Special Prayers

Here are a few people I've been praying for lately. I wanted to share their circumstances on this blog in hopes that those that come across it will lift them up with me! 

I Thessalonians 5:17 Never stop praying. 

 Mommy, Deedra, is carrying Baby Sadie Rae. Sadie has been prenatally diagnosed with congenital heart defects: Aortic Valve Stenosis and Stenotic Dilation of the Ascending Aorta. and has been trying to make an early appearance! Please keep them in your prayers for healing and for Sadie to continue to grow and develop in Mommy's tummy as long as she needs to.

You can follow Sadie Rae and her mommy on Facebook using this link...

https://www.facebook.com/PrayForTheGraceOfSadieRae?fref=ts

A coworker friend of mine requested prayers for little Ryan. What struck me immediately about him is that he is the same age as my baby boy, Bryce. Ryan is a happy baby who always carries a sweet smile in his pictures, just like my Bryce does. I can't imagine what his parents are going through right now. Ryan was diagnosed with Leukemia (AML) at only 5 and half months old in June. He just finished his first chemo treatment (mostly with smiles) and has been battling a fever and various other things since. Ryan's family has shirts for sale if you would like to purchase one to help this family. Please pray for healing, comfort, and remission for this child and family! 

You can follow Ryan on Facebook using this link...

https://www.facebook.com/RyanLaSource?fref=ts

It's funny how you become connected to people. Felicia was my dad's nurse through his radiation treatment, and it turns out she is one of my coworker/friend's sister in law. Felicia has two very young children and is battling leukemia. She has spent a lot of time at MD Anderson away from her family, and will be continuing treatment involving a stem cell transplant soon. Thankfully, Felicia was able to come home recently to celebrate her youngest daughter's first birthday! God is great! Please pray for healing, comfort, and remission for this sweet lady and her family. 

THANK YOU!

“The only really happy people are those who have learned how to serve.” ~Rick Warren

This is a picture of Avery and our friend, Alicon Johnson, from the Blair E. Batson Heart Team when we dropped off donations this week. 

Wow! What can I say? Thank you? The words just aren't enough. About three years ago, I felt God urging me to step out of my comfort zone and do something. We had just celebrated Avery's first birthday, and it was a time of a lot of soul searching for me after all God had gotten us through in her first year. I wasn't sure when I'd find the time or if I was emotionally stable enough to put myself out there, but through faith, I followed what I felt God was urging me to do. For once in my life, I listened to the whisper. I got out of bed late one night, and I began to put this blog together when I didn't even really know anything about blogs. So many people have contacted me because it was a source of hope for them after finding out devastating news. Like me, they couldn't find anything else positive regarding their situation online (or from their doctors). This blog has not only given others support, it has given me support through the friends I've met along the way. It's shown me that I'm not alone in what I go through as a mom. It's also shown people that there can be a positive outcome in situations like ours. So many are offered the option of abortion and are told that their baby's circumstance may not be "compatible with life." I am hopeful that the stories shared here (whether life or death outcomes) show that every life has a purpose and their child deserves life, no matter how long or brief. I've often wondered if people grow tired of hearing Avery's story, I even worried people might think I am something I'm not- anything other than a normal person who has made lots of mistakes in my life. This feeling inside of me reminds me that telling about Avery while giving God the credit...it's what I promised in my prayers before she was ever born. I've had the opportunity to share about Avery in two area magazines, on a local television show, at a charity event, on local radio stations during the Batson Radiothon, in front of two large church congregations, and online. I am a person who (believe it or not) is scared to death of public speaking among anyone other than small children! I even waited until right before I graduated from college to take my speech class! If you really know me, you understand my shy and nervous tendencies. The only one of those things I ever sought to do was one of the magazine articles, so I know that God was in the middle of the rest, placing me in those situations! I believe he gives us all a story to tell, and if it helps even one person have a little hope, I am completely satisfied with that.
A short time after beginning the blog, I continued to hear that whisper from God, and I asked if there was a need at our local children's hospital, Blair E. Batson. When the response was for heart pillows, I answered, "yes," even though I didn't sew and had no idea how it would be possible to carry out the task. I hate asking for help, and I hate asking people to do things, but I did. The response? Well, let's just say it's been amazing. Judy Busby of Fabs and More has always kept us supplied with material and stuffing without making a profit. Between my mom and several other sweet ladies listed below, the pillows have always gotten done, and the heart kids at Batson have been able to hold soft heart pillows through their tough recovery in PICU. Others around the country facing medical difficulties have also received heart pillows and CHH applique pillows at times. Because of the enormous generosity of  my Pearl Upper Elementary students and staff, I've been able to donate funds for the Batson Heart Fund as well. This year? They gave so much that I donated almost $1000 AND am able to fund heart pillows for a little over a year! Because of them and people like Barbara Willingham and her son, Eddie, who created bracelets and necklaces to sell for CHH in Willingham's, I've even had the ability to send smaller donations to people who were traveling for medical help or surgeries. Kim Varner of Thirty One has donated proceeds for materials through a CHH sale. Just recently, Rebecca Corley of Usborne Books donated her personal proceeds from a CHH sale, and I was able to give free children's books and $72 worth of meal cards to Batson. Honestly, these things happened with people coming to me and offering, so I didn't even have to ask!
God has brought lots of us together doing small things for a bigger cause. God has done this, and he did it so he might be glorified. A quote from Mother Teresa says, "In life we cannot always do great things, but we can do small things with great love." I believe the small things we've been doing have been done with great love, and I am so appreciative of the many moments I've been blessed by others and God because of this ministry. I can only imagine the glimpses of hope and comfort so many people have now felt because of it, and it makes my heart glad to think they may have realized that God loves them in the moments they most needed to see it. I was told once that a person felt really down and alone in the PICU, and they got a package with a note from me. They all of the sudden felt that someone cared. What did the note say? The note said, "God loves you, and his people are praying for you." To me, that note in that moment was no coincidence. Every good thing comes from him, and every good thing you do reflects him to others.

