Annie's Transplant Update Page

 
This page is being set up by Annie's brother Bart, who can be reached at whitewings5@comcast.net
We will update continuously.
Photos are here: Annie's transplant day photos 

09/17/2003 wed 01:41am

Annie's pager went off, call from the transplant center. Annie makes a call to Lauren who brings Annie, Helen & James to University of Washington Medical Center. She also calls her Mom & Dad who in turn get the phone tree rolling (after starting the dishwasher of course!). At 02:00am my parents called to let me know that it was time to head out. After a bit of stirring, organizing and thinking we left Kent to find Annie's husband Jimmy who was working in south Seattle. At 02:55 we found Jimmy's work site and headed to UWMC. When I told Jimmy what was going on he very calmly replied, “Cool”. Currently it is a bit before 06:00am. Annie is surrounded by her husband Jimmy, and their kids Helen & James, parents Jim & Barbara, sister Kate, brother Bart and sister-in-law Julie, and niece Serena. Also present are dear friends Lauren and Debbie, Pastor Kent, staff Minister Vicki. We are currently waiting to hear a formal "Go" from the transplant team, will update when we hear more.

09/17/2003 wed 06:50am

One of Annie’s long-time dear friends Kathy (Tressel) arrives at UWMC.

09/17/2003 wed 07:00am

A note from Annie

Dear Family & Friends,

Well, September 17^th seems to be the day, my day! Thank you in advance for all your prayers and well wishes. I’m feeling very calm and peaceful an hour of so before surgery because I have full trust in God’s plan for me and I know he is here inside me. I’m looking forward to playing tennis, biking, tap dance lessons, laughing (without a headache), playing with Helen & James and breathing like I’ve never known.

We’ll keep you posted.

God bless you all,

Annie

09/17/2003 wed 08:20am

Annie is being moved down to the surgery center. Now we wait to see if the doctor gives a final OK to start. We are being moved downstairs to the surgery waiting area. There is still a possibility that this could no happen today. We are anxious, that maybe an understatement. Pastor Kent led us in prayer a couple of times before he left. He and Vicki will return later today. Our nerves are feeling the “silence before the storm”.

09/17/2003 wed 09:00am

Our group has been asked to leave the main surgery waiting area, and move to the “quiet room” down the hall. There are too many of us, and there is not a lot of space in there. It is nice though, we have the entire room all to ourselves. We will miss laughing at the sweet old lady who volunteers at the hospital. She seems very sweet, but the phone makes her jump. Kathy & Lauren have taken Helen & James over to the Pacific Science Center for a break.

09/17/2003 wed 10:45am

Jimmy was just called over to the surgery waiting area, someone on the surgery team was calling to say they have started and everything is going smoothly. Annie’s mother in law Pam arrived recently, she told us that more of the Salley family will be coming by later. Pam has recently been working as a Chaplin and led us in a nice prayer. We will be waiting for 6-8 hours before she will be out.

09/17/2003 wed 11:20am

One of Annie’s long time nurses, Gwen, has stopped by to see us. She has been going through her chart, helping locate any meds that need to be avoided. Several of us are meeting her for the first time. She seems to be every bit as wonderful as we had been hearing. We are all feeling blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful people.

09/17/2003 wed 12:15pm

Jimmy was just called over to the phone, THE FIRST LUNG IS IN!!!!!!!!! She is not on bypass. PRAISE GOD!!!!!!! Please pray as we have a way to go, but we have total faith in God.

09/17/2003 wed 02:15pm

Let me begin by apologizing that most of you will be getting this update later than anticipated. The plan was to send the link for this page when all of this started this morning, not 13 hours into a very emotionally stressful day. THE SURGERY IS OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! None of us thought things would move so fast. It is hard to believe how fast the hours have gone by. Dr. Michael Mulligan said that the operation went swimmingly perfect, and that those were two of the prettiest, fluffiest, pinkest lungs he has seen in the last 10 years of surgery. I know that many of you have been praying for Annie and her family for quite a while, Thank You! God is with us!

09/17/2003 wed 03:05pm

Dr. Mulligan just stopped by. He says that Annie is looking better already, and that they are going to be “aggressive” about getting her off of the respirator.

09/17/2003 wed 03:40pm

The phone in the waiting area is ringing; Jimmy answers “5 southeast”. It is someone from the ICU. Jimmy gets to go in and see Annie! We are overjoyed for him, but hope he returns soon with more info.

09/17/2003 wed 06:00pm

Jimmy returns, finally. Annie is looking wonderful, full of pink color in her cheeks and her lips, but we are still waiting for her to come out of anesthesia. 100% on O₂ saturation, blood gasses are normal, getting ready to take her off of the ventilator. Annie’s CF doctor, Dr. Aitken, stopped in to check on Annie, listened to her lungs and heard no crackles for the first time! She is very impressed, suggested we go get a bunch of champagne! Does anyone have Ken Price’s current e-mail address? We would love to get this to him!! People are starting to head out from the hospital for the evening; we will all continue to pray for Annie, Jimmy and family. God is definitely smiling on Annie’s face this evening!! We love her!!

09/17/2003 wed 09:15pm

I have come home for the evening and hope to send out a few thousand more e-mails. (Only kidding!) I apologize if I duplicate any of the addresses that we’ve reached, but I’d rather not risk forgetting anyone. If you think of anyone you think would appreciate getting an update on Annie please do not hesitate to forward this page or send me his or her e-mail. Please excuse me if I am rambling, starting to get a little tired. I think some of the adrenaline rush is wearing off. Just got off the phone with Katie, things at the ICU are going well. Wow, ICU sounds a bit scary but hey, did I mention NEW LUNGS!!!!!!!!! Annie has yet to come out of the anesthesia, but we all think that the surgical team was expecting something longer than a four-hour procedure. The plan is to get her off of the respirator as soon as possible, although we have heard she was not on it during the actual surgery. Friends and family are sending loving wishes and prayer from all over; we appreciate it more than you will ever know. Please, keep it up. I will be printing the e-mails that I receive and getting them to Jimmy so he and Annie can feel a little more connected with this wonderful circle of friends. Dr. Mulligan stopped by recently, he is very happy with the progress thus far. God is AWESOME!! I am hoping for a little bit of rest, but I will update this page if anything new happens.

So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.

“And all things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.

(Matthew 21:21-22)

09/17/2003 wed 10:10pm

Annie is awake!! She is still on the respirator, but will be off soon. This could be an interesting time; it’s hard to talk with a tube in your throat. Think that will stop her? Not a chance! She is signing to every one. Go Annie!!! She has been signing “I Love You” and asking about people. She asked Katie where I (Bart) was, and Katie signed back “h-o-m-e”. Sorry Katie, the tube is in her throat not her ears, she can hear fine. Nice effort though. Annie is also joking a bit by signing “Joke, help s-o-s”. I just could not wait to pass this along.

09/18/2003 thurs 08:20am

I just got off the phone with Katie, she and a few others are on the way back to the hospital from the hotel. Annie was able to be taken off the respirator at 2:30 this morning, what a wonderful way to start a new day. I would like to stress how thankful our family is to all of you for your prayers and support. We have certainly seen God’s ability to perform miracles over the past several hours. But the Lord’s gift for Annie is not just a new set of lungs, it is all of you! I and the rest of my family are thankful to all of you. I doubt the UWMC staff was all that thrilled to see just how many “family members” invaded their campus in support of Annie. We may not all share the normal bindings of a family, but we are a family just the same. Let me take a moment to express my never-ending gratitude to you have been able to come and join us; Lauren, Debbie, Pastor Kent, staff minister Vickie, Kathy, Jackie, Pam, and Susie (I know I have missed a few people, I am sorry!). You have helped us manage, pray, and stay in good spirits. Thank you.

09/18/2003 thur 01:15pm

Thank you all so much for the e-mails that continue to pour in. I wish I could respond to each of them individually, but that would be overwhelming with everything that is going on. Please know that I will be printing every one of them and taking them to the hospital. I am sure that Annie will be in touch with everyone as soon as she is able. Here’s the latest on Annie. She is continuing to improve. She has said to Mom and Helen “I did it. I sure have nice friends. I want to go biking. Now I don’t have to worry about waking up. I can breathe.” Jimmy said this is the first night since he met Annie that he hasn’t heard her breathing sounds. I am currently at work, so I apologize the updates will be a little less frequent. God bless!

I am posting these next two updates a little late; I just arrived at the hospital and got some notes from Jimmy.

09/18/2003 thur 04:15pm

Annie had to be put back on the respirator, her blood pressure has been dropping, and her heart rate was increasing. She has been lethargic and breathing more shallow. The doctors decided to to pump her stomach and put a breathing tube in. Some of this was to help facilitate the insertion of a bronchoscope to allow them to look into her lungs, take samples and remove some normal accumulation of fluid. All tests of the lungs are looking good. They then did an echocardiogram, and that looked good as well.

09/18/2003 thur 06:30pm

Annie is currently sedated and resting comfortably with the aid of the ventilator. All of the doctors are consulting and reviewing lab results. Dr. Aitken will be on her way in as soon as her husband arrives to watch their kids.

09/18/2003 thur 07:45pm

I arrived at the hospital about 30 minutes ago. Dr. Aitken is talking to Jimmy about Annie’s current situation. We have a rough night ahead of us. PLEASE CALL ANYONE AND EVERYONE TO PRAY! Faith has brought us this far, and will help Annie and the rest of us get through this. I have brought the first volume of e-mails to share with everyone. The outpouring of love is astounding. I ask that you continue to pray, and communicate to us the love and support we have been receiving.

09/18/2003 thur 11:50pm

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF PRAYER! Annie is not out of the woods yet, however she has begun showing some definite improvement. A lot has happened since the last update, I apologize for the long break. When I arrived at the hospital earlier this evening Annie had taken a step back. She has been fighting what we believe to be a blood infection. Along with that there have been concerns about her kidneys, the potassium level in her blood was very high, and lung functions were down. Things are now starting to turn around for her. Her potassium level is no longer an immediate concern, as kidneys have begun functioning better. She does however remain on a ventilator and the blood infection is, I think, of primary concern. I would like to take a moment to say a very heartfelt thank you to Joey, who I just met tonight. You were definitely sent to us by God. I am so grateful for your prayers, reading, and encouragement. Pastor Kent came by just in time to share in the news of Annie’s improvement. After receiving a wonderful update on Annie’s condition, we were able to pray together and share our thanks, thoughts, and hopes. We are all so encouraged by the love and support of so many friends, old and new. I would like to close now with a couple of scriptures shared earlier tonight.

Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up;

(James 5:14-15)

Your ways, O God, are holy.
What god is so great as our God?
You are the God who performs miracles;

(Psalm 77:13-14)

09/19/2003 fri 03:20am

I arrived home a few minutes ago and brought my wife Julie up to date on everything. She is so wonderful and supportive of my family. She is truly amazing. I had a few minutes to talk to Jimmy before leaving the hospital, there have been no significant changes in Annie’s condition since the last update. So you may be wondering what would make me post another update at this early hour, I will try to make this quick. I received an e-mail from someone who’s mother will be needing a lung transplant as well. I don’t know them personally but I wanted to ask all of you to please pray for Maxine, as she will someday be in need of the same gift that my sister has been given. I will be sending my prayers as well now, and when the time comes. I also wanted to attach another scripture that was shared with me during this very early hour. All of you are so good to us. God Bless you all.

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. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

(Jeremiah 29:11-13)

09/19/2003 fri 07:50am

I just wanted to take a quick look at any e-mail that may have come in over the last couple of hours. I must say, you guys are sure persistent. I am so grateful. It is hard to believe how many of you, our friends, have been praying at 4:00 am! It is so AWSOME! God loves to see us show our faith, and our prayers are the best way to do that. The words of encouragement that continue to flood in are flat out incredible. I will be taking another pack of e-mails to Annie today, let us flood her with volumes of our love.

09/19/2003 fri 01:30pm

Just got off the phone with Jimmy. Annie is improving. Even Dr. Aitkin is surprised with her progress. The most recent Bronchoscope looked good, although Annie does have a little pneumonia. She has been taken off of the blood pressure medication, and her temperature is good. The have taken the kidney dialysis machine out of the room! Her kidneys are working very well. Sorry this is a short update, but I am at work today. I’ll update again when I get to the hospital later today. Keep the prayers going. We can always use more.

09/19/2003 fri 04:00pm

I arrived at the hospital a bit earlier than expected. Annie has been taken in for a ct which we are awaiting the results from. Jimmy is in the room with Annie, while the rest of us remain in the waiting area. I cannot believe the strength Jimmy has. He is a rock. Annie and our entire family are very blessed to have him with us. The transplant team has been busy this week; they have done 4 transplants this week. The waiting area is crowded and a bit noisy. But the conversations are all interesting. There are a lot of other transplant families here.

09/19/2003 fri 07:15pm

Sorry about the long delay on this update. The wait will have been worth it. Annie’s ct came back and the results are good. She has no surgery related problems, i.e.; bleeding, major lung collapse, that kind of stuff. She is still on the vent, and probably will be for at lease a few more days. As of right now Annie is in stable condition. The doctors are impressed with her progress today. Your prayers and support are felt by us all. Please don’t let up.

09/20/03 sat 01:50am

I just got home from the hospital; I cannot believe the roller coaster ride we have been on. The top priority seems to be the blood infection and she remains in still in critical condition. Please PRAY PRAY PRAY! We must not stop. She needs us to be praying constantly. It is so hard to do these updates when I don’t have good news, but I know it is coming. My body and mind are very tired, but my heart continues to be filled with hope and joy. I am asking that you redouble your prayers.

I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust."

(Psalm 91:2)

09/20/2003 sat 03:30pm

I am sorry for the extended absence of updates. I have been at work today, and could not get myself out of bed early enough before work to post anything. I have been informed by my Mom that a few of you were getting a little anxious during this time, so without any further ado… ANNIE IS GETTING BETTER!!! Dr. Mulligan was in to see her this morning, and the wonderful news is that the antibiotics are kicking in. Her blood infection is still a major concern, but what a relief to hear that we are making progress. And I do mean we. Medicine does not have any power that can compare to the power of prayer. Medicine alone cannot work miracles, that is up to God. Please remain diligent in your prayers. I cannot stress enough how much of a difference you are making. The outpouring of love and prayers that I see around the clock has forever changed my life. I am in absolute awe every time I make an early morning posting and have new e-mail arrive within minutes. My wife just called me into the other room to tell me that our son said that he wanted Cousin Helen, Cousin James, and Aunt Annie to come over to play. Annie was just over last Saturday, the cousins love to play together. Annie even babysat for Julie and I so we could get out without our kids for a while. I can’t wait for her to be able chase them around the yard for me! I think it’s time to get this up on the website. God bless each of you, and please remember to keep e-mailing your love-filled thoughts and prayers. Annie is going to love reading them, let’s fill many volumes.

09/20/2003 sat 06:50pm

Just had a bit of food and am heading to the hospital. This was the first time I’ve sat down with my family since transplant day. What I wanted to share with you is this; Julie grabbed a fortune cookie and before reading stated that “for Annie” should be added to the end. She cracked open the cookie and read the fortune; “Don’t give up. The best is yet to come” (+ for Annie!). Amazing!

09/20/2003 sat 10:10pm

We had planned on everybody going home and getting a bit of rest tonight, but it is impossible to stop a runaway train. We have a couple of surprise visitors tonight; Julie (Jacobs) Horton, and Sherri (Lathrop) Goodwin. Both of whom are from the Kent-Meridian High School years. I am always moved by the love and support that you all bestow on Annie. The waiting area here is housing an impromptu reunion. We continue to hear encouraging news from Jimmy. It is easy to see that God planned for him to be Annie’s rock through this struggle. He amazes me every day with his ability to stay focused on the big picture, and not appear distraught over the occasional stumble. Keep up with the prayers, we have a long road ahead. Every prayer is being answered.

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!

(Psalm 27:13-14)

09/21/2003 sun 12:45am

Oops! I’m a little more tired than I realized; I forgot to post the 10:10 update. I’ll try not to let that happen again. Here it is.

09/21/2003 sun 02:15am

I have arrived home, a bit later than I had hoped. I must say that it fills my heart with joy to see the continuing outpouring of support from all of you. Our visit with Julie and Sherri tonight was wonderful. There have not been any updates about Annie since the 10:00 hour, but knowing that Jimmy is in there I am confident that no news is good news. As I was driving home I noticed a very large crescent Moon low in the sky. It seemed oddly large, and I seemed to be blinded in awe of its size. As I crossed the valley floor the moon seemed less overpowering in the sky, and it appeared to drop on the horizon. Continuing up hill toward home I began to notice the stars high above the low slung moon. The moon was, of course, not setting from where it had just risen. Nor had it changed in size. I’m not sure what caused me to think even about it. But now, by the glow of computer monitors, and a less than moon-like light over head, I think I understand. Every time I have prayed about my sister’s health I have felt overwhelmed. Now I see how many have joined in prayer. I can’t explain why, but it has helped me. It’s not that things are different, just my perspective. I still pray about Annie’s health (more now than ever), but I feel somehow different when praying. I am no longer asking God to tell me how to pray. I just do it. I feel all of your prayers with mine. It brings me great joy. So, just as I had to look upward to the stars above the moon, I had to look upward to see your prayers with mine. I hope my ramblings make some sort of sense. When I wake up later this morning, I may need someone to explain my thoughts to me. Please keep praying for Annie. God bless.

