Helping others

When we first came here the amount of homeless people were very evident. Marlee Anne wanted to help them all. If it were up to her we would have a house full of people living with us. We told her we would pray about how God wanted us to help them. 

When Abe passed away things within me weren't the same. The things I once cared about I no longer cared for. When Mary Elizabeth passed away even more of my passions died. One of those things that so many people have been praying about was crafting. I just didn't have the desire to craft. 

The night before Abe passed away my dear friend gave me a refresher course to knitting. I first learned to knit from the NICU Knitters who are the nurses in the NICU at Egleston. They taught me while Abe was in the NICU. After Abe passed away I could not bring myself to knit again. I could not even open the bag of yarn and needles that my friend Kati had given me. Kati continued to encourage me to try to knit again. You see Kati just celebrated the one year anniversary of her precious daughter, June's death. She  knows where I am and has been such a huge encouragement. 

I finally finished my first scarf just the other day. Since then I have made 4 more. I have decided this is the perfect thing to donate to the homeless shelter. I am going to do this in conjunction with Marlee Anne's UGA Miracle fundraising. If you would like to sponsor a scarf it will go to the homeless shelter in your honor and in memory of Abe and Mary Elizabeth. The money will go to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. 

You can donate at the link below. Please make sure to make a note that you would like a scarf to be donated to the homeless shelter. Thank you for helping someone stay warm, helping children and remembering Abe & Mary Elizabeth. 

For the Love of Abe and the Joy of Mary Elizabeth. http://www.helpmakemiracles.org/participant/Abe

Great day!

Friday we increased Michala's cannabis oil. It's midnight in GA so I can share this and call it a day. Michala had NO - yes that's zero startle seizures. That's the first time that she has ever been a whole day without any since she started having them. We almost went an entire day seizure free but at 4:00 she had a 6 minute seizure. That's what I would call an awesome day! Thank ya'll for your continued prayers!

Cold in Georgia

So it seems Mike is being blamed for bringing the cold back to Georgia from Colorado. I for one am thankful for the blue skies, sunshine and warmth today in Colorado. I think the cold in Georgia is so ya'll will sympathize with me when I am whining about being cold. This too shall pass right? I have to say being in Colorado makes me more thankful for things at home that I too often take for granted. Praying God continues to mold us as He uses us where He has us. 

We adjusted Michala's cannabis oil recently to see how it would help. With the other formula she was still having wonderful cognitive improvements, better seizure control but still some break through seizures. Right now we are seeing some frustration and agitation as her body is adjusting to something new. Not at all unusual for her or with any type of medication change. We have gone back to a lower dose to see how her body responds. She still has plenty of room for adjustment if needed. We are hoping to see more and more improvement with this in the next few days as her body adjust and the medicine gets in her system. 

I am not sure how much I have shared about the specifics of what she is now doing on the cannabis oil. We have always talked to Michala through everything we have done, asked her questions even if she wasn't able to respond and had conversations with her. 

As we dress her we tell her what we are doing. When we put her shirt on her she would try to help put her arms in. Now more times than not when we get her shirt over her head she puts her arms in all by herself. She has never used her right arm much and had trouble getting it in her shirt. Now it's like she realizes she has a right arm and uses it. She even reached for her cup twice with her right hand the other day. Also when dressing her we tell her we are going to put deodorant on her. We help her lift her arms so we can apply it. Now when she sees the deodorant in our hand she will raise her arms. She sees it, the message gets to her brain and her brain reacts correctly. 

We have read and heard stories of how cannabis oil heals our brains and can help development. To see it actually happen is incredible. 

We have always given Michala hugs, love &'kisses and told her what we were doing. Now she does it on her own. Every morning when Marlee Anne wakes up she sits down in front of Michala and Michala wraps her arms around her, hugs her and gives her a kiss. Sometimes Marlee Anne will say squeeze me tight (this is something Granmama always said to us) and Michala will squeeze her. 

I am sure there are things I am leaving out. Oh yes! Laughing appropriately. Whenever we are watching something or Marlee Anne is telling a joke (if it's funny) Michala will laugh at just the right times even before one of us laugh. 

God is allowing us to see things in Michala that confirm we are doing the right thing. Days get long being away from home. We miss our family & friends. We miss our church. We miss our home. The saying "home is where your heart is" is so very true because my heart is in Georgia. No matter how hard I try, I think I will always be a Georgia girl. 

We try to stay busy so we don't dwell on Mary Elizabeth & Abe not being with us. Thankful Colorado has a lot of things for us to see. Thankfully they are free because two households in different states is challenging. Once again God provides through amazing people. So blessed!

We will be thankful to come home safely and legally with the cannabis oil when HB1 passes and growing has begun so that we can get the right cannabis oil that will help Michala, like we are getting here in Colorado. We will be even more thankful when children we know can reap the benefits we are seeing in Michala, that they so richly deserve. It's hard to know that this Miracle drug that can help so many is not readily available. It's hard to read about one of our friends suffering through seizures when relief is out there. We realize how blessed we are to be able to be here for Michala. We are thankful. 

Please continue to pray with us that Georgia does the right thing this year to bring all the families home and help so many other Georgians. Please reach out to your state representatives and senators to gain their support. 

Thank you Representative Allen Peake for your tireless efforts, incredibly hard work and huge amounts of love you have put into HB1. We are forever grateful to you, Betsy and Journey of Hope for changing Michala's life and giving her so very much! We love ya'll!!!