised. All I could think about was the verse, "Draw near to Him, and He will draw near to you," and "God inhabits praise." If I had ever needed God to be near it was then.
As we landed, I had to stop and think that if it had been any other circumstances, Conner would be having the best day of his life to get to land on the roof of a building in a helicopter. If you know Conner, you know exactly what I mean.
They wheeled him in, and took him directly to Intensive Care.
I can't even explain what has happened in the last three days, except to say that God has been here the whole time. He has taken us on a journey that I would have never chosen, but that He had ordered every step.
My baby went from being a perfectly healthy, athletic, bright eyed, spunky little 6 year old boy, to being lethargic, and unable to move, only in a matter of hours.
It was at this time that God began to show me the love of His church, His people, in a way that we have never experienced in our entire lives.
Tom hadn't even arrived to the hospital yet, when the hospital phoned our room to say there was a Providence dad (Travis Rodgers) in the waiting room of Intensive Care. Not too much longer, the second Providence dad (Todd Anderson) was there. They would not leave until Tom got there safely. They stayed and prayed, and ministered to others in the waiting room.
There are so many God stories wrapped up in this big tapestry of grace that I will have to save those for a later time. I took pictures of every family that came to the hospital to pray over Conner. I want Conner to know how the body of Christ united to pray for healing for his little body.
The next morning after he woke up, he was so very weak. His legs were now both getting too weak to move, and his left arm seemed to be getting weak as well. At that point, he looked at me and said, "The next time I fly in a helicopter, I'm going to parachute out of it." Then he said, "You know that my frog got to ride on that helicopter too, don't you?" I just loved it that my little guy didn't even get it that he couldn't walk. He was already thinking about the next BIG adventure he was going to go on.
By mid-day on Tuesday, there had been no improvement, and he was getting worse. I was told that at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, both campuses of Providence Academy would stop class, and meet in the gyms on both campuses, and pray corporately for Conners healing. They handed out a Bible verse in the pick-up line to ask the families to pray. That verse said, "Behold, I will bring it health, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth."
We already had our Bible open on Conners bed, but at that point, we opened our Bible to that verse, highlighted it, and placed it open at the foot of his bed.
By about 4 p.m., Conner had started gaining strength. The right foot that had completely lost movement, could move ever so slightly. The neurologist walked into the room during her rounds, and with a big smile on her face, she saw the Bible, and said, "Just keep praying." Without any medications, Conner was starting to get better.
We did not have a diagnosis at that point, but I was just so glad that whatever it was seemed to have stopped progressing.
By Wednesday evening, they had given him the diagnosis of a lesion on the spinal cord. They started heavy steroids, and we started to see even more improvement. This morning, three days later, Conner can move his right leg, and ever so barely move his right fingers.
Throughout this entire time, God has kept sending friends to pray and encourage us at just the right time. This morning, a dear friend (Lori Bova) brought Conner a gift that was a bright red cape that says, "Super Conner" on it, complete with a bright red mask. Let me just say that from that moment on, "Super Conner" couldn't be stopped.
An hour later, they released him from Intensive Care, and he went to the neurology unit. Beth Ann Fox, and Lori got to see Conner take his first steps. He still has a long way to go with Occuptional Therapy, and Physical Therapy, to learn to walk and use his right arm again, but God is faithful.
The Providence 8th grade moms brought pretty much a party wagon onto the neurology floor this afternoon. Conner just lit up, and between them being a great audience, and the steroids, he had put on quite the show singing and even dancing in bed. They all got to witness him walk down the hallway for the first time.
When we got down the hallway with me holding his hand, we stopped and he was so tired and breathing heavy. I said, "Would you like me to carry you back?" He quickly responded, "No way, I walked this far, I'm walking back."
I've truly never known a more determined little thing, but I know God has a mighty plan for Him.
We are humbled by the generosity of our friends throughout this time. You have cared for our children, blessed Conner with gifts and balloons, texts, facebook comments, and phone calls. We are beyond humbled and thankful.
I know we have more to go, but I just needed to let you all know that my boy walked again today. Please continue to pray for complete restoration of health to Conners body. He will probably be here about 4 to 5 more days and then will have therapy back in Northwest Arkansas.
We do still covet your prayers. His right little arm is not working properly yet, but praise God it will.
I had to write this quickly after having little sleep for several days, so if I left a word out or spelled it wrong, please just overlook it.
Friends In Christ...
