I have made, I will carry, I will SAVE!!

Dear Friends and Family,

It has been 12 months since our little one came down with E-Coli and HUS one of the toughest diseases a child can face. After five units of blood, two weeks of dialysis, and 28 days in the hospital, she finally came home, but her healing has still been going on for these past 12 months.  Here's a long update, but it's worth your time to read it!

When Jennifer and I look back on that time, it seems like a bad dream, and not something that actually happened.  As Madilyn's little body continues to heal, we keep getting reminders that it was real, and we are filled with gratitude for how far she has come.

Thank you for praying for her!  We would love to update you and ask for continued prayer, but before that I want to share a brief passage from Isaiah 46 with you:

Isaiah 46: 1 - 4 - 

“Bel bows down; Nebo stoops; their idols are on beasts and livestock;
these things you carry are borne as burdens on weary beasts. 2 They stoop; they bow down together; they cannot save the burden, but themselves go into captivity.
3 “Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb;
4 even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.” 

Bel and Nebo were names given to the gods of the Babylonian Empire, and Isaiah is using them as an example to show the futility of worshipping false gods.  If we replace those names with two common idols we worship today, this passage has much to say to us today.  Here's my paraphrase -

Wealth and Success are useless to you. You carry these things around like you are a beast of burden.  They cannot save you, but instead they go with you into whatever trouble you may face. "Listen to me" says God, "I have been carrying you from your mother's womb, and I will carry you through until your head is full of gray in your old age. I have made you, I will carry you, and I will Save you."

I share this passage with you because in the last 12 months, though God has done many amazing things through and around the illness of our daughter, the most gracious thing God has done has been to use these circumstances to show me the futility of my idols.  I'm grateful that my idol of control has been exposed this year as a complete fraud, and a worthless substitute for God.

What do you worship (or place at the pinnacle of your life) today?  Is it money, power, romance, controlling your life and your family, or perhaps you are after the approval of others. The message from this passage is clear - you can carry those things around with you until God burns them up in front of you, or you drop them and let your creator carry you instead.  For more on the subject, I'd recommend a great book by Tim Keller called Counterfeit Gods.

Now, on to the update:

How is Madilyn Doing?

Over the summer, we had a few blood draws and doctor visits, and we had 2-3 in a row that came with bad news.  Mostly, the results showed that her kidneys were functioning around the high 70% range.  While we weren't happy with those, Dr. Simon could see that she wasn't well hydrated for each of those results.  

So, we had to switch the time of day when we were drawing blood, and then do a better job of begging, pleading, and bribing her to drink more water.  After that, we went back and had much better news.  Then yesterday, we got another result that confirmed the good news!

For the first time in 12 months:

• Madilyn's red blood cell count is NORMAL...her body has finally replaced all the red blood cells that were broken and destroyed due to E-Coli.
• Her potassium level was NORMAL.  This means her kidneys are removing the right amount of potassium from her bloodstream, and we have now taken her off her last medication!
• Basically, this means her kidneys are now doing all the jobs they are supposed to do, at a level that the doctor doesn't need to support them with medicine!

We are so thankful for all of your prayers and support, and we cannot contain our joy!

How can you pray?

Pray for her next results to be good again.  

Now that she's off medication, Dr. Simon needs to check her one more time to make sure potassium doesn't creep back up, or anything else surprising.  We'll likely get those results next Monday or Tuesday.  If the numbers are good again, we can keep her off medicine!

Pray for her to stay hydrated at school.

I can't believe it, but she started kindergarten today! That means she has a long school day without us to remind her to drink drink drink.  Pray that she'll finish a couple bottles of water each day.  Also, that we won't cry like babies every day we drop her off...today was rough.

Pray for a family and toddler who was hit with this same illness this summer.

This summer, we learned that another family was going through a similar fight at Dell Children's.  Their two year old boy was fighting for his life against HUS.  Please keep them in your prayers, we have reached out to be resource to them, but so far all we know is that he's slowly recovering.

Love,

The Rascos

Incredible news about Madilyn

Dear Friends and Family,

I’m so excited to write this post! It has been a long time since I’ve been able to post such great news about Madilyn.

Last week, we had our check up with the kidney specialist Dr. Simon.  We had been waiting for two months for this appointment, and didn’t know what to expect.  During the week I was studying Isaiah 13, and this passage stood out to me: 

Isaiah 13:4 - 

“Listen, a noise on the mountains, like that of a great multitude!

Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations massing together!

The Lord Almighty is mustering an army for war.” 

