The Face of Lupus

has many faces. Today it is my son's.

Jennifer Richardson

The Job Hunt

As many of you know, money has been tight with the high medical bills. Scott and I have both been looking for additional work. The county approved us for help with groceries; praise God! The county denied us though for cash help because our car is worth slightly too much money. Go figure.

Please pray for us! I trust that God will open doors and allow others to remain closed. We need God's blessing and favor.

103 Degrees

Last Thursday, Shawna came down with a fever of 103 degrees or nearly (102.9 to be exact). Within 24 hours the fever broke. We missed the bible study that evening but are so glad our princess is well. No other symptoms and doing fine now.

Joseph's medication for his pulmonary hypertension has been increased. I can't tell if it is helping, but please prayer for him as he gets tired and blue in his lips with activity on and off.
The doctors feel at this point that he is doing well enough that oxygen would not be beneficial, so we will keep an eye on him. He will have a consult with a pulmonary specialist, and I will ask for a device to monitor his oxygen saturation (called O2 sats) at home. Please pray the doctor will prescribe it so insurance will pay for it.

Michael is not doing so good. He has headaches sometimes even with confusion where he seems quite not himself most days. The medication the neurologist gave him does not seem to touch them at all. He will have another followup with neurology. He also is feeling tired, chest pain, and heart palpitations. We are trying to get a referral to cardiology and are waiting for appointments for specialist followups to address his thyroid (endocrinology), growth (endocrinology), joint pain and popping and cracking (rheumatology), and trouble walking (orthopedics). It is moments like this when I wish Dr. House was a real physician. The more labs they do the more things come back abnormal. Michael's albumin is low (2.3 where at least 3.5 to 5.0 is normal). Albumin is the protein part of the blood and is extremely important. It means he is losing protein somewhere either his liver or his kidney. In either case, it is not good and could explain some of the problems he is having. I worry though because the doctors just seem to take their good ol' time. I probably could do better doctoring myself. Pray for us. Michael is a trooper though because he still helps around the house where he can. Very often, Michael sits down with Joseph to help him learn his letters and practices beginning reading with him. Michael is patient with each letter as he says "A makes the a sound" and waits for Joseph to point to the A and repeat before going on to each next letter of the alphabet.

Gabriela is doing very well, continues to be very stable, and is growing into quite a tall young lady. She is only 11 but already 5 feet tall and wears my size shoes. She is quite the help around the house.

Josh is doing well in school and is reading beginner reading books including the Dick and Jane series very well on his own. His laugh is fun and quite contagious when he giggles.

God's Call

The Lord gave me a vision - of children, of a school, of a medical facility - to help those who somehow get stuck in a system that does not work. It is much bigger than I. I have learned that is because it is God's. I cannot make it happen alone. I depend on God's help and faith that each step I make to honor Him in the end helps that vision come to pass. This vision is about becoming selfless about the other person. It is not an easy one to walk. I need volunteers in all areas: marketing and advertising, grant writing, fundraising, finance, business, medical and nursing, education, real estate, spiritual, music and worship, sales, software writing and programming, computer and technical skills and most importantly spiritual prayer warriers. There are no financial benefits, no pay, and no salary. We are a lay Catholic Christian organization. The only benefit at this level of what the world would call a ground floor opportunity is spiritual. Only you know if God is calling you to be involved. If you would like to be involved, please send an email with your name, how you would like to help, how often or how much you can commit each week and when you can start to the email academyofthepossible@gmail.com and your contact information or any other comments you may have. I believe in God's will and God's guidance. God is the center of this mission, journey, path, vision, and business.