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 The
following page contains updates regarding Mary Beth's Journey for
February of 2002.
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Beth's Obituary
January
- 02 / March
- 02
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you wish to contact Mary Beth's family, you may do so through contact
us.
2-1-02
William has officially entered the
world of cyber space. He has a new email address at william@
ricken.org.
So far, he has received a few emails, primarily to test the system
but we are sure he would love to hear from you. One of his
favorite things to do on the computer is to surf the web for
pictures of horses and point out the ones he wants for our farm that
he also wants. His current career path is that of a veterinarian
and he loves to learn as much about animals as he can.
He is a lot like Mary Beth in this
regard. Although she was highly allergic to dogs and cats as a
youngster, she loved to spend time with them and care for
them. She always wanted a dog but was unable to get one
because of her allergies, so her and her sisters had gerbils, a
cockatoo, a guinea pig and fish. They convinced us to get two
gerbils and the pet store assured us they were of the same
sex. When they multiplied overnight to a family of 11 we were
somewhat surprised. All their friends became pet owners as did
their cousin Erin. Again, we assured Aunt Donna that we
provided same-sex gerbils to Erin.
I thought they looked the same and
we all had a good laugh when Aunt Donna called to "thank"
us for their litter a few weeks later. Mary Beth thought is
was really funny and always accused me of doing this on
purpose. I'll take the Fifth.
God bless,
Gerry
2-2-02
Greetings from the Big Easy!
We arrived in mid-afternoon today and the people are everywhere
anticipating the big game between the Rams and Patriots
tomorrow. We have seen everything from people painted like
statues to National Guardsmen with M-16 patrolling the
streets. Suffice it to say that security is at an all time
high and this is one of the safest places on the planet. Go
Rams!
God bless,
Gerry
2-3-02
With all the red, white and blue
patriotic pageantry surrounding this year's Super Bowl, it was only
fitting that the Patriots won the game. Archbishop Shulte said
it appropriately during his homily this morning. He spoke of
Mark Bavaro who played in the 1991 Super Bowl for the Giants.
A reporter asked him if winning the Super Bowl was the ultimate
reward for a football player. He quickly pointed out that
heaven is the ultimate reward for all of us and that the Super Bowl
was still just a game. He went on to perform well, score and
assist him team in victory although he suffered an injury that day.
When things do not go as planned, it
is important to keep our ultimate goal in mind and work to achieve
it.
God bless,
Gerry
2-4-02
After spending two and one half hours clearing security and
missing my flight, I arrived three hours later than expected.
The airlines just called and informed me that my luggage just
arrived six hours after me. Every day's a holiday!
God bless,
Gerry
2-5-02
When you read this, say a prayer to
our Lord thanking him for your health and the health of your loved
ones and asking for his guidance for the ill. We all know of
many people, young and old, who are afflicted with health related
issues. If you are one of those afflicted with illness, rest
assured you are being prayed for by a lot of people. The
readings today reflected on the death of king David's son and on the
young girl Jesus brought back to life in front of her parents.
Hearing them made me reflect on how fragile all of our lives are and how
much we take our health for granted. Attending a child's
funeral goes against the natural course of human events and is an
experience I pray does not happen often. But when such an
event transpires, it is for a reason. We know not the reason
but have faith that much good will result.
God bless,
Gerry
2-6-02
Good things happen to good
people. Our friend Erin Wilson, age 12, who lives in Kansas
City has been in the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center in
Seattle since late October. She has undergone a bone marrow
transplant and is recovering now as an outpatient in Seattle.
We have heard that she is doing so well that she may be going home
this month instead of next month. Please keep Erin in your
prayers so she may reunite with her mom, dad and two sisters at home
sooner
rather than later. To send her an email or check her
progress, click on the following link for her website: We
Love You Erin!
God bless,
Gerry
2-7-02
Today is teeth liberation day for
Barbie as she felt her teeth with her tongue for the first time in
over one and one half years. Her braces were removed this
afternoon and I challenge you to locate a happier camper. It
is the simple things in life that we enjoy!
God bless,
Gerry
2-8-02
Watching the Olympic opening ceremonies
this evening opened a wide array of emotions for us. From
crying at the singing of God Bless America and at witnessing the WTC
flag being carried into a completely silent stadium of 50,000 to
smiling and laughing at the high points. An emotion that is
hard to articulate came to the forefront when the Olympic flame
entered the stadium. To see all the famous athletes carrying the
same torch that I carried through St Louis was chilling. And
tears of pride ran down my cheeks when I saw Mike Eruzione accept
the final flame, blow a kiss to heaven and be joined by his 1980 USA
Olympic hockey teammates to "light the fire within".
God bless,
Gerry
2-9-02
"You are the salt of the earth and
the light of the world" were the theme of this evening's gospel
readings. As I reflected on Father Tobin's homily and listened
intently to his words, I thought about what those words have meant
to our family over the course of the last 2+ years. When we
needed help most, so many came to our rescue and assisted in so many
ways. The acts by many we will never know. We truly have
experienced first hand the charge of Jesus to his disciples to be
the salt of the earth and the light of the world. This proves
the words of Jesus spoken 2000 years before us live on today.
God bless,
Gerry
2-10-02
Today was a day of transition for our
family. Mary Beth's bedroom has remained untouched since she
lived in it. During the past year, the only person that slept
in her bed was her best friend from Kansas City, Elizabeth
Gelpi. We moved furniture around today and have designated her
room as the headquarters of Mary Beth's Angels Foundation. Her
bunk bed was delivered to her 2+ year old cousin Nate Teckman.
He will soon be transitioning into a big bed and we believe MB would
be honored to give her bed to him especially given his meek
beginnings in the Ukrainian orphanage.
God bless,
Gerry
2-11-02
Watching the winter Olympics reminds us
of all the wonderful times we have enjoyed as a family on the slopes
in Steamboat Springs. The beauty of the Rockies in the winter
time is breathtaking if you simply slow down enough to pay
attention. It seems as though we do not slow down very often
to enjoy our surroundings and friends and family members because our
lives are wrapped up in achieving our to-do lists. If you are
off to do something - wait a minute - take a break - and think about
the many blessings you enjoy. You deserve it.
God bless,
Gerry
2-12-02
Happy Fat Tuesday! After the big
lunch and dinner today, I looked in the mirror and believe this day
is appropriately named. We have all been discussing our Lenten
devotions at home and will commence tomorrow to strive to become
better people through our actions and sacrifices. Regardless
of your religious conviction, we invite you to join us.
God bless,
Gerry
2-13-02
It is really hard to believe that we
are marking the beginning of the Lenten season today. When it
arrives each year we are reminded of the love that God has for each
of us. He gave his only son for us so we could have
everlasting life. Today we were reminded of our own mortality
with ashes placed upon our foreheads. We strive each day to
prepare ourselves to achieve the reward Mary Beth is receiving for
eternity.
God bless,
Gerry
2-14-02
God bless,
Gerry
2-15-02
We just had an incredible encounter
with hundreds of angels. Tonight was senior night during the
annual St Joe vs. Visitation basketball game and the St Joe
Angels fans showed up with overpowering spirit. The gym at
Maryville University was as loud as it has ever been with the Angels
falling just short of a victory. The game's most exciting
moments were in the final two minutes when it became either team's
game to win. William had been enjoying the game until about
that point. His body wore out and he fell asleep with his head
on my shoulder in a building in which you could not even hear
yourself scream.
God bless,
Gerry
2-16-02
For the third consecutive night William
fell asleep with his clothes on in one of his parent's arms.
Tonight it happened in Wichita while visiting his cousins with
Dad. Mom, Barbie and Heidi are in Chicago for a girls weekend
so we decided to venture on a male bonding experience. William
got a taste of his future veterinarian career while visiting the
farm today. He let a baby calf suck on his fingers and he fed
some young calves some prairie hay. While feeding the calves,
he cut his finger on the hay, similar to a paper cut. Only
when you do it with prairie hay, it really stings. Today
reminds me of the visits of taking MB, Barbie and Heidi to the
Grosdidier farm in Eudora, KS. Mary Beth absolutely loved to
feed the baby calves and let them suck on her fingers. Barbie
and Heidi were not as enthralled with this concept but loved being
there as well.
God bless,
Gerry
2-17-02
When we were packing for this trip, the
only thing William wanted to pack were his horse pillow and about 15
of his horses. He played with them on the plane and continued
when he arrived. One of the activities he requested for this
visit was to ride a horse. His wish came true today as he and
his cousin Clayton rode horses but also held three-week old
puppies. He talked about his horse riding with a huge smile by
recalling how much Mary Beth also loved to ride horses. He
laughed while he told of one of her adventures in Steamboat when she
was splattered from head to toe with horse manure when her horse
stomped in the wet sloppy corral just as she dismounted. She
laughed through the entire experience while her cousins were totally
mortified with seeing what happened. After all - life is
short, laugh hard!
God bless,
Gerry
2-18-02
The bonding weekends have come to a
close and we are all gathered under the same roof once again.
William and I returned on our flight an immediately visited the pet
store from the airport. After holding the puppies and playing
with his cousin's dog, he insisted on becoming a dog owner
today. Chuckie Sue now has a buddy whose name is Harry Sue,
another dwarf hamster. We also replaced William's beta fish,
known as Periwinkle. We left without a dog and William wanted
to play a trick on Mom and his sisters. He told them via cell
phone that he had a surprise for them. When we picked them up
at the airport this evening, he had both hamsters in the car and
informed them of the new Dalmatian residing in his room. Upon
entering the house, he showed them the receipt from Petco that
listed a beta fish and a Dalmatian as today's purchases. He
then led them up to his room and told them the surprise was the fact
that he was playing a trick, not that he had a new dog. He
informed us that the next time he said he had a new dog, he will, in
fact, have a new dog.
