Catching up....
Welll, things are still pretty gloomy around here. The weather doesn't help much either. It's raining, windy and most of the time you never know if it's going to be cold or not. So, everyone ends up sick with a cold or allergies. My little Sadie still has not come home after I've posted signs and asked all the neighbors and went to the local shelter. I guess I have to face that she will not return. I have decided to do something in her honor though. The local Dollar Tree and Big Lots have dog collars for a dollar and I've decided to make up a bunch of my dog collar covers and donate them to the local no kill shelter so they can sell them and keep the proceeds so other dogs can have a better life. I think if she knew, she would like that. I have also passed on the alpacas. I am very sad about that as well. Tesaro, Sabado and Smiley deserve better than what I can give them right now. I don't have the stalls or pasture set up to the point where I think they would be happy and comfortable and safe. I also don't have the time I need to properly care for them. I hope to be able to have some alpacas later on but I know that right now is just not the time. I am very thankful to Linda for being understanding about it and I hope she has found a good home for them. One of Allie's bunnies has passed on as well. And Dennis's grandmother passed away last Thursday. She was the same age as my own Grandmother. It just makes me think of how short time truly is. February is a month of remembrance for my cousin Bradley as well. My cousin Christie has written a letter about the day she lost lost him to ALD (Adrenoleukodystrophy) which is the same disease that the movie "Lorenzo's Oil" is based on. I'd like to post it on here to share:
A Month Remembered
On a recent Sunday morning I got this letter in the bulletin asking us to share a story, same as everyone else did. I was thinking do I share a funny story, there seem to be a never ending supply here at our house with the boys. Then I thought about it being February and wanted to share a story very dear to my heart. Many of you know some of the things we have been through, and some are new and do not. Never the less, I don’t want to make this a sad depressing story but one of hope. So I start by saying that February was the month my son Bradley was born in 1994. It was the month my boys were diagnosed with a horrible disease in 2003, and the month my son Bradley died in 2004. With that said, my focus is usually on these things during this time of year.
What I want to tell you about is the night Bradley died in 2004. Bradley & Gabriel had suffered and fought this disease for a year. Gabriel had been able to have a bone marrow transplant, while Bradley had not. I remember back to the Wed prior to his death and how he was doing. He could not sit upright all his muscle strength was gone. We would make him as comfortable as possible with a mattress on the floor. The nurse came to visit him that day and told us he may have as long as 4-6 more months. He was watching his favorite movies that day Lion King 1 & 2. He always laughed in part 2 at the beginning when they held the little lion up and said "it’s a girl" and Tumon and Pumba said "A GIRL". I still see him giggling about that.
I had his lunch for him chili, one of his favorites which I had to blend up so he could get it down. Usually he did ok with it, but on this day he choked and was having real trouble. It scared me. That night and all the next day he seemed uncomfortable and whined in pain, so I gave him some morphine which had been prescribed and rarely used up to this point. It did little to easy his discomfort, or my aching heart. Friday morning when he was crying and I could do nothing but cry with him, I called the nurse to come and see him. When she got there the morphine was finally helping and he was resting on the couch. She gave him another pain shot and took his vitals while I sat there and cried.
She told me his body was shutting down, she could barely find his pulse and his breathing was shallow. She told me it was only a matter of hours. We called our family to come see him, and everyone dropped everything and came to say goodbye to this dear little one.
He never regained consciousness but I sat beside him on the floor and whispered in his ear, sure he could hear me. His nanny sat beside him, his papaw and aunt was there too;
along with his brothers, and his g'ma and g'pa. As I whispered in his ear, I said what I had told him many times before. "When the angels come for you, go, don’t look back, when they call your name, go". Today in my devotion it said "do not fear for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine" Isaiah 43:1.