09/21/2003 sun 09:05am

Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name.
For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

(Psalm 30:4-5)

I hope some of you will be motivated to check for updates this morning. We have much rejoicing to enjoy as this day begins. Annie is off the ventilator!!! She is speaking!!! I am waiting to speak to Jimmy, but what I hear from Mom is that Annie’s white blood cell count is down! Behold the power of prayer. Annie’s recovery in going to be long; just like the life she has ahead of her. I am going to speak to Jimmy in a little while and I will tell all of you what he has to say.

09/21/2003 sun 11:15am

Just spoke with Katie; she wanted to share some words from Annie. As you have hopefully heard she is off the vent as of 5:30am. Her first words were “What happened to me?” After Jimmy explained the events of the last few days Annie stated, “I’m sorry I scared everybody”. She is sore; I think that’s probably normal. And her blood infection appears to be improving.

09/21/2003 sun 03:05pm

We have had a quiet day here at the hospital in so far as Annie updates go. She has been resting for the past few hours and Jimmy has spent this time with those of us waiting here. Annie is probably going to be taken off of oxygen later today. It is amazing to think that could happen this soon. The doctors remain anxious for Annie’s body to kick in so she can start eating. The energy boost from food will do her a world of good.

09/21/2003 sun 04:55pm

I just got to talk to Annie. It is amazing to see how great she looks. Her cheeks have so much color it looks as if someone had just pinched them. She is such and amazing person. I can’t wait to see her get up and start running around. We are still waiting for her blood to be clear of infection, as well as being able to start taking some “normal” fluids. I know without doubt that as we continue to pray over her recovery, God will heal her. In typical Annie fashion she asked how I was doing, she knows how I get if I’m in a hospital too long. Somehow, I don’t seem to have any problem being here now. That, in and of itself, is a miracle. I have been meaning to ask a favor of all of you out there; I would like to map out where all of these prayers are rolling in from. Would you please ask anyone you have asked to pray for Annie (Ministers, Prayer group leaders, friends, etc.) to please send an e-mail with their city and state (country as well if outside of the USA). I think that along with all of the e-mail (please keep the thoughts and prayers coming) that a map showing the where all of you are from will be a neat gift.

09/21/2003 sun 09:30pm

Just a quick hello to everyone. Annie is holding steady, so I will not make a long posting this evening. Jimmy is off to try and get a full night sleep, and I will be trying to do the same. My hope is that each of you feels a little more connected to Annie’s recovery, and while she has shown remarkable improvement over the last 24 hours, we must remain steadfast in our prayers. There will of course be an immediate update should anything change. I apologize if anyone is getting tired of the nightly excerpts from the Book of Psalm, I just always seem to find what I want to convey in there. Perhaps a new book tomorrow…

I am in pain and distress; may your salvation, O God, protect me.
I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.

(Psalm 69:29-30)

09/21/2003 sun 09:55pm

I know I said the only additional postings tonight would be if Annie’s condition changed, but I just received an e-mail that really touched me. Oddly enough it contained a verse from the Book of Psalms…It in fact is closer to what I wanted to say in the last posting. Thank you!

Oh, give thanks to the Lord!  Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples!  Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works!

(Psalm 105: 1-2)

09/22/2003 mon 10:25

Sleep is good. I probably could have slept a few more days. I have to admit to being a bit anxious throughout the night though. Annie continues to hold steady, as it is Monday I suspect that there will be a number of doctors seeing her today. We are all thrilled with being able to speak with her. I have received a few pictures of the group at the hospital on transplant day, as well as a very special picture from Sunday morning worship at Annie’s church. I will begin working on a separate page with all the pictures once the kids, hopefully, go down for their naps. Until then please know that each of you are in my prayers. I continue to be awed by your love and support of Annie.

09/22/2003 mon 11:35

I broke down and used an editor to setup the first page of photos. Sorry, but I just don’t have enough time to write out all of the code right now. When I get a chance I will add names to the face, as well as change the layout. There will be a link at the top of the page for future use so you won’t have to add a bookmark or remember what time I posted the link. Here you go…Annie's transplant day photos

09/22/2003 mon 12:50

Bet several are wondering why the photo page does not work; I hate it when I take a short cut that doesn’t work. Everything should be OK now. I would also like to say thanks to those who have sent photos relating to Annie’s transplant and recovery. Perhaps another page will be added so that everyone can send a picture of themselves so I can start putting names with faces. I bet there will be some new faces for Annie as well. By the way, Annie’s NG-tube is out! Another prayer answered. She had rice crispies for breakfast, and has stood up with assistance. She is planning on having pudding and jell-o for lunch.

09/22/2003 mon 05:45pm

I hope that the picture side of the page stays up and running. I cannot believe how much harder it has been to get that part of the site to stay stable. Those things that make life easy; well they don’t always work. Anyhow, Annie is in a lot of pain right now as some of the meds are beginning to wear off. Dr. Aitkin is very happy with Annie’s progress over the last 24 hours. The really big thing today is her motor skills are returning. There was some concern about her right side, but things are better today. She had toxic reaction to from Cyclosporine. Annie’s kidneys are looking good according to an ultrasound, although there is some bruising. For now she needs to get as much rest as possible, I am sure that she is anxious to see so many people waiting to visit, but we need to let her decide when the visiting can really begin. I am going to go spend some time at the hospital this evening, visit with some of the other families of CCU patients, and hopefully get a quick peek at Annie. Please continue sending your prayers for Annie. I have enjoyed seeing the start of her prayer map. Keep it up! God’s blessings will not end.

09/22/2003 mon 09:10pm

I’ve been at the hospital for a couple of hours visiting with the weekday entourage, and managed to get in to see Annie for a few minutes. She looks so good! Even her freckles seem to be back with a vengeance. She is understandably very tired, but it is wonderful to hear her voice. It is such an obvious miracle to see the progress from day to day. I got to spend a few minutes with Jimmy before he went back in. I continue to see that he has been in God’s plan for these days from the start. He is always so calm. He says that along with getting Annie out of bed a couple of times today, she has managed to take a few steps! Assisted of course. Her movements on her right side continue to improve, we were all very worried. She had an MRI the other day to look into what was going on with her motor skills, and it looks like it was a toxic reaction to one of the anti-rejection meds. But it is wonderful to see progress none the less. Helen and James got to see their mom today. I am sure that they are anxious to get their mom home, as well as getting back to school. One of the overnight crew, Lindy, has arrived. She has replenished the caramels that were brought for mom to coax Annie along the recovery trail with. Lindy has a fondness for caramels and found the stash early on. I’m about ready to head back home for the night. Please add and extra prayer of thanks for the wonderful staff here at UWMC.

09/23/2003 tue 12:20am

I just did not feel right getting home so early. I know I should be sleeping, but I wanted share something with all of you. You guys are incredible!! Sometime I would like to thank all of you in person; anyone have a spare ticket to Japan? I know for sure there is at least one person praying over there. Seriously, I am absolutely amazed by your caring and concern. I am sure the Lord gets an ear-to-ear grin every time someone sends an e-mail to Annie. I’ve not heard anything new since I left the hospital, but it was another beautiful star-filled drive home. I had it in my head to remember to turn to something other than the Book of Psalm, sorry. But I must say that this is not my doing. This was shown to me just before leaving the hospital tonight. Please remember to pray; not just for Annie, but also for the donor’s family to whom each of us is eternally connected. Very soon we will see Annie stand up and shout at the top of her new lungs “Praise the Lord”

Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre,
praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute,
praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!

(Psalm 150)

09/24/2003 tue 02:05

First off, I am sorry about not getting a morning update to you. It has been slowing down at the news desk. Annie continues to improve, and has managed to get out and take a few steps down the hall today. She is just amazing. The doctors are monitoring her chest tubes closely in hopes that she may be able to have them out tomorrow, which would also get her out of the CCU. I best get back to work, but please check back in the evening. Please continue sending your thoughts and prayers, Annie is going to LOVE reading them all. God Bless.

09/24/2003 tue 06:55pm

Just got to the hospital, nothing like Seattle rush hour traffic around Mountlake. Passed Mom in the elevator lobby, she says that Annie got to look at herself in a mirror today. (Gotta check the hair and make-up.) She seemed pretty impressed with the soft pink color of her skin. I wanted to share something from one of the doctors regarding Annie’s new lungs; it seems that not only are these about the most perfect set he’s ever seen, unlike most of us city folk they are pretty much pollution free. Nothing but the best for Annie. I hope that someday the donor’s family will learn what an incredible gift has come from their loss. All biases aside, I cannot think of anyone more deserving of that pair. His/Her family will always be in my prayers. I will be inserting a link in one the upcoming posts to organ donor site, thank you for the suggestion. I’ll get an update from Jimmy when I see him and pass along the news.

09/25/2003 wed 01:15am

Had a wonderful visit with Annie this evening, She is an inspiration to all of us. I think that I may have forgotten to mention Annie’s reaction to seeing herself in a mirror; she apparently exclaimed “I’m pink”. That really sums it up. She looks soooo good! I had planned to get this update to all of you much earlier, but my 14 month old had some other ideas for her Daddy tonight. I have spent a lot of time away from my normal routine with them during this past week, I miss them but I also look forward to the interaction that I have with so many of you. Your prayers continue to pour in, and it makes me very happy to know that so many people are participating in Annie’s recovery. I heard that she wanted to go for another walk at about 10:00 this evening, all I can say is amazing. This may seem a bit weird as far as interesting improvements go, but Annie is able to yawn without it being an ordeal for her. We who don’t live with lung problems probably don’t realize how many things we take for granted; I doubt Annie will ever do that. She has quite a bit of pain and discomfort still, but she says her new lungs feel great. I continue to profess my gratefulness to all of you, your prayers and support have blessed Annie and her family; to the staff at UWMC, not just for what they do but also how they do it; and most importantly to God, it is through him that we have received this miracle. Continue to join in prayer, I hope you find it contagious. Praise the Lord!

"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

(Matt 18:19-20)

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

(I Thess 5:16-18)

09/24/2003 wed 12:10pm

Annie is continuing to improve. The doctors have removed two of the chest tubes, just two to go. She should hopefully be in a regular room later today or early tomorrow. That’s your midday update. She will need to continue to rest, but I will let you know as soon as she feels she is ready for phone calls and visitors.

09/24/2003 wed 06:45pm

Greetings everyone, not much news to report so far today. I have decided not to go to the hospital this evening. I am a bit worn out and want to make sure that if I am getting sick that I will not spread anything to the rest of the folks continuing to stay with Annie. I still have not heard for sure if she has been moved out of the CCU in to a regular room. Hopefully I will know one way or another in time for another update later this evening. I understand that there is a Cystic Fibrosis stair climb fundraiser coming up soon. I will try to get some information to post for anyone interested, hopefully a link to a website as well. I’ll be calling my mom at the hospital in a bit and hope to speak with both her and Jimmy about how Annie is doing. I will of course let you know as soon as I have more news to share.

09/24/2003 wed 09:30

ANNIE IS OUT OF THE CCU!!!!!!!!! Another prayer answered! I just found this out myself, but I am sorry the news is arriving after the fact. Jimmy says that Annie continues to show improvement with right side movements; better co-ordination and the like. I cannot believe that we have been enduring this emotional rollercoaster for a week already. It seems like Annie’s pager just went of yesterday! Please Please Please continue to pray for Annie, I know that she feels your love and support; I know I do. It’s a wonderful feeling. It is important to remember to keep our faith in the Lord, Annie is well on her way but it is a long road to travel. One of my personal daily professions is “Annie IS going to celebrate her 37^th birthday this year!” God Bless each of you.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

(Heb 10:23-24)

09/25/2003 thu 07:00pm

I hope none of you went through too many withdrawal issues today. Hopefully I will get back into a more regular update routine very soon. I have not been to the hospital since Tuesday; I don’t want to bring anything that my kids may have passed along to me. They are such generous children. Here’s the latest; Annie is continuing to make remarkable improvements. She has been up walking around the halls of her wing of the hospital. I doubt there is much that will truly ever hold her back. Jimmy says that the two of them had planned on making three loops around, but had to cut it down to one because the radiology department was going to need Annie for a few minutes. She is one popular gal! Every day we see another prayer answered in Annie. We have many things to tell God we are thankful for. Annie is however still having problems with her eyes. It sounds as if the lesions on her brain are impacting some of the visual centers. I hope you will continue to pray for Annie’s recovery, and specifically her vision. My heart is moved every day by the continued support of so many, and the daily addition of more hearts and prayers, many of whom have never met our Annie. I have two additional items for tonight’s update; one is a personal request, the other is a note from Annie’s sister Katie. My request is that each of you take a few minutes tonight or tomorrow and say a special prayer of thanks for someone important in your life. The Lord knows what is in our hearts, but it is so important for us to remember to be reverent to God, and part of that is to not take for granted that He knows our thoughts even though He does. Just think about it, how many times have you taken for granted that the people around you know that you care for and love them? Sometimes we need to come out and say it. After your prayer, let that person know. I think that your heart will be warmed, as will the heart of another someone dear to you. That’s probably enough rambling from me and I don’t want to forget to post Katie’s note to all of you. By the way, I have told the Lord everyday that I am thankful for each and every one of you reading, praying, and sending your thoughts.

Annie called me this morning at 9:00 a.m. asking where I was and what I was doing. I almost slipped up and asked her "Where are you?" but then I remembered the LUNG TRANSPLANT episode! Anyways, Annie sounded so good and

said how great it was to be in the hospital and not feel sick (CF sick that is). She of course, is very, very sore but can breath, doesn't need oxygen, doesn't have a fever, etc... In addition to my sister's fearless husband Jimmy, my brother Bart and my dad, I specifically remember my childhood and the unbelievable care and attention that my sister received from my mom. My mom is amazing and has selflessly committed her life to helping my sister realize all of her dreams (most importantly having children). I am celebrating the "steady hand" my mom displayed in my sister's life. My sister and my mom are two of the bravest women I know and I feel so lucky to

have them. This is truly a time to look around us and embrace the people we love.

Having said all that, please know that we are all so grateful for your love and support of Annie. If you could just see her grin from ear to ear you would be truly amazed at the miracle that happened this past week.

Love,

Katie (Annie's sister)

09/26/2003 fri 08:40am

I am really missing Annie today. I am hoping to be able to go o see her within the next day or two, but I will wait and see how my wife and kids are feeling. I hear that Annie is down to just one chest tube, hopefully soon that will be out as well. This will be a very busy weekend so I apologize in advance if anyone feels left hanging regarding the update page. I will be working Saturday, and the folks are moving so I will be helping out with that after work. It is so obvious that God has timed all of the events of the last several days, Mom and Dad will get moved in just in time for Annie’s homecoming. Dad has been very busy getting the last minute details taken care of for moving day. He has had a lot of help and we are thankful that he has a wonderful network of friends to call on. I will be talking to Jimmy, Annie or Mom sometime today, and will let all of you know how things are going. Meanwhile, please remain earnest in prayer. God Bless.

09/26/2003 fri 01:30pm

Spoke with Jimmy a little while ago; Annie is doing well. The doctors are looking at her one remaining chest tube that will hopefully be coming out this afternoon. Her motor skills on her right side are continuing to improve; I can see Jimmy being the cruel physical therapist! Still waiting and praying for her vision to improve.

09/26/2003 fri 10:05pm

Annie spent much of today visiting various doctors. She does continue to improve overall, but her vision is continuing to be of concern. The doctors are not in exact agreement over the cause; initial thinking range from lesions on her brain resulting from toxic levels of cyclosporine in her system, to mini-strokes. She is not blind, but her vision is impaired. She is in great spirits every time I talk with her, nothing will hold her back. Jimmy is thinking that Annie will be getting out of the hospital sometime next week, but Annie, and her family, will still need to be very cautious about having visitors for a while. Her body will need time to adapt and heal. When she and her doctor(s) say OK, we can all start to try to get penciled into Annie’s social calendar. In addition to your prayers for Annie, I would like to extend a prayer request for 14-year-old Carl who is battling bacterial meningitis. We have all realized the awesome power of prayer. I never intended for this site to be a daily scripture-reading site, but for some reason I just can’t stop. Praise the Lord every chance you get; then make time for more. He is so deserving of our thanks. God bless each of you.

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him--and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."

(Luke 17:11-19)

09/27/2003 sat 10:30pm

Good evening all, hopefully you haven’t all given up on the website; I’ve had a very bust day today. I talked to Annie a little while ago, she continues to sound better every time I speak with her. I can’t wait until I can see her again, but it sounds like she will probably be out of the hospital before my kids are well enough and I feel that it won’t be putting Annie at risk from a visit. She and Jimmy are going to start through the first stack of e-mail, Annie’s eyes are still not back to normal so Jimmy will be reading to her. This would be a great time to start up the e-mail machine and remind them both that we are all still praying for them. Annie has been up and walking around a lot today! She knows that we have all witnessed more than one miracle over the past week and a half. She says that it feels great to breathe. I cannot convey how wonderful she sounds. I had missed her call earlier this evening; when my wife played the message on the answering machine, I actually stopped, thought, and then exclaimed; THAT’S ANNIE!!! Nothing else to report today; someday soon we will all rejoice in this miracle together. Please continue to pray and invite others to pray as well. God bless.

