Out of the Box

During the Christmas season, I get very sentimental.  Traditions mean the world to me, I value time with friends and family a little more, I enjoy the hustle and bustle of shopping to get everyone just the perfect gift, and I smile a little bigger knowing that Santa is coming soon.

I mean shoot, I'm 33 years old and I'm still the first one up on Christmas day! (And yes, I wake up the entire family - they make me wait until 8am to open presents though, ugh).

The point is, I'm thankful for all the happy moments and new memories I make every year at Christmas. I look forward to the excitement of my friends kids because they get so excited about Santa - and I share in that.

This year, my heart, thoughts and prayers are being shared elsewhere - with my friend Katie and her family.  Her son, Ian (who's only 27), has been battling Ulcerative Colitis pretty much his entire life. Here's his story from my friend (his mom's) most recent email:

"Many of you have prayed for my son Ian McCarthy and his health issues.  Two years ago this week his health trials began.  He has since been in the hospital 13 times and undergone 8 surgeries.  Ulcerative Colitis led ultimately to the removal of his entire colon.  He has had a colostomy bag on and removed twice.  The recent celebration of the removal was short lived when he returned to the hospital two days later, his body filled up with poisonous fluid due do a small leak.  Currently he does not sleep for more than a half hour at a time, is still in pain, yet going to work every day and fighting his way through it.  He weighs a whopping 126 lbs.

Ian will undergo a small ‘outside of the box’ surgery on the 15^th in one last effort to ‘fix’ the problem.  If this does not work, then he will have reached the point where his second surgeon (best of the best in St. Louis, Dr. Steven Hunt) will send him to the best in the country, in Cleveland.  This doctor will be Ian’s last chance at a ‘normal’ 27 year old, one without a bag on the outside of his body.

I know that Ian’s only real chance is through prayer.  I am asking each of you to not only pray for my son, his doctor and his team, but to ask your friends and family to pray as well.  If you have a prayer chain at your church, or a prayer chapel, prayer cards, or candles I am asking for you to spread this request for prayer through email, word of mouth, or any other avenue.  If the procedure next week does not work, I will forward out the update, the doctors name in Cleveland and the date of surgery with a request for prayer for the surgeon and his team as well. (If you do not wish to be a part of this prayer chain, please let me know and I will be sure to take you off of my list, no worries, I won’t be offended).

My eternal thanks to each of you who have prayed, will pray, and will forward my request.

I pray for a wonderful Christmas season full of blessings for all of us, and a 2012 that is far better than any of our expectations!"

Katie is a woman of grace and gratitude and her son is such a fighter, full of strength and positive thinking.  Our prayers can only help him.

So as you open up your favorite new Christmas gift, or enjoy one of your family traditions, please send a few more positive and thankful thoughts across the Godspeed Prayer waves to Ian and his family. 

As for me, you all know I completely believe in "out of the box" everything.  I know that with our support, Ian's surgery will go well and he will finally be able to be the "normal" 27 year old he's longing to be. At 8am on Christmas morning, when I wake up my family - not only will I be thinking about all the new memories we're about to make, but I'll be thinking happy thoughts of a healthy Ian, Katie and their family doing the same.

START PRAYING!  And Merry Christmas!