GroshLink

Thursday's MRI witnessed to the power of God and the answering of many prayers of the people of God as the blood in Eden's brain stem area is being reabsorbed. Our physican team is confident in the diagnosis of a "cavernous malformation" (CM) which our doctor described as a leaky blood vessel. The CM itself doesn't show up on the MRI b/c it's so small, but rather it's the blood around it that you see. It's only as big as the bleed. And in Eden's case, since the blood is disappearing, it's getting smaller. This is the closest description we've found for it--not sure if it completely matches Eden's diagnosis--see http://www.angiomaalliance.org/cainfo.html All the blood present in the MRI is old and there is quantitative (and considering her growth proportionally) less blood visible than the previous MRI.

In addition, our physican team is confident in transferring her care to a neurosurgeon at Hershey Med, trained at Children's in Pittsburgh, to follow her care and address any significant developments (note: there is a 1-2% chance in a given year of a repeat bleed). Our doctor has a high level of confidence in this neurosurgeon and will assist us in acquainting him with Eden's case. And since we will most likely find other qualified specialists at Hershey to follow her eyes and ears, we will hopefully eliminate the need to travel to Children's in Philadelphia (or Pittsburgh).

As you continue to follow Eden's growth and development, please link over to http://groshlink.net/album/eden_06 to download and/or print a photo to have it on the computer (in a prayer bulletin, or the refrigerator) as you, your family, and/or your local congregation lift her up in prayer.

Rejoice w/us in the gifts given by God and responsibly applied by those whom have given Eden care over the past 15 months, in particular the our family physican and Children's lead physican for our case who have consciously offered their gifts, skills, and training to the glory of God.

Good report from Eden's Ear-Nose-Throat (ENT) evaluation this morning. The tubes in her ears are functioning well, fluid is not interfering w/her hearing. The ENT is for the first time saying that she may regain hearing in her left ear, because her other neurological symptoms are improving. It is possible that the auditory nerve may recover. Praise God! We meet w/our primary physican at Children's Hospital on Thursday morning, followed by an MRI. We are looking for the MRI to reveal a continued decrease of the actual size of the brain bleed.

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The good news is: Eden can now commando crawl as it is called (squirm on her belly to go forward) b/c she no longer gets her right arm stuck underneath her. The bad news is: now she goes everywhere and is into everything! The other day she wiggled out to the kitchen and pulled the magnets off the refrigerator. Most parents deal with this stage much earlier, so I won't complain about the reprieve we've had. In fact, I'm not complaining at all--I'm overjoyed!

Her other new trick is to sit up on her own from a side-lying position (left side, she still can't push herself up with her right arm). It's been a big week :)

Cheers,

Theresa

P.S. from Tom: Lots of recent pics posted here. We'll try to take and post a commando crawl pic over the next couple of days. I can't take one now as I'm completing a few tasks at Panera before an appointment w/CMU alum Sam Portnoff to discuss faculty ministry. He currently serves CCO at Elmira College through North Presbyterian Church.

Dear Family and Friends,

Our first decade with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA (IVCF) has been a great joy. By God's grace, we can testify to seeing Students and faculty transformed. Campuses renewed. World changers developed. As our next step in ministry, IVCF has asked us to become catalysts for the further development of workshop and networking models for faculty ministry in the Mid-Atlantic area. We are enthusiastic about this opportunity to use our gifts and experience to inspire and equip faculty to engage the whole campus with the whole Gospel through their whole lives . . .

As part of this new assignment, we will be relocating closer to family to receive support for Eden's care as Tom focuses time on an itinerant pioneering ministry, which will serve both the Lancaster County, PA, and Pittsburgh areas. For us, returning home evokes memories of idyllic rolling countryside and quaint Amish farms. Since farming is so central to the identity of Lancaster County, we have adopted the theme of barn-raising to represent our transition.

Looking to brush up on what the world was like in 1981? Take a moment to read through and reflect upon Mission Impossible: Your Commitment to Christ, Billy Graham's presentation at Urbana 81. He finishes with the powerful personal story given below, which drives home the challenge There are a thousand things you can do with your life, a thousand things for which you can spend it. But how many of them will enable you to say at the end of your life, "No reserve, no retreat, no regrets"? Father, I rejoice in the gift of life to be about your work today on CMU campus. Speak into the skills, relationships, and opportunities that you have set before me. Empower me with your Spirit in order that I might live under the Lordship of Jesus Christ that as I reflect on my days I might too declare "No reserve, no retreat, no regrets."