I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold I will heal you.

(II Kings 20:5)

09/28/03 sun 08:00pm

I can’t believe that I have been away from the computer for almost 24 hours. Seems like days since I’ve posted anything; time to fix that. Annie continues to adjust to her new lungs, says she loves them. She and Jimmy are getting out for walks in the hallways every day. One walk today was 20 minutes, the next was for 25 minutes down what Jimmy says is the 10^th longest hallway in the USA. Anybody wanting to race Annie should start lining up on the third floor! She tried out her new Spiro meter today, and tested at 94%, a level that was not expected to be at for 2-3 months. As far as her surgical recovery she is doing great! Annie’s sister Katie says that she has never seen Annie look so good. I have fielded requests from several people about sending flowers to Annie; sorry guys, she just had a lung transplant, no flowers for a while. Annie is still however having problems with her vision. I can only imagine she must feel some disappointment from that; I doubt she would admit to it though. This would be a great time for everybody to get everyone they know praying again. Even some of the doctors cannot explain why Annie has improved so much over the past week; I think there are several of us who know why! I believe God has a lot in store for Annie, and I know He will answer our prayers again. God is faithful; we are the ones who need to show our faithfulness to Him.

Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:

(Psalm 37:3-5)

09/29/2003 mon 10:50pm

I have some amazing news to report tonight, but at the same time I hope it will not be premature; it looks like Annie should be going home soon. She needs to go in for surgery Tuesday to replace an IV port as she has many days of IV meds coming up, but at this time that is what the doctors want done before her release. Thank You God!!! Annie will not be able to have visitors for a while, so I ask that we not all show up on her doorstep anytime too soon; but you can rest assured that there will be a massive celebration at some point. I am sure it will be something worthy or real news coverage, not just website updates. Annie’s vision is still a problem and she will be meeting with some specialists on Wednesday, I am asking that everyone continue to pray for her vision to be restored. In the meantime I would like to express to all of you how much I appreciate all the prayers that you have sent to Annie; my faith has been forever changed. I know that all of the events of the past two weeks are unfolding exactly as God wants them to. His timing is incredible. Jim and Barbara are getting settled in to their new home just in time for Annie’s release. I will continue to keep updating this site for a while; I sure hope you will keep checking in. May the Lord bless each and every one of you, and I thank you again for all of your prayers. Just a quick note about tonight’s scripture; I saw part of this embroidered on a pillow in the rear window of a car on my way home from work today.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.

(Phil 4:8-14)

09/30/2003 tue 01:15pm

Hi Folks! If your thinking “Wow, a midday update; must be important!” you’d be correct. Annie had surgery this morning to repair/replace her IV port. As far as I know that went fine. Unfortunately it looks as if she will be going back to the CCU for the night. She has apparently been given a medicine that was on her “Allergic to” list. Nothing quite like good news in the middle of the day. She will get through this, but please say an extra prayer or two for her. I’ll keep posting updates as we learn more.

09/30/2003 tue 09:10pm

Hello everyone, just wanted to give you all a quick update on Annie. She is doing fine, just gave us all another little scare. Most of us think she was lonely and just wanted the attention (HA HA!). Things were pretty scary today; Annie was getting her new IV port put in, and Jimmy was waiting outside when he heard a “Code 199” overhead page. I’m not sure if he knew right away that it was Annie, but when he started to see some of their doctors running I think it set in. I don’t know if we will every really know what the cause was, but several doctors indicated they thought it was Anaphylactic shock. The important thing is that she seems to be OK. I hope nobody was too panic stricken by the previous post. When I got to UWMC Annie was not looking her recent best; but it was amazing to watch her improve over the hours I spent there. Truly a miracle before my eyes; thank you Lord! I hope you will continue to join in our prayers for Annie’s healing as well as the return of her vision. At this point things are looking good for Annie to go home tomorrow. Please keep in mind that it will be some time before she will be healthy enough for regular visits, but we will let you know as that changes. Let me remind you that Annie is much better this evening, and all of us are holding strong to our faith in God. Tonight I would like to share with you one of Annie’s favorite Bible verses.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

(Matt 11:28)

10/01/2003 wed 06:45pm

Greetings All. I had hoped to have a midday update for you today, but at that point Annie & Jimmy were still with the Neuro-Optomitrist. The doctor had what I feel was good news to report; Annie’s optic nerve is OK, as are her eyes themselves. The problems are on her brain, and are probably the result of an embolic event. He also says that Annie needs to wait it out for a while. Her body may continue to heal itself (as it’s been doing with some help from the Lord!), and her brain may also “rewire” itself to compensate for the problems. If neither of those happens the doctor did think that her vision could be adjusted with glasses, but at this point her prescription could be changing on a weekly basis and could hinder her body’s efforts at recovery. All in all I’d say that our prayers are again being answered. On the not-as-good news side; Annie was not discharged from the hospital today. She still has some wheeziness, but Jimmy tells me that it is not in her new lungs. I am of course disappointed that she has to stay another night, but better to be there than having to drive back to UWMC and get readmitted. I’ll talk to Jimmy and hopefully Annie a bit later tonight and give you another update later. Please keep the prayers going.

10/01/2003 wed 10:05pm

I hope everyone is doing well this evening. I have been more relaxed tonight then I have felt in quite some time. I can just feel that Annie is getting better all the time. I have not talked to Jimmy since the last post, but I will go out on a limb and say that no news is good news. Anyhow, while visiting with Annie yesterday evening she placed a call to one of Jimmy’s cousins who was nice enough to supply me with a few more pertinent verses for the evening posts. I have not been able to go through the first list, and Lisa has told me there are more on the way. Thank You!!! I also want to thank Aunt Lois who has been so diligent in reminding me of the power of prayer. I can’t wait for everyone to see Annie up and walking around. She looks great! God Bless.

Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

(Is 40:28-31)

10/02/2003 thu 10:30pm

I hope everyone will forgive me for getting this information out a bit late; I have had a long, interesting day. But here is what you (and I) have been waiting patiently to hear; ANNIE IS OUT OF THE HOSPITAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot even begin to tell you how relieved I am to finally tell all of you that. PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!!!!! She was actually released early this afternoon, but this is the first chance I have had to get this posted. I would like to remind everyone that this is far from over. Annie’s vision will take however long it takes to return, and she will be very limited on having visitors for a while; but she is finally home. She continues to adjust to her new lungs, and says (in an amazing voice!) how great they feel. I am looking forward to getting to spend time hiking, rollerblading and maybe skiing with Annie again. Please keep in mind that she is living with a very (forced) weakened immune system, so when the time comes to stop in and say “Hi”, if you or anyone near you is sick it would be best to wait. Annie will be looking forward to seeing all of you as soon as she is able. Please keep her in your prayers, both for her continued recovery as well as her vision; and remember to tell God how thankful you are. We have all been witness to a wonderful, awesome miracle. We should also remember to keep the donor’s family in our prayers as well. I was at a CF fundraiser information meeting with Katie this evening, I will be adding a link to this site in the next day or two for anyone who is interested in participating. I hope everyone “breathes” a bit easier tonight; I know Annie does. God bless each and every one of you.

I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.
For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.

(Psalm 57:9-11)

October 23, 2003 thu 06:30pm

My apologies for having gone so long without updating all of you on Annie’s progress; once she got out of the hospital I needed to give myself a little break, and have not gotten everything organized for posting. Annie is doing great. All is not perfect, but she is doing very well. The last time I talked to Annie she sounded stronger than ever; I think she must have talked for 10 minutes without stopping to breathe! She went to the transplant clinic on Monday and they confirmed that she has Pseudomonas in her new lungs, disappointing news to say the least. The good news is that the antibiotic she is on is working. We can only imagine how awful that news was to Annie, but she has not let it get her down. As we all know, nothing is impossible when the Lord is involved. And He is involved.

October 23, 2003 thu 09:15pm

I talked to Annie a few minutes ago and she wanted to pass along that, for her, every day feels like Christmas. She gets up and feels great everyday. She also said that she worked-out to a video today, and has been enjoying going out for lots of walks in her expensive new running shoes. Her vision is still not back to normal, but she thinks she “sees” some improvement there. As I am sure you all know, it will still be some time before Annie can have many visitors, but it won’t be long. I can’t imagine what that party is going to be like. Just so everyone is aware, I will be trying to get regular updates posted at least weekly; but please keep checking in because you never know what’s going to happen next. As we have all seen over the past several weeks there is not limit to what God can do. Please continue to pray for Annie and her family. I will be posting a few interesting links this weekend, so please check back. God Bless.

October 27, 2003 mon 09:50pm

Greetings everyone, I spoke with Annie a little bit ago and she wanted me to pass along the latest news. She is continuing to improve overall, but has been fighting with nausea for the last several days. This is just one of those things that come with being on so many different drugs. The doctors are trying out some different things to hopefully get Annie feeling her new-old-self. Her hand movements are apparently improving as I received a short e-mail from her the other day; way to go Annie! We are all waiting for her vision to sort itself out, but as with so many other things this is in God’s hands and will be taken care of at the appropriate time. There’s the current info, please let everyone know that Annie is doing well, but keep the prayers going. Annie is living proof of God’s awesome power, we all very thankful. God Bless.

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer--at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

(Acts 3:1-10)

November 23, 2003 sun 06:30pm

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with each of you. I am looking forward to the Thanksgiving Holiday as it will be the first time our family (most of us) will all be getting together since Annie’s transplant day. Annie and I spent a few minutes on the phone the other day and I feel compelled to give everyone in western Washington a warning; Stay off of the roads! Annie has started driving a little bit; from what she has told me her vision is a lot better now than it was during the last update. She has not said that it is 100% back to normal, but it is getting there. Nausea continues to be a problem, but the medicine she has been taking for the last several weeks is showing signs of kicking in. She has been getting great reports from the transplant clinic in regard to her (new) lung functions; but continues to have some of those little road blocks to get past. One of those is getting her immune system up a running again. The anti-rejection and immunosuppressant medications she has been on have been doing there job, but now her body needs to start getting her white blood cell count back up. Annie has made for some remarkable story telling, and it seems that she wants a little more time in the spotlight. Julie (my wife) is on the phone with Annie right now asking about our daughter Ellie’s lack of interest in talking. Annie is of course ready with advice; get the pacifier out of her mouth. Anyhow, for now Annie and the doctors continue the balancing of her medications against her body’s need to function on its own. All of us who know Annie have something extra to be thankful for this year, in addition I continue to be thankful for all of the prayers and support Annie continues to receive from all of you. Please continue to pray hard. Thank you and God Bless.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

(Psalm 100:4)

December 19, 2003 fri 09:00am

Greetings, I wish I was posting better news today, but the truth is that the family is gathering together at UWMC as Annie is undergoing emergency surgery. She has a blood infection again, and her intestines are not functioning properly. This is a very unfortunate set back, but we are all praying for another miracle for Annie. I ask that EVERYONE will pray for Annie, her family and her doctors. And that Katie’s good feeling will carry over to all of us. Please ask anyone you know to join us in prayer. Thank you, God Bless.

December 19, 2003 fri 03:15pm

Annie has been out of surgery for a few hours now and seems to be stable. We are all praying, hopeful, and encouraged by the news that we have heard so far. The doctors removed about 2/3 of Annie small intestines, which leaves her with about 100cm left. Annie started stabilizing almost immediately upon completion of that portion of the procedure, but our sweet little Annie will have a fight on her hands for at least the next several hours if not days. I’ll try to keep this site up to date as often possible. For now please keep praying!

December 19, 2003 fri 07:40pm

Here’s the latest news; Annie is holding steady. The doctors say that things are better than they were this morning, but far from good. The plan for now is to hold out for tonight, and Annie will go back in for more surgery tomorrow morning to hopefully reattach her intestines. We are encouraged, optimistic, and constantly praying. It feels like time to get some food, so I will go for now. Please keep praying and encourage those around you to pray as well. I would also ask that you pray for Annie’s family as well. God Bless.

The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love,
    He will rejoice over you with singing.

(Zeph 3:17)

December 20, 2003 sat 09:30am

Good morning from UWMC. The surgical team just took Annie back to the OR for what will hopefully be a reasonably straight forward operation; to reconnect her intestines. Her vitals have continued to improve overnight, and Annie seems to be gathering strength for surgery.

December 20, 2003 sat 11:00am

One of the doctors from the surgical team came up to talk to us a while ago, Annie’s surgery will probably take longer than originally planned. The doctor who was talking with us is an orthopedic specialist who was called in by the general surgeon. The muscles in Annie’s legs have become very swollen; enough so that the doctors have decided to treat them by relieving the pressure surgically. This will mean Annie will have to undergo additional operations to close the surrounding tissue around the muscles, as well as the skin itself. Annie needs all of our prayers right now, please call your prayer teams. On a very short side note, the surgeon was out here talking to us at about 9:40, it has taken a while for me to type this update as I had a bit of an anxiety attack while the doctors were talking to us. I’m feeling much better now. The folks here in the waiting area told me I had to share that with you. Please send Annie your prayers.

December 20, 2003 sat 01:00pm

Annie is out of surgery, but not out of the woods. The surgeon, ICU doctors and our family (including friends) just came out of a meeting. Annie is very sick despite all of the various treatments she is receiving. The Lord holds our sweet Annie’s life in her hands, we pray for a miracle for Annie today. The surgeons removed everything they can, as well as working to relieve the pressure on/in her muscles. The infection continues to pose a threat to her that medicine alone cannot combat. Please take time to pray for the Lord’s will to be done. We know Annie will continue to fight for her life with every ounce of her being, and that her faith in the Lord has not waivered. I know that my request is one of greed, but I want to know that she is going to be healed. I ask again that you take time to pray for Annie, please send your prayers to her, let God know how much we all love her. She has been an inspiration to so many others, both directly and indirectly. The next few hours are going to be very stressful around here. If you have time please take a few minutes to send your thoughts to Annie, I will make sure that we read them as we wait. I am not going to reprint it here, but Psalm 102 is another good one. Thank you.

The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad;
let the distant shores rejoice.

Clouds and thick darkness surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
Fire goes before him
and consumes his foes on every side.
His lightning lights up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all the peoples see his glory.

(Psalm 97:1-6)

December 20, 2003 sat 05:40pm

Just a quick update on Annie; she is stable. The doctors removed all of her intestines (large and small), therefore Annie will be IV fed for the rest of her life. The small intestines were showing continuing signs of degradation, and there were spots of the same on her large intestines. We are all praying that this will bring an end to the infection that she has been fighting. For now, she is stable, and things are better than we had expected this morning. The doctors have advised us to take some time to rest, shower, see our kids and get some fresh air before returning to our regular vigil. I hope that all of you will continue joining us in prayer, and keep sending thought, love and prayers to Annie. God Bless.

December 20, 2003 sat 11:00

Time for a small update. I’ve just returned to the hospital after spending a couple hours with my wife and kids at home and out getting a bite. I am very thankful for my wife’s support through these times. Annie is continuing to hold steady, but the road ahead will no doubt be rocky. I continue to be amazed at how pink Annie is compared to this morning. I doubt sleep will come easy to any of us tonight, so if you find yourself awake in the wee hours of the morning please say an extra prayer. Something tells me there will be a lot of that happening tonight. My thanks go out to each of you tonight. God will see this through!

This is passage was sent to Annie tonight, I wanted to share it with you;

The Lord bless you and keep you
 May His face radiate with joy because of you
May the Lord be gracious to you and show you His favor
 And give you His peace.
 Numbers 6:25 TLB
 
or more specifically,
 The Lord bless Annie and keep her
 May His face radiate with joy because of Annie
 May the Lord be gracious to Annie and show her His favor
 And give you all His peace.
 
December 21, 2003 sun 10:40am
Hello from UWMC. Annie is continuing to hold stable and steady. The orthopedic surgeons will be coming by to day to look at Annie’s legs, but it is doubtful that 
they will open her up to look inside. Jimmy says that Annie’s pulse at her toes is great. It is interesting that we hear the word great being used frequently considering 
how far Annie has to go. Her vitals are stable and strong, and she is pink but still very swollen. I have an additional posting to give from Katie to all of you today, I 
will update the site immediately if there is any big change, as well as continuing postings as we continue steady on. Keep the prayers going!
 
A message from Katie.....
 
It's 2:20 a.m. on Sunday Morning, December 21, 2003. Thank you all for
being here for Annie, Jimmy, Helen and James and our families. I feel
surrounded by all of you, by God and I feel so peaceful. I just checked on
Annie and my mom and Annie is stable and also looks very peaceful. I have
so much confidence in the "plan" that Annie and God are now constructing
together. I have tremendous respect for my sister's abilities and strength
and I know that God has her wrapped in his arms as they quietly contemplate
her future. God will show us the way! 
 
'There is no need to fear the future because God is already there." I am
not afraid!
 
Love to you all, 
 
Katie
 

December 21, 2003 sun 12:45pm

Greetings everyone, here’s the latest news. Jimmy and Mom have been in Annie’s room with all of the doctors talking about what’s next, and the plan goes something like this; First they will be starting a central line which will be the starting point for plasma pheresis in which the doctors will be removing Annie’s blood, filtering (spinning) it, then returning it to her with a immunoglobulin added in as she will have no white blood cells at that point. They will probably repeat this process over the next few days. After the first time through that, they will probably put an IV port in to start getting Annie nourished. Annie’s vitals are still strong, and her color is great. I cannot stress it enough; KEEP PRAYING!!! Annie will have a tough road ahead.

