Laugh and Sing and Play and Run

Friends & Family, we are experiencing some wonderful answers to all of our prayers! Today we had lunch with my parents and my brother...we said a prayer before our meal, thanking God for our blessings and lifting up Isabella once again in prayer as we have been for the past 2 weeks. Within minutes of finishing our prayer, my phone rang. On the other end was a cheerful voice introducing herself as Jess from the Helen DeVos Childrens' Hospital Hemoc/Oncology Clinic.  "Isabella's bone marrow is good!" Praise God, there is no sign of cancer in her bones or her bone marrow! This is the news we have been on pins and needles waiting to hear!

We are also seeing significant improvement in Izzy's eyes and mobility. She RAN across the living room to me today! A few days ago she could not even sit up on her own, much less stand, walk or run. She is still wobbly, but she is getting a little better every day! I feel like we are witnessing a miracle right in front of us. 

We know that the road ahead of us could still be long, but we are optimistic. We know that Izzy's condition, Opsoclonus-Myoclonus Syndrome (OMS) is a chronic condition that is a mystery to the medical world. From what we understand, it is treatable but not curable. Many kids with OMS do not live a normal life. They may always have coordination and balance problems, learning difficulties, behavior issues, sleep problems, need special education etc. We also don't know if she will need chemotherapy to kill the cancer in her body, or if the surgery on Friday will work to fully remove it all. We are praying that they don't find any more tumors on Thursday with her MIBG scan. We are also dreading that Izzy has to have three more IVs this week, and her little veins are difficult for the nurses to find, it is so traumatic for her to be poked over and over again.  We need your prayers, please don't stop praying for our little girl every day. We are praising Him for the hope that continues to grow every day as we see our baby get back to being her funny little self. (Just now she was pretending to be a puppy and licked Kaleigh on the cheek, and she is singing Twinko-Twinko Wittle Star!)

A song has been stuck in my head all day today from a CD that we listen to in the car. Here are the lyrics, I just love this.

"Let the little children come,
Let them laugh and sing and play and run.
Let the little children come,
God has time for everyone,
For the kingdom of God belongs to hearts like these,
Let the little children come to me."

Thank you for praying and believing in a God of miracles!

Karen & Tom