This verse is in the middle of a prophesy against the Babylonian Empire, who was attacking, terrorizing and taking Israel captive. In the middle of this war, Isaiah gives this promise that God is mustering his forces for battle. What I took from this passage was a stark reminder that no matter what our circumstances, God is working, and moving in ways that we can’t see or even imagine.  

At the time I was studying this passage, I didn’t know that God was in the middle of healing Madilyn’s kidneys even more.

How is Madilyn Doing?

When Dr. Simon read the results of Madilyn’s latest blood work, he was surprised and said that her kidney function was above 95%, and that her Creatnine level had come down to 0.47.

This was not a result we expected, and we are so excited to see her little kidneys healing.  Praise God, and thank you so much for praying for her!!  On the car ride home Madilyn was so excited and just shouted out “Thank you Jesus.”

How can you pray?

Pray for her potassium level to improve.  

Madilyn’s potassium level was near normal, but not quite where it needs to be.  So, Dr. Simon reduced her medication, and we will go back for blood work this week to see if it holds steady.  If it does hold steady, then there is a chance she could be off the medicine for good.

Pray for her red blood cell production to improve. Madilyn’s red blood cell level is close, but not quite back to normal.  This is one of the last areas to recover with this disease so it may still take a few more months, but please pray for this to improve.

Thank you again for praying, we have been overwhelmed with joy over Madilyn’s progress!

Love,

The Rascos

New Year update for Madilyn

Dear Friends and Family,

We hope this holiday season was restful and that you were able to take some time to reflect upon the gift of redemption that came through Jesus Christ. As we begin the New Year, we wanted to post an update on Madilyn, to remind you to pray for her and us, and thank God for the healing she has had so far.  (This post is a little long, but I pray it’s worth the read).

Over the holiday break I was studying Isaiah 7.  In this passage the King of Judah was facing a war against two larger nations that had conspired against his people.  God sends Isaiah with a message of hope. Isaiah says to the king “keep calm, don’t be afraid, don’t lose hope because God has your back.”  Then he finishes this poetic passage with this statement:

Isaiah 7:9 - “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” 

When I read that verse, I had to take a second look - what exactly is God saying through Isaiah here?  Faith is one of those words we hear a lot, but we don’t always think about what it means. Hebrews 11 defines faith as having confidence in the thing you are hoping for.  So, here is another way of saying this verse -  

“if you do not stand firm in the confidence of what you are hoping for, you will not stand at all”.

What’s amazing about this passage, is that faith is not something we can manufacture. Faith comes from the Lord - through the Holy Spirit.  Whatever you are facing, your first step needs to be praying and asking God to increase your faith! God, increase my confidence in your goodness…increase my confidence in your provision…increase my confidence that you love me as your own son.  

This year, will you begin by begging God to give you confidence in his character, and in his promises!

How is Madilyn Doing?

At our last appointment with Dr. Simon, Madilyn’s kidney function came back at 75%.  This test was the third test in a row that came back at that level. So, this tells us that her kidneys will likely stay at 75%.  This is not the news that we wanted to hear, we were hoping that her kidneys would continue to improve to 100%.

We are thankful that she is stable, and at 75% function Dr. Simon’s main concern is to protect the remaining 75% from stress or future damage.  No transplant, no dialysis, but we will have to keep a close eye on her kidneys from here on out.

We are thankful that we don’t have to return for another blood test until 1/18.  When Madilyn first left the hospital we had to go back every other day for blood work, now we go back every other month!

We are so thankful to our Missional Community, and other friends and family who set up a Gofundme page and gave sacrificially to help cover our expenses from Madilyn’s illness.  It was an amazing blessing to us, and an answer to prayer!  Thank you so much. 

How can you pray?

Pray for her potassium level to improve.  

Your kidneys are responsible for removing excess potassium in your blood, and this is an area where Madilyn’s kidneys have had trouble.  We are praying that this improves on 1/18 so that she can stop taking the gross medication called Kayexalate every day.  

Pray for her red blood cell production to improve. Kidneys control how many red blood cells your body produces, and this is one area where Madilyn is close, but not quite back to normal.  Please pray for this to improve again.

Pray for her kidneys to show even more improvement - the number 75% is not necessarily locked in.  Dr. Simon said there is no way of knowing if she’ll improve some more, so we are praying that we would be surprised and she’d show even more improvement!

Pray for us to be steadfast as we serve the Lord. We want to trust the Lord with Madilyn’s health…we have no way of knowing how God will use this for her good and for His Glory, so we ask for the faith to trust him, and know that God loves Madilyn even more than we do.

