Eli and his Family

(2 year old Eli - isn't he adorable!!)

I have mentioned my friend Christy and her son Eli in previous posts. Little 2 year old Eli is currently receiving chemo treatments for acute lymphocytic leukemia.

Brad & Christy are friends of ours from church back when we lived in Missouri. I remember what a blessing they were to us when the boys were first born. Christy and her mom came and stocked our kitchen for us when the boys first came home from the hospital. That is just a small picture into their generous hearts.

I was reading Christy's updates last night and my heart just hurts for them. As a mom I can't fathom having a 2 year old battling cancer and a 5 year old daughter. Their lives has been flipped upside down having to learn and immerse themselves in this new medical life.

The good news is Eli is doing well with his treatments. Praise God! It is a total answer to prayer and they would covet continual prayers for Eli. Passively Christy mentioned his treatments will continue until September 2013. I just could not believe it, 3 years of treatment is a long time! I know that it is worth it to save his little life. I am thankful for today's medicine to help Eli get better, even if in the moments it is stripping away his immune system in order to give him his treatments.

A testament to their relationship with God has been their ever present reliance on the Lord. They consistently bring their readers back to God's strength in their lives. That is such a living testament to me of being in the trenches and still crying out to the Lord! She wrote the other day:

I also want to say Happy Anniversary to Brad Tree! :) I never could have imagined where life has taken us this past 10 years. We have had some really great times, and some tough times, but through the good and the bad we have kept our faith in God and each other. I always dreamed for our 10 year anniversary we would be on a cruise ship sailing off into the sunset, but as I watch you read a book to Ellie and Eli right now, as they snuggle in close, I realize there is no where else I would rather be. I love you, Brad. ♥

It just touched my heart! I am thankful to know this wonderful family!

I ask on here for anyone that reads my blog, could you take a moment to pray for this family? For their relationship with each other? Their son Eli? Their daughter Ellie? For God's strength, for treatments, for monetary help?

If you would like to have your little kids pray for him and send him a drawing (or even send his sister a drawing), their address is:

Brad & Christy Tree

5356 W. Josh St

Springfield, MO 65802

Thank you, friends!

You can follow Eli's story on their Caringbridge webpage or their Facebook page.

Eli is home!

I first mentioned little Eli's story HERE. His mom has been updating the Facebook group HERE (if you want to join!).

She has made some amazing updates that has just made me incredibly happy for them! First, little Eli was approved to work on his treatment in his HOME TOWN, rather than driving 3 hrs to Kansas City once a week! How amazing is that???!!! They were discharged last week to head back home and that is now their home base. He also had been getting very sick on one type of medicine, and they were able to switch it to another type and it seems to be working better. His sister recovered from her cold and was able to complete their family life at home.

As you can see above he is celebrating the 4th happily with his mom (taking the picture), his dad and his sister!

I know that they still have a long road ahead of them, and their family is relying on the Lord to help them through this process. Please keep them in your prayers!

What can you do???

I like how The Message translates James 5:16a: "Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with."

Here are some items you can pray for specifically:

• Eli's painful/difficult times to be easier on him and his family
• Financial help for medications (just ONE of his home medicines are $75 each time they get it)
• Favor with insurance to allow their hospital to be considered "in network". Right now they are "out of network" and are starting to get some REALLY scary bills. However, this is the only pediatric oncologist in Missouri
• Rest for the family all around, renew their faith daily, and rejuvenate their lives

Thank you for praying for sweet little Eli!

Edit: for those of you in the Springfield, MO area, please check out this fundraiser for Eli. Eli's Trike-a-thon (click on the link).

Praying for Eli

Friday I logged on to my Facebook and saw an update from a friend of mine back in Springfield.

It made my heart sink. I sat there stunned. I cried.

This little 2 year old cutie was diagnosed Friday with acute lymphocytic leukemia.

Tomorrow he goes into surgery for his port. He also will get another spinal tap and bone marrow testing. In the afternoon he starts his chemo.

Eli in his hospital bed

Brad and Christy attended church with us when we lived in Missouri. They are those uplifting people that just love God, love their family and love life.

