Wonder of Wonders, Miracle of Miracles

I was reminded today of that song from Fiddler on the Roof: Wonder of Wonders, Miracle of Miracles. I just got back from my sister's house two days ago and I was just processing all that just happened to my little nephew Zach and his family. In all this time of knowing where he was and where he is now in his health I hadn't really taken a special moment in time to really thank God for how He had healed and is healing Zach. He seemed to be a normal boy when he finally came home from the hospital. He could have been handicapped for life or not even with us right now. The effectual, fervant prayers of a righteous people yields much, doesn't it? God's grace is poured out so abundantly when His people are unified in prayer. It's truly a wonder of wonders, a miracle of miracles and miracles should never be taken lightly. We praise you, Lord, for this miracle that you chose to perform in our midst.

It's Thanksgiving Day tomorrow and I love this holiday more than most because it actually encourages you to do something good. Being thankful is something I struggle with and it is nice to have a little boost in my spirit to be with friends at this time of year and just sit around being thankful. It's been quite a year for us with many bends and twists in our road, painful and prosperous. We may not see the benefit in all that God works in our life. It may seem so very hard, the things we go through, but we know that He is working all things together for our favor. He loves us more than any and His ways are perfect.

As you enjoy your day, think back over the year and think of all the miracles God chose to perform in your midst both great and small and let the praise of the Lord just pour out of your heart. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

I've Got Quite a Man

Just wanted to boast about what a great husband I have. While I write this he is outside preparing his Jeep for my long journey up to my Sister's house. He took the Jeep down to a mechanic and got it completely serviced and maintenanced for me. He changed the oil and filter and is making sure the spair tire is raring to go in case it's needed. He's out there scrubbing it down and making it look brand new for me. He has taken off work indefinitely for me to be with my Sis and her family during this time. I know...*for some of you who pay attention to grammar*...He, He, He. Yeah, and a Ho, Ho, Ho and a Who, Who, Who! Ha! Yup, HE's the best husband I ever had or will ever have, rather. I fell asleep in creative writing 101. Pray for wisdom for us because Brian may take a travel nursing job in their area so that we can be close that for as long as they need us. It really is good timing because his job is cutting his hours way back and we can't keep putting up with that. Travel nursing seems to be lucrative enough for us to pay our bills here and there. They pay for furnished housing, travel expenses, utilities, sign on bonuses and in some cases Brian would be paid more than double than he makes now. So this might be a good thing for all of us and I could also be close to my sis. We have some time to think about it and pray over it. Either way he will have to find another job or this one has to get better or something. Anyway, pray for me. I leave tomorrow. Thanks!

Beth's Latest Blog Entry for Zach

I wanted to share something with all of you about Zach that might help in your understanding of his condition. It is probably very hard for someone who has not been with him from the beginning of this to realize that the great progress he has made is not equivalent with him being normal and going home in a few days. Way are so optimistic and we pray that God would heal him, but we also realize that it is a baby step process.

When Zach "played basketball" the other day, it wasn't literally playing basketball. We were excited because he could pick up the basketball and purposefully throw it. When he says words, they are often slow and slurred and hard to understand. When we make him get up for a walk, he cries almost the entire time he is up. When he stacks blocks in the playroom he also cries while he's doing it, and he is very weak and slow in his movements.

I write this because I want all of you who are praying along with us to understand as we have come to understand that this could be months of hard work and therapy for our little guy to come completely back to us. And the truth is he may be a little different when he does come back. That is okay-he is alive, he is awake, and he is improving every day.

What we need to pray for now is that he will begin to really eat. He gets 75 percent of his food at night so we have to try to get him to make up the 25 percent that he needs during the day.

I am about to go do laundry so I will see you all later!

Blessings
Beth

Amazing Progress for Zachary!

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/zacharyjames

Click on this link to check out Zach's amazing progress!

I thank God that he is healing and getting better!

It Just Keeps Getting Better Folks!

This is another update on Zach. Things are on the up and up, but this is still a tall mountain to climb. Here is Brad, his father talking:

Hallelujah! What a Saviour! I have some news to share with you all. My son, who just five days ago could not communicate with me or look at me or any of the things that we take for granted just took a walk to the play area. While in this area, he was able to take a basketball, pick it up off the ground, and then take a shot at the hoop. I must confess, he has a great looking form. He probably gets that from his dad. After making these shots, he showed up Michael Jordan by doing some pretty awesome dunks. YES, you read right! My son who was in semi-coma five days ago was showing us how to dunk a basketball. All I can say is TO GOD BE THE GLORY! Now he has not completely come out of the woods per say. He still has not clearly talked to us, but the time will come. Just thought you all would be excited to hear the good news.
TO GOD BE THE GLORY! - Brad

I second that, Brad. He is worthy of all of our praise!