Thank you again for praying!

Love,

The Rascos

Madilyn is doing so much better, but we still need your prayers!

Hey guys, it's been about a month since our last post, so this one is a little longer than usual...

This week I've been reading through 2 Kings, and I came across an interesting passage regarding King Josiah.  Josiah was the product of two of the worst kings in the history of the Jewish people.  In fact, his father Amon was so evil and corrupt that his own people assassinated him and installed his son Josiah as King at the tender age of 8.  These kings were so evil that God made this promise through the prophet Isaiah in 2 Kings 21: 

26 "I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down." 

Think about that, things are so bad in the nation that God is going to pour out his wrath on these people, wiping them off the face of the earth like you or I would wipe leftover food off a dirty dish...

Therefore, Josiah reigned during a time of complete turmoil and adversity.  What's amazing about Josiah is that even in those circumstances, he turned to the Lord and served him with such zeal and fervor that a spiritual awakening broke out throughout the nation.  After Josiah died, God's wrath would still be carried out as Judah was taken into captivity by the Babylonian Empire.  However, because of Josiah's leadership, the people of Israel would never struggle with idolatry again.  Even in their captivity, the people held fast to the Lord, and placed their hope in God's redemption.

Here's what I learned from Josiah - I need to go hard after the Lord in whatever circumstance I'm facing.  I may never know how God will use this season for His Glory, but that's not the point, I'm called to serve Him, and let God take care of what happens next! 


How is she doing?

Since our last post, Madilyn's Creatinine level slowly moved down to .6 which means that her kidneys are now functioning at 75%.  We are very thankful for the improvement, especially when we look back and remember when she left the hospital 8 weeks ago she was functioning at 20%!!

Since that day we have been praying for her Creatinine to drop down to .5, and we continue to pray to that end. After the kidney doctor did some calculations based on her height, he actually said that .4 is normal for her, and .5 would be 90%.  

This week, the Kidney doctor let us know that he believes .6 is likely where Madilyn is going to stay. 

That news has been hard to take...mainly because we have been looking forward to a time when this disease would be gone, and we could look back on all of this. So, we are doing two things.  First, we're praying that Dr. Simon is wrong and her number moves down again before her next blood draw on Friday 11/11.  Second, we're praying that the rest of her numbers continue to improve so that more of her medications can be reduced or removed. 

Here are the things we need you to pray for:

1. Pray for Creatinine level of 0.4 on her next blood draw 11/11.
2. Pray for her Potassium count to improve more.  She is still taking a small dose of a medicine called Kayexalate to keep her potassium down.  We pray she'll be able to stop taking that medicine soon.
3. Pray for her Red Blood Cell count to improve. Right now, she is in the 9 - 10 range on her red blood cells, normal would be 12.  Pray for Madilyn to get back to a normal red blood cell level.
4. Praise God for normal blood pressure! Madilyn has stopped taking medicine for this, and her blood pressure has been normal.
5. Next week, the doctor is going to look at the long term numbers for Madilyn, please pray for these to be in the normal range - things like Para-thyroid hormone, vitamin D, Calcium, and more.
6. Pray for our family as we continue to care for Madilyn. Pray that we don't attach our hope to these results.  We want to give everything we have to Christ, regardless of blood tests!

Thank you again for praying, please keep it up!! 

Here are pictures from our camping trip to Jellystone Park!  We had a blast getting away for our first vacation since the summer!

For His Glory,

The Rascos

  

Update on Madilyn's Recovery - please keep her in your prayers...

Hey guys, it's been a couple of weeks since we updated you all, so I wanted to let you know how Madilyn is doing, and how you can keep praying for her.

Last week, I read Psalm 103, the day after we learned that Madilyn's kidneys were still recovering:

Bless the Lord, O my soul,    and all that is within me,    bless his holy name!2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,    and forget not all his benefits,3 who forgives all your iniquity,    who heals all your diseases,

In the Psalm, David describes the way he feels, as though he was a new man and his youth had been restored.  After 7 days of waiting and wondering, when we learned that Madilyn's kidneys were above 50%, and that she was still healing...that's exactly how I felt.  Like a new man.  I'm so thankful for the good news, but I'm also praying for God to strengthen my faith throughout this process, and to allow me to feel confident in Him, even when the news isn't good.

How is she doing?