In the Solomon Islands we have very broken English. They can't say "God bless you very much," but they say "God bless you too much," which means God bless you so much you can't contain it all so that it must run over into somebody's else life.

How can I be such a person? How can I be a living Bible? How can I exemplify the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, that when I'm provoked something worthwhile will spill out?

We're home from the hospital (well, Children's satellite campus, north of Pgh). All went well. Looking at Eden now you'd never suspect she had just undergone any procedure. They gave her gas to put her to sleep so she didn't even need an IV. We arrived there at 12:45 and arrived at home at 2:45. In fact, I had only been in the waiting room for 10 min. when the Dr. came in to tell me he was done. He said there was a significant amount of fluid in her left ear and a little in her right. We'll go for a hearing test in a few weeks and then see the doctor so that we can discuss the findings.

In other developments (no pun intended), Eden is sitting up by herself very well. And a couple times she managed to push into a sitting position after laying on her side. She just needed a tiny push from me. And just as exciting, yesterday she was purposefully reaching for a toy with her right hand. She was sitting on the floor and the toy was to her right and a little bit behind her. Previously she would have reached for it with her left hand, knocking herself off balance and landing on her nose. But instead she turned at the waist and reached out, shakily, with her right hand. And she did it consistently -- it wasn't an accident :-) So that was very exciting to see. I called it "a glimpse into the future".

Next up for Eden is her 15 mo. check up and her next MRI on 5/25.

Cheers to you all,

Theresa

Up With Grups was forwarded to us by Theresa's sister. Happy to report that we don't fit in with

He owns eleven pairs of sneakers, hasn't worn anything but jeans in a year, and won't shut up about the latest Death Cab for Cutie CD. But he is no kid. He is among the ascendant breed of grown-up who has redefined adulthood as we once knew it and killed off the generation gap.

En route to United 93 I visited an Urban Outfitters just for the cross-cultural experience :-) Talk about not fitting in . . . the books, the sneakers, the t-shirts, and the music (it was so loud that the manager couldn't concentrate in her office and had it turned down). I should say that I did appreciate seeing The Giving Tree.

Whether the Gospel of Judas is valid or not is immaterial. The fundamental truth of Christianity has not changed; Christ is still at the center. What can change is a person's ability to interpret his own place in the makeup of the greater scheme.

Even though a wise man thinks he can comprehend it, he won't be able to find it (Ecclesiastes 8:17). However, it is the attempt and the search that take him somewhere greater.

So concludes Gospel of Judas shows betrayer in new light. Please join me in prayer for students who find the campus culture creates a safe space to explore and embrace diverse perspectives, but fail to realize the importance of embracing the God who really is there and provides direction and content to our exploration. Click here for an earlier post with some resources regarding the Gospel of Judas.

P.S. Also join me in prayer as I seek to sort through in what way followers of Christ should respond to Speaking out with quiet voices in a daily alternative lived out in a robust form. More thoughts next week, when I've had a little more time to think about the ways in which this event combines a variety of minority voices.

If there is a discernment I take away from my time at the university that might be of value to Christians who feel called to live faithfully in their academic careers, it is this: the spiritual stance of the Christian in academic discourse must be fundamentally opposed to the sneer. I believe that there never was a sneer in the voice or the face of Jesus. He was most harshly critical of the religious leaders of the day, but he did not sneer at them. Prophetic address is humble before the Father, even when Jesus did it.

Please take a moment to download and read more of The Academic Sneer as an Instrument of Discipline. This is a brief summary of a presentation from at our fall conference on Success and Failure in the University given by Gary Willingham-McLain, the Pastor of Friendship Community Church in Oakland and a former CMU Assistant Professor of Literary and Cultural Studies. It will give you insight into the University community and the importance of InterVarsity's vision to see

Students and faculty transformed. Campuses renewed. World changers developed.

Pray with me that the insights of gained from presentations and conversations at this conference will continue to work their way in the lives of graduate students and faculty on campuses in southwestern PA. Also begin to pray for those which will take advantage of the opportunity to participate in the October 28th conference on The Nature of the Soul, led by Terry Nichols of University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN.