Over, Not Over…Times TWO

Did you happen to catch the Pirates’ game on June 23rd against the Padres? If not, you missed quite a game! If you know me, you would know that I am a faithful follower of the Pirates, probably to a fault. The Bucs were down by 3 heading into the bottom of the ninth and were facing the Padres closer who had previously converted 100% of his save opportunities this season. I thought it was as good as over, but since the “fat lady” hadn’t sung yet, I kept watching. Lo and behold, they tied it up and sent the game to extra innings.

Then, the Pirates faced an eerily similar situation in the 11th inning after the Padres put up a three spot in the top of the inning. At this point, I’m guessing most everyone who kept the game on after the first comeback had now given up. There’s no way they could do it again, right? Once again, though I was pretty certain the outcome was a foregone conclusion, my loyalty wouldn’t allow me to shut off the TV. Much to my delight, my faithfulness was rewarded with a 4-run rally and a walkoff victory via a bases loaded walk. I was so thrilled that I hung in there and actually got to see it live. I imagine there was a whole host of fans who only read about it and/or saw the highlights after the fact.

Though I thought the game was over…twice, I stopped short of walking away before the score was final. That brings to mind a passage in the Bible to which I can easily identify. A man brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus and asked if He could do anything to help his boy. The response is found in Mark 9:23-24:

“If you can?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Jesus went on to cast out the spirit and heal the boy. Though I very much doubted (twice) that the Bucs could come back and win that game, I was shown, just like the boy’s father, that even mustard seed-sized faith, can be rewarded.

What are you struggling to believe at the moment? As Pastor Chris often says, “Everybody is dealing with something.” Does your “something” stem from financial, health, or relational issues? Or is it something else? In the midst of your doubt and uncertainty, cling to these words Jesus spoke to the boy’s father—

“Everything is possible for one who believes.”

When circumstances appear hopeless, it is tempting to give up on God and walk away. Instead, let’s draw closer and offer up this prayer:

“God, create a pure heart in me. Give me a new spirit that is faithful to you.”

Psalm 51:10 NIRV

Then, stay tuned for the results!

Where Dreams Come True…and More

Disney World—-it’s a magical place! As the sign at the entrance states, it’s “where dreams come true.” As a part-time Florida resident and annual pass holder, I had the opportunity to spend my fair share of time there during the winter months. The place has an uncanny ability to make everything right with the world. As amazing as Disney World is, it still doesn’t hold a candle to the place God has prepared for His children to inhabit one day.

Here’s a little snapshot of what it will be like according to Scripture:

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

Revelation 21:4 NLT

“They will not labor in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them.”

Isaiah 65:23 NIV

“Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.”

Isaiah 35:5-6 NIV

Sounds heavenly, doesn’t it? My dreams aren’t THAT good. Are yours? It’s better than anything we can wrap our minds around.

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”

1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT

The best part—-God will be there! I look forward to spending eternity with Him in such a place. My reservation has been made. Has yours? If not, it’s not too late. There’s room for you. I hear you can contact the Front Desk 24/7!

These are some of Jesus’ words to His disciples the night before He was betrayed:

“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 14:2-6 NIV

The only way to secure a room in our Father’s house is through Jesus. He is there right now at God’s right hand. As I sit here writing this on Good Friday, I am very mindful of what Jesus went through to get there. The sinless Son of God died a criminal’s death on a cross for you and for me to pay the penalty for our sins. He did this out of love to restore us to a right relationship with the Father. But death did NOT have the last word. As I’ve heard it said so many times, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s comin’!”

“They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.”

Acts 10:39-40 NIV

The resurrected Christ walked the earth for 40 days before ascending to His heavenly home. Because He defeated death, we too have the opportunity to spend eternity with our Heavenly Father…if we just believe.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:16 NIV

I got a chuckle at Disney World one day when I overheard a dad say to his young son, “Now, (insert child’s name here), we need to have fun.” God’s children won’t need such direction in our eternal home because, unlike Disney World, everything will be perfect. Our dreams and so much more will come true!

CDH—A Term That Changed Everything

I’m veering off course in my blog today in honor of CDH Awareness Day. CDH stands for congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Though it’s a term most people have never heard, it’s as common as cystic fibrosis and spina bifida. The hole in the diaphragm allows for the abdominal organs to enter into the chest cavity leaving little room for the affected lung(s) to develop. To this day, 50% of the babies born with CDH do not survive and those who do face a lifelong battle with complications.

CHERUBS, one arm of CDH International, is a charitable support organization for those affected by this affliction. To help spread awareness, CHERUBS asks us to share our story. Read on if you would like to know Hillary’s story told through her mother’s eyes. I imagine most everyone reading this blog has played a role in her life—I thank God for each of you.

“Mrs. Leipold, your baby has a diaphragmatic hernia.” Those were the words delivered by a doctor following an echocardiogram in March 1996. Those words were game-changing. An ultrasound in January had picked up a suspected problem and resulted in a referral to a specialist in Pittsburgh.

Following the CDH diagnosis we had about a month to digest it before meeting with the pediatric surgeon and chief neonatologist at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. Things were much different 23 years ago in terms of technology. I was just starting to use email at that time and “googling” was not yet a thing, at least not to me. Like most parents of CHERUBS, my husband and I had never heard of CDH. Our primary means of educating ourselves about CDH was through the doctors. When we met with the neonatologist and surgeon in April, I didn’t even know what questions to ask because I knew so little about it. That appointment was completely overwhelming because the medical jargon went right over my head. Being a math teacher, there was one thing I could understand at that appointment—percentages. My big take away that day was that our baby girl had a 50% chance of surviving IF she was born in the right place at the right time. The odds were substantially worse if she wasn’t. We set a date for a c-section that day with the hope that Hillary would stay put until June 14. She was expected on June 30th. At that time, we lived about 2.5 hours from Pittsburgh. One thing that reinforced the severity of the situation was being told that if I went into labor before the scheduled c-section, they would take me by helicopter to Allegheny General. Yes, that got my attention! I remember crying the whole way home from that appointment.

The two months following that appointment were the longest two months of my life. There was just so much uncertainty. We were (and still are) blessed with a wonderful support system in the form of family and friends. They rallied around us during the wait for Hillary’s arrival and have been with us every step of the way since. A few weeks before she was born, I experienced my first panic attack. I was anxious for her to come into this world, yet scared to death what might happen once she did. There were a lot of  “what if” scenarios playing out in my mind.

When we flipped the calendar to June, I went to stay with my sister and her family, who lived near Pittsburgh, in order to be closer to the hospital just in case Hillary decided to come out and play before the scheduled c-section. Thankfully, she was content right where she was. Hillary Jayne was born, as scheduled, on June 14, 1996, my parents’ 43rd wedding anniversary.

Again, we did not have the technology that we have today back in 1996. After Hillary was born, she was whisked away and put on a special oscillating ventilator immediately. A nurse brought me my “first picture” of Hillary once she was stabilized a few hours later. It was a Polaroid. Those are the only pictures I have to tell of Hillary’s early days. I was not able to see her with my own eyes until the following day.

Hillary was paralyzed by narcotics for the first week of her life in order to help stabilize her in preparation for her repair surgery. That surgery took place when she was 6 days old. It’s interesting what I remember nearly 23 years later as I write her story. I’ll never forget the words of the anesthesiologist just before they wheeled Hillary off to the OR. She said, “I suppose I don’t need to tell you how sick your child is.” The stress-o-meter was through the roof BEFORE she opened her mouth. I wanted to slap her, but thought better of it! When the surgeon came to the waiting room to talk to us following Hillary’s repair surgery, I simply burst into tears. I didn’t even know what he had to say yet. Dr. Hechtman was able to relocate the organs that had moved up into her chest cavity to the general vicinity of where they were intended to be and patch her diaphragm together. She was able to keep her spleen, but we found out in the last few years that it is located front and center rather than in the upper left quadrant of her abdomen under her ribs.

The Summer of ’96 was quite the rollercoaster ride. Dr. Null, the chief neonatologist, described Hillary’s journey quite well as the summer wore on. He said it was a series of “two steps forward, one step backwards.” That, it was. She made pretty good progress during the first month following surgery. I was thrilled to hold her for the first time on July 9. Then it got a little rocky. The surgeon decided to perform a bronchoscopy in an attempt to open her left lung a bit. We THOUGHT it was an overwhelming success only to find out a few hours later that it was just the opposite. She had a hole in her lung! She went back on the special oscillating ventilator temporarily and inherited a chest tube as a result. Shortly thereafter we learned that her formula was leaking into her chest cavity and there was yet another hurdle to jump. The forward progress trumped the setbacks and Hillary was discharged from the hospital on September 9 when she was 88 days old. My second panic attacked occurred the weekend before her release when I realized that my husband and I would now be responsible for her care. I wasn’t qualified!! That brings me to one of my favorite quotes—“God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.” He called my husband and I to be Hillary’s parents and has been equipping us for that role ever since.

We brought Hillary home with a monitor, but thankfully she did not need oxygen. There is nothing quite like hearing that monitor go off in the middle of the night! It is pretty hard NOT to be a basket case as a parent of a CDH baby. The antennas go up with every cough, sniffle and sneeze. Any unusual pain puts us on high alert. You just want to put them in a bubble so harm cannot reach them. However, since that’s not realistic, my faith has served me well. I’ve never been in charge anyhow! I rely on God to show me where my responsibility ends and His begins. I can only do my part. I must trust Him with the rest.

