Chase is Past the Two-Year Mark!

What a road it’s been since Chase was diagnosed on 8/11/05. He’s certainly come a lot further than conventional practitioners expected and he’s continuing to fight his way back every day. Chase has been breathing much better over the vent lately, once again, and his recent bloodwork is the best it’s been in several months. His hemoglobin continues to climb (this time without any transfusions) and all of the indications are that aside from the pressure on his brainstem his body is quite healthy – no sign of the pesty infection that plagued him for a couple of months. We’re continuing to work his limbs with a continuous passive motion machine, which has kept him quite limber and firm, with no atrophy or bed sores to date. Overall, his condition is remarkable considering his unresponsiveness for as long as it’s been. We recently came across this passage / interpretation from Joel Osteen which really seems to sum it up:

Trust God’s Timing: Human nature tends to want everything right now. When we pray for our dreams to come to pass, we want them to be fulfilled immediately. But we have to understand, God has an appointed time to answer our prayers and to bring our dreams to pass. And the truth is, no matter how badly we want it sooner, it’s not going to change His appointed time. When we misunderstand God’s timing, we live upset and frustrated, wondering when God is going to do something. But when you understand God‘s timing, you won’t live all stressed out. You can relax knowing that God is in control and at the “appointed time”, He is going to make it happen. It may be next week, next year, or ten years form now. But whenever it is, you can rest assured it will be in God’s timing.

God is not like an ATM machine, where you punch in the right codes and receive what you requested. Prayers are not always answered in 24 hours. No, we all have to wait and learn to trust God. The key is, are we going to wait with a good attitude and expectancy, knowing God is at work whether we can see anything happening or not? We need to know that behind the scenes, God is putting all the pieces together. And one day, at the appointed time, you will see the culmination of everything that God has been doing. God often works the most when we see it and feel it the least...

This message really hits home and although it sounds right, it sure can be hard to hold onto sometimes. All of your prayers and support have been a tremendous lift throughout this journey and we’re continuing to keep the faith while supporting Chase on his road to recovery. We’re hoping and praying that his recent improvements continue and that he’s finally starting to turn the corner...

God Bless!!

John & Carol Sammut
Chase & Barbara Ann

Thanks for the Inspirational Tesitmonials

After our last post, we received several very inspiring testimonials of people who endured and overcame very challenging illnesses and experienced miraculous recoveries. We continue to believe in miracles and know that they happen all the time – it’s always great to hear first hand about other stories of those who were rewarded for their faith and patience. We know that ultimately Chase is in God’s hands and He knows best – we believe that this entire journey and experience has been a blessing for all of us in many ways, even though we clearly would never have chosen this path. We just have to continue to remind ourselves and focus on the positives that have come as a result of this process.

Chase seems to be getting over the port infection after a couple of weeks of IV antibiotics. We’re praying that it’s gone for good so that we no longer have the risk of removing and replacing the port, or causing a regular process of repeat infections. His most recent bloodwork showed great improvements once agan and he seems to be turning the corner.

Our friend, Meg Koss, who has helped in setting up and coordinating the monthly prayer services recently moved to North Carolina. This month we will be holding the prayer service at our home (532 Brookside Ave in Birmingham) and anyone who would like to join us is welcome to come by on Sunday, Aug 5th at 3 pm. We welcome all of Chase’s Prayer Warriors who can’t make it to join us in spirit at that time. We have no doubt that these prayers have been lifting Chase along his journey and are the main reason that he has gotten this far – he’s truly our miracle boy. Thanks again for all the prayers and support!

God Bless!!

John & Carol Sammut
Chase & Barbara Ann