We Plead for Mercy and Justice and Help for this Lady

10-year-old boy injured in crash transferred; condition upgraded - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

I couldn't believe this when my cousin in Rockford blogged this article(click on the link above) in the paper about my nephew. The first half of the article is about Zachary and the lady who hit the car he was in. I am so angry. She could have killed these kids(not to mention the people in the OTHER car she hit) if they weren't wearing their seatbelts and yet they let her out of jail on $100 bond. She is a loaded weapon and what if she does this again before her trial begins? The holidays are approaching and it could take months for the state to produce a court date. I know this lady probably needs Jesus, but that doesn't mean she shouldn't be sitting in jail right now where she cannot harm anyone else. I pray for her that she would come to know the Lord personally and also that she would seek the help that she needs for her drinking. Church, please continue to pray for Zach. It still may be a long road ahead for my sister, Beth and her whole family. Thanks again.

Deb Paul

HUGE UPDATE FROM BETH ABOUT ZACH!

I have to update everyone on our HUGE news. Zachary went to the bathroom, not once but twice! Yep, that's right.

I really should start at the beginning. Zach is officially not in any kind of coma. Just overnight it seems he has moved out of the state of non responsiveness, into the next stage of the recovery process. He began to get really fussy this morning around 8:30, and sat up on his own several times, only to lay back down again. He would fuss, and open his eyes for a short time and look at me. I got to hug and hold him a few times while he was sitting up, then I would try to get him to lay back down. He would just cry and cry, then he finally decided to turn his whole body around and try to get out of the bed. He is a very strong little guy so the nurses came in and helped me get him back in bed, however he just kept trying to get out of bed. Finally it dawned on someone that he may have to go to the bathroom, so they brought a portible toilet in here and we helped him get to it, and at that moment all the fussing ceased, and boy did he have to go! When he was done, we got him back in bed and he conked out for a long time. We were all jumping for joy around here, and are still very thrilled.

We also saw the neuropsycologist. She explained many things to us and I will do my best to explain what I can here. Our brain has a lining around it that has three layers. The layer touching the brain was where the bleeding occurred and the bleeding touches the brain and so the brain kind of has to work around that. Now the blood will be absorbed by the body and disappear but there was also another type of injury called diffuse axonal injury or DAI. The cells in the brain are called neurons. They kind of look like a flower with a head and a stem. The stem is the axon and it's what carries the impulses from place to place kind of like a cord that carries electricity. Well thes axons in Zach's brain were stretched and bent, and could become broken or frayed.

It's amazing how the brain works! What happens is, the brain tries to find a detour around the damage! And it also seeks other cells that can take over the job that the damaged cells used to do. While his brain is working hard to do this, it shuts everything else down. This makes Zach very sleepy and in need of lots of sleep and quiet.

Right now, zachary has made great strides just overnight and this stage that he is now in is the hardest stage because he can be very aggressive and restless, or combative. It's hard for us but wonderful for him because he is progressing in the right direction. The doctor said that this stage means there is no going back!! Every one who makes it this far, never stays here. They always move forward, it's just a matter of time and patience. Out of the 8 stages of recovery, this is stage four, so he has come so far in 5 days. Praise God.

Thank you all so much for keeping in touch with us and praying for us. Just remeber also Julie, Jeremy, Maddie and Nathan in your prayers as well. They have their own trials to overcome and they need our prayers too! Blessings to you all and we'll be in touch!

Beth

Beth's Blog for Zachary

This is Beth's own blog about Zach's updates and information:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/zacharyjames

Please go there and encourage her with notes!

Still Waiting on God

It's so hard to wait. It's so very hard to wait and see or hear that Zach is or isn't going to be his old self again. We pray and we wait on the Lord. In all this waiting we also know that God has made some promises to His people from his word. These verses flood my mind:

"I say to you, that if two of you will agree on earth as touching any thing that they will ask, it will be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:19-20

"And we KNOW that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

"Now unto Him who is able to do EXCEEDING ABUNDANTLY above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." Ephesians 3:20

"They that wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings as eagles, they will run and not be weary. They will walk and not faint."
Isaiah 40:31

We all want answers, but God gives us promises and He asks us to wait. Prayer pulls us in closer to Jesus as we pray to Him for this little one who so desperately needs our prayers.

My eight-year-old son Ian gave me a letter he wrote to the Molander Family and I want to post it:

Dear Molander Family,
I heard the news about Zachary. But I wonder how well Zachary is. But I hope God sends Miracles to your house. And I also hope that God answers your prayer and heals the pain and sickness.

Love your nephew and cousin,
Ian Thomas Paul

P.S. Will you answer me?

