My cousin Megan.
I don't normally do this (okay, I never do this) but I'm going to do it. I'm going to ask you to pray for my cousin Megan today. She is 21 years old and has cystic fibrosis. CF patients are born with either severe pulmonary problems or severe digestive problems. Megan was born with both, and began having complications when she was three days old. She has had what seems like hundreds of surgeries in her life, and has been told many times that she "may not survive." She has survived every time, defying the odds. She often has lung bleeds, and she had several massive ones in just the last 48 hours or so. She is in a hospital in Cincy right now having an embolization and is in danger of being paralyzed because of just one artery. Her mom writes updates about her progress on a website called Caring Bridge, and I've been checking it constantly. The doctors told her she would probably be able to stay at home and spend Christmas with her family without any difficulty. But now it looks like she'll be spending her Christmas in the hospital: and it's not the first time this has happened to her.
I spent nearly every day with her when we were little and went to the same school. On her 7th birthday I remember I was so excited about picking out a present for her. I wouldn't settle for just anything; I remember digging and digging through a bin of stuffed animals until I found the perfect teddy bear. At her party, every single other girl gave her some type of Barbie, and I was so proud of that awesome bear.
As we got older we drifted apart, and rarely saw each other. I only knew how she was doing when my parents told me she was in the hospital again. When she was doing really bad at one point when I was in high school, I decided I would go see her. When I arrived at the hospital she was wearing cute pajamas and could barely speak above a whisper, because of her lung problems. In her bed was the teddy bear, wearing a baby's hospital gown. She told me that the bear goes into every surgery with her and never leaves her side, even though she was 18 years old at the time. The nurses all know about the bear, and even make a hospital bracelet for him. It was all I could do to keep from bursting into tears when she told me this.
In October she had a big party for her 21st birthday, and she looked absolutely gorgeous. She even joked that she wanted to bring the bear to the party, and that her mom teased her about it. She showed me her "fighter" tattoo and I asked her if it had hurt. She said, "you know, of all the needles I've had stuck in me and other stuff they've been doing to me all my life, getting that tattoo pretty much tickled. I laughed the whole time they were doing it."
She is always in high spirits, even though she has developed anxiety and epilepsy from the constant lung bleeds and complications and "drop everything and go to the hospital" days. I know I couldn't handle it.
Sometimes I notice myself getting bent out of shape about stupid stupid things, and then I remember Megan.
I spent nearly every day with her when we were little and went to the same school. On her 7th birthday I remember I was so excited about picking out a present for her. I wouldn't settle for just anything; I remember digging and digging through a bin of stuffed animals until I found the perfect teddy bear. At her party, every single other girl gave her some type of Barbie, and I was so proud of that awesome bear.
As we got older we drifted apart, and rarely saw each other. I only knew how she was doing when my parents told me she was in the hospital again. When she was doing really bad at one point when I was in high school, I decided I would go see her. When I arrived at the hospital she was wearing cute pajamas and could barely speak above a whisper, because of her lung problems. In her bed was the teddy bear, wearing a baby's hospital gown. She told me that the bear goes into every surgery with her and never leaves her side, even though she was 18 years old at the time. The nurses all know about the bear, and even make a hospital bracelet for him. It was all I could do to keep from bursting into tears when she told me this.
In October she had a big party for her 21st birthday, and she looked absolutely gorgeous. She even joked that she wanted to bring the bear to the party, and that her mom teased her about it. She showed me her "fighter" tattoo and I asked her if it had hurt. She said, "you know, of all the needles I've had stuck in me and other stuff they've been doing to me all my life, getting that tattoo pretty much tickled. I laughed the whole time they were doing it."
She is always in high spirits, even though she has developed anxiety and epilepsy from the constant lung bleeds and complications and "drop everything and go to the hospital" days. I know I couldn't handle it.
Sometimes I notice myself getting bent out of shape about stupid stupid things, and then I remember Megan.