December 21, 2003 sun 07:15pm

I have returned after being “ordered” out of the hospital by Julie. I must admit that it felt good to have taken a few minutes to get cleaned up and have some dinner. As far as Annie goes, she is still holding on, strong and stable. The doctors have started on the first plasma pheresis treatment, and we expect to be stuck in the waiting area for the next couple of hours as we do not want to risk introducing any possible contaminants into her room. We continue to be hopeful, and have total faith in the Lord above.

December 21, 2003 sun 09:50pm

We have not seen Jimmy for a few hours, and we are all starting to wonder what’s going on. I talked by phone to a nurse in Annie’s room who said that they should be done within the hour, that was about 30 minutes ago. I am thinking about heading home for the night for a little rest. Here comes Jimmy now, time to see what he has to say. The first plasma pheresis is done, but they have not yet given her the immuno globulin. Hopefully the removal of the toxins in her blood will reduce the work load on her kidneys. For now things seem to be continuing on with Annie doing as well as possible. Please keep the prayer chains going. Thank you for all of your support. God Bless.

“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. ¹² Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

(Jer 29:11-13)

December 22, 2003 mon 02:10pm

Hi Everyone, sorry about the long absence but I am at work today. Here’s the latest; Annie is still stable, pink and very swollen. The doctors have decided to increase the plasma pherisis treatment to daily for 5 days as she seems to respond well to it. Her legs are looking good, and overall she is doing well. I will be going up to the hospital after work today and will post again when I arrive and get another update. If anything happens between now and then, I will put a real quick update on this page as well. Pray hard! She still has a long way to go, but we remain confident.

December 22, 2003 mon 08:20pm

Hello from the hospital. Not much of a change since the last update; still strong and steady. A little inaccurate however on the remark regarding the additional plasma pherisis treatment, the additional treatments are actually the result of “why do it every other day if we can do it every day” thinking. The procedure itself is not without risk, and the increased frequency will of course increase that risk. I have just been told of a very special event today between Annie and her daughter Helen; it seems that while visiting her Mom, Helen saw her raise her arm in response to questions! GO ANNIE!!! Our prayers are never too far apart, and we are always encouraged by Annie’s strength. Keep the prayers going; you can never do it enough. God Bless.

December 23, 2003 tue 08:10am

Just enough time for a quick update, as I am at work today. I was at the hospital last night and Annie is still strong and stable. She is very pink, but remains very swollen. A picture of Annie in her new running shoes has been put up in her room so the staff knows what she’s supposed to look like. The word from Jimmy always seems to be either “Good” or “Great”. He still amazes me with his never ending calmness, and positive outlook. There can be no doubt that God had planned for those two to be together. That’s all for now, I’ll post again hopefully around lunch time if not sooner. Pray! Pray! Pray!

December 23, 2003 tue 12:15pm

Greetings Everyone, I hope you are all doing well. I missed the update call from Mom today, but the message reads no new news. Annie is continuing to do well, and is a bit more alert today. I thought that qualified as “news”. I am hoping to print a bunch of your letters and prayers for Annie and bring them to the hospital tonight, so see if you guys can overload my printer today! Prayer will get Annie through this!

December 23, 2003 tue 08:45pm

I am sorry about the long delay in this posting; I arrived at the hospital about an hour ago, and did not find anyone in the waiting area. I knew Jimmy was with Annie, and did not want to pull him out of there. He is out here with me now, and here’s the latest; Annie is still doing well. Vitals are strong, but her kidneys are getting tired. Dialysis is not in her immediate future, but may be on the horizon. Things have not gone as smoothly today; Annie’s plasma pherisis treatment had been scheduled to happen at 11:00 this morning but had been delayed for various reasons. It had not started even as of my recent conversation with Jimmy. There have also been some additional problems with Annie’s IV port; Jimmie was not able to access it earlier today, and the doctors had to utilize a fluoroscope before they were finally able to access it. This is a result of severe edema; Annie is very puffy, and swollen. The doctors have been unable to introduce an additional central line for Annie’s IV nourishment because of problems with Annie’s old blood clots, and the finding of two new ones as well. The doctors are discussing the best placement options for a new central line access. This is one of those things that we would like to enlist your prayers on. Annie could sure use a break here. We are praying for the doctors to find a new access point, and a way to work around her existing clots. We are also praying for her kidney functions to improve and for the swelling to decrease throughout her body. We pray for the clotting to be under control. God has shown us many miracles with Annie, and we pray for his continued intervention. Please call on your friends and prayer teams. Thank you.

December 24, 2003 wed 12:05am

Christmas Eve is upon us now; I hope that all of you enjoy a wonderful holiday. I arrived home about an hour ago, and was just about scared to death by the ringing of my phone; a little more news about Annie to share with you. The pathology reports on Annie’s bowels have finally come back, and not too surprisingly they have identified several micro-embolisms in the section(s) that were studied. The embolisms had cut off the flow of blood which caused her bowels to die. There is no determination at this time as to the cause of these embolisms. At this point Annie is already on heparin, a blood-thinner, which will hopefully prevent these clots from forming again. Also in this latest news is a bit of a plan for tomorrow to try again to introduce an additional central line for her IV nourishment. I am not sure if this means that they are going to try to access this from a new locale, or if they will be utilizing a stint in a currently blocked area. The use of a stint would add some additional risk; the blockage could break loose and result in an embolism elsewhere in her body. That’s the latest news; I would like to repeat my and Jimmy’s request that everyone add some specific healing prayers to your list. And in case you have not done so already, remember to encourage others to visit this web page. Every person praying for Annie makes a difference; and I have heard of many people who are not normally big prayers who can’t seem to stop. What a wonderful testament to the influence Annie has been to so many of us, and to God! Annie will get through this. Life is short, pray hard. Merry Christmas.

Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry for help come to you. Do not hide your face from me
when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly.

(Ps 102:1-2)

I thank my God every time I remember you.⁴In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God.

(Phil 1:3-11)

December 24, 2003 wed 12:00pm

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to each and every one of you. I have not heard any new news to report so far today. I do want to say how much I appreciate all of the prayers that are being sent to Annie; I know in my heart that it makes a difference. I plan to make a visit to the hospital later today, and will post an update at that time. If anything happens before I get there I will get that information on this website as soon as possible. In the mean time I would like to pass along a prayer that was sent in earlier this morning. I would like to invite all of you to take a moment and pray this prayer for Annie as you enjoy this blessed holiday.

Prayer For A Loved One's Healing

In the name of God, who is within me, I accept

His power with gratitude.

I open my heart and my hands to receive it.

Beloved sister, may this power reach you.

May you be healed.

May every cell of my being, every thought in

my mind be radiant with grace.

Through my hands, may there now flow to you

His power and his love.

You are forgiven, for you were not condemned.

You are healed, for you shall now know your

You are whole.

You are healed.

God sees you this way.

As I accept Him more deeply into my heart, I

Accept for myself His vision of you.

I see only your perfection.

I see only your love.

I see not your disease.

I see not your pain.

For they have been cast out through the grace of

God.

Through the mercy of the Lord, through the

wonder of the universe, which loves us all

and gives new life, may you be blessed and be

Made new.

You are healed,

You are whole.

And so it is.

Amen.

December 24, 2003 wed 08:00pm

Hello Everyone, I hope this latest posting finds you all doing well. I have just returned home after visiting Annie between running errands and getting together with my wife’s family for dinner. I had a wonderful visit with Annie, and must say that she is looking better all the time. The swelling is continuing to improve, and I saw Annie move her arms and try to make a few facial expressions. She was not able to open her eyes as they are still very swollen, but she did move her eyebrows as well as her mouth. She repeatedly would move her left arm which resulted in one of her blood pressure monitors losing signal and setting off an alarm. I found it very disturbing to hear the alarm despite knowing what was going on. Really big news for the near future; the doctors are planning to get Annie off of the vent, at 4:00am Christmas morning!! I cannot think of a better gift for Christmas. Go Annie!! I know that we are all very busy right now, but I would like to request additional prayers tonight; strength for Annie as she continues on her recovery, peace as she becomes more alert when she comes off of the ventilator, and specific prayers for her kidneys to begin functioning fully. Annie has been moving the massive amounts of fluids out of her body, but more through her skin not through her kidneys. The result of this is that her blood is not being “cleaned” properly, and could result in kidney dialysis becoming necessary. I am sure it seems kind of abrupt to end on that note, but I am going to try to get a few things organized around here and go to midnight mass tonight, and then be at the hospital for Annie when it comes time to take her off the vent. I am borrowing the regular scripture posting straight from a website I am using a lot lately; BibleGateway, Thank you again for your continual prayers, I know Annie feels and appreciates them as well. God Bless. Merry Christmas.

December 25, 2003 thu 02:40pm

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! I hope everyone is well on this day of celebration. I have been doing a bit of running around today, and just realized how negligent I have been in updating the website; I am very sorry! Here is the latest, Annie looks INCREDIBLE!! The swelling has decreased dramatically, and she has been opening her eyes and moving her arms a bit more today. Vitals are still strong, but she was not taken off the ventilator. She is just not quite ready, probably a result of being under sedation for so many days. I think she will get to take another shot at that soon. Her kidneys are still very tired, so please continue to pray for their functions to return to normal soon, as well has for her complete recovery. So many people have said how much they love Annie, I just want to tell you that I know she really enjoys hearing that (I tell her about the e-mails all the time) and that she loves all of you too. Merry Christmas!!!

December 25, 2003 thu 06:30pm

Greetings one and all from here at UWMC. I have just come out to the waiting area after spending a good bit of time at Annie’s side. I must admit to being rather fascinated with all of the technology at work in her ICU room. I am grateful to all of the people who have spent time learning to use and understand all of those machines, also to the people who designed them. Annie continues to look better every time I see her; still pink, and not nearly as swollen as she had been. She is really starting to look like herself again. I can’t even begin to imagine what is going through Annie’s mind; I am not sure just how aware she is of things. The ventilator tube looks as if it would be very uncomfortable, but I have not heard her complain even once! (Hard to talk with the tube in) I think she will get to try to get off the ventilator tomorrow. She really does continue to amaze me though. I know that every thing she has gone through seems very unfair, but the fact that she fights it tells me she has plans for the future with all of us. Anyhow, I just wanted to spend a little time “talking” with you and to remind you to keep the prayers coming. Peace and Joy to all of you.

December 26, 2003 fri 01:10pm

Just got off of the phone with Jimmy and Katie, good news – Annie is off of the vent!!!! I am going to head up to the hospital now for a few minutes, but we are really limiting visitor access to Annie so that she does not feel too stressed. Please continue to send your prayers and thoughts to Annie; she still has a very long, hard road ahead of her. I will post again after I see her.

December 26, 2003 fri 03:20

Hello from the hospital. Just wanted to give you all a quick update on Annie; SHE LOOKS AWSOME!!!!!!! She is pink, off the vent, and talking a little. I spent a few minutes talking with her and the first thing out of her mouth was “Sorry about the scare”. Bless her heart. I also wanted to let any of you who have been holding off on sending e-mails know that I encourage you to send them. I will be adding all of them to the transplant book of e-mails for Annie, and it will make for a wonderful keepsake. It doe not matter if you know Annie personally or not, sometimes the kindness of strangers are the best gifts of all. Also, I have been reminded that there is not a picture of Annie on this page which is really about her; here you are. Keep the prayers coming!

December 27, 2003 sat 02:25am

Greetings All, I hope you are all doing well at this early hour. I just wanted to pass along the latest information; unfortunately I have not been able to be at the hospital since about 5:30 as my wife is displaying flu-like symptoms. As a result I will probably not be spending as much time at the hospital, but I will make sure to keep the updates coming. Speaking of updates, I think I have become sidetracked, here’s the news; Annie’s kidney function seems to be .improving! Thank you Jesus! I know it is an important first step in her recovery. Go Annie! That is really it for now, but remembers to keep the prayers coming. These kinds of miracles because God listens. I had ment to add this to last evening’s posting, sorry about the delay;

For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide
me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.

(Psalm 27:5-6)

December 27, 2003 sat 07:00pm

Howdy, I bet there are a few people wanting to know how Annie’s doing today; here’s the latest - She is doing great. She is feeling very anxious about things and is still in ICU, which I am sure adds to her stress. I am told that she is not taking too well to the efforts of those around her trying to lower her anxiety/stress level. Currently they are piping in the soundtrack for The Sound of Music, which is one of Annie’s all-time favorites. I can’t even begin to imagine how she feels waking up to all of this. I would also like to apologize for this update being so late in the day; I have had to spend all day today with my wife, Julie, who has just been admitted into the hospital. Hopefully, for her, this will just be an overnight ordeal; it sounds as if the doctors really just wanted to keep her on IVs and under their watchful eyes. Anyhow, keep the prayers coming, and be on the lookout for a website change; I will be relocating to newlungs.haszspace.net very soon. God Bless.

December 27, 2003 sat 09:55pm

Greetings All, just wanted to let you know that the website is making a trial run on the new server. Here is the new address: http://newlungs.haszspace.net. Please keep in mind that this is just a trial run, once the site is ready to move permanently, I will put post a link to the new site at the old one. I would also like to take a moment to give a big THANK YOU to all of you readers. This website has been a very useful tool in keeping people updated on Annie, but I feel like it has also done a great deal to help our family. I continue to see an amazing outpouring of love, prayers, and support from so many people. I think it is a wonderful testament to God’s plan. In our busy modern lives, it is very easy for us to loose sight of the really important things; family, friends, fellowship to name a few. It is very encouraging to see so many people taking time to pray for others, I really think it’s what we’re supposed to do. The prayers and support help us through each and every day. Many many thanks!! Anyhow, Annie is going to get through this, we just need to do our best to show our support to her. Please pray that she will let go of her anxiety, and let her body heal. God Bless each of you.

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

(Phil 4:5-7)

December 28, 2003 sun 09:15am

Good morning. I am sorry to report that Annie had to be put back on the ventilator early this morning. I am not sure why, but I suspect that it may have something to do with her anxiety level. She has also had some bleeding into her abdomen that will hopefully be solved using a non-surgical procedure. First thing will be to figure out exactly where it is coming from. For now she is stable, and being monitored closely. Jimmy is at her side as usual; he never ceases to amaze me with his strength. At this point it almost goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway; please keep praying. Annie can use all of our support in any form we can offer. Thank you.

December 28, 2003 sun 06:30pm

Just a quick Hello to you all. No big changes regarding Annie. She is stable and remains sedated on the ventilator. Best guess is that the doctors will try to bring her out of sedation a bit slower this time. Hopefully she will not be as anxious next time around, but I have to admit I have some concerns about explaining why she was put back on vent. Also I wanted to say thank you for all of the inquires about Julie, my wife. I am glad to say that she has been sent home, and is feeling quite a bit better today. Because of the severity of Annie’s condition and Julie’s being very sick, I will not be returning to the hospital for some time. I just do not want to risk bringing anything to anyone who can see Annie, let alone to Annie herself. Please remember that we have seen just how awesome the power of prayer is, and we must keep it going. Annie will get through this, and we will all be at her side.

December 28, 2003 sun 08:50pm

Greetings All, I hope you are all doing well. Just wanted post a quick note to say nothing has changed. Kind of a slow day today. Annie did have a CAT scan of her head done today, as far as we know nothing turned up. Annie is resting very well, with the aid of medicine. I am hopeful that when Annie gets off the vent again, she will be doing much better. I also wanted to pass along a link to an article in the Skagit Valley Herald from today. It’s a nice piece about Annie, and another Mount Vernon resident. I think this website may have better circulation than the paper though! Pray Pray Pray!!!

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will

(Eph 1:11)

December 29, 2003 mon 03:20pm

Hello Everyone, I hope your day is going well. I am at work today, but wanted to get this posted before I get home; Annie is currently in surgery. This is not really unexpected, but I wish she would just hurry up and be well. The doctors are planning to evaluate the incisions on her legs to see if they can start closing them. They will also be doing a blood wash, presumably to clean up from some internal bleeding in her abdominal cavity. Third on the list is they will be putting in a chest tube as Annie has had a partial lung collapse. But Annie’s vitals are still strong and stable as she was taken to surgery a few minutes ago. She had a restful night sleep, and has been doing very well. Our family will be praying fiercely for Annie to get through this surgery, and have a full recovery. Please continue to join us in prayer. Thank you.

December 29, 2003 mon 07:25pm

Good Evening All, I hope everyone has been enjoying a wondrous holiday season. I received a call from Jimmy a bit before 6:00 pm to say that Annie is out of surgery. Things went very well; the cleaning of the abdominal cavity, and insertion of a chest tube. The orthopedic surgeon did find some damaged (dead) muscle in one of her legs, and the muscle had to be removed. Annie will probably need to use some sort of brace on her leg to help keep her foot aligned for walking, but I doubt that will slow her down much. Other than that Annie is doing quite well. I still find myself in awe over Jimmy’s calmness, I am very proud to have him for a brother (in-law). That is pretty much the latest news. I am constantly praying for God to reach down and heal Annie. It only takes His word.

December 29, 2003 mon 09:40pm

I just wanted to say another thank you for all of the prayers that have been sent in. Let’s keep it up!!! I know that many many people are praying for Annie several times each day; I would like to ask that at some point you please e-mail one to Annie. I cannot express how important they are in her recovery. I think it would be incredible if everyone who has been on this website made sure to send even one. I am sure we could overload a server or two somewhere. I have not heard from anyone at the hospital since I returned home this evening and am going to assume “no news is good news”. I am sure everyone at the hospital is trying to get in some rest this evening as Annie will remain sedated for a few more hours at least. Pray for miracles! Pray for Annie! God Bless.

A wise man's heart guides his mouth,
and his lips promote instruction.
Pleasant words are a honeycomb,
sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

(Prov 16:23-24)

December 30, 2003 tue 01:45pm

Just enough time to tell you all that Annie had a good night, and Jimmy got some much-needed rest. Annie is running a slight fever, her heart rate is a little high and blood pressure a bit low. Jimmy says that things are going well, does not expect that much will be happening today. Hopefully a good rest day for Annie. That’s all there is for now, please keep the prayers coming. Thanks.

December 30, 2003 tue 06:45pm

I just realized that there was a problem with the post I did earlier to day. The problem is hopefully fixed now. No new news on Annie except that she is doing better. At one point today the doctors took her off the vent temporarily to see how she would do; she did very well. It was only a test though, perhaps tomorrow she can come off the vent again. The doctors also want to try to do something for her anxiety before she is fully awake again. That’s it for now, again I am sorry that the “midday” post did not work earlier. Keep praying!

December 30, 2003 tue 09:25pm

Just spoke to my mom; she is sitting with Annie right now. Annie is doing well. Her vital signs continue to improve, and she continues to be resting well. I have yet another request to make of all of you out there; would you please take a moment to send Annie a Happy Birthday note. Tomorrow, December 31, is her birthday!!! She will not be able to have a big party at the hospital, but I would like to bring her birthday wishes from as many people as possible. Please remain steadfast in prayer; we know that our prayers are being answered everyday. God is the maker of miracles. Tonight I wanted to share a prayer that was sent by a long-time friend of my parents; thank you Marilyn. I hope all of you enjoy a wonderful, peaceful night. God Bless.

Prayer for Annie

Take our prayers, for they are true
Take our love, it¹s given to you

Take our hope, for your healing
Take our faith, our spirit and feeling

For what we ask, For what we pray
God give you Annie, strength each day

December 31, 2003 wed 01:45

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNIE!!!

First off, thank you to all of you who have sent Annie a Birthday e-mail. If you haven’t, please take a moment to drop her a line. It doesn’t matter if you know her personally or not, just let her know you’re thinking about her. Now the update; the nurses gathered in her room this morning to sing “Happy Birthday” to Annie. I hope to remember to tell them thanks for doing that. I know Annie loved it. Annie’s vitals are strong and stable today, but she did have to have a little bit of surgery today; during the doctors rounds this morning they discovered a clot in her left leg. And since it’s her birthday they decided to get that taken care of right away. The procedure went very well; while working on that they discovered another vein that was leaking, it had been attached to on of the damaged muscles that was removed the other day. So they fixed that as well. For now Annie is going to stay on the vent to help her body deal with other issues, but that hopefully will not be for too long. I am hoping to get up to the hospital this evening with a print out of all of the birthday messages, please get them in soon! I am planning to post again from the hospital tonight. Until then, thank you for all of the prayers.

December 31, 2003 wed 07:00pm

Hello from here at UWMC. I am thrilled over how many Birthday e-mails have come in for Annie so far. Thank you so much! You guys are awesome! Annie’s birthday gift from her doctors is…to be off the ventilator! I am told that Annie is awake and alert, but I have not been back to see her yet. I will be heading back to see her soon, but will be remaining outside the door; don’t want to take any chances with everything that has been going around. Mom just came out and keeps remarking on how animated Annie is with her friend Lauren who arrived a few minutes ago. I can’t stand it anymore! I’m going to go peek through the door now. I will post again later. Thank you again for the continuing prayers for Annie. God Bless.

December 31, 2003 wed 11:00pm

I have arrived home and had a bite to eat after getting to spend a little bit of time at the hospital, and a few, way too few, minutes with Annie. What can I say but WOW! Annie looks GREAT! I stayed in the doorway and Annie tried through a very scratchy voice, but we had a wonderful few minutes to talk. Her friend Lauren and ICU nurse Maree helped with conveying messages, but just the same it was wonderful, uplifting, and inspiring to see her. Did I mention today is her birthday?!?! Just kidding. I was blessed with being able to bring several dozen e-mail “Birthday cards” to Annie for her which I know she will enjoy having read to her this evening. I overheard that the hospital will be having a small New Years celebration tonight; I think it is wonderful that the staff does these extra things to keep the patients a little bit more “connected” with things going on outside the ICU. I mentioned Annie’s voice being very scratchy, but it is not weak. She is still dealing with the effects of having been sedated so much lately, but she is doing great. Thank you Lord! On a slightly different subject; I want to say thank you to the many people who have sent in the “You don’t know me…” e-mails over the months since transplant. No offense to anyone who knows Annie or our family personally, but these have been some of the most moving letters. Whether it has been prayers, birthday wishes, or simply a note to say “I/we are thinking about you”, those are some of the ones I think about most when my faith and my heart need a “pick-me-up” It is truly remarkable the way we are able to connect with people these days through tools like the internet. For tonight, another piece from an e-mail sent today, thank you Leo & Louise. Our prayers continue to be answered, every day. Thank you Lord!

If God brings you to it,  He will bring you through it.

Happy moments,  praise God

Difficult moments,  seek God.

Quiet moments,  worship God.

Painful moments,  trust God.

Every moment,  thank God.

January 1, 2004 thu 09:00pm

Happy New Year Everyone! My apologies for the lack of postings today; no, I was not out too late last night or anything like that. The news is that Annie continues to be doing great. I am told that she has been out of her bed and sitting in a chair several times today. Way to go Annie!!! Her body appears to be on the right path now, God’s miracles never cease. Annie will have a few emotional things to deal with now as her post-transplant life will not be quite as planned. Knowing her strengths as we all do I suspect we will still be trying to catch-up to Annie when it comes to living life to its fullest. Please add to your prayers that Annie continue to look forward to each and every day just as she has for the past 37 years. I am sure that the Lord has more miracles in store for Annie.

Answer me when I call to you,
O my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
be merciful to me and hear my prayer.

(Psalm 4:1)

January 2, 2004 fri 01:50pm

I hope everyone’s new year is off to a terrific start; I am enjoying the snow that has blanketed the area around my home despite what it does to the already horrible traffic in the region. On to Annie; nothing new to report so far today. She is continuing to do great, I am sure she is grateful to be getting out of bed every no and then. Last I heard the chest tube was still in, and probably would remain for another day of so. You now know all that I know, not much huh? As always, keep going with the prayers. I see they are being answered all the time.

J,anuary 2, 2004 fri 09:00pm

Greetings Everyone, Happy Friday! I spoke to Mom a bit earlier today, here’s the latest on Annie; still doing great! There is a possibility that the doctors may take out the chest tube tonight, Annie’s new lungs are excellent! The plan for the immediate future includes getting Annie back on heparin to hopefully eliminate the formation of new blood clots, and mapping of her veins. The doctors need to find a few viable locations for central lines to be put in. These will be used for Annie’s IV nutrient delivery, and medications among other things. Annie’s voice is getting stronger and she looks pinker than ever!! Thank you Lord! Annie’s anxiety has also been under control; generally speaking everything is going very well. I will say good night for now, a small treat follows the verse below. Please continue to pray for Annie. Always be mindful of the Lord’s blessings, sometimes we overlook the simple things. God Bless.

Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.
Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced

(1 Chron 16:11-12)

Annie & Lauren

January 3, 2004 sat 04:50pm

Happy snowy Saturday! I hope you all are keeping warm. Not much to report so far other than Annie having a bit of a temperature this morning; they think she may have some sort of infection around/from the IVs in her legs. Hopefully they will soon know which antibiotics to give her to get it under control. Annie is pretty tired today, and is resting well. I am hoping to get up there later this evening, weather permitting. Please keep praying.

January 3, 2004 sat 10:45pm

Good evening all, I have just returned home after running in for a quick visit with Annie. She continues to be doing great. Her temperature has returned to “normal”, but she is still very tired. Boy does she look good. I am sure it was either the lighting or her being flush from her fever, but she looked like she had been getting a tan! I know, weird; but what do you expect from any member of this family. Anyhow, just wanted to say all is going very well. The doctors were getting ready to change the lines in her legs just as I was leaving (rather convenient). Hopefully the chest tube will come out tomorrow. That’s it for tonight. Our miracle girl is doing awesome with little help from the Lord and a lot of prayers. God Bless.

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

(Micah 6:8)

January 4, 2004 sun 09:00pm

I hope everybody has had an enjoyable weekend. I am just posting a quick note to say no news to report today. I talked to Katie a couple of hours ago and she said she thinks the chest tube has taken out today, but that was it. I have not had any calls from anyone else, and am under the assumption “no news is good news”. Prayers in my house remain constant, and a slow day like today is another answered prayer. Please keep praying, Annie has a long road ahead and our best show of support comes from prayer.

You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety. You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor.

(Job 11:18-19)

January 5, 2004 mon 09:00pm

Happy Monday! I am sorry about the late hour of this update; I got the information too late for posting during my lunch break and have been going non-stop ever since. Annie continues to be doing very well, her doctors are happy with her progress thus far. The tentative plan is for her to be moved from ICU into “general population” hopefully within a few days. She is still not free of the blood infections although they are under control; the doctors are waiting for Annie to be free of the infections before putting in her permanent central lines. Annie has come a very long way with what proves to be a long road ahead, and this roller coaster ride has been nothing short of miraculous and faith-building. It sounds strange, but it is hard not to feel proud of being related to Annie. Her life has affected so many people, I know that God is smiling upon her. Anyhow, I must help get the kids to bed and get ready for what will hopefully be a very snowy morning. Please keep praying for Annie, her family, and her doctors. God will smile on them as well. Almost forgot this, I received a forwarded e-mail about a third–grader’s homework assignment; explain God. It is a bit too long to include in-line, but I will post here. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I have. God Bless.

Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths;
guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.

(Psalm 25:4-5)

January 7, 2004 wed 09:45pm

First things first, I am very sorry about the lack of an update yesterday. No good excuse, I just kind of let the day slip by. In my defense however it was snowing! On to Annie; she is continuing to do very well. The doctors have located sites for at least a couple of central lines to go in, albeit alternate locations in her legs. I know a few of you have been praying about that; check that as another answered prayer. Doctors were also able to remove Annie’s NG tube; I am sure she feels a bit more comfortable with that out. Annie has been getting a lot of sleep over the past couple of days, and there has actually not been much to report. Please keep in mind that she does still have a long road ahead of her, so keep praying. The Lord will continue to smile on our Annie.

Sing to God, sing praise to his name, extol him who rides on the clouds -
his name is the LORD - and rejoice before him.

(Psalm 68:4)

January 8, 2004 thu 09:00pm

Good evening All, I hope your day has gone well. I get to report some very good news tonight; Annie has been moved out of the ICU!!! I am going to get up there to see her within a day or two, and will be able to tell all of you more about her new surroundings then. In the mean time, the doctors are waiting for Annie to be free of blood infections for three days (I think) before they will put in her permanent central lines. The new lines are very important as they will be used for Annie’s IV-meds as well as for Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) which will be her source of nourishment. For tonight, Annie is resting in her new room with Jimmy nearby enjoying a more comfortable chair. I am still continuously amazed at Jimmy’s strength through all of this. Annie’s strength is obviously as limitless as God’s ability to perform miracle after miracle. We are all very grateful. It will probably be a while before Annie will be having too many visitors, keep in mind that her immune system is still very repressed. Please keep praying. God Bless.

As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

(James 5:11)

January 9, 2004 fri 09:15pm

Happy Friday Everybody! I hope you all had a pleasant week filled with snow. Annie is still catching up on some much needed rest; it will probably be some time before she is ready to start taking calls and seeing visitors. I will let you know when the time comes. The doctors are planning a bit of experimentation with some of Annie’s medications. Apparently some of the meds she is on are not available/compatible with IV delivery; therefore they will be trying oral dosing and checking to see if her stomach is able to absorb enough of the medicine to be effective. She is looking very good, and overall is doing great. I am hoping to stop in to see her and maybe get a new picture to post. I would like to ask that you pray for this experiment to go well, and that Annie’s body be able to accept the medications she needs. We all know that this is not what Annie or anyone else expected for her post-transplant life; please add to your prayers that Annie’s strength, faith and spirit find the encouragement, support and love to help her through this long recovery. The Lord has worked many miracles in our family these past few months; one that may sometimes go unnoticed is that Annie gets prayers of support and love from so many people around the globe. I give you my deepest thanks. God Bless all of you.

And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

(Romans 5:2-5)

January 11, 2004 sun 10:10pm

Greetings Friends, I trust you all had a relaxing weekend. My apologies for the lack of activity on the web page lately; Annie is continuing to do very well, and for whatever reason that tends to translate into fewer updates. I did not get up to see Annie this weekend as I had planned, instead this turned in “Family time” with my wife and kids. I am sure glad they did not grow up too much while I wasn’t looking. In my conversation with Mom earlier today, I did find out that the experiment regarding some of Annie’s medicines has gone well; to what extent I am not 100% sure. What I am able to pass along is that Annie is able to absorb at least some of her meds through her stomach. I will hopefully talk to Jimmy soon and be able to tell you more about which meds and to what extent she is able to absorb. Annie is getting more of that much needed rest, but she has stated that she does not have the energy to see visitors, or to even take phone calls at this point. Her body has been through trauma so extensive that it would be beyond our imagination. Annie, her family, and I all request that patience be exercised in our desires to speak with Annie; the time will come, and you can rest assured that I will post here when Annie is ready to start seeing her loving extended family of friends. Annie’s need for our prayers is far from over, please keep it up. It is never too late to share what has been going on with others you may know; invite people to visit this web page for Annie, we cannot know whose prayer God will choose to answer next.

Consider what God has done:
Who can straighten what he has made crooked?
When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider:
God has made the one as well as the other.

(Ecc 7:13-14)

January 12, 2004 mon 10:00pm

Happy Monday Everyone, I hope your week is off to a good start. It looks as though Annie may get her new central line(s) in tomorrow. Between that and getting moved out of the ICU one would have to guess that the doctors and nurses at UWMC must be getting tired of Annie taking up space there. I am certainly looking forward to Annie’s release and can’t wait for the long overdue family get together to begin. I was able to talk Mom into letting me talk to Annie by phone for a few minutes this evening (the check is in the mail Mom!), and must say that Annie sounds great. She says she is tired and ready to get out of the hospital, and I could detect the normal love for life in her voice. I have to say it felt wonderful to hear it. She is without a doubt one of the most courageous people I have ever known. If you would please pray for Annie’s central line procedure to go well tomorrow, as well as for her successful recovery; there is still a lot of road ahead of her. I would also like to request a prayer for our Mom, Barbara. For those who do not know, she is living with cancer in her bones now after surviving breast cancer. She was informed last week that it is time to change her meds as the tumors have begun growing again. With everything that has gone on with Annie over these past few months this has added yet another item to Mom’s already full plate. She sits alongside Annie on top of the list of courageous people. I love you Mom! That’s about it for tonight, the standing request of letting Annie get some more rest remains in effect; hopefully not for much longer. God Bless.

In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.

(Psalm 18:6)

January 13, 2004 tue 09:45pm

Good Evening Friends, I have some good news to report today! Annie got her new central line in today; and it looks as if she will just be using one for now. The experiment of medicine absorption through Annie’s stomach has gone very well, and as a result she will hopefully be able to get on a “lighter” IV schedule of around 12 hours per day instead of the anticipated 22. That sounds like a pretty good break to me! I hope it is a precursor of things to come. Annie has been fitted for her orthopedic braces, and will hopefully soon be getting to take some walks up and down the halls at the hospital. Déjà vu! I got to speak with Jimmie for a few minutes earlier this evening; he relayed the information above, and stated that Annie is still under the effects of sedation for her procedure today. Tomorrow she will have another one to remove the temporary line in her other leg; hopefully after that it will be time for her to start getting up and moving. That’s about it for tonight, I just can’t say enough how important all of the continual prayers are. I am eternally grateful. God Bless each of you.

"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours”

(Mark 11:2-24)

January 16, 2004 fri 04:00pm

Happy Friday Everybody, I bet you were all starting to wonder what has been going on; well here is the latest. Annie is doing great. I went to see her for a little while today and I have to say she looks fantastic. She is no longer confined to her bed, and she actually got up and took a few steps last night! GO ANNIE!!! My visit with Annie was great; Jimmie and I took her out for a few minutes in a wheelchair. We even took Annie outside for her first “fresh air” in about a month. Annie looked pretty happy to be outdoors, but it was a bit too cold to stay out too long. The three of us wandered the halls for a bit including a quick look at the rehab floor before returning to her room. Hopefully next week she will be able to move up to the rehab floor, that will hopefully be her last stop before getting the OK to head home. The TPN (nutrition replacement) is going quite well, the plan is to try to get her cycling down to 10 or 12 hours a day so she will not be tethered to the IV machine all day long. There are no procedures scheduled any time soon, so Annie is catching up on rest. I know how tired the rest of us are, and can only imagine how tired she is. Please continue to pray for her, adding that she will soon be moved to rehab. It will be wonderful to have her get home, hopefully soon.

January 20, 2004 tue 01.20pm

Howdy All, hope your week has gotten off to a good start. Not too much happening on the Annie front for the last couple of days. She and Jimmie are getting out for walks and generally getting ready for a move to the rehab floor. That should hopefully take place very soon. Keep sending prayers, that’s one thing there can never be too much of. I’ll post another update hopefully after work this evening.

January 21, 2004 wed 09:20pm

Pop quiz time; did you know that in order to be moved to the rehab floor at UWMC you must first be discharged from the hospital so that they can admit you into the rehab facility? Sounds kind of strange, but Annie is out of the hospital and on the rehab floor! Way to go Annie! Hopefully she will be on her way home soon. Jimmie said that before her “move” they had gone out for a walk “around the block” (her wing of the hospital) and Annie was doing great. She is not walking unassisted yet, but that is not far off. That is really the big news for today. Annie is doing very well and is saving up energy for when the next big day comes. I hope that you will continue to keep Annie in your prayers; she still has a ways to go, but she is getting there with our support and prayers.

The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the LORD , who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.

(Psalm 18:2-3)

January 25, 2004 sun 07:45pm

Greetings All, my apologies about the extended absence of an update; I’ve been keeping pretty busy lately, but I know you are anxious for some news. Annie is doing very well in rehab, enough so that she actually has been granted a pass for a few hours here and there to get out for a drive, visit home, or to do whatever she feels like. Unfortunately it is basically “work release” and she must return after each outing. I am sure that getting out of that building is great for her morale, it is impossible to imagine how emotionally draining this has been for her. My folks say that they are starting to see more of the “old Annie” as each day goes by. It probably will not be much longer before she gets to go home, but just as with post-transplant she will need to be allowed to have some time at home to continue recuperating before she will be able have visitors or even have the energy to take calls. I hope to have a note from Annie to post within the next few days, so keep an eye out for it. For tonight I have a special treat for all of you; a new picture of Annie. Please continue to keep praying for her, the Lord has shown us many times over how blessed we are with His answers.

January 27, 2004 tue 08:15pm

Greetings Everyone, I had really hoped to be posting this update from the hospital, but life around my house has kept me pretty busy. Anyhow, I think it is time for an update so here you go; big news today! Stop the press type big news! The big question is should I make all of you wait until Wednesday to hear it! No way!

ANNIE IS GOING HOME!!!

Thank you Jesus! I received a couple of phone calls from Kate and Mom today telling me the great news, but the best call came from Annie herself. She sounds so strong and very relieved. These past six weeks have been extremely difficult for her, and as she pointed out this evening, she still has a long way to go. The plan is for her to go home on Wednesday after all of the paperwork and organizing of medicine and supplies have been taken care of. Hurray for Annie!!! I know Annie is looking for to talking to all of you, but she has requested to have a few days at home to recoup before setting up her social calendar. Please be patient, a few more days won’t be too bad. I am planning to continue updating the website as Annie continues her recovery. I hope that all of you will continue to keep her in your prayers. Tonight I will be saying an extra prayer of thanks for each of you; I know how grateful Annie has been to know that so many people are praying for her and I extend my heart-felt thanks to you as well. The Lord is with us all.

Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say

Here am I.

(Isaiah 58:8-9)

January 29, 2004 thur 09:45pm

Happy Thursday All, I hope the good news of Tuesday reached each of you; I should say GREAT news. Annie is enjoying being home with her family again; it is hard to believe how long it has been. I spoke with Annie for a few minutes earlier this evening and she sounds wonderful. I know that her being home will be a huge mental boost to her as she continues to recover. I know you all are anxious to start calling her to hear her voice, but please give her a couple more days. She is still very tired and adjusting to her new life. I am hoping to have a note from Annie to post here within the next few days which will hopefully ease some of the tension. For me, I am looking forward for an overdue family reunion of sorts this Sunday; it has been a long time since we have all been together. Please keep praying!

God Bless.

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called--one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

(Ephesians 4:2-6)

February 3, 2004 tue 09:30pm

Good Evening All, just a quick note to let you all know how things are going. Annie is doing great; she is walking without the use of a walker or crutches and is continuing to improve daily. We all went to church together Sunday at Annie’s church in MV. It was amazing to feel somewhat first-hand the amazing support she and her family receive from folks up there. Truly amazing. I also wanted to post a new picture for you to sit and stare in awe at. Doesn’t she look GREAT!!

Annie & Jimmie outside church

It was nice to get to meet a few of you who have been writing to Annie and continuing to pray for her. I am hoping to get some time to redo this website, but in the interim I would like to let you know that the new address is http://newlungs.haszspace.net. The new location is up and running, and should be free of any pop-up ads or other annoyances. Please keep praying for Annie, God has brought her a very long way.

You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the miraculous signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the LORD your God brought you out.

(Deuteronomy 7:19)

February 12, 2004 thur 08:10am

Hello everyone, I apologize if the past several days of no updates have caused any grief. I had hoped to get this posting done last night, but things have been a bit crazy for me lately. Annie is doing pretty well; she is however back at University Medical as she had pulled her G-tube out of place on Tuesday evening. The doctors at the hospital repaired that on Wednesday and will be keeping her there for a couple of days. The good side to this is that the doctors can more directly monitor Annie and hopefully get her battle with nausea under control. Since Annie’s return home she has had a fairly constant problem with nausea, and it has been very difficult for her to deal with it; both physically and emotionally. This girl deserves a break! I would like to ask that you please pray for Annie to gain relief from the nausea, and that she regain the positive, life-loving spirit that we all know so well in her. She has not lost faith, but she does feel a bit disappointed in how things have gone lately. I will try to get some additional information later today and add it to the site this evening. God Bless.

February 12, 2004 thur 09:45pm

Howdy All, time for another update on Annie. It seems that things changed before I got the update posted this morning; Annie is again back at home! The doctors saw no reason to keep her as there was not a medical problem to deal with, just a quick “repair job”. On an even better note, Annie has gotten through her first day without nausea! YEAH!!! Hopefully this is a preview of days to come. I spoke with Annie by phone a little while ago and she sounds really good. It is easy to tell that she is feeling very worn-down by all of this, but I believe that as her body continues to adjust she will regain strength in other parts of her life as well. Thank you again for all of your prayers. God Bless.

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

(Isaiah 46:4)

March 19, 2004 fri 12:30pm

Greetings all, thanks to all of you for continuing to check the website for updates; you have my deepest apologies for the long absence. Annie continues to hold steady, the past several weeks have gone by without major changes but not totally quiet either. Nausea continues to prove to be a major obstacle for Annie, both mentally and physically. She will be meeting with Dr. Michael Kimmey, a specialist at UWMC next week. This meeting with Dr. Kimmey is a crucial step in finding the answers and hopefully solutions to the nausea. Annie, Jimmy and the entire family request your thoughts and prayers specifically for insight and wisdom for Dr. Kimmey; continuing strength for Annie; and encouragement and hope for ALL of us. We all know that Annie has come through an unimaginably terrifying ordeal, and that she has come this far not on her own, but through miracles, blessings, and the undeniable power of prayer. There is no way to express how thankful our family is to know that so many of you are continuing to pray for Annie. I promise not to let another month go by before the next update. Things are progressing at a slower pace right now, but I will try to have updates at least weekly, sooner if warranted. Please pray hard!

March 29, 2004 mon 08:05pm

Hello Everyone, I hope your Monday has gone well. Annie continues to battle nausea. On Saturday she started using a pump that is supposed to help keep her stomach empty, so far this has not brought the relief hoped for. She has also started on another medicine, Protonix, which will help reduce the production of acids in her stomach. I am hopeful that this provides at least some relief. Annie is not just sitting around, she likes to get out and go for walks during times that she feels up to it. It always warms my heart to see her walking into church on the Sundays my family is able make a quick run up to see her. She and her family are such an inspiration! Jimmy wanted me to apologize to those of you who have been waiting patiently to talk with Annie, once the nausea has subsided she will probably be on the phone for several days straight. I am sure the phone company is looking forward to Annie feeling better as well; I think Mont Vernon is long distance from everywhere. Please remember to keep praying for Annie, for a stop to the nausea, a lift for her spirits, and answers to the whys. God Bless.

April 6, 2004 tues 08:20am

Good morning Everyone, I hope all of your plans for the upcoming Easter holiday are going well. It looks as if it will be another traveling holiday for my family, I should figure out a way to get ‘frequent flyer” miles for the drive between home and Mt. Vernon. Anyhow, Annie is continuing to fight this very stubborn nausea. Today she will be starting another new med to help reduce acid production which will hopefully help alleviate the nausea. On Thursday Annie will be meeting with Dr. Aitken, Dr. Mulligan, and Dr. Reyes who is going to be joining the UWMC staff a little later this year. Dr. Reyes has been doing pioneering work in small bowel transplants, we are feeling very fortunate and blessed to know that he will be meeting with Annie this soon. I pray he will bring new insight into dealing with Annie’s current situation. On Saturday April 24 there will be a quilt show at Bethany Covenant Church in Mt. Vernon. This will be a unique opportunity to view several of Annie’s quilts, and spend some time sharing stories of how Annie has impacted our lives. Debbie Mitchell has additional information and may be reached via email at mitchell@fidalgo.net or by phone at 360-445-3113. There is also an info sheet available here. That is it for this update. Please continue to keep up with prayers for Annie; especially as she goes to meet with the doctors on Thursday. God Bless.

April 9, 2004 fri 08:30pm

 Update from Katie:

 Thank you to everyone for your patience in waiting for this update. As you know, Jimmy and Annie met with Dr. Aitken, Dr. Mulligan and Dr. Reyes yesterday. Dr. Reyes was recruited from the University of Pittsburgh to head up the transplant center at the University of Washington Medical Center and will be arriving "officially" at UWMC in July 2004. In any case, his recommendation is for Annie to go to the University of Pittsburgh for a small bowel transplant as soon as the paperwork and preliminary work up is done. Jimmy expects their first appointment to be within 30 days. Dr. Reyes confirmed that the only way out of the nausea is by getting the small bowel transplant. The other risk factor is the TON as the only nutritional source due to the lack of placement options for the main lines. For Annie, TPN is not a solution that would be available that much longer. Annie is definitely considered a "higher risk" candidate for the transplant but since the small bowel transplant is the only viable option.... Annie and Jimmy are going full steam ahead.

A very important detail: Annie will be the f first person in the world to have a double lung transplant and a small bowel transplant, ever, anywhere!

That is the news for now. Annie has already proven that she is a "medical miracle" after surviving December so I am confident that she is fully in the game now! Please continue to pray for Annie and Jimmy and Helen and James...for peace and strength. Please pray for the wisdom of Dr. Reyes and the Pittsburgh team. Pray for a successful and expeditious trip to Pittsburgh. Thank you everyone for continuing to support us on this journey.

God is good!

April 25, 2004 sun 09:00pm

I just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who came out to the Quilt Show on Saturday. I am sure many of you were hoping to see Annie there: she did come by for a private viewing before the show opened, which proved to be enough of a drain on her for the day. The show itself was an amazing display of several of Annie’s quilts made over the years. I know it seemed to many of you that there were a lot of quilts, believe in or not, there were more that were not available for the show. The show of support from so many of you is truly inspiring. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I will be adding pictures from the show soon. Annie is still suffering the effects of nausea; my prayer is that God provide some insight to his plan for Annie, and the road ahead. Annie and Jimmie are making preliminary plans for a possible trip to Pittsburgh for a second transplant; please add to your prayers that God smoothly pave the way. Annie (and Jimmie) have had enough bumps, deviations and road-blocks; the last thing they need is to have the insurance company or the doctors back east say no.

Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the LORD delivers him in times of trouble.
The LORD will protect him and preserve his life; he will bless him in the land
and not surrender him to the desire of his foes. The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed
and restore him from his bed of illness.

(Psalm 41:1-3)

May 7, 2004 fri 4:15pm

Happy Friday everyone! Time to get started on a few extra prayers. Annie has an important test coming up on Monday; this will probably be a determining factor in getting Annie on her way to Pittsburgh. I do not have specific details of the test, but I have been told that it will be an MRI of sorts. If this goes well then Annie and Jimmie will begin planning to go east. It goes without saying that Annie could use a few extra prayers from all of us, let’s continue to give Annie the best kind of support we can. Pictures from the Quilt show and last weekend’s dinner will be coming soon. Please call your friends and ask to have extra prayers said for Annie, I cannot express how important it is that Annie’s test goes well. God Bless.

May 14, 2004 fri 03:15pm

Message from Katie:

Bart asked me to update everyone on the most recent news since he is swamped at work.  We have absolutely GREAT NEWS to report. Annie has been approved for the small bowel transplant!  Annie and Jimmy have their first appointment in Pittsburgh on Monday, May 24th.   Yippee!! We are all so excited, a little scared, very thankful and so grateful that we have so many people to share this news with.  The countdown begins and we are all are ready to go (or will be in 9 days).  Bart will keep you posted on Annie's progress as she gets listed.
We ask that you pray for a safe trip to Pittsburgh and continue to pray for strength and peace for Annie and Jimmy as they face this next medical challenge.

Love to everyone,

Katie

May 22, 2004 sat 07:00am

Good Morning All, It seems that this past week has flown by. Not much of anything new to report; Annie is strong, but continues to fight the never-ending nausea. The really big news is just around the corner; Annie and Jimmie will be leaving for Pittsburgh on Sunday. They have an appointment Monday, and will hopefully be getting settled in with their new surroundings soon after that. The plan is for Annie to get listed for transplant as soon as possible, and she and Jimmie will stay over there until Annie gets the OK from the post-transplant doctor(s) that she can go back home. There is no way to know how long this process is going to take; but as we all know, this will all happen when God says. For now, please pray for Annie to remain strong, for her and Jimmie to have a safe flight, and that they quickly find themselves surrounded by new friends to help them through this. My thanks go out to each of you for your never-ending prayers through past and coming months.

God Bless.

May 23, 2004 sun 09:40pm

Good Evening Everyone, Just wanted to let you all know that Annie and Jimmie have arrived safely in Pittsburgh. They had one plane change along the way, but are now on the ground and settling in at a hotel for the night. Tomorrow will be a busy day as they have a doctor appointment (the first of many), and I believe will be getting set up in more “permanent” housing. We had a nice get together last night in Mount Vernon; it was nice to have all of the family together with Annie as we do not know how long it will be before we will have that opportunity. I have a new prayer request this evening; strength for Helen and James. This will be a very difficult time for them, but they are fortunate to have family and wonderful friends close-by. Today was a big day for them as well. After seeing their parents off at the airport, they went to participate in the Great Strides walk to raise funds for CF research. Helen and James co-captain Team Firebolts, and never pass up an opportunity to support CF research. That’s it for tonight, please keep the prayers going! God Bless.

Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength;
we will sing and praise your might.

(Psalm 21:13)

May 27, 2004 thur 09:30pm

Happy almost Friday! I have been hearing encouraging news from Annie and Jimmie about their first few days in Pittsburgh; things are going very well. They have met with a few doctors at UPMC, among them Dr. Iacono (Chief Lung Transplant Surgeon), and Dr. Kareem (Small Bowel Transplant Surgeon). Dr. Iacono did a bronchoscope this morning and says that Annie’s new lungs look great! Dr. Kareem is having Annie admitted for a few days to conduct some tests and to evaluate drug intake. He has also recommended that Annie have a Pancreas transplant while the Small Bowel transplant is performed. Several doctors involved in Annie’s care have stated their determination in diagnosing what all happened to Annie in December. Annie and Jimmie are both raving about the level of expertise at UPMC, and feel great about the care she is receiving. I pray (it seems hourly at least) for Annie’s strength, spirit, and faith to remain with her through this new chapter of her life. I thank God that Annie has Jimmie to comfort, protect, and love her. A bit of fun coming up closer to home; the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Redhook Brewery are holding their annual pub-crawl to raise funds for CF Research. The Crawl for a Cure is on Saturday June 5, in Seattle’s Fremont Neighborhood. That’s going to have to be it for tonight; sick kids are calling. Thank you for your prayers. Good night.

May 28, 2004 fri 10:30pm

Happy Friday! I hope you all had a good week, I for one am ready for a long weekend. Great news to report from PA tonight: Annie had her first day without nausea! Thank you Lord! I spoke with Annie earlier this evening, and she sounded absolutely amazing; I almost didn’t recognize her when she answered the phone! She sounded like she did long before transplant. Anyhow, I could not wait until tomorrow to tell you about this wonderful news. God has again demonstrated His ability to perform miracles when we are not expecting it. If this only lasts for the one day, Annie has enjoyed the relief. I pray the relief will continue. I look forward to talking with her again later this weekend. Keep the prayers going; God’s will is His, but He hears our prayers. Good night.