Eli (2), Christy, Ellie (5) & Brad

As Christy wrote her update at a Kansas City Children's hospital 3 hours from their home, I am just amazed by her strength. Not only did she communicate how sad she was, but she also pointed back to our Lord and the strength He has given her and Brad.

Eli and his Mommy

They have had to step away from all that was familiar to them in order to get a diagnosis for their son. This includes not being able to be Mom & Dad to their little Ellie. Thankfully they have family that has been able to support them and help with Ellie.

Big sister Ellie, Brad & Eli

"Why do I post this?" You ask?

PRAYER

Please pray for Eli. Pray for his parents. Pray for his sister. Pray for their family. Pray for their doctors.

"I don't know him." That is ok. They would love your prayers anyways!

I asked Christy what are her top needs at this time. She said "Right now there seems to be a million things to pray for, but mostly we are praying for a complete healing of Eli's body, and for us to stay strong as a family. There have already been so many hard issues we have had to deal with in just the past three days, and I know there will be so many more in the days to come. But thankfully through all the prayers we are feeling God's peace. "

Look at this little guy! Such a trooper!

They have hope to go back home in a week and continue on with his treatments there.

If you would like to have your little kids pray for him and send him a drawing (or even send his sister a drawing), their address is:

Brad & Christy Tree

5356 W. Josh St

Springfield, MO 65802

If you want to join the "Praying for Eli" Facebook page for updates and prayer requests, please click HERE.

Thank you,

Sitting Shiva...

Sitting Shiva - /definition by Rob Bell/An ancient Jewish practice that is called sitting Shiva. When you loose someone you love (or you know a family that has lost someone), you go to their house. You just sit with them. You don't say anything. If they want to talk, then you talk. If they prefer silence, you give them silence.

This is what comes to my mind when I have been thinking about the loss of little Bethany and what her family is going through. Sitting Shiva. I first saw this video in our Nooma class at First Assembly in Siloam Springs. Rob has an amazing way of bringing up how even Jesus mourned. If he had the need to mourn, we also have to. We can't push it away, we can't become bitter, we need to let it out. It has been an AMAZING video that touches me every time I watch it.

Nooma 012: Matthew - Part One & Part Two (click on the links to see the actual part one and part two video)

Here it is. The final message from some wonderful people about the last days of dear Bethany.

I'm so encouraged and amazed by their faith in our Lord! I mean, I love the Lord with all my heart, but I don't know how they were able to deal with this. They are amazing!!!

I know this is not the last we have heard from this awesome family. I know we'll be seeing their passions for people and causes come forth in weeks, months and years to come. Bethany and her legacy is not gone nor forgotten. She will be living on in the hearts of her family and friends that will work to honor the battle she has lost.

As I mentioned before, please keep their family in your hearts and prayers for a long while to come. Here is what Amy had to say about Bethany's last days. It is hard to read. (click HERE to help them with their funeral fund)

Dear Prayer Warriors and Friends,

I want to first say a HUGE thank you to all of you who have prayed for Bethany and our family. I am truly humbled and blessed knowing that so many people have joined this group. I am amazed by the amount of love and support our family has received just through facebook alone. Its just amazing that so many people have shown their support and love to our family during this extremely difficult time.

Bethany was and will continue to be my hero. Her life on this earth was extremely short, but it made such an impact. God placed her on this earth for so many reasons. She brought so much laughter and joy on a daily basis. Her character and spirit was so playful and silly. Bethany was such a trooper and that fact alone taught us to be stronger and to endure. She NEVER let the cancer in her body get her down. She knew she was sick but she never moped around seeking pity. She endured... she lived every day with zeal for life.

The last 2 weeks of Bethany's life was beyond difficult for our family. It was so hard physically seeing the cancer finally take control of Bethany's life. Through out Bethany's life, people use to say to us that they never would have guessed Bethany even had cancer. They used to say: "put a wig on her and you would think she was just fine." Well, the last 2 weeks of her life, everything changed. By the time she passed on, the cancer had spread to every single part of her body. She was in so much pain. Bethany was on constant extremely high dose pain medicine. Even on all of those meds, we could barely move her without causing her to scream out in pain. She stopped eating and walking. I have to say, even through all of this difficult time, every now and then, the true Bethany showed through. She wanted to walk and talk, but just couldn't.

