“And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases Him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.” 1 John 5: 14-15
We all have those memories in the recesses of our minds that even when the smallest of triggers occur they jump to the forefront of our thoughts in vivid color. One such memory for me happened not long after Kelsey was diagnosed with brain and spinal cord tumors. One of the predominant characteristics of a child with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 is delayed development and learning difficulties. Post diagnosis, Kelsey’s medical record was scanned for evidence of developmental delays or pediatric milestones not achieved. To the surprise of every doctor, but not to me, she did not appear to have met that particular criteria of NF 1. But just to make sure she had to undergo a cognitive evaluation. I can still vividly remember the room and the specialist that conducted the evaluation. The office was in a small building on the Walter Reed campus. It was dark and cramped and it smelled like old books. All the furniture was child size with the exception of the evaluator’s desk and one of those pint size chairs was where I sat for over two hours as I watched the specialist use different assessment tools for Kelsey’s exam. When the testing was finished, Kelsey sat at a table in the corner with a coloring sheet to keep her occupied and the specialist briefed me on her findings. Kelsey’s scores put her in the lower third percentile as compared to her peers of the same age, but she still achieved all the markers, unusual for an NF child. She went on to say because of Kelsey’s vision deficient and the effects the chemo and tumors would have on her brain function, her prevision for Kelsey’s academic future was grim. All of a sudden, the small room became suffocating. The stuffy paper smell was nauseating and the darkness was overwhelming. At this point in Kelsey’s journey, we were praying she would survive her first round of chemo. In spite of tumors and chemo, we still had hopes and dreams for Kelsey’s future but the small lady with glasses sitting in front of me was suggesting we set all those dreams aside based on her tests. I remember walking out of the building with blinding tears of determination and believing that God would answer our prayers and she would someday not just finish high school but go to college and graduate.
Kelsey has been surrounded by prayer warriors her entire life. Our family will be eternally grateful for the many prayers laid at the feet of our Lord on Kelsey’s behalf. Some prayers have been answered quickly and others not so quickly. The prayers for academic achievement and college graduation have finally been answered. She worked hard and she did it! She was blessed with gifted, patient, dedicated tutors, teachers and school counselors along her academic path but I give all the praise and glory to God and humbly give thanks for her prayer warriors. God brought the right people along the way to support and pray for Kelsey. Doctors and specialists predicted a grim academic future but God hears our prayers. And that’s your Tuesday Tidbit.