It seems Ian has the same question we all have. God please hear and answer our prayers. I KNOW He will.

MRI for Zach in the morning

The latest on Zachary:

He is scheduled for an MRI this Monday morning. This will show more detailed imaging(more than a CAT scan) on what parts of his brain have been affected. Overall, he is still in the same condition. I will update with his MRI results as I get word. Isaac, Mikayla and Austin are staying with a family from Berean Baptist Church for this coming week who will make sure that Isaac gets to school every day. I am glad to know they will all be together because they need each other right now. Beth and Brad are watching Zachary in shifts to make sure he doesn't pull any of his tubes out involuntarily. Also, little Maddie Swanson was released from the hospital last night on crutches. She had a fractured pelvis in two places. I'm so glad that she is going to be okay. Julie, if you are reading this: Beth told me that you were her lifeline in the hospital and that she is already missing you being there. One last thing is that my mom is planning on going to be with Beth and the family soon and I am still trying to find out if I can go with her today or tomorrow. Please keep praying for Zach. Thank you all so very much.

ANOTHER UPDATE ON ZACH MOLANDER

I talked to my sister this morning and things were still the same with Zach. His body is having involuntary movements where he will open his eyes or move a part of his body unconsciously. He has not awaken yet fully conscious and responsive to those in the room. He did scratch his knee once and open his eyes really big one time and they he closes his eyes and goes out again. Beth asked the nurse if she could just prepare her for the worst in Zach's situation and she said she couldn't do that, but that the doctor was going to take Zach in for another CAT scan and let Beth and Brad know if any other damage shows up in the brain that may have developed. It really is such a time of waiting for everyone now. Pray for Beth hard. She is exhausted, numb and just wants her sister there with her during this time. My mom will be going back up there later on this week or next week to be a pair of hands for Brad and Beth. IF any of you family members or friends out there can bring their family a meal or put some money in their pocket please contact the Pastor at Berean Baptist Church over in Beloit, Wisconsin, 608-365-5878. I can imagine their church has been a blessed help and will continue to be, but she may need on going help for weeks ahead after the church runs out of help for her, etc. This accident happened in IL and their insurance covers them in WI but I'm not sure about IL, so can you imagine...all the kids had all sorts of tests. The life flight itself I have read on the internet could be 10,000 dollars all by itself. We will touch on that topic later. Please just keep praying for Zach, the Molanders and the Swansons, too. Thank you!

UPDATE ON ZACH MOLANDER

I talked to my sister Beth an hour ago to ask her how her son Zachary was doing and she said that he had moved his body some and had moaned. He also opened his eyes for a short time and immediately closed them and became unresponsive again. He has not spoken at all yet and has not become responsive fully or focus on the people in the room. The doctor had reassured her that this is normal for someone who has suffered the kind of brain trauma that he has. It could take days for him to fully come out of sedation. So right now we are playing the waiting game to see what he will be like once he is aware of his surroundings. The doctor had said he could see him coming out of this and being okay. Beth sounded exausted and numb when I spoke with her. Please continue to pray for her and the whole Molander family. Thanks for your prayers. I will update you all whenever I get word.

PLEASE PRAY!

Please pray for my sister's family, the Molander's and Julie and Jeremy Swanson's family. Julie and Jeremy were driving home with all four of my sister's kids and their two kids from Chucky Cheese last night and they were hit full speed by a drunk driver who ran a stop sign. Zach, my sister Beth's eight year old is the one who seems to have recieved the most injury. He was unconscious at the scene and remained unconcious until he came to the hospital. They had intubated him and he came to and realized where he was and he began to scream and tried to take out his intubation. They sedated him and ran tests and gave him a cat scan. The cat scan revealed that he had suffered from a major concussion and some bleeding in the brain. The last I heard, he was still in intensive care and they had taken the intubation out and was taking him off the meds that were sedating him. They were all waiting for him to wake up from the sedation to access what exactly, if anything is wrong with his brain function. Please pray for little Zachary and the whole family. If I know Zach at all, I know he is fisty enough to come out of this on the better side.

Maddie, Julie and Jeremy's daughter has a factured pelvis in two places. Poor Austin, I was told, looks the most battered and brusied externally and also has a factured hand. Jeremy had some disorentation and could not remember what had happened, but I think he is okay. Julie's neck is hurting her, but it may be whiplash. Mikayla is sore and has burns where the seatbelt were. Nathan and Isaac are totally fine as far as I have heard.

It turns out that the driver at fault was a thirty-something lady who was drunk. She actually hit someone else before the Swanson's car was hit by her twice, once before the car hit a pole and once after the car spun around.

My heart aches for my sister and her husband, Brad and the kids as they go through this. Thank you all for your prayers. I will have a post with updates soon.