Tuesday, March 9th, was her last full day of life. She basically slept and cried the whole day. We were having such a hard time seeing her this way. Around 8pm on that day, her breathing started to sound very labored and full of fluid/blood. We thought it was going to happen quickly. So, my husband and I stayed awake. However, she kept breathing and breathing. By 3 am, both my husband and I fell asleep, Mike was holding Bethany and I was sitting on the couch next to him. Then, right around 5am, Mike woke me up and said that Bethany was gone. She had waited until we were sleeping and at peace.

The morning after she passed went by so quickly. The hospice team came, some close friends came and our pastor came. We spent some beautiful time with Bethany's body and eventually the funeral directors came and got her body. The sweetest thing was what Mike said that day. When God gave us Bethany, Mike was the first person to hold her. It was like he was physically receiving the gift from God. Then when she passed away, he was the last person to hold her. He was the one who carried her to the funeral director's van and laid her body down. Mike said it felt like it came full circle... he received Bethany from God and then he gave her back to God. That is truly how we feel right now. We are so blessed that God would consider Mike and I to take care of Bethany while here on earth. Through God's help, we did every little thing possible to give Bethany the best treatment possible. The day Bethany was diagnosed with cancer, I knew deep inside that her life was going to be a difficult road. However, I knew God was going to be with us through every single obstacle.

Earlier I mentioned that I knew God had placed Bethany in our lives for so many reasons. I truly believe that the greatest reason Bethany was placed in our lives was to help us fall in love with God so much more. The greatest lesson I have learned through out all of this is: GOD IS FAITHFUL. My relationship with the Lord is the only thing that has kept me going. God's love for me and my family has never failed and because of that we have the strength and peace to make it day to day!!!

Bethany's funeral last Saturday, was really a testimony of God's faithfulness. I couldn't have asked for a better service. It was so beautiful.

I know that sooooo many people have been touched by Bethany's life. So many of you have contacted me personally and shared so much of your life with me. I say this to ask one last question: What should I do with this facebook group? Obviously, I believe it is an awesome tool to talk to people and rally prayer. Should I change the name? I was thinking about keeping the group, but I'm just not sure right now. Please share your opinions.

Thank you once again, from the bottom of my heart!!! Your love and support is just mind blowing. Even the support we have received financially is just amazing! Wow! I could go on and on... but I will stop here.

May God Bless you greatly!!!
-Amy

A Homegoing Celebration

In the last couple days I have been trying to decide how to write this next post. If it is this hard for me to write it, I can not IMAGINE what it is like living through it right now!

On Wednesday morning, as she slept, little three year old Bethany decided to dance into heaven and hug Jesus close. Now she is PAIN FREE!

This has been a difficult two years for her family to endure, I know the upcoming days, weeks, and months will be just as hard for them. Please keep them in your prayers. Could you mark a day each month for the rest of the year to pray for them? They have a lot of adjusting to do as a family. Bethany was the youngest of three girls, and her sisters are also having to deal with this loss.

Today they are having a Homegoing Celebration for this little princess. Please pray for the family, and pray for those that don't know Jesus that they will come to him through Bethany's story.

If you want to contribute to the funeral fund (even $1 would help!), or want to know more about her story, please click HERE.

Do you have a $1?

Do you have a $1? A paypal account or check? A minute of your time to send it? I will give the latest update on Bethany in a minute, but I know some might choose not to read it. That is ok, I understand it is hard. However, they are about to be hit yet again financially with funeral expenses for their 3 year old, and their friends are rising up to try and raise the money and be a blessing to this hurting family.

DONATE VIA PAYPAL:
If you want to donate via Paypal, just log into your account. Choose the tab "Send Money". Put in the following email address: mahagerman@yahoo.com Put in the amount you choose to bless them with. Change the tab under the amount to "Personal" and choose the "Gift" option. (this will not charge the Hagerman family the fee for sending this blessing). Submit and it's that easy!

DONATE VIA MAIL:
If you would rather send a check, gift card, note, please write a check to "Mike and Amy Hagerman" and mail it to:
Hagermans c/o Jones
1632 W. Norton Avenue
Muskegon, MI 49441


Now, for those of you that didn't see my previous posts about this precious family, you can do so here and here.

Please continue praying for this family! This is the note I received this morning from Amy; Bethany's mom:

Dear prayer warriors,

I will FOREVER be grateful for all of the people who have joined this group. Your prayers have meant so much to me and our family. May I encourage you to keep praying, keep seeking God, continue to grow closer to HIM and continue to have faith!!

In the last couple of days, Bethany has taken a major turn for the worse. The blood and platelet transfusions that she once was receiving to help bring energy and comfort, no longer work. She is in so much pain and is just miserable. These last 3 days, nothing about Bethany is normal. It is beyond difficult to see her this way. She doesn't talk, walk, eat, or play. When she tries to talk it comes out like a scream and doesn't usually make sense. She refuses to wear any clothes or a diaper. She has bruises everywhere and her eyes look like a grown man has punched her. They are swollen to the point when she tries to open her eyes you can barely see the whites of them. All we can do at this point is hold her close. We snuggle with blankets and towels. We try everything we can to give her comfort. She is on a continual i.v. of pain medicine. We are hoping this really helps her.

I apologize if this is very difficult to read.

Many of you have been very concerned for Mike and my well being through all of this. Please know that we are hanging in there. Not many people understand this, but our emotions are kind of numb. All we desperately want at this point is for Bethany to be pain free and not in misery any more. We are stressed, however, I honestly am amazed how well we are handling it so far. There are certain people that have been placed in our life that have made things so much easier. The hospice team are extremely professional and truly a God send. Our pastor has been so sensitive and amazing. There are friends that I have that I know I can call any time of the day and will do any little thing that needs to be done. The love and support is above all I could imagine. Seriously, as horrible as this time in our life is... GOD KNOWS!! Because He knows, He has provided in every area. I will continue to place my trust in Him. The very last worry I have has to do with the financial burden of the funeral. I have been told it is extremely expensive. With that being said, I have to just sit back and see that God is going to help provide means to cover all of those expenses. I can't let the stress of finances bother me at this point.

Okay, I better end this update... but before I do. I would like to personally invite you and your family to Bethany's funeral when it happens. Mike and I want this funeral to be a beautiful event that pays wonderful tribute to our princess/trooper. Also, this funeral is going to be an event that will bring so much glory and praise to God. We are praying that so many people will come to know God through this. As many of you know, Mike and my goal from the very beginning of this journey was that God would be glorified through all of this and that our life story would be a testimony to the love of God and HIS strength.

Thank you once again from the bottom of my heart for all of your love, prayers, support and encouragement. May God truly bless you in such a huge way!!

-Amy

Update on Bethany

Caution: Hard reading ahead
My heart breaks for my friend Amy and her family, I just can not imagine dealing with this horrible cancer in their little three year old. I received an update the other day and wanted to share it with those that were wondering how they are doing. (For those of you that did not see my first post about Bethany, or want to still contribute for Project Smile, please click on this link.)

Bethany and her Mommy

Hello friends,
My husband and I went to Ann Arbor yesterday to meet with a few doctors. We were kind of hoping to get some good news. However, after talking to the doctors for over 2 hours the news is NOT good. Bethany will no longer be receiving any treatment. Her cancer has progressed so much that at this point, nothing would really help. The doctors went into great detail why she would not be able to get any treatment. Rather than just saying no, they actually explained it. We talked a lot about what other hospitals have and basically, there is nothing out there that U of M does not have.
She has cancer basically on every bone of her body except her hands and feet. 95% of her bone marrow on her left side has cancer in it and 50% on the other side has cancer in it. The cancer has done major damage in her skull area. The bones near her cheeks and sinus area have eroded and so even if they were able to get rid of more cancer, they would never be able to fix those bones. Those eroded bones in and of itself are fatal.
Basically, we are at the point right now, where we are really concentrating on keeping her pain free. She will continue to get transfusions for a short time, maybe a couple of weeks top. After the transfusions stop working, then she will have just a few days left.