Over the past two weeks, Madilyn has continued to improve.  Her last blood test was on Friday, and her Creatinine level has come down to .7 which shows us that she is still improving.  This Wednesday marks the 5th week that she has been out of the hospital, and from what we've seen from the other moms who have had kids with HUS, usually it takes a month or more for them to get back to normal.

We are praying that her Creatinine continues to drop down to .5 because that would show her kidneys are at 100%.

Madilyn has been enjoying school for the last week or so, and even went back to her class at church this Sunday.  She was very happy to be back, and her friends in class were super excited to see her.


Here are the things we need you to pray for:

1. Pray for Creatinine level of 0.5!!! Her next blood draw will be in two weeks, so we would love to see that .5 next time she goes in for blood work.
2. Pray for her Potassium count to improve.  She is still taking a medicine called Kayexalate to keep her potassium down, but she is able to take a much smaller dose.  We hope she'll be able to stop taking that medicine soon.
3. Pray for her Red Blood Cell count to improve.  As her kidneys heal, pray for Madilyn to get back to a normal red blood cell level.
4. Pray for her blood pressure to improve.  Madilyn is taking a medicine right now to keep her blood pressure at normal, but we are praying we can eliminate that medicine after this two weeks.

Thank you again for praying, please keep it up!! 

Here's a couple pictures of Madilyn and her brothers goofing around...love these silly monkeys!!

For His Glory,

The Rascos

  

Awesome news and huge answer to our prayers!!!

Today we took Madilyn for a follow-up at Dell Children's.  They did blood work to check her levels and see how her Kidneys have been healing.

The great news is that her Creatinine is down to .8!!!  We were praying for anything below 1.0, so we are pumped about this news.  What this means is that she has jumped up from 40% kidney function to somewhere in the neighborhood of 70%.

Today we are celebrating and thanking the Lord for how she is healing.  Tomorrow we will meet with her kidney specialist to determine what medicines she needs to keep taking and how much, but we are so excited to see her kidneys are healing!!

Thank you so much for praying, it means a ton to our family.

For His Glory,

The Rascos

  

Wednesday Update on Madilyn's recovery

Hey guys, here's an update about Madilyn's last check-up so that you know how to pray for her and us going forward.

Today as I was studying in Isaiah 42 and 43, I read this passage that really comforted me and reminded me who has been with us during the last month. Listen to the word of the Lord given through Isaiah in 43:1&2  

Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

There were a couple things that stood out to me from this passage.  First, it was God who allowed the nation of Judah to go through the trial they were in.  Second, God promised them that He would be with them throughout the trial.  Whatever they were going through, God was going to help them!  This is a promise that we are clinging to right now - God, whatever happens from here, we are dependent upon you, we are trusting that you'll be with us through it all.

How is she doing?

We had some tough news on Monday when the doctor looked at Madilyn's blood work.  Unfortunately, her Creatinine level did not decrease from last week, so it was still stuck at 1.1. We are praying that it will go down until it reaches the normal level of .5.  The fact that it's stuck at 1.1 is disconcerting, since that represents about 40% of normal kidney function.  Basically, if the level stays here Madilyn will need serious medications and hormones throughout her life.

The good news is, our Doctor looked at the results and said that he thinks the blood test was skewed.  Madilyn was so nervous about the blood draw that she didn't eat or drink much at all that morning.  This meant that the water level in her blood was lower than it should have been, and he could see that in her results.  So, he thinks that her creatinine may actually be down a little more from last week, but we just don't have the test results to show that.

Also, when Madilyn went to school last week she promptly picked up a cold...she came home on Friday with a runny nose and low grade fever.  We think this also contributed to her not wanting to eat or drink over the past few days.  So, this week we decided to keep her home, and Granby had to come back and help watch Madilyn during the day so that Jennifer and I can work.

Here are the things we need you to pray for:

1. We need you to keep on praying for her kidneys to come back to full strength, pray for no long-term damage!  Pray for Creatinine level of 0.5!!!  (Scott Frazier reminded me this week that we need to pray for this until God changes our prayer, so please keep it up)
2. Pray for her appetite to pick back up as she gets well from her cold - we need her to eat and drink well to help in the healing process.
3. Pray for our nerves as we wait for the next blood test.  My biggest temptation is to worry about all that could happen, but that's not helpful, and it's actually sinful (Matthew 6:34). Pray that we draw closer to the Lord for help with the things we cannot control! 

Thank you again for praying, please keep it up!! 

This pic is from last Friday night when we all went to see Round Rock take on Smithson Valley.  Sorry San Antonio friends, the Dragons Rocked them!!

For His Glory,

The Rascos