And the Phone Rang

Yes!  It did!  Today, in fact.

Dad answered the phone, and it was the head of the Sarcoma Center at M.D. Anderson.  There had been a cancellation.

And we have an appointment!  It is this Tuesday, June 1st.

Yes!  There was a rush of joy throughout our house at the news.  Truly, God is guiding our path.


Feeling ever so blessed,

Emma

Simple Things

"Ah.. the simple things."

That's what Dad said before he left the house after lunch today, watching Johanna ply a dishrag across the countertop, watching Mom guiding Matthew through his calendar exercise, watching Grace and Sarah Anne, building a duplo house.

It seems there is little to say, no news different than what you have already heard.  But we are still here, we are still pressing our way over the path before us, praying and hoping and trusting.

Every day I rise, make breakfast, then do chores for an hour with Grace, whilst Johanna works in the garden.  Then, at 9:00, we go our separate ways, Johanna and Grace to their school, I to my writing.

Mom is resting, reading, praying, and writing to friends and family.  In the mornings she monitors Matthew and Sarah Anne in their schoolwork.

Dad is doing his work with all that he is.  He continues to pursue communication with M.D. Anderson, waiting with all the patience he can muster for the ever elusive appointment.  He helps keep the house running, makes sure Mom takes her pain medication, and he works in the shop whenever he can, making calls, doing cabinet drawings, writing up job proposals.

Sam and James are both here with us.  Sam edits pictures and video non-stop, trying to catch up with all his work.  James works on his house.  They both work for Dad off and on, whenever there are cabinets to be cut out, built, and installed.

Our dear friends from Washington and my aunt, from Oregon, are still with us, helping us bear our normal everyday responsibilities, being an encouragement and a support, and your cards and letters and donations keep coming, every day, blessing us with love and prayers, and reminding us to hold on to Him.

We are weary, wearing down beneath an emotional strain that we forget we bear.  We are realizing the need to add rest to our daily schedule, and you, our friends and family, stand beside us, helping us, reminding us that we must slow down, that we must rest in Him.

Pray for rest, dear friends.  Pray that every single one of us would find it, emotionally, spiritually, and physically.  Pray that we will discover the strength we need to have courage and to continue to stand in the face of all tribulation.

With all my heart,

Emma

Prayer and Praise ALERT

There is new news.  It came upon us suddenly, and we are putting out the word.

The PRAISE:  We have Medicaid.  The process of obtaining it has been completed through much effort and much blessing.  Yay!  We don't know if they will cover the full extent of Mom's medical expenses, BUT it will be an immense help.

The PRAYER:  Now, that we are ready to move forward, we have been informed that M.D. Anderson will be unable to schedule us in until mid June.  We feel an urgency, that we cannot wait this long, that something needs to MOVE.  So we will pray, with all of our hearts, that God will shake the walls that are rising around us.  That He will carry us forward in His will.

Your donations have been a blessing beyond our feeble expectations. Dad must spend much of his time pursuing Mom's needs, and is finding himself pulled away from the cabinet shop.  And there will be travel expenses in reaching Houston, in food and gas.  In other words, Mom's medical needs are now met, but our own expenses, living, traveling, etc. continue to greatly benefit from your heartfelt donations.

We offer all of our gratitude, wondering if it is enough.  Your donations, your thoughts, your prayers, your words, are covering us in a blanket that no dark cloud can shake.  Isn't our Heavenly Father amazing?

With all my heart,

Emma

Movement

Dad has been pressing forward, day after day, calling and emailing and calling some more, pursuing a consultation appointment at M.D. Anderson.  As of yet, the appointment is still not scheduled, but Dad's efforts are moving us forward, and your generous donations are making it possible for us to pursue the best medical care available.

Mom and Dad are packing their bags.  We are ready when we get the call.  We stand waiting.

Mom spends her days on the couch, resting, and spending time with dear friends and family who are often here, helping, sharing, and pouring their love out on all of us.  Every evening we sit in His presence, and every day we wait for His words.

Pray for that, that we would continually seek His wisdom, the Dad's burden would ease, that he would be able to sleep at night, that Mom would find continual peace, that we all would find rest, and be still in our Father's arms.


Emma

"Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place, the Most High, who is my refuge, no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent."  Ps. 91:9,10

How Does One Explain?

It is difficult to find the right words, to truly describe what life at Rambellwood, our home, is like right now...  overflowing in joy, whilst battling confusion and anxiety, melting in the peace of God, while warring with the problems of men.  How can I speak everything that is overflowing in us?

We want to send Mom to M.D. Anderson.  They know more about her rare cancer than any hospital we have yet heard of.  But... despite the blessed influx of donations, we hate to give that money to M.D. Anderson.  We shrink from spending so large an amount, when we are not sure.  We think it's the best place, but what if there were another, 10 times less expensive hospital, waiting in the sidelines to help us?  We don't know, and it is such a big step. We don't want to throw away the funds so graciously given, from the heart.

That is what we struggle with now, what Dad fought and battled with all of today, calling people, back and forth, back and forth, calling our contact at the hospital, our insurance company, and Medicaid.

But, dear, wonderful, friends, tomorrow is a new day.  We have not given up.  We have pressed forward.  And we feel that God is guiding us.   We are unspeakably grateful to all of you, for your support, and prayers, and donations.  They are more than we could have hoped or dreamed for.  Already, we have enough donated funds to pay for the hospital bills already contracted in the beginning, the CT scans, the biopsies, the consultations.  And God is here with us, deeper than he has ever been, moving in the strength and power that only he possesses.

Before I close, may I ask this one thing?  That, when you pray, you pray for wisdom, you pray for peace.  Pray that my parents be given the answer God has set aside for us, that their anxious thoughts will melt away, and leave room for God to speak.

In hope of the new day,

Emma

"Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder the things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert..." Isaiah 43: 18&19

What This is All About

Less than a week ago, my family and I found out that my mother, Bonny Ramsey, had cancer, that it was a rare, quickly moving cancer, and that our insurance policy would not cover the kind of medical care it needed.

M.D. Anderson, a hospital with an entire Center for this kind of cancer, is asking us for $25,000 for the initial consultation.  It is vitally urgent that we get Mom to that place as soon as possible, and we need to raise the money to do it.

Please read our story, and consider making a donation, no matter how large or how small, to aid us in getting our wife, and mother, and friend, into the Sarcoma Center at M.D. Anderson Hospital in Houston, TX.

With all my heart,

Emma Ramsey