June 4, 2004 fri 07:50am

Good morning, I hope your week has gone well. I have the privilege of posting an update from Jimmie; I will provide a link to it later in this post. For now, Annie is doing well despite a test “failure” on Wednesday. The doctors were unable to get a catheter in to check for hypertension in her heart as the paths were obstructed by clots. Better news follows…Thursday another test was done to find an alternative path for blood to travel to/from the transplanted small bowel system she needs. When I spoke with Jimmie late yesterday, he said that he had spoken with a nurse who stated that the test results look good. (Insert sigh of relief!) I will post again when I get more news from Annie & Jimmie. You may follow this link to see the update that Jimmie sent yesterday; a bit more in-depth on the medical side. Just curious, are any of you able to attend the Crawl for a Cure event tomorrow? Pray for sun! Keep the prayers for Annie coming, the Lord does hear us.

God Bless.

June 15, 2004 tue 01:30pm

Thank you to Katie for providing today’s update.

Message from Katie:

Hi to everyone.

I just called Jimmy to get an update and schedule for the week. Dr. Kareem is working through the necessary paperwork to get the transplant authorized. Unfortunately, this can be a cumbersome and frustrating process. It’s a
little discouraging that Annie has to wait for all these last minute details, but I am sure there is a plan behind this wait (one that we do not know about yet). Annie is meeting with the transplant pulmonary doctor this week and has some less major testing scheduled.  She has not officially "listed" yet but we are really hoping that this happens soon. Pastor Kent Egging and his wife are meeting up with Annie and Jimmy on June 16th for a visit.  Annie and Jimmy are very excited to have a visit from someone from home. Pastor Kent reworked a business trip to include a quick (I mean a day long drive) to hit Pittsburgh on his way to Atlanta.   Very, very generous!
I am scheduled to go to Pittsburgh June 17th through June 22nd and I can't wait. This will be my second extended weekend visit.  I really wish that I could relocate to Pittsburgh too; leaving Annie was very, very hard. Helen and James are going to fly with my parents for a visit the 21st through the 26th of June. Jimmy just bought tickets for Kennywood (kind of like Dollywood and Disneyland).  As you can imagine, both he and Annie are missing the kids terribly and looking so forward to seeing them.
The doctors in Pittsburgh are being very cautious and paying attention to every detail which is great, we all just wish there weren't so many details so Annie could get listed, now!  Thank you all for checking in and continuing to pray and stick with us during this lengthy journey. Like I said before, there is a reason for this wait and we just have to keep praying for the best possible timing and outcome.

Love,
Katie

July 2, 2004 fri 10:00pm

Happy Friday Everyone; I trust you are all looking forward to a 3-day weekend. Things have been moving very slowly of late, we all have been hoping for things to move along but it is not in our hands. God will make this happen when the time has come. Mom and Dad (Jim and Barbara) flew out with Helen and James to visit Annie and Jimmie; I know the kids were anxious to see their parents. They all had a nice time visiting and going to Kennywood, a local amusement park. They are looking forward to returning for another visit soon. Pastor Kent was able to squeeze another visit in his schedule during a layover on his return home. The love and support Annie and Jimmie receive from folks at Bethany Covenant is a true testimony of God’s love for us all. The first response from the insurance company arrived yesterday; a denial, as we had expected. This is actually good news; it shows that things are starting to move again. The doctors will send another letter explaining the reasons for the pancreas transplant and that it is not “experimental”. It may not be necessary, but if the surgeons discover that she needs it during the intestinal transplant it will be better to do it at the same time. Hopefully the next response will give a green light. Mom has begun chemotherapy recently, and seems to be fairing well. She has however ended up in the hospital tonight as her knees are badly swollen and she is unable to walk. Also, her kidneys are not functioning properly right now. Please pray for her that the doctors will quickly be able to diagnose the cause(s) and provide a prompt and complete treatment. Please pray for strength and encouragement for both Annie and Mom, and that the Lord continues to comfort them. God Bless.

July 5, 2004 mon 11:30pm

Greetings all; I hope you have all enjoyed a fun-filled holiday weekend. I wish I was able to give some better news tonight, but the truth is that Mom is very ill. She has an infection that has managed to get into her blood, lungs, urine, and spinal fluid. It is a form of Staph that would not be any sort of problem normally, but with her compromised immune system (from chemotherapy) it has been very active. Things have not been coming around in the manner we had hoped over the last 36 hours or so; things had been looking a little bit better as recently as yesterday afternoon. Today however things have definitely changed. Although she has been fairly stable she has been put on a respirator. The good side of this is that it will relieve her body of the labor of breathing on its own; which has been obviously difficult over the last day or so. It has also been done in part because we are expecting things to get a bit worse over the next 24-48 hours. As of the time I left the hospital (UWMC) tonight, she had shown a slight improvement in her vitals, and I was told that her lungs sounded good. Yes, I did say lungs. No, I am not thinking of Annie. She is still in Pittsburgh waiting for a go ahead to get listed for her next transplant. Mom will be in the hospital for a while, and will be in need of a lot of prayers. It sure seems like our family has been through more than enough over the last several months, but we continue to feel blessed that God has surrounded us with the love of so many friends and family. Our faith remains strong. I ask tonight that as you continue to pray for Annie, that you also pray for Mom. That God will provide healing to her body, and strength to her soul. Thank you and God Bless.

July 6, 2004 tue 01:40pm

Happy Tuesday; this seems to shaping up to be a fairly big news day. First off, Mom had an uneventful night. Today the doctors have either lightened-up or stopped her blood pressure med, and she seems to be holding her BP up fairly well on her own. She is stable, and does not seem to be continuing the downward turn she had taken yesterday. She is still on the respirator, but as stated yesterday this is probably better for her. On the Annie side there is some exciting new; She has been listed for transplant! Interesting timing. She will be coming back to see Mom for a couple of days, but will need to return to Pittsburgh for the remainder of the wait. This will prove to be very interesting having major events taking place on opposite coasts. I am sure it goes without saying but here it is: please keep praying! This is going to be very difficult for our family, especially if Mom is still in the hospital when Annie gets the call. That’s it for now. Pray hard!

July 7, 2004 wed 12:05am

Good (early) Morning to you; it’s been a while since I’ve done one of these after midnight updates. I just arrived home from the hospital and have a little bit of news to report. Mom is still stable, and does seem to be making some progress. The recent daily cultures have not grown-out as fast as earlier cultures had, and the doctors have removed Mom’s port-a-cath which had been a likely source of infection. She is still sedated but does occasionally have a twitch or other movement. Right now the doctors are looking at Mom’s liver as possibly causing some problems, but there has not been a definitive diagnosis of that so far. Annie and Jimmie arrived at the hospital late this evening; I must say that Annie looks very good! In case you missed it in the previous update, Annie has been given the OK for her next transplant. She and Jimmie will be flying back to Pittsburgh very soon to get ready for that call when it comes. That is pretty much it for now; it will likely be a few days before Mom will be able to be taken off the respirator. After that I think we will start to feel a bit better. Please keep the prayers going. God Bless.

July 8, 2004 thu 07:30pm

Hello from UWMC; we have some good news to report today. Mom had her MRI this morning, and it looks pretty good. Also, there has been no new growth of the infection in the last few days of cultures. Hopefully this means the infection has been stopped, and once it has been flushed from her body she will start coming around more. The liver doctor said that although there are some cancer spots, he did not think that they would be the cause of the liver function problems. Rather, he feels a bi-product of the infection is the cause. Currently Mom’s bilirubin (sorry, spell check doesn’t know that one) count is at 17. Normal is 1, and the record high is 75. So Mom should be OK for a while before there is too much concern. Annie is preparing to fly back to Pittsburgh this evening, with Jimmie. By early tomorrow morning she will be on the list and waiting for a call. She is getting around much better these days, but continues to battle nausea. It has been wonderful having her back in town for a couple of days, it is going to be hard for all of us to have her leave again. That’s it for now; hope to have some more good news later tonight or tomorrow. Please keep praying. We may be seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. God Bless.

July 11, 2004 sun 12:10am

Good early morning; I hope your weekend has been going well. Here’s the latest as of this afternoon. The doctor who checked in on Mom this morning says she feels pretty good about how things were looking this morning. Her kidneys are doing well, and a doctor from Infectious Diseases said that Mom did not need to be on one of the antibiotics any longer. This could start a move in the right direction as that med could be interfering with liver functions which would be the cause of her high bilirubin count (currently 22.5). Mom was taken off the vent for a while today, part of her normal morning ritual; but is back on it as an airway supportive measure. I think mom gets a bit anxious during the times the doctors bring her out of sedation for their evaluations; we all think she wants to get home to take care of Annie. Better to keep her under and let her body concentrate on healing. The doctors have another MRI planned for Mom to check for abscesses of infection, not sure when that will happen. It takes a lot of coordinating to move someone on a respirator around a busy hospital. Overall it seems as if she is showing some improvement, but is still far from being out of the woods. On the other side of the country, Annie and Jimmie are back in Pittsburgh. Now that Annie is “listed” we could have big news at any time. For now, she is doing well. Despite all she has been through in her life, it is easy to see that God has provided for her in so many ways. I believe that he will continue to. Both Mom and Annie will need all of our prayers over the coming weeks and months; I find peace in the knowledge that so many of you join me daily in prayer. God Bless.

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

(Romans 12:11-13)

July 12, 2004 mon 09:30pm

Just to confuse you all, there is a new website for tracking Mom’s (Barbara’s) progress. Please visit barbwatch.haszspace.net. The page will of course be for the same purpose as this one; so please keep an eye on both. God Bless.

July 13, 2004 mon 09:10pm

Happy Tuesday, I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful summer weather. Looks like it is supposed to rain this weekend though; go figure. Anyhow, not much to report today, Annie and Jimmie are settled back in at there home away from home in Pittsburgh. I received a phone call from Annie today, she really misses being home. She told me that there have already been 3 sets of viable organs come through recently. The first, just before her paperwork had been approved. The second, while she was in the air, not sure which flight. The third, while the surgical team was in the middle of another transplant! They keep very busy. Annie thinks that it will not be too long before she gets “the call”. It is going to be interesting having all this going on at the same time, and very far apart. Please keep praying. God Bless.

July 14, 2004 wed 10:20pm

What a day! I just finished the update on the Barbwatch site, Mom has had an incredible day. I spoke with Annie and Jimmie earlier this evening; they are waiting patiently for “the call”, and know that it will happen when it is supposed to. Annie had a pretty good day today, still nauseated but without the constant wretching that normally accompanies it. I think she is getting to rest a bit in preparation of her upcoming transplant. She can’t wait to come home. Please pray hard for her and Mom.

July 18, 2004 sun 09:25pm

Howdy! Just a quick post to say Hi; no new info from Annie and Jimmie since getting listed. As you can imagine, our family has been concentrating our efforts on Mom these past weeks. Things are improving, and hopefully by the time Annie gets “the call”, Mom will be well on the road to recovery. For now, continue checking in, and keep praying. God Bless.

July 25, 2004 sun 09:00

Good Sunday morning to you; big news today from PA – Annie is getting her transplant! This is expected to take about 11 hours, so it may be awhile before there is new information to report. I will be posting updates as I get them, so do keep an eye on this page. Our family asks for your prayers and thoughts for Annie, that young lady has been through a lot over the years, God has always pulled her through, and I know that Annie can somehow feel the prayers going out for her.

July 25, 2004 sun 04:40pm

Howdy Folks, just a quick update; so far so good. The surgical team is in the midst of preparing Annie’s abdominal cavity to receive the new organs. At the same time the team is also making final preparations to the new organs. This is likely going to be going on until about 3:00am Pittsburgh time, so don’t expect too many phone calls tonight. Please keep checking here for the latest; and remember, I am not planning to do any email broadcasts for the regular updates. Please take a minute to say an extra prayer, not jus for Annie and Mom, but also for the doctors and staff members who are caring for them. God Bless.

July 25, 2004 sun 06:40pm

Good evening, I just got off the phone with Katie, here’s what she had to say; the new organs (intestines and pancreas) are in and blood is pumping to them! Dr. Kareem has been out to talk to Jimmie at least a couple of times, and says things are going very well, and Annie is doing great. The mood at UPMC has been very relaxed and professional with a few well-placed jokes thrown in. Pastor John from a local Covenant church stopped in to see how things are going. Annie’s new friend from Pittsburgh Rhonda, also from the church stopped in to offer help with Helen and James. The kids wanted to stay put, so Rhonda brought them a game to help pass the time. She will, no-doubt, be one of our families next “acquisitions”. (Too late to run and hide Rhonda; some people collect stamps, we collect “family”) There are several hours of surgery remaining, so please keep checking in. Pray hard!

July 26, 2004 mon 12:45am

Happy barely Monday, what better way to start a new week; ANNIE IS OUT OF SURGERY!!! Wow, it feels like I have said that before. This has been a very long day for many people; Annie was taken back by the anesthesiologist at about 11:30am Sunday, and moved to ICU at 03:30am Monday (PA time). It seems the hours have passed rather quickly, but it still feels like a long day. Not much to report at this point other than the surgery is done and Annie now begins yet another new chapter. I know it goes without saying, but please keep the prayers going. I will again be collecting messages to print for Annie to read; feel free to be prolific in writing if it suits you. One of these days I should probably drop her card myself; who actually has time to sit and think about what to write! I offer a prayer of thanks for each of you. God bless. Good night.

July 26, 2004 mon 08:30pm

Wow, what a day it has been. Annie spent the remainder of the morning in the ICU following her transplant; but had to go back in for additional surgery this afternoon. Her kidneys were not functioning properly so the doctors wanted to go back in to find out what was going on. They discovered a hematoma had pushed up against a kidney and was preventing it from functioning. That surgery lasted about 2 hours, and I have been told that it went well; everything is currently working as it should. I do not know if this will cause a delay in Annie’s recovery, it would seem that with this happening so soon after the transplant surgery that it should not add much if any time on to it. Katie says Jimmie is continuing to be the rock he has always been for Annie; what a blessing he has been. It has been wonderful to have Katie along with Helen & James be there when God said now is the time. That about wraps it up for news from Pittsburgh tonight, please continue in prayer. God Bless.

July 27, 2004 tue 09:20pm

Good evening, here’s the latest Annie update; still in the ICY, and doing very well. She has opened her eyes a couple of times; and all her vitals are looking good. Believe it or not, that’s about it for this update. Things are sure looking up, praise God!

July 28, 2004 wed 11:30pm

Hopefully third time is a charm; I cannot seem to get this latest update to save. Anyhow, I spoke with Jimmie a while ago; he says things are going very well over there. Annie is still in the ICU and on the respirator, but everything is OK. Katie flew back to Seattle with Helen and James last night; what a blessing to have had them in PA when “the call” came in. I am sure it was hard for them to have to leave in the midst of this. With a little luck and a lot of prayers Annie and Jimmie will be on their way home soon. Please continue to pray for Annie’s swift recovery. God bless.

July 30, 2004 fri 11:45am

Happy Friday, I hope your week has gone well. Great news from the east coast today, Annie is off the vent! Praise Jesus! There is still a long way to go, but this is a big step toward her getting out of ICU and eventually home. That’s the news for now, keep checking back. Please pray for her recovery to continue smoothly. God Bless.

August 1, 2004 sun 09:45pm

Greetings, Annie is doing great! I have a special posting this evening, an update from Jimmy. I will post his update here. It is several pages in length, so I will let you all get reading. Life is short, Pray Hard!

August 2, 2004 mon 09:30pm

Howdy and happy Monday; I spoke with Annie (yes I said Annie) for a few minutes this evening, she sounds great. She says that she is very sore and tired, certainly not unexpected given all she has been thru. Jimmy told me that Annie has been spending a bit more time sitting up, and also managed to take a few steps today! Way to go Annie! Praise God, another prayer answered. No telling how long Annie will remain at UPMC, hopefully we will see her and Jimmy back home soon. Pray! Pray! Pray!

August 4, 2004 wed 09:50pm

Good evening; my apologies for the lack of update last night, things are going well. Annie has been moved out of the ICU into a “regular” room, she continues to improve steadily. She is getting stronger and spending a bit more time out of bed walking around. I am told she managed to get around today without the use of a walker, just Jimmy by her side. Praise the Lord she is certainly on her way. Please pray for her continuous healing, and that the nausea not return. God bless.

August 10, 2004 12:00am

Good Morning all, I hope your weekend went well. I am sorry for not getting a posting up over the last few days; things have been slow and steady for Annie, a bit more chaotic around my house. Anyhow, Annie is doing great; still a little sore, but no nausea!!! I spoke with her a bit last evening, she sounds incredible; she thinks she may be getting released from the hospital soon. Possibly later today (Tuesday), hard to believe she just had her transplant two weeks ago. Praise God she is doing great!!! That’s it for now; I’ll let you know as soon as I hear more. God Bless!

August 11, 2004 tue 09:45pm

Happy Tuesday, let’s just get straight to a big, huge, gigantic praise God; ANNIE IS EATING!!! If you know Annie then you probably already know what she had for her first taste in 10 months…Chicken and Ketchup. (No big surprise there.) She is thrilled. When I spoke with her earlier this evening it just sounded like there was huge relief in her voice. She is still in the hospital; probably all the better to observe how her body reacts to the new task at hand. Annie hopes to be released to the family house within the next few days; but expects it will still be a while before she gets to head home. In case you don’t know Annie’s diet, it normally consists of chicken and ketchup, mashed potatoes and ketchup, pancakes and ketch…oops, a pool of syrup. Dad called today to add a historical date to Annie’s ketchup addiction…her second birthday. I was not there, but according to Dad on the menu that day was birthday cake and…believe it or not, ketchup. Seems she got a hold of a bottle and poured it on her cake. That’s just not right. I am glad Annie’s nausea has not returned, I on the other hand don’t feel so good. (Just kidding) Well that’s about it for tonight; it sure seems as though Annie is getting a long deserved break. Praise Jesus!!!