There has been no shortage of speed bumps along the way, but, I’m happy to report that Hillary is looking and feeling better than ever as she approaches her 23rd birthday. Again, that summation “two steps forward, one step backward” has pretty much applied to her whole life. We are blessed that Hillary has never been admitted to the hospital since her initial discharge. Her diaphragm is held together by gore-tex and it has served its purpose up to this point. As is fairly common with CDH children, weight gain has been a struggle for Hillary for most of her life. Most people only wish they had that problem!  If you saw her eat, you would be pretty amazed at how much she can put away. There were a few things the doctors told us to expect as she grew up—asthma and scoliosis. Their advance notice was correct, but thankfully neither issue has required any extraordinary measures. The scoliosis causes its share of musculoskeletal pain, but the curve itself isn’t severe. I’ll never forget when I first noticed it. It was a picture from her Confirmation when she was in 8th grade. I lived with her all that time, but it took a picture for me to notice that her shoulders go “downhill” from right to left. Perhaps it only became noticeable during a growth spurt in adolescence.

The biggest hurdle, and most recent, took quite some time to diagnose.  Two years, in fact. As I recall, it started as a cough that just would not end in 2014. Her cough was accompanied by chest pain. That always puts CDH parents on high alert. After a few unsuccessful attempts to treat Hillary’s cough, her pediatrician heard a “rub” while listening to her heart and referred Hillary to a cardiologist at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. He diagnosed Hillary with acute pericarditis in the spring of 2014. There was fluid around her heart. She had lost a substantial amount of weight by this time and was having frequent weight checks at her pediatrician’s office. The fluid had resolved by early in the summer only to resurface at the end of the year. The following July, a different cardiologist wasn’t so sure it was pericarditis at all. He suspected that it might have something to do with her pectus excavatum and referred us to a pediatric surgeon. In the meantime, she had a CT scan and it showed lesions on her right lung that would indicate infection. Even though Hillary’s pectus is fairly severe, the surgeon did not feel that a repair would alleviate her symptoms and did not recommend proceeding to surgery. The ball was thrown back into the hands of her pulmonologist in October. That led to a bronchoscopy in January of 2016.  Though the preliminary pathology was negative, eventually Hillary tested positive for mycobacterium avium. A second sample verified that diagnosis. That put Hillary on the fast track to the Infectious Disease department in March, just over two years after the cough/chest pain began. She had many doctors stumped along the way, including the ones in the Infectious Disease department. “Lady Windermere Syndrome” (Hillary’s mycobacterial avium infection) almost always occurs in older, thin women with a history of pectus excavatum. Hillary was prescribed 3 high powered antibiotics to treat her infection. She took all three for an entire year. Thankfully, she responded beautifully without too much fallout in terms of side effects. Three years from the start of it all, she was symptom-free. Hillary has really done well since that difficult season of her life. She put all that lost weight back on and even added to it once she was finished with the antibiotics. Her primary issues these days are related to her scoliosis. That creates havoc with her musculoskeletal system. She finally looks healthy though!

Hillary will be celebrating her 23rd birthday in June and we thank God for every one of them. She is currently pursuing a doctorate degree in Occupational Therapy at Gannon University’s Ruskin, FL campus. Since she benefitted from occupational therapy as an infant, she’d like to focus on children in need of such services as a way of giving back.  


Our first picture—a very real reminder of how it all started and how far she’s come since!

YOUR Room is Ready

I’ve been telling many of my friends and family, “YOUR Room is ready” for months now. Here I sit, writing in the car as my husband and I make our way south to FL to spend the winter with our daughter and escape the cold of Western PA. Hillary will be there for the next three years pursuing her doctorate degree in OT and needed housing so buying a townhouse was a win-win decision. There are three bedrooms in our townhouse. I affectionately refer to the third one as YOUR. You see, the hardest part of this whole snowbird thing is that we’re leaving a whole bunch of special people behind in PA. I miss them already! Though I’m looking forward to this new chapter, it’s somewhat bittersweet.

The passing of a loved one can also be a bittersweet experience, at least if that person is a follower of Jesus. While the heartache is real and painful, we rejoice that they are no longer in pain and suffering. It brings us comfort to know that they have reached their eternal home.

When my beloved 16-year-old nephew went to his heavenly home in 2007, the following scripture passage was read at his funeral & memorial service:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”                                                                                                                   John 14:1-4 NIV

In the midst of deep grief, these words were comforting. Unlike our townhouse in FL, there are many rooms in God’s house. There WILL be room at this inn for all who believe. Your reservation was made the day you turned your life over to Jesus. And guess what? YOUR room will be ready! He will come for you and take you there at just the right time. He said so!

You may be familiar with these words from the chorus of the popular hymn When We All Get to Heaven:            (Sing it if you wish!) 

When we all get to heaven

What a day of rejoicing that will be

When we all see Jesus

We’ll sing and shout the victory…

If you are mourning the loss of a loved one, I pray you will find peace and comfort in knowing that one day, in His perfect time, you will be reunited. It will indeed be a day of rejoicing!

Until then, YOUR room is ready in FL (reservations required)!