A Prayer Request

I have a dear friend, Kendra.  We met in Albuquerque before I had any children.  I was working and fairly lonely.  She and her husband, Rick had two precious girls at the time, Constance and Kennedy.  She was new to Albuquerque as well, and at the time Rick was serving in the military and traveling a lot.  She was fairly lonely and later told me she was pretty desperate for a friend, and so God provided a friendship for us both when we were in need of that.  Not long after I became pregnant with Ellie, she became pregnant with a son, Ricky.  We enjoyed those fun and not so fun pregnant days together.  Shortly after I had delievered Ellie (as in still stitching me up), Kendra walks in the room to say hi on the way to her room because she had just gone into labor and was being admitted.  Ricky was born about 8 hours later just down the hall.  

We spent the next 6 months having fun with our babies that were the same age.  Then their family was called to move back to her hometown.  Ricky was having some developmental issues and a few months after they had moved to Ohio, Ricky was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).  It was a devastating diagnosis, as he was thought to have type 1, which is the most severe.  It is a genetic disorder, and it affects the muscular development.  It is also a terminal illness.  The average lifespan for a child with type 1 is only 8 months.   Also, I should note that SMA in no way affects the brain.  In fact, children with SMA have been tested to have average to above average intelligence.  This was certainly true in Ricky's case.

So, last week I received a message that Ricky had been flown to a local hospital and put on a ventilator and that his heart had stopped.  Another message came a few days later saying the doctors were certain of brain damage, just not sure how much.  And finally, I got a call last night that I had been dreading saying Ricky was going to be with Jesus.  More MRIs confirmed there was almost no brain activity.  I talked to Rick earlier today and he said he was having seizures and the doctors told them it was only going to do further damage.  So they made the decision to turn off the machines.  

Steven and I will be traveling to the funeral tomorrow.  Ellie, Luke, and Andrew have unexpectedly gone to the beach with my family.  I am going to be without them for almost a week, and get a lump in my throat thinking about it.  But Steven and I really feel strongly that we need and want to be at the funeral.  Rick and Kendra are a Godly couple.  God has given them both a powerful gift to teach God's Word.  Kendra led a Bible study in Albuquerque that ministered to me tremendously.  They are some of the most selfless people I have ever met.  I know God will use this and already has...And will use Ricky's life as a testimony and Christ will be glorified even in his death.  

Ellie saw me crying last night.  As we were trying to explain why, she asked if Ricky would be with Jesus now.  Yes, we told her.  She smiled really big and said, "Wow, that sounds like fun. I would really like to be with Jesus tonight."  She has met Ricky once and seemed very excited for him that he would be able to use his legs now.

Please pray for this dear family that God will give them the strength to take these next steps. 

Ricky and Kendra when Ellie and I visited in August of '08

                              Constance, Ellie, and Kennedy on the same trip

Ellie and Ricky at 5 months when we were in Albuquerque

                                        Kennedy, Ellie, Ricky, and Constance