Saturday, February 25, 2012

The Strongest Fighter Of All

Now I lay me, down to sleep, I pray the Lord, my soul to keep.
If I should die, before I wake, I pray the Lord, my soul to take.
God bless my mommy, daddy and Lucy.
God bless Nonie, Papa and Papa John.
God bless Grandma and Grandpa.
God bless Gigi and Papa and Great Grandma and Great Grandpa.
God bless all of my aunts and uncles and all of my cousins.
God bless all of my friends.
I love you Jesus, amen.
A special prayer for little Quinnie.



When you are pregnant with your baby, you just assume that the day will come when you deliver your beautiful, healthy, baby.  That's just what is supposed to happen, right?  You expect that.  You deserve that. 

I've been writing this blog in my mind over and over again over the last several months.  But I honestly couldn't get through it because of the tears, the pain, the empathy.

My oldest brother and his wife brought a beautiful daughter into this world eight years ago.  She is so wonderful:  full of life, full of caring, full of love.  And, she looks so much like I did at that age.  Proud?  You could say that.

When she was about three (or was she four?), they brought another beautiful baby into the world.  Wonderful, handsome, perfect, Quin--or, Quinnie, as we call him.

A special prayer for little Quinnie.

He's five years old now. 

He's still perfect.
But God felt that he was strong enough to handle a challenge.

He was born healthy. At 18 months, he started showing signs of regression with balance, walking and talking.  His mom knew the entire time, I think.  Moms just have that gift (is it a gift?) of knowing when something is not right with her baby.  Today, while his health is good, his motor skills are suffering.  His muscles are deteriorating.

Every night when Kinley goes to sleep, we say her prayer together.  And it always ends with the same prayer:  A special prayer for little Quinnie.

This little boy has the biggest heart, the strongest soul, the most amazing determination.

You can't even imagine the pain of watching him try to keep up with his cousins, only to see him tumble to the floor.

It isn't fair.  A child is sacred and God isn't supposed to do this.

He's been through so much, so many tests, so many doctors...just searching for answers.  And his parents are left with only questions.

This weekend, it goes to the next level.  He's Mayo bound.  It's where we all wanted him to go--but it's not so easy.  His parents had to jump through hoop after hoop just to get him accepted. 

This weekend, they head north for the long drive. 

I can't help but cry for them when I think of all of the worry they must feel in their hearts.  The worry that questions won't be answered.  Cures won't be found.  The unwanted answers will be told.  The unknown.  The known?

This is their baby boy.  He shouldn't be fighting a fight that is so big. 

As a parent, you only want to take away the pain of the world from your child.  But they can't. 

It's not fair.

Kelly, his mom--my sister-in-law--once said that people always ask her, "how do you do it?"  What an amazing answer to say, "How do I love my child?  How do I care for my child?  How do you not?" 

The challenges that I face and fret over daily seem piddly in the comparison.  My heart goes out to Quinnie on this Mayo trip.  He's going to be facing new doctors, tests, procedures, more shots, needles.....pain.

But more so, my heart goes to my brother and his wife.  As a parent, I can't imagine the fear and worry of not having all of the answers and being able to fix him.

Join me in saying a prayer for their family this weekend.  Not only are they making a very long road trip to Mayo, but they are in search of an answer for their sweet baby boy.  An answer that they may--or may not--want to hear.

Regardless of what happens, I know that God trusted this challenge with His most amazing fighter.  If anyone is strong enough to handle this, it's Quinnie.


Photos credit:  Sugar Petunia Photography

In honor of our little fighter, this button was made for you to display on your blog or Facebook profile picture to encourage prayers from everyone!  Never underestimate the power of prayer!






Thank you for the quick work on the button for me, Sheila!




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