Playing in the rain and little miracles

The cousins are off to their other grandparents' house now to stay there while their mom recovers some more. But we did get to see them again last week at my parents' house. Here's a cute pix of Mallary and Elizabeth playing in the rain...


LITTLE MIRACLES

On Sunday we were driving to church (it's just the girls and I, as Greg has some early meetings), on a main thoroughfare - 35 mph, and we hit a baby deer! Or, rather, the deer hit us. I was totally blindsided by it and only saw it when it was too late to do much about it. I was looking straight ahead, not imagining I would ever have to be on the lookout for deer on that particular road. So when I saw the deer, I automatically swerved into the left lane to avoid it, but couldn't avoid it. It hit the side of the van and then disappeared into nowhere. Elizabeth laughed after she heard the noise - not knowing what it was. And Molly didn't make a peep. So at least the girls weren't scared. But I was completely flustered, as I thought about what could have happened. About who I could have hit as I swerved into the next lane without looking. And who could have been hurt. I know it doesn't make sense to dwell on the "what if's", but I couldn't believe that I had just switched lanes without looking - and was feeling very grateful that there was no one there and my abruptness didn't turn into an accident. So the rest of the few minutes to church I was just relieved that everything was OK. I mean, hey, hopefully the deer was even OK because I didn't see it lying in the road or anything. So we drove into the church parking lot and Greg came out to meet us (so he could grab the girls and I could run in and start playing the organ) and I immediately said, "Check out the damage on this side of the van. We hit a deer. Is there a big dent?" He looked and looked and there was nothing. Whew. So I finally stopped worrying about all the "what if's" and was calm enough to walk in to church and start playing the organ. I did feel it was one of those little miracles, though. I was just so grateful that no accident took place and that my girls were safe and sound.

WANTED!!!

This deer is WANTED in connection to a hit and run. If you have any information regarding this armed and dangerous deer, please contact your local authorities.

(Thanks to Greg for helping to lighten up this post a little...this is why I keep bugging him to post :-)

Now for the 2nd miracle...yet this one isn't so small. My sister-in-law (my brother Aaron's wife) just had her stomach removed because of the threat of stomach cancer. She was 31, almost 32, when they found the growing polyps in her stomach. She has a family history of stomach and colon cancer and several members of her family have either had their stomach or colon removed, or have died from cancer. All of the members of the family have periodic endoscopy/colonoscopys to check for polyps.

So, Renee went for one of these routine procedures a few months ago. Turns out that the timing would be fortuitous. (Or more like divine intervention!) She hadn't had the procedure performed for 4 years. They hadn't had insurance for awhile, so when they finally got insurance she scheduled to have everything done. Her Dr. told her that the growing polyps were benign, yet based on family history and what he had seen in her family to date, they were progressing towards cancer and she had 3 months to get her stomach removed. A couple of family members had gotten 2nd opinions after getting this particular Dr.'s opinion, and had taken longer to get the stomach out - and ended up dying or having to get parts of other organs removed as well, because the cancer had come quickly and spread quickly. So Renee was intent on getting this done within the 3 month time period. This Dr. had always been right and she was relying on his track record. Her cousin, who had had her stomach removed, recommended a surgeon. Renee went to the cancer center where he worked to talk about options. The Dr.'s there gave her a 2nd opinion that they didn't think it was necessary to take any action at all. They said that she had a "garden variety" of polyps, like many people do, and there was no reason that she would need to undergo such a surgery (to get her stomach removed). She tried to explain the family history and have them talk to her Dr., but, even so, they were reluctant to agree. Finally she opted to go to a cancer center up in Buffalo, NY - near where the family Dr. is located - in Rochester, NY. (Her mother's family is originally from the Rochester area.) Luckily, Aaron and Renee have flight privileges, so they were able to travel more easily between Cincinnati and Buffalo.

We saw Aaron and Renee last week, the day after Renee got released from the hospital. (They had come down to my parents' house to see the kids and stay for a couple of days.) They told us the results of the pathologist's study of the stomach. By the time Renee had her stomach removed, the polyps went from being defined as a 'mild to moderate' dysplasia to a 'severe' dysplasia. (Dysplasia - Any abnormal development of tissues or organs. In pathology, alteration in size, shape, and organization of adult cells.) And the surgeon said that she had gotten her stomach out just in time, that she was a breath away from having cancer. What a miracle. A huge big miracle! I am so glad. So glad for her, so glad for my brother and their cute little kids. She was meant to be alive and well, and we are all so grateful!