Shortly after that Gabriel walked into the room and did a strange thing. If you don’t know, Gabriel is legally blind, but he looked right at this particular point next to the couch and walked around it to sit on his daddy's lap. He asked us "whose that man standing there" and we said there's no one there. He insisted and pointed" that man right there, who is that"? Now I can definitely say there was no one there I saw, but I can also definitely say there was someone there. It may have been an angel or it may have been Jesus waiting for the Father to give the exact right time to call my little boy home but I know someone was there. It was about an hour later, and Bradley stopped breathing in one breath and was gone. He didn’t linger, he just went. I am so very thankful for Gods' mercy in showing this secret to us at a time when we hurt so immensely. It has brought me great comfort, and peace. It has been a testimony to those who were present and to those who hear the story. It is my prayer as I share this story with you that you will TRUST AND BELIEVE in what you don’t see, and that you will be comforted by our loving heavenly Father and his blessed Son Jesus in whom there is all HOPE!
On a recent Sunday morning I got this letter in the bulletin asking us to share a story, same as everyone else did. I was thinking do I share a funny story, there seem to be a never ending supply here at our house with the boys. Then I thought about it being February and wanted to share a story very dear to my heart. Many of you know some of the things we have been through, and some are new and do not. Never the less, I don’t want to make this a sad depressing story but one of hope. So I start by saying that February was the month my son Bradley was born in 1994. It was the month my boys were diagnosed with a horrible disease in 2003, and the month my son Bradley died in 2004. With that said, my focus is usually on these things during this time of year.
What I want to tell you about is the night Bradley died in 2004. Bradley & Gabriel had suffered and fought this disease for a year. Gabriel had been able to have a bone marrow transplant, while Bradley had not. I remember back to the Wed prior to his death and how he was doing. He could not sit upright all his muscle strength was gone. We would make him as comfortable as possible with a mattress on the floor. The nurse came to visit him that day and told us he may have as long as 4-6 more months. He was watching his favorite movies that day Lion King 1 & 2. He always laughed in part 2 at the beginning when they held the little lion up and said "it’s a girl" and Tumon and Pumba said "A GIRL". I still see him giggling about that.
I had his lunch for him chili, one of his favorites which I had to blend up so he could get it down. Usually he did ok with it, but on this day he choked and was having real trouble. It scared me. That night and all the next day he seemed uncomfortable and whined in pain, so I gave him some morphine which had been prescribed and rarely used up to this point. It did little to easy his discomfort, or my aching heart. Friday morning when he was crying and I could do nothing but cry with him, I called the nurse to come and see him. When she got there the morphine was finally helping and he was resting on the couch. She gave him another pain shot and took his vitals while I sat there and cried.
She told me his body was shutting down, she could barely find his pulse and his breathing was shallow. She told me it was only a matter of hours. We called our family to come see him, and everyone dropped everything and came to say goodbye to this dear little one.
He never regained consciousness but I sat beside him on the floor and whispered in his ear, sure he could hear me. His nanny sat beside him, his papaw and aunt was there too;
along with his brothers, and his g'ma and g'pa. As I whispered in his ear, I said what I had told him many times before. "When the angels come for you, go, don’t look back, when they call your name, go". Today in my devotion it said "do not fear for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine" Isaiah 43:1.
Shortly after that Gabriel walked into the room and did a strange thing. If you don’t know, Gabriel is legally blind, but he looked right at this particular point next to the couch and walked around it to sit on his daddy's lap. He asked us "whose that man standing there" and we said there's no one there. He insisted and pointed" that man right there, who is that"? Now I can definitely say there was no one there I saw, but I can also definitely say there was someone there. It may have been an angel or it may have been Jesus waiting for the Father to give the exact right time to call my little boy home but I know someone was there. It was about an hour later, and Bradley stopped breathing in one breath and was gone. He didn’t linger, he just went. I am so very thankful for Gods' mercy in showing this secret to us at a time when we hurt so immensely. It has brought me great comfort, and peace. It has been a testimony to those who were present and to those who hear the story. It is my prayer as I share this story with you that you will TRUST AND BELIEVE in what you don’t see, and that you will be comforted by our loving heavenly Father and his blessed Son Jesus in whom there is all HOPE!
posted by Amy @ 7:16 AM
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