All that being said, THANK YOU! THANK YOU for you prayers, your love, your support, and more importantly- your time!

Laura Beauman
Jake Bell 
Linda Turner
Judy Simmons
Barbara Willingham (and her son, Eddie) of Willingham's in Downtown Vicksburg
Judy Busby of Fabs and More in Downtown Vicksburg
Carolyn Fisackerly-Justice
Brenda Stokes
Becky Peterman
Laura Wilson
Lacey Martin 
Rebecca Corley of Usborne Books
Kim Varner of Thirty One
Pearl Upper Elementary staff and students

AND 

THANK YOU to each and every person who has ever bought a shirt or item to help us, donated materials, prayed for someone as we've requested, shared the blog with someone, stuffed a pillow, or done anything else regarding Cross Healed Hearts!! 

In Memory of Tucker Cross Hinson

As parents, we all have dreams for our children. While we may have various ideas for how they realize those dreams, the culmination of them is all the same. We dream for safety, love, happiness, health, success, and most of all, we dream for them to be saved by Jesus. What is special about this situation is that the culmination of the Hinson's dreams has already been realized. Tucker is safe in God’s arms, loved beyond measure in Heaven and on earth, filled with a happiness we can only dream of, completely healed, and successful in the fact that he is fully mature in Christ. He got instant Heaven. There is a vision of Tucker surrounded in brightness, smiling as he holds Jesus’ hand, and looking down at his family as he says, “I can’t wait for them to get here and see me now.”

Tucker Cross Hinson was born on July 1, 2012 at Blair E. Batson Children's Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi. He was diagnosed before birth with a rare chromosomal abnormality called Pallister-Killian Syndrome. Tucker also had a diaphragmatic hernia and problems associated with his PKS. Shortly after his miraculous birth, Tucker was placed on the ECMO machine due to his lungs being undeveloped. While on the ECMO machine, Tucker underwent a critical surgery to repair his CDH. While the surgery was successful, Tucker was unable to heal properly and his organs began to shut down. Tucker went to be with God on July 25, 2012 as he was being held in the loving arms of his parents. This blog post is written in honor of Tucker and his amazing presence on this earth. 

Even in the womb, Tucker was touching lives with a smile. Here are some unbelievable sonogram and MRI photos of him. 

An entire community of family and friends in Vidalia, LA and Natchez, MS came together to support Tucker and his family throughout his mom's pregnancy and Tucker's life. His parents, Kayce and Brett are an inspiration to many because of their strength and faith in God. Tucker has touched the hearts of others from all over the country, and is a shining example of how every life, no matter how brief, is full of purpose in Christ. 

A replacement blood drive was held for Tucker, and long lines formed outside as tons of people waited to give blood for him. After his passing, a softball tournament was hosted to raise funds for Tucker's Family. Family and friends also lit candles and released balloons and lanterns for Tucker to honor his life and remember him. 