God bless,
Gerry
2-19-02
William often shares his dreams with
us. They are always interesting, more so when it is later than
2 or 3 in the morning. The other night it was 2 AM when he
tapped me on the shoulder, told me he and Heidi were frozen and
asked if he could sleep in our bed. I informed him that he and
Heidi were fine and we switched beds for the remainder of the
night. At breakfast he said he and Heidi were with Scooby Doo
when an alien turned his freeze gun on them and froze them in their
tracks. He really did not like this dream. Over the
weekend, he crawled in bed with me at 6 AM Sunday and was all
smiles. He shook me and said, "Dad, guess what? I
had a great time! I was in the clouds flying with Mary
Beth!" This was obviously one of the best dreams he has
ever had.
God bless,
Gerry
2-20-02
We would like to ask for your special
Lenten prayers for our friend Erin Wilson, who is in Seattle
recovering from a bone marrow transplant. Today was a day of
disappointment for Erin and her family. The results of her 80
day post transplant workups are in and their exists a very small
amount of leukemia cells in her bone marrow. The amount is so
small that she still is considered to be in remission, and it
probably would have not been discovered except for the
state-of-the-art, extra-sensitive lab equipment at the Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. Erin will stay
in Seattle so her doctors can adjust her treatment to eradicate the
remaining leukemia cells.
When her doctor if she had any
questions, Erin responded, "I am dying, aren't I?"
Her doctor quickly replied, "No, you are not dying!" She
went on to explain that some amount of graft vs. host disease is
necessary to deliver the "knock-out punch." The
doctors will now reduce Erin's anti-graft vs. host disease
medication to give the donor's stem cells greater ability to attack
the remaining leukemia cells.
Let us prove that the most powerful
force on earth is the power of prayer. All of your prayers are
truly appreciated.
God bless,
Gerry
2-21-02
Today's gospel was about Jesus
saying to his disciples: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek
and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and
to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." When
reflecting on the past 2+ years, these words hold so true it is
amazing. We asked, sought and knocked and were answered at
each juncture. What we received was not always what we
expected, but had deeper meaning than our wishes.
Today's words also include: "Do
to others whatever you would have them do to you." We
will strive to uphold this just as you all have upheld it for
us. Thank you.
God bless,
Gerry
2-22-02
We would like to ask for your
prayers for healing for our friend Dan Meyer as he awaits
reconstructive surgery on his left index finger at St John's Medical
Center. Dan is the contractor for the projects underway on our
home and had an accident with a nail gun on Monday. The
physicians are hopeful that they will be able to save his finger
with the procedures he has undergone this week and with the surgery
scheduled for Monday. Tonight was the first Pillar fish fry in
memory that we attended and did not see Dan in the kitchen hard at
work.
God bless,
Gerry
2-23-02
We spent the evening with other St
Joe parents raising money at the annual auction. There were
three dogs that William had interest in at the auction and before we
could blink, they were out of the realm of spending for our newest
pet. The best looking dog (in our opinion) was the chocolate
lab which was the third to be auctioned. We saw a trend in the
prices with the first being more expensive than the second.
The first was $2,350, the second was $1,400, then came the
third. With this downward trend, we thought we had an
opportunity to make William's wish come true. However, when
the bids stopped at $4,000 for this little puppy, we were pleased to
not be a bidder. We will have to wait for man's best friend a
little longer.
God bless,
Gerry
2-24-02
With each 23rd of the month we are
reminded of January 23rd of last year when Mary Beth said good bye
to us. The 23rd of February is also the anniversary day for
Connor Stapleton, who left this world after two weeks of life 12
years ago yesterday. Some 23rds of the month are better than
others but yesterday was a tough one for several of us.
Perhaps it was because it was also Connor's anniversary, but
whatever the case, today is a bright sunshiny day in all regards.
God bless,
Gerry
2-25-02
While Heidi and Sara Clark were
visiting Mary Beth's grave recently, Heidi asked Mary Beth for some
snow. The next day, we received a few large snow flakes that
did accumulate. Today, Mary Beth helped the heavens shower us
with a blanket of white. So far there is enough to make scenic
backgrounds but not enough to cancel school or sled on. If the
truth be known, these two items were part of Heidi's wishes as
well. Regardless of how much you love school, a snow day is
too much fun to pass up.
God bless,
Gerry
2-26-02
- PRAYER REQUEST
We are asking for your prayers now
more that ever for our friend Erin Wilson. She is 12 years old
and facing the toughest battle of her life since being diagnosed at
the age of 4 with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. She was originally scheduled
to go home to KC yesterday after her long stay in Seattle