Bill writes from the hospital, where he and his wife, Louie, are visiting their son, Johnny.
Thursday, March 22, 2007, 3:32 p.m., D.S.T.~
Dear Journal~
We--"we" meaning my wife, Louie, and myself--are sitting in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, by our son Johnathon's bedside, watching him sleep, listening to the beeping and hums made by the monitors and hoping for the best for him. He looks so helpless, so vulnerable; it's breaking our hearts.
Johnny had a prolonged seizure yesterday evening; we knew it was bad when the seizure didn't abate after a minute or two, and when his face started turning grey, then blue. While my wife stayed by his side, I herded the kids inside, and I had Michael call for an ambulance. It was frightening to see Johnny like that. We thought for sure he was dying.
Johnny had been doing well since his last hospitalization back in December when his heart acted up; we thought the worst was behind us; but that is not the case now. Johnny is a very sick young man right now, and the only good thing about this is that he did not suffer from any brain damage, which is a huge answer to prayer.
I think the seizure was brought on by the stress of Rebekkah Rachel Cohen's being shot last week. Rebekkah is now paralyzed; there is little hope of her ever using her hands again. Maddie, her sister, is faring a little better, but she faces a long recovery, too, and there's talk of she may have sustained some brain damage. I don't know how much more this family can take; they have already been through so much!
Rebekkah Rachel is Johnny's girlfriend, and she is a very personable young lady with a good heart. She has a deep faith in God, and she brings joy to others. Now she lies helpless in a hospital bed, and her future is uncertain. She is very depressed, and we are all worried about her. We will have to do some heavy-duty praying on the family's behalf if they are going to get through this.
On a much lighter note, we are adopting again. We are adopting a little three-year-old boy from Finland who is blind and deaf. He was born this way; otherwise, he is in good health. His name is Bjorn Wilhem, and he reminds me so much of Johnny when he was small. He has the same white-blonde flyaway hair and penetrating blue eyes; it's like looking at Johnny as a little boy again; it's rather scary!
Little Bjorn will be arriving at our house within the next few months up to a year; it may be sooner than that if our adoption counselor can pull some strings. We are already counting the days to when he will join our family, and we have already have fallen helplessly in love with him!
In other news, our friends in Finland, Sari and Nikolas Constantinos, became parents to a little boy, Erik Karlssenn, a few days ago, he is the cutest little thing! He looks just like Nikolas! We are so happy for them, and I bet little Birtta Aurora, their other child, is happy to be a big sister at long last! Thank God little Erik is healthy; that is an answer to prayer, too!
Our friend Kendra Kent in California is pregnant, too; it has been made official. She said Louie was the first one she told; it is a miracle because doectors didn't think she would be able to conceive. Kendra has spina bifida, is paralyzed from the waist on down; they held little hope of her ever getting pregnant; but God works in mysterious ways, and now Kendra is expecting! We are so happy for her; she deserves nothing but good things in life!
Kendra is also recently married. She married a man named Michael, and they are in the process of adding twin seven-year-old girls from Africa to their already big family. They will soon have 24 kids (25 if you count the baby that will be born later this year).
We will soon have sixty children. We have the Kents beat by a country mile; we may not be having a baby in the natural sense, but still, we are bringing a new child to the family; it's akin to having a baby: the excitement, joy, and anticipation is the same!
Susie Callaway, our other friend's daughter, is in the hospital, but she is undergoing therapy, and she is doing much better, thank goodness. She had a viral infection that attacked her lungs and she is now very weak. It will be at least several months before she is well enough to be released. Susie has been through so much herself, but she remains a positive influence in her family's lives, and I know she will make it. She's a strong young lady.
Whoops. The nurse just came in; she is going to empty Johnny's catheter bag, and then they are going to do more testing on him. Will write more later. Take care!
You pull the reader in to become part of this family!!
Love Tinka
Reviewed by d. k
3/22/2007
I love how every character uses the Journal to get their feeling out, even if it means just writing out what is going on in their daily lives. Between letter writing and Journal writing this family has found a great way for therapy. Excellent work!
LOL at Karla's comment, no not a competion, I dont think Kendra could handle sixty kids LMAO, in that respect Louie and Bill are one of a kind, but this is a great write
God Bless
Michelle~
LOL at Bill's "...we have the Kents beat by a country mile; ..." What is this, a competition? No: just the great big, compassionate hearts of Bill and Louisiana's wanting to take in the unwanted or unloved. Would that more felt like this...excellent story, Karen, well done!
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