I read the following article:  A past enveloped in love, a future that’s uncertain… and was brought back; back to the perinatal clinic. 

I am sitting with Greg in a small conference room crying.  I am appalled by the cold, icy eyes of the doctor who said, “You don’t have to do this…”.  

My mind is foggy, “What? - I don’t have to do this?  This is my life.  I have to do it.”  

If you asked me to recall the entire conversation, I couldn’t do it, and that is odd for a detail person like me. 

But every so often I remember more.  I read this article and remembered, “Your baby will most likely outlive you.  We don’t see a serious heart defect and the life expectancy for people with Down syndrome is increasing.”  

My mind is racing.  I am grief stricken.  I want to run away.  I breathe, I go home, I cry, I pray …

and God says to me, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)” he continues, “For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ ”(Jeremiah 29:11)

Gradually, I listen, I believe, and I allow Him to comfort me.  It happens slowly and it happens in pieces. 

I suppose it is still happening, but I am no longer afraid of my future or of my daughter’s future.  I now enjoy meeting older children and adults with Down syndrome; it used to be scary.  Elly is 3.

I am busy living today and I am busy enjoying today.  Elly brings so much love and joy to our family, it almost makes me burst.  I can’t imagine life without her. 

In fact, I think I am so busy living and loving today that I almost stopped worrying about Elly’s future.  I almost stopped until I read this article.  

Yup, Elly will probably outlive me.  Elly is in great health.   She is also blessed with wonderful and loving siblings, but what do I expect from them?  I don’t know, I really don’t, not yet.  I don’t know what the future holds but I do know who holds the future: “the Lord our God will be with us wherever we go” and “He has plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future.”

Thanks to Seattle Times reporter Maureen O’Hagan for reminding me, but I’d like to change the title of her article to, “A past enveloped in love, a future that’s certain with God”.

The Article:

James Jensen considers himself a “ladies’ man,” even though he’s never been on a date.

He likes to say he’s “retired,” although he’s never had a serious job. When a cashier asks for money, he responds, “You’ll have to talk to my banker.”

The banker in question is his mother, Delores Jensen, who’s been his staunchest defender, his biggest fan and his loving caregiver for 47 years. And James, if it isn’t clear by now, is a charmer.

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Tuesday, April 29th Elly is having a Tympanoplasty, also called eardrum repair, to reconstruct a perforated tympanic membrane (eardrum) in her right ear. They will do the procedure post auricular, from an incision behind her ear. They will inspect her middle ear space and if there is no evidence of cholesteatoma or other ear disease, the edges of the perforation are cleaned and a tissue graft is placed under the perforation. Usually, the tissue graft is the outer layer of the temporalis muscle (the muscle used for chewing that you can feel in the side of your head).

Please keep Elly and Dr. Levinson, her ENT, in your prayers. The procedure is scheduled to occur at 9:30 a.m. CST.

We have known of her bilateral ear drum perforations for a year now and we were hoping not to have to repair them until she was a little older. At a recent ENT check, it was discovered that her right perforation (previously the smaller one) had grown exponentially and become marginal. The perforations have decreased her hearing causing a conductive loss and she has a hearing aid for her left ear. A marginal perforation is more concerning because it is less likely to heal and often lead to acquired cholesteatomas. If untreated, a cholesteatoma can eat into the three small bones located in the middle ear, which can result in nerve deterioration, deafness, imbalance and vertigo.

I will update as soon as I can. Enjoy these photos of Elly with her “button” and keep her in your prayers.

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I’m sure you’ve heard of the flip phone, the slide phone and even the i-phone? Well, Elly’s Extra’s releases the all new Foot Phone. Guaranteed never to run out of batteries (yup I said NEVER!) and almost impossible to lose (thanks to low muscle tone)! Also featuring a special esteem boosting message of “love you to pieces” daily! Call and hear it for yourself, she takes requests!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Phrases to listen for include: “Call Tammy”, “Hi Tammy”, “Hi Bob”, “Hi Anna”, “Good Morning”, “Hi Conner”, “Blair” and “Bye”. Elly loves Tammy, can you tell?

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Enjoy this 6 piece puzzle from a picture of Elly on Easter!  My plan is to post familky picture puzzles of increasing difficulty.  Enjoy!

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