August 11, 2004 wed 09:00pm

Good evening folks; more big news for Annie today. Annie is out of the hospital!!! Hooray for Annie! It’s hard to believe that she just had that transplant a little over two weeks ago. She sounded even better today than yesterday. Want more good news? Annie is off the TPN! The doctors have told her to eat up. I wonder how nice of a dinner you can get for the price of a one day supply of TPN. I am sure the insurance company will be happy not to be paying for that anymore. Annie and Jimmy will still be calling Pittsburgh home for a while but it is hard to say how long. Our family is sure overdue for being reunited. I hope you will all join me tonight is saying a prayer of thanks; this is truly another answered prayer. God Bless!

August 13, 2004 fri 10:20pm

Howdy all, Friday is finally upon us; what a week it has been. I received a call from Annie earlier this evening; she has had a couple of very busy days and sounded very tired. Not at all helped by the fact that she likes to be social. She was up until midnight last night talking with another family in the family house in Pittsburgh; no doubt providing support and encouragement to others around her. The Doctors recently had to inform Annie that her last biopsy showed “a little sign of rejection”. No one is panicking, but it is still very unnerving. She is being treated with high doses of steroids that will, along with our prayers bring this to a swift and full stop. Although Annie sounded tired, she still sounds very strong. The nausea has not returned, which is a great relief. That is it for tonight; please take a moment to remind others to keep praying for Annie. God is faithful, and we must be as well. Pray hard!

August 23, 2004 mon 09:55pm

Happy Monday! My apologies over the extended absence of updates; my wife and I took our kids out to the beach for a week, no phones. Even my cell phone doesn’t work out there. Anyhow, things have been going well for Annie; the rejection appears to be under control, and she is continuing her recovery. Jimmy tells me that her last biopsy results showed no signs of rejection, and that it looks as if yesterday’s biopsy will also be clear. Not much else has been happening, just continuing on the recovery path. Helen and James should be arriving along with Katie tomorrow morning for another visit; I sure hope someone is collecting air miles for all of this. Helen and James joined us for a few days at the beach last week; along with Dad. Also joining us were Mom and Dad’s friends Jerry and Marilyn, their daughter Angela, and grandson Cole. We all had a wonderful time. It was great to spend some time with family and friends, something that we all tend to overlook with our busy life and work schedules. That’s it for now, please keep praying. Before we know it Annie and Jimmy will be home. God Bless.

August 30, 2004 mon 10:50pm

Good evening all, trivia time; who set the record for the fastest discharge from UPMC following a small bowel transplant? Need a hint? She had a double lung transplant less than one year ago. That’s right, our Annie!!! She was released on day 16; that may sound like a lot of days to be hospitalized, but considering that it was a transplant and abdominal surgery that is amazing! Annie is doing great; but feeling very homesick. I spoke with her Friday morning, she was glad to have her kids out for a visit. Helen has since returned home and James has decided to help his Dad take care of Annie for a few days. Today I spoke with Katie who sounded thrilled over how well Annie was doing during her visit. Annie’s recent biopsies have all been good and she continues to enjoy eating anything she can get her hands on, with ketchup of course. That’s it for tonight, keep praying. God Bless.

September 16, 2004 thu 08:30pm Good evening, I hope all is well with everyone; I can not begin to describe what an emotionally intense week our family has had. Our mother, Barbara, passed away Sunday evening in the company of family and friends. Her last few days were spent in her home surrounded by loved ones; each bringing the prayers and memories of many others with them. Annie was granted a “pass” from the doctors at UPMC and arrived Saturday night; I was getting food for her and my family when she arrived, but from what I hear her entrance was nothing short of dramatic. Medically she is doing great; I have never seen Annie eat like this, other than chicken and mashed potatoes that is. She has so much energy, and she just seems like herself again. Praise God! In the midst of our sorrow we have a celebration; Annie’s 1 year transplant birthday! Hard to believe it, but on Friday it will be 1 year since she received the gift of new lungs, and life renewed. This year has certainly not been without its trials, but thru prayer and God’s grace we have cause to celebrate. We will be planning a belated birthday party for Annie as she has to return to Pittsburgh, and we are currently planning Mom’s memorial.

October 10, 2004 sun 04:30pm

Greetings one and all; it has been too long since this page was last updated. I know many of you are anxious to hear how things are going; here is the latest. Overall Annie is doing well; she has however had a couple of hospital stays during the past several weeks. The first was because of pneumonia, the second to work on a couple of things to prevent their becoming bigger issues. Mostly just observing and adjusting some of her meds. I know Annie and Jimmy, along with all of us here, are anxiously awaiting her getting the OK from the doctor’s to come home. If you are looking for information about the memorial service for Barbara, our Mom, it is scheduled for November 5^th. More info is available here. I think that is probably all for now; I apologize for keeping this so short after such a long break, the weeks since Mom’s passing have been difficult and I have just not had the energy to get back into posting. I promise to get the postings up a bit more frequently and regularly. Thank you for your endless prayers. God bless.

October 16, 2004 sat 08:50pm

Good evening folks, I hope your weekend is going well. A bit of new info about Annie to share this evening; it looks as though one or more of the meds she has been on may be causing some new problems for her. Specifically it is her right hip that is giving her trouble. Early thoughts are that the meds mat have caused a problem in blood flow to the hip area, and has caused the bone(s) to become weakened and cause a great deal of discomfort for Annie. As far as Annie’s post-transplant condition goes, she is doing very well. Still no word on when she will get the OK to come home, but hopefully it will be soon. Annie and Jimmy are both getting to spend some much needed time with their kids who flew out a few days ago for a short visit. I know that every time I talk with Annie she says how much she misses them, and how badly she wants to be home being their mom again. I hope that you will please add to your prayers for Annie that she is provided with a quick and accurate diagnosis of her hip; and that her treatment and recovery are swift and complete.

October 25, 2004 mon 01:30pm

Happy Monday folks, I hope your week is off to a good start; not too much in the way of new info to share, but there are a few specific prayer requests to pass along. Today marks three months since Annie’s small bowel/pancreas transplant and we are all anxiously awaiting her return to Mount Vernon. As her return draws near we ask that you pray for Annie, Jimmy, Helen and James to have a safe journey home. Please pray for the healing of Annie’s hip; the blood flow has been interrupted to it which has compromised the bones. The result has left Annie in a great deal of pain, and the possible necessity of another surgery. Pray for Annie’s doctors to allow Annie to have the opportunity to drive home rather than fly. This is not so much because of the costs involved in flying everyone home(thank you for all of the donated air miles!) and have the van brought back, but more to avoid Annie being exposed to all of the various germs and such that are present in the confinement of an airplane. That’s it for now; I will try to get a call in to Annie later today. God Bless!

October 30, 2004 sat 11:45pm

Greetings all; I apologize for the lateness of this post, hopefully you have by now learned of the need to reschedule Mom’s (Barbara’s) memorial service, while unfortunate it is necessary. If you did not receive the original email it is as follows;

To our dear family and friends:

We just received news from Annie's doctors in Pittsburgh that she is "at risk" to travel and is not ready to return to Mount Vernon.  Her medical team does not believe their work is quite done.   This news forces us to make the very tough decision to postpone our mom's memorial service originally scheduled for November 5th, 2004.  We all know that our mom would never allow us to take this risk with Annie or anyone else for that matter. In honor of our mom's spirit, we appreciate your continued prayers for Annie and Jimmy along with your support, patience and understanding.

Due to Annie's condition and the uncertainty of when she will return, we will wait to reschedule the memorial service.

Here's how you can help us with communication for the Memorial Service that will be re-scheduled.

Around Thanksgiving time please start checking the website: http://newlungs.haszspace.net for a rescheduled date. 

After the date has been scheduled, please indicate by e-mail (to the address provided) that you have received the updated information. 

We cannot express how much your presence and belief in our family during this time has meant to us.  We look so forward to celebrating our mom's amazing life and we look forward to being surrounded by all of you soon.

Love and thanks to all,

Jim, Katie, Annie, Bart and Aunt Helen

As far as potential rescheduling dates, all we can say at this point is we are looking at late January. I know many of you have made plans and adjusted work schedules to attend, I am very sorry that we have had to postpone. Please continue to check in for updates about Annie as well as the memorial. God Bless.

November 15, 2004 09:30pm

Happy Monday folks, time for some news from Pittsburgh. Annie has been in the hospital for the past few days due to a recent onset of nausea. While this has not been as severe as the pre-transplant nausea, it is probably as difficult, or more so, for her to deal with mentally. Katie has been over there for the past several days visiting and helping Annie while Jimmy, Helen, and James take some time to visit some of our country’s historic sites. It has been a real blessing to have various family members make the trip to spend time with Annie while she awaits the OK to return home. So far there has not been any decision as to when her return will be; the doctors will not give the OK until they feel they have accomplished everything they set out to. I ask that you please join our family in prayer for Annie; that she receive the gift of healing, and is able to return home soon. I am truly grateful for all of prayers and support you have provided over the past many months.

Thank you and God Bless

November 27, 2004 sat 10:30pm

Greetings all, I hope everyone has been enjoying a relaxing holiday weekend. We have been taking it easy around my house, it has been difficult adjusting to not being around Mom for what was the typically the largest gathering of the year. We are still looking at late January for the rescheduled memorial date. Nothing will be announced until we know that Annie, Jimmy, Helen & James are all home, or at least on their way. Annie has been feeling pretty good; she misses home and Mom, but otherwise is doing well. Monday she has an appointment with her transplant doctor for her regular check up; we are all hoping to hear some good news about her pending return. Annie & I, and the rest of the family as well, are asking that you please pray for good news about her return. I know that Annie has been kept in prayers non-stop for quite some time, but I am asking that we all please say an extra prayer or two between now and then. I will try to get whatever news we hear posted after work on Monday. Until then, KEEP PRAYING! God Bless.

November 30, 2004 tues 09:30pm

Howdy folks, my apologies for not getting this updated yesterday. Unfortunately Annie did not get any news about when she might be on her way home. Needless to say she is disappointed, but she is doing very well. I wish I had better news to report, but that’s it for now. Keep praying, Annie should get another chance next Monday. God Bless

December 16, 2004 thur 09:00pm

Hello there, I hope everyone has been doing well and are well prepared for the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays. I am happy to say that I have some good news to report following Annie’s appointment with her surgeon today; he wants her to go home! Praise the Lord! Now before you jump out of your skin with excitement as I did, you need to know that it is likely still 2-3 weeks away and nothing is set in stone. It is very exciting news nonetheless. She sounded absolutely thrilled when she called earlier to tell me the news. Annie has sure had more than her share of ups and downs lately with her recent hospital stays, but it reinforces what we have know all along; faith in God will bring us through even the hardest times in our lives. I find myself in the unfortunate position of once again having to apologize for the long break since the last update; I hope the good news will sway you to forgive me. I promise that I will get more information to you as soon as I have it. Until then, please pray for Annie’s next few weeks to be without incident, and that she receive the miracle of healing so that she will soon be on her way back to Mount Vernon. God Bless.

December 31, 2004 fri 04:30pm

Greetings all, I hope that this past week has been a happy and healthy one; there are so many things to be thankful for, especially this time of year. I just wanted to give a quick reminder to everyone that today is Annie’s 38^th birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNIE!!! I am grateful beyond words that we are able to celebrate another year of her life. Praise God! She has been doing very well lately, let us all pray that this continues to be her course for a while. I wish all of you a safe and happy New Year! I know we are all looking forward to Annie and family returning home in 2005. God Bless.

January 10, 2005 mon 10:45pm

Howdy all, hope your New Year is off to a great start. Things have been going very well around our various households so far. Helen, James, and Granddad (Jim) flew back into Seattle late last week; it feels great to have some of the family return home. I know that Annie did not want to have to send them home before she was also on her way, but this was good timing as their schools were just restarting after the winter break; and Annie and Jimmy are expecting to be on their way soon. There was a nice “surprise party” for them at the airport, put on by Annie’s friend Lauren who brought some of her kids along with some friends of Helen and James, to welcome them home. Although they will miss being around their Mom and Dad, I think they were ready to get back to their regular school year routines. Moving on to Annie; she is on a little road-trip to Washington D.C. That’s right, she has ventured out of Pittsburgh, with doctor’s approval, for a few days. She had a very good appointment with her doctor today, who gave her the OK without hesitation. It also looks as though she may be getting over the “withdrawal symptoms” that have been causing intermittent problems while doctors have been trying to reduce her steroid intake level. Praise God! It is sure looking as though she and Jimmy will be on their way home soon. Please continue to pray for them; that Annie’s healing continues and will be complete. And that this family that has been through so much over the last 15 months will soon be back together as we prepare to celebrate the life and many memories of our loving mother, Barbara. That’s it for now. I am glad to share such good news today. God Bless!

January 22, 2005 sat 08:45pm

Good evening Everyone, I hope the past several days have been good for all of you; more good news coming out of Pittsburgh, so let’s get to it. Last Monday Annie’s doctor reduced her steroid down to 25mg/dose; 15mg/dose is the target. On this coming Monday the doctor will very likely be reducing her dose to the target number. If all goes well over the next week…get ready to PARTY!!! Annie will be on her way to Mt. Vernon!!! Anyone who has read these postings knows what our family has been through this past year, we all maintain that God has a plan for each of us. We know that the Lord has provided miracles on more than one occasion; and though we are all mourning the loss of Barbara, we delight in the miracles manifested in Annie. For the next week please say an extra prayer (or two or three) that Annie continues to grow in strength, and that her health continues to improve. She will likely be in Pittsburgh for at least the next week, but we hope to be counting down the hours very soon. God Bless!

p.s. Anyone have any ideas/suggestions as to getting their van back from Pittsburgh? I think it would be great if on Annie’s first day back her family could all be here, not driving.

January 28, 2005 fri 05:50pm

Happy Friday all, I get to pass along some great news today; ANNIE IS COMING HOME!!! Thank you Jesus! Now before anyone starts planning a party there are a couple of things you need to know; 1) She is scheduled to return to Mt. Vernon on Friday Feb. 4. 2) The flight is scheduled to touch down a little before 11pm. 3) She will be traveling alone as Jimmy will be driving the van back. 4) Party date…well, we’re working on that. I ask that everyone please keep Annie and Jimmy in their prayers as they prepare to depart UPMC’s care and return to their home. I will be posting more information as I get it. God Bless. Praise God!

February 5, 2005 sat 12:30am

WELCOME HOME ANNIE!!!

Annie’s flight arrived at Sea-Tac at 10:35pm Friday night. She was welcomed home by her several members of her family, and an entourage of onlookers asking questions about all the signs, which lead to a few quick explanations of the events of the past many months. To simply say that everyone there was very excited would be quite the understatement. After spending a bit longer in the airport than most people would care to, we finally set out with Annie on her way to Mount Vernon. I am sure she will enjoy being in her own house for the first time in many months. Most importantly, she is home to stay. Praise God! Annie is planning to spend Saturday getting some much needed rest after a hectic day of departure and travel. I expect that my family will not be able to stay away for too long, which is to say we will be up to see her no later than Sunday. We now set our sights on a welcome home celebration; which I don’t think will be too far down the road. Please continue to keep Annie and her family in your prayers. She has come a very long way under God’s grace, and He continues to provide for her. Welcome home Annie! We all love you very much. Good night and God bless.

July 1, 2005 fri 10:15pm

Greetings all, I can’t believe how much time has past since the last update. I am very sorry, it has been something that I have been avoiding since around the time of Mom’s memorial. I just haven’t wanted to do anything with the websites, I hope you understand and forgive me. Anyhow, today it is time for an update and a letter from Annie, here we go. Annie has been home for about 5 months and overall is doing very well. During that time we have finally been able to have the memorial service for our Mom, oddly it was about this time last year that she found herself in the hospital. Annie has had a few short stays at UWMC, but those have been few. She has been enjoying being home with her family and reuniting with friends. Spending time catching up (mostly on quilting!) and getting settled back in. There is a new medical issue that has prompted this update, please take a minute to read Annie’s letter by following this link. If you would like to print it to share with others, it is available as a Word document here. Our family’s prayers have been answered many times, we know God is faithful; we ask that you take a moment to lift Annie in prayer once again for God’s healing. On a personal note, I would like to thank you for checking-in now and then despite the lack of updates. You can bet to be seeing more frequent updates in the days ahead. God bless you all.

November 13, 2005 sun 9:50pm

It is hard to believe how much time has gone by since the last update and I know many of you have been anxiously awaiting more information; unfortunately we have just been waiting for the doctors to make a decision. That time has come – sort of. Dr. Reyes has decided it is time for Annie to get the reversal surgery she has been anxiously waiting for. There is a possibility that this could happen in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. Our family has no shortage of things to be thankful for, but we would gladly ad to our list. For now we are waiting for Annie’s surgery to be scheduled, and praying for her recovery to be quick and complete. Annie has provided her own update which you can view here. I hope that it will not be long before there is more good news to share. God Bless.

Mail to:whitewings5@comcast.net