Mississippi College (Daddy's alma mater) hosted an alumni baseball game in honor of Tucker Cross to raise funds for Blair E. Batson Children's Hospital Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. 

The current baseball team visited Children's Hospital to deliver $1000.00 in honor of Tucker. They also spent the day visiting patients. 

Lights were placed on the Blair E. Batson Children's Hospital Christmas Tree this year in honor of Tucker. 

Tucker's picture was featured in the CHERUBS 2013 Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness Calendar to help raise awareness of CDH.

                                     

With amazing strength, Brett and Kayce attended the Blair E. Batson Radiothon to share their story with listeners as they encouraged others to donate to the place they called home for many nights. They were reunited with PICU staff who had become like family throughout their stay in the hospital. Tucker's mom and dad had 25 days with him at Batson, and they will forever be thankful for those moments. They were also excited to share the news that they are now expecting another child- Tucker's brother or sister!

You can listen to their radio interviews by using this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0va-hwd8ME&list=UUqid6yBDhLr30nBTCDbn6vA&index=3

A note from Tucker's Mom, Kayce...

Well 2012 has been the best and worse year of my life. A year I will never forget. I think it is safe to say I have grown so much in this one year's time. I have had to deal with more than some people will ever deal with in their entire lives. I am not writing this for people to feel sorry for me but for people to learn from this, for people to be drawn closer to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,because without Him I am nothing. We were blessed with 25 amazing days with Tucker and that is something I will forever be grateful for. Most people think that they would just absolutely die if this happened to them and I too even thought that before it happened to me. The truth is, if it wasn't for the peace of our Lord I would not have had the strength to endure all of this. He is my strength and He is the One who blessed us with such an amazing child who changed so many people's lives. Yes, there is not a second that goes by that I don't think of Tucker, and long for him to be here with me but he is healthy and happy and so much better off than we are. He is the lucky one that God chose and I am the lucky one he chose to be his mother. Until that day that we meet again I know he is safe in the arms of God and that God will continue to give me the peace and strength to continue on using Tucker's life as His testimony. 

I want to leave y'all with the lyrics to this awesome song that has touched my heart so deeply. 

"Even If" by Kutless

Sometimes all we have to hold on to

Is what we know is true of who You are

So when the heartache hits like a hurricane 

That could never change who You are

And we trust in who You are

Even if the healing doesn't come

And life falls apart 

And dreams are still undone

You are God You are good

Forever faithful One

Even if the healing 

Even if the healing doesn't come

Lord we know Your ways are not our ways

So we set our faith in who You are

Even though You reign high above us 

You tenderly love us 

We know Your heart 

And we rest in who You are

You're still the Great and Mighty One

We trust You always

You're working all things for our good

Well sing Your praise

You are God and we will bless You

As the Good and Faithful One

You are God and we will bless You

Even if the healing doesn't come 

Even if the healing doesn't come 

Helen Keller once said, “"What we have once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes a part of us." Tucker is a part of his parents and has touched countless people who will be forever impacted by his precious life. They are also touched by the Hinson's testimony of faith, strength, and diligence as they fought for their amazing little boy. They never gave up, and their story will never be forgotten. 

Psalm 34:18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted 
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

~Megan B.

Tucker had Pallister-Killian Syndrome....

Pallister-Killian Syndrome or PKS is a rare disorder which occurs for no known reason.  It involves a double duplication of the short arm of chromosome 12.  It is also a mosaicism.  This means that only a certain number of cells are affected by the extra parts of the chromosome.  Some cells are normal.

PKS is currently known to affect less than 200-300 children in the world.  Some doctors believe the rate of incidence should be as high as 2,000 cases in the U.S. alone.   

 

So, why aren’t there more cases…?

We believe there are cases out there that need more testing to ensure an accurate diagnosis!

Testing is done via skin biopsy, blood work or a buccal smear (cells removed from the inside of one’s cheek).  If nothing shows in the blood, often doctors will leave it at that. 

However, often, affected cells leave the bloodstream after just a few days leaving no trace of anything wrong.  If the child appears to have a disorder, always follow up with a skin biopsy or a less-invasive buccal smear.

Right now, many doctors don’t know much about PKS.  The information in medical documents and the internet is very outdated.  Doctors tell families what they know but that information may no longer be accurate.

PKS Kids is trying to change that through educational materials and opportunities.

One thing is certain; all these children are unique.

*Information taken from: http://www.pkskids.net/medicalresearchinfo.php

along with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia...

Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia occurs when the diaphragm fails to fully form, allowing 

abdominal organs into the chest cavity and preventing lung growth. CDH occurs in 1 of 

every 2500 births; somewhere in the world, a baby is born with CDH every 10 minutes. 

50% of babies diagnosed with CDH do not survive. The cause is not known. Over a half 

million babies have been born with CDH since 2000. 



                                     


CDH is as common as Spina Bifida and Cystic Fibrosis but there is very little awareness and

 even less research. 1600 babies are born with CDH every year in the United States. 

Globally, a baby is born with CDH every 10 minutes.

CHERUBS is working hard to raise more CDH Awareness, and in turn, more CDH Research, 

while we continue to support families affected by this devastating birth defect.

Information taken from:

 http://www.savethecherubs.org/

Elisha's Story

Elisha's Testimony

By: Enna Panchelyuga

           Hello Everyone! I want to share with you our testimony about our miracle boy, Elisha! Our Elisha was in a hospital in February of 2012 for a couple of weeks with a respiratory virus.  He was put on oxygen and sent home. While in the hospital, he was diagnosed with a heart murmur. They did an echocardiogram in the hospital, and we were sent to repeat it again to confirm the results. He was diagnosed with a VSD and a coarctation of the aorta. Elisha began to have weekly cardiology appointments to see how he is doing. His narrowing of the aorta went from 8 mil to 3.

His local cardiologist insisted that he have surgery to cut out the narrowed part and connect the large parts together. On the VSD, they did not want to do anything yet. The doctor said it can close on its own. We were so worried and scared about surgery. It was supposed to be in Denver, and its around a 4 hour long procedure. We were all praying so much. We had a lot of people praying for us. I go to a women's prayer group, and the whole group was praying for him.

When the doctor asked me when to schedule the surgery, I asked if he could do it either at the end of April or beginning of May. The doctor did not want to wait that long, so I asked if we could do it after April 15th. We had a guest preacher coming on the 15th, and we wanted to pray with him. The surgery was scheduled for April 17th. Well on the 14th, that preacher came to my mom's place, and we all got together there. He was praying, and after the prayer, he said we should try a couple of other specialists to get a second opinion. We came home and cancelled the planned surgery. On Monday, April 16th, I called and scheduled an appointment with another doctor from another team in Colorado. There are only 2 teams of doctors in Colorado for cardiology. The appointment was in Denver on the 20th with Dr. Miller. The lady gave me their website, and when I read about this doctor, this is what it said, " Dr. Miller has special interest and expertise in interventional cardiology, which involves treating various heart defects using non-surgical techniques." To me, that was already an answer from God.

When we got to the appointmentt, I told Dr. Miller that I did not want to say what Elisha was diagnosed with. I wanted him to go in blind and find out on his own. The doctor got excited about that idea. To him it was a learning experience! Elisha got an echocardiogram and an EKG done. After that, the doctor came in the room and explained what he had. He drew a picture of everything that was going on with his heart, and he confirmed that Elisha has a coarctation of the aorta. He began to talk about the treatment. He said his coarctation is not critical, but it is mild to moderate. What surprised me the most was that he said Elisha does not have to have surgery! I asked him what would he would do if it was his child, and he said he would wait until the blood flow is smaller. Then he would make a tiny whole above the leg and go in with a catheter through the vein or the artery and widen out the aorta using a balloon. It is not risky and its about an hour long procedure. The child gets sent home the same day.

 It was such a relief for me to hear that! It was an answer from God to us that Elisha doesn't have to have surgery to cut out the narrowed part of the aorta. So for now, Elisha is monitored to see how his blood flow is doing. His next appointment with Dr. Miller was May 21^st. The doc said that the results are better than in April and Elisha's blood flow is actually better (not worse) and he wanted to see him in 2 months. We went in July and that appointment went very well too. The results just keep getting better. His last appointment was in November of 2012, and the doctor said  there are no changes. He is not worried about his heart and feels comfortable seeing him 9 months! Wow! How far have we gotten! Dr. Miller was actually happy himself for the decision we made.  So far, he does not want to do anything- no catheter and no surgery. 

We are happy that we did not hurry with that decision and waited for an answer from God. We believe in God's miracles! Elisha is 14 months old, and he is doing great! He's a very happy and active boy. He is on the small side, but he is developing amazingly! We already see GOD'S hand and how miraculously He has helped us and answered us! He is an awesome GOD!!!! Yes, everything is possible with God. All Glory be to God for all His goodness! Our God is an amazing God!!!!