Wednesday was my sister's 15th birthday, which is why I didn't write a blog.
I wanted to spend every moment celebrating her. She's been through a lot in the past couple of years, especially this last one. This blog will be dedicated to her.
I have mentioned a few things about my sister Hannah and her health. The reason I haven't elaborated too much on this subject is that most of you reading this know all about her condition.
This information will be for anyone who wants to read it, my new readers, and future ones as well.
I could write all day and still not cover all the details of what has happened to Hannah in the past couple of years, but I'll start from the beginning.
Hannah has had off-and-on stomach issues her whole life. It wasn't until 2021 that her health really began to go downhill. It started with what we thought was a stomach bug but the symptoms never went away. About a month and a half later she stopped eating. Every time she tried, she would have this awful pain in the upper center of her abdomen. Little did we know this would begin a very long journey to find out the illness that was causing these stomach issues all along.
She was in and out o the hospital all the time and none of the doctors could find what was wrong with her. Eventually, some of the doctors tried saying she needed physiological help and that she was making up these unbearable pains. Can you believe that? All because they couldn't find a medical diagnosis. Obviously, this was unacceptable.
Thus we began the journey of finding a good doctor who would help her.
By the end of the year, she had gotten so bad that she was no longer eating a single thing.
Not even a crumb of food was going into her body.
She was completely malnourished and had lost a significant amount of weight.
The doctors refused to believe that someone could go without eating a single thing and still be alive.
Matthew 19:26 "But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."
Though we didn't know how this was possible, God knew exactly what He was doing.
She continued to get worse as the days went on. The worse she got, the harder it was to find a diagnosis. To make a long story short, after many months of praying and searching for a diagnosis, the Lord finally brought answers. In August of 2022, my whole family went to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. It was there that she was diagnosed with MALS (Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome) MALS occurs when the arc-shaped band of tissue in the chest area (median arcuate ligament) presses on the artery that sends blood to the upper abdomen. The artery is called the celiac artery. Only 1 in 10 people have been affected by MALS. This illness causes severe stomach pain and every other symptom Hannah had been having. The only cure for this condition is surgery. We thought finding a diagnosis and cure would be the end of this trial, but we had no idea how long it would take to find a surgeon who would do this surgery on someone Hannah's age.
The diagnosis was in August and it took us til the end of the year to find a surgeon in Oklahoma who was willing to care for Hannah. After a couple of months, it came to our attention she wouldn't be able to do the surgery either. Her lawyers were not willing to allow her to care for Hannah because she was fourteen. This was a very disappointing moment.
Thankfully it didn't take us long to find a surgeon in Houston, TX. He was willing to see Hannah as soon as she turned fifteen so they scheduled a Telemed appointment for January 19th.
(The day after her 15th birthday)
Yesterday was the day! The day we waited so long for. It was exactly what we needed!
The doctor was amazing and 100% willing to do Hannah's surgery!
This was a huge answer to prayer and a true miracle.
This was a moment of celebration for all of us and those who have been praying for Hannah.
The surgery will be scheduled within the next few days.
Hannah will have a long road of recovery, but I am so grateful we are finally able to move forward. God is so good!
Mark 11:24 "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."
The past couple of years have been a whirlwind of emotions and hard times, but God has been faithful.
Hannah never stopped fighting.
She continued to smile through the pain.
I have personally seen her faith in God increase and she now completely understands what it means to lean on and trust in Him.
God has made her into a better person through this trial of life.
I know she has been such an incredible example to others.
She is a picture of God's grace.
I am so thankful for God's many miracles!
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