Great Reports

First off, I wanted to write a brief update on Katie John.  She is the young mother I wrote about not long ago who was found by her husband collapsed on the floor of their home not breathing and with no pulse. I don't know if anyone was able to pinpoint exactly how long she had been...well...dead, but the paramedics were able to shock her heart back to life.  Miraculously, Katie not only survived but is doing quite well.  She was diagnosed with Long QT Syndrome.  Other than some short term memory loss, she seems to have made a remarkable recovery.

Now on to some fantastic school reports.  Alex had state mandated End of Course Tests (EOCT's) that she had to pass in order to graduate from high school.  If she failed any of them she would need to retake the failed portion in her junior year.  Her first test was in Algebra which she wasn't worried about at all.  Keep in mind that this is the same girl that had to take mandatory remediation b/c she was failing Algebra at the beginning of the school year.  She passed that one with an 84%.  The next two, in English Lit and Physical Science, she was very worried about and quite certain she would fail.  She ended up passing English Lit with a 70%!  Obviously that is just barely squeaking by, but we are all absolutely *thrilled* that she passed it!  The Science EOCT was the last one and the one I thought she would have the most difficulty passing.  She showed me.  She passed with a 74%.  After it was all said and done she finished the semester with three B's and three A's.  On top of all of that, Little Miss Smarty Pants went from a fourth grade reading level going into the school year and exited testing at a high eighth grade reading level.  Her English Lit teacher, who is also her advocate, called me personally to give me this news and to tell me how proud she is of Alex.  She added that most ESOL students only gain about 2 reading levels per year.  And because all of this isn't enough, Alex also tested so high on the ESOL tests, she is actually able to exit the program and be a "regular" student.  However, if she exited the program that would mean that she would no longer be afforded accommodations such as using a word to word, English to Russian, word translation book.  She also wouldn't be given additional time to take tests if she needed it.  We both agreed that Alex should stay in the ESOL program another year to get her feet planted firmly on the ground.  After next year she will simply be ineligible to remain in ESOL because her test scores will be too high.  I did speak with Alex about it as well, and she was in full agreement.  We are insanely proud of how hard Alex worked this year and how much she was able to accomplish.

Rhys and Maddox both had great school years as well.  Rhys was able to pull his failing spelling grade up to a "B" for the fourth quarter.  He finished with three "B's" and three "A's".  He also earned the science award for his class and the music award from his music teacher.  I must admit, the music award surprised me.  He was really excited that he got it.  He also had state mandated tests which he earned "Meets Expectations" or "Exceeds Expectations".  He did exceptionally well on the Science portion.   Maddox got all "O's" (Outstanding) with the exception of one "S" (Satisfactory) in spelling.  The most exciting part of finishing 2nd grade for Maddox is that her absolutely, fantastically amazing teacher has decided that she isn't ready to let her class from this year move on without her so she is looping with the entire class for 3rd grade!  Maddox is beyond thrilled as am I.  This teacher is the kind of teacher that Maddox will remember and give credit to for her future successes as an adult.

Maddox had a very big morning.  She has been growing her hair for over 2 years with the intention of donating it to Locks of Love  Today was the big day!  A great big shout out to Kelly at Kelly's Salon for the fantastic cut.  Kelly was kind enough to give Maddox a complimentary haircut because she was donating her hair to Locks of Love.

Last few minutes of long hair.

Hair down to her waist

After 10" was cut.

Getting it styled.

Finished!

She loves it!

Katie John

A young woman that I know of through the Ukraine adoption community was found by her husband yesterday not breathing and with no heartbeat.  Her two young daughters were home alone with her at the time of her collapse.  Paramedics were able to resuscitate her and she is now in a medically induced coma.    The information I am posting below was posted on this young mother's Facebook wall by her father.  Please keep this family in your prayers.

I wanted to provide an update on what is happening and what will happen to Katie in the next 3 days.She was moved from the ER to the ICU last night sometime after 3:00 AM. Brett and I were allowed to see her for about 15 minutes. Since the hour she was admitted, she has been encased in a hyperbaric blanket that cools her core body temperature to 33 degrees C, or about 92 degrees F. This dramatically slows down vital body functions, alleviating her from having to work so hard, but also reduces the amount of oxygen required by the body. She'll be kept in this state until approximately 9:00 PM Tuesday. She is also on a ventilator to assist with her breathing. She is essentially in a medically induced coma using drugs that act as both an anesthetic and an amnesiac so that she will not remember any of the days of her treatment. Sometime on Tuesday night they will begin the process of very slowly warming her core temperature back to normal. This, by necessity, requires anywhere from 24 to 36 hours. Likely sometime on Thursday they will attempt to wake her up and evaluate her neurological condition to determine the degree of injury she may or may not have sustained. For the time being Katie's heart is beating strongly and there does not seem to be any immediate threat. However, it's what we don't know that will determine what happens going forward and we won't have an idea of that for at least 2 or 3 days. For those of you local to Myrtle Beach, the rules in the ICU are necessarily very strict for the next two or three days. We are restricted to very short visits in very short bursts, especially during the period of the induced coma. Even Brett is only allowed a quick visit every hour or so. We tremendously appreciate your expressions of love and concern for Katie and the family, and we are by no means saying you shouldn't come to the hospital if you feel you need to, but you must lower any expectations of visiting directly with Katie until we can get beyond the initial intensive treatment. What we need more than anything at this hour is prayer. It can be cliche to say or request that, but this is no cliche. In the natural there are circumstances about this event that make it difficult to hope. But there is nothing more encouraging than to read texts, emails, Facebook posts, and tweets from people literally all over the world who are praying around the clock in a wall of passionate supplication before God on Katie's behalf. We can't thank you all enough for the way you've reached out to Katie and the family. But now is the time to seek the sovereign will of God and beg for the life of my little girl.

Selflessness

This morning at church, Alex was invited to go with a group of friends to see The Avengers when service let out.  After talking with the mom who was driving the kids and exchanging phone numbers with her I sent Alex on her merry way and told her to call me when I needed to come get her.  Rhys was very upset about being left behind and not getting to see the movie as well.  After Jeff and I got home with Rhys and Maddox we asked some people we knew if it would be inappropriate for Rhys to see the movie.  After weighing the cons (language/violence) against the pros (fun movie, bonding time with Dad, a chance to talk to him about seeing/hearing things that might be inappropriate doesn't make it okay for him to repeat...) we decided it would be okay for Jeff to take him.  When Jeff told him that he could go to the movie he asked if Maddox could come, too.  Jeff told him no and explained that she was still too young.  In an amazing show of selflessness, Rhys said he didn't want Maddox to feel like he did when he didn't get to go with Alex.  He picked out a movie that would be appropriate for both of them to see.  I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of his actions.