Words of Wisdom and Comfort

A friend of mine whose son just had a liver transplant two weeks ago because of hepatoblastoma found this article from President James E. Faust, who was a member of the quorum of the twelve at the time. ("the refiner's fire" Ensign May 1979, this is just an excerpt). I really felt that it was powerfully written and even more powerfully received.

"Here then is a great truth. In the pain, the agony, and the heroic endeavors of life, we pass through a refiner’s fire, and the insignificant and the unimportant in our lives can melt away like dross and make our faith bright, intact, and strong. In this way the divine image can be mirrored from the soul. It is part of the purging toll exacted of some to become acquainted with God. In the agonies of life, we seem to listen better to the faint, godly whisperings of the Divine Shepherd."

"Into every life there come the painful, despairing days of adversity and buffeting. There seems to be a full measure of anguish, sorrow, and often heartbreak for everyone, including those who earnestly seek to do right and be faithful. The thorns that prick, that stick in the flesh, that hurt, often change lives which seem robbed of significance and hope. This change comes about through a refining process which often seems cruel and hard. In this way the soul can become like soft clay in the hands of the Master in building lives of faith, usefulness, beauty, and strength. For some, the refiner’s fire causes a loss of belief and faith in God, but those with eternal perspective understand that such refining is part of the perfection process."

"In our extremities, it is possible to become born again, born anew, renewed in heart and spirit. We no longer ride with the flow of the crowd, but instead we enjoy the promise of Isaiah to be renewed in our strength and “mount up with wings as eagles” (Isa. 40:31)."

"The proving of one’s faith goes before the witnessing, for Moroni testified, “Ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith” (Ether 12:6). This trial of faith can become a priceless experience. Stated Peter, “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:7). Trials and adversity can be preparatory to becoming born anew."

"The Divine Shepherd has a message of hope, strength, and deliverance for all. If there were no night, we would not appreciate the day, nor could we see the stars and the vastness of the heavens. We must partake of the bitter with the sweet. There is a divine purpose in the adversities we encounter every day. They prepare, they purge, they purify, and thus they bless."

"When we pluck the roses, we find we often cannot avoid the thorns which spring from the same stem."

"Out of the refiner’s fire can come a glorious deliverance. It can be a noble and lasting rebirth. The price to become acquainted with God will have been paid. There can come a sacred peace. There will be a reawakening of dormant, inner resources. A comfortable cloak of righteousness will be drawn around us to protect us and to keep us warm spiritually. Self-pity will vanish as our blessings are counted."

Please consider these words as you go through life and encouter trials and difficulty. There is a reason, we may not understand or even want the trial, but it is for our spiritual survival. I know we have wondered countless times, why...why Kaelyn, why our family, why any family...but if we endure we can achieve a "glorious deliverance" and we can receive a "sacred peace".

We are now home from the hospital. And all is well at the moment. Relish in the good days and battle through the bad. Soon Kaelyn's transplant will come. I will post as soon as we get the call.

Love to all,

Angie

False Alarm

This morning at rounds (Kaelyn is in the hospital for a blood infection, she is fine and doing well now) Dr. Reyes, head of surgery, said that today may be the day for transplant. They had a potential donor. We were all so excited! They just had to get labs and rush the donor to the OR and check out the organ. But, unfortunately, the organ was not suitable, so no transplant today. It was disappointing, but this also means that the time is very soon we will get a suitable organ. So, disappointment is directed into excitment and anxiety. I think it will be soon. She also was upgraded once again on the list to a 30 from 24. This puts her at the top of the list for her blood type.

I know this post is very disorganized but so is life right now! Love to all, keep us in your prayers.

~Angie

List upgrade!!!

Kaelyn's docs applied for an upgrade on Kaelyn's position on the Transplant list and it was accepted! Her PELD (Pediatric End Liver Disease) score is now a 24. That is a bump from a 2. This is really great news! We are hoping to get a call soon for her transplant. There are only about 15 people total, adults and children, on the list at this score compared to the 200 or so from when she was a 2.

So, keep those fingers crossed and prayers going for our little angel. Hopefully, she will get over this mountain on her journey soon with a new, functioning liver.

Love,

Angie

Miraculous Utah Trip

Well, with all of my complaining in the last post you would have thought we were never going to get to go on vacation. We are home now, after a wonderful trip to Utah to see mine and Wade's family. Kaelyn did amazingly well, no trips to the hospital for the entire 10 days! It is truly a miracle considering how the week before went!

We had a great time. The kids got to enjoy a classic Tooele, UT 4th of July complete with the parade full of army vehicles and fire trucks, the Rodeo (where Jacob did awesome riding a sheep for the first time!), and fireworks! We even got to watch a thunderstorm full of flash flood warnings! It was really great. The kids and Wade were able to go fishing with my dad and actually caught four fish! Jacob loved that! It was wonderful getting to see all of the family. My grandmother unfortunately took Kaelyn's place in the hospital, but seems to be doing a little better today.

It was so great to have a change in pace and get away. I feel much more able to jump back into the battle.

Love to all!

Angie

Anyone for a tube change?

Biliary drains are really annoying, if anyone is wondering. They clog up with the stickiest gunk, bile, and then give Kaelyn all sorts of woes. We went in last Friday for a tube change, and by Sunday it was already clogged. So I think we will be going in again today or tomorrow whenever they can get us in. The IR Doc that usually performs her exchanges is out on vacation for two weeks and there is no one else at Children's who does it. Is that crazy or what! So they have to try and schedule one of the University of Washington's IR docs to come over. So that means we will probably have to be inpatient and just wait until he has an opening. Can you tell I am feeling a little jaded today, sorry. I think the reason I am crazy today is that we are trying to go to Utah to visit my family, including my grandmother who was just diagnosed with cancer, in a few days and it is feeling almost impossible to get Kaelyn to a place that she could enjoy the trip and not have to spend it all at Primary Children's in Salt Lake City. So please pray for Kaelyn that her biliary drain can remain stable for atleast a week.

I will let you all know how the next week plays out.

Love,

Angie