I apologize if this is a very difficult thing to read. Trust me, I understand how emotionally hard it is to hear our story and what Bethany is going through. My own emotions are going through the roof. I HATE having to look at funeral homes for my 3 year old little girl. I HATE seeing her miserable. I HATE feeling stressed, confused, sad and really scared.

I continue to put my trust in God... I know He sees each of my tears and hears my heart cry. I will continue to turn my eyes on the Lord.

Please continue to pray... Please pray for my family. These next few days are going to be extremely difficult on all of us, especially Bethany's older sisters. They know that Bethany is very sick, but I don't think they have a clue what is going to happen.

Thank you all for your continual support and love shown through all of the mail. It really has brightened our day!

God Bless,
Amy

Project Smile

With a heavy heart I write this. I have a friend that I went to college with and Dan grew up with in MI. She has three girls and her youngest, Bethany, at 16 months of age was diagnosed with Stage 4 High Risk Neuroblastoma. She is younger than my boys.

I have been receiving updates via her Facebook prayer page, and CarePages. Her most recent scans this week shows now the cancer over her entire skeleton. They are having to look at pediatric hospice for this little angel of a girl.

As a mom, I can not imagine having to deal with this whole process. My heart aches for that family with every update I see. However their love and faith in our Lord has truly kept them going. Every day when I think of this family, I go to the Lord in prayer asking for his guidance and peace for them. I want to help in any way I can, as I think we all feel!

A few weeks back a few of you might have remembered getting a note from me asking you to help with Project Smile. It is a simple process. Innendate Bethany and her sisters with mail! If you could PLEASE send something, just ONCE! More often, if you can. A recent message from Amy tells about the smiles that her girls get every day when checking the mail. They have at least 50 pieces of mail a day and read each and every one of them. The local Police came out to meet Bethany and give her well wishes! Please think about taking a moment and sending her a card for Project Smile.

Sisters Katy & Audrey with Bethany

The gold ribbon represents Pediatric Cancer Awareness.

I have included the original Jan 16th email below from Amy about the kick off of Project Smile:
"Hello Friends, As you may or may not have heard, we got some pretty difficult news from Bethany's doctors this week. We have never been given a time frame on Bethany's life expectancy before, but this week the doctors gave us one. The chemo that she has been having has not been working. If this continues and nothing we try does damage to the cancer, than she may only have 2-4 months left. We have been waiting to get on a brand new clinical trial. If that one works, that may add another 2-4 months. What do you say or do when someone tells you that your child has only a few short months left in this world? How do you smile? How do you find the strength to even get out of bed? The only answer that I know is through JESUS! Our families heart has been so overwhelmed with sadness these last few days. It is only by the grace of God and His mercies that we have peace. We have to now focus on the happiness of Bethany. We do not want these next few months to be miserable on her. It brakes our heart to see her feeling sick and we want to do everything we can to brighten her spirit. So, I really feel the Lord placed an idea on my heart. Here it is: PROJECT: SMILE! We would like to brighten Bethany's day with a piece of mail from those who have been praying for her. So many people have asked me if there is anything they can do for her or our family and this would be a great idea. Help bring a smile on Bethany's face and not only her face, but her sisters and family member's faces. Send a card or postcard. She loves getting mail!! It doesn't have to be anything special. If you need an idea, she loves animals and in particular puppies. We really aren't asking for anything special, just a simple hello will do.

Our address is:
The Hagerman Family
1257 Leonard Ave.
Muskegon, MI 49442

We are so thankful for all of your prayers and love! May God bless each of your lives in such amazing ways!! Keep believing for that miracle!! With much love, Amy"

You can find out more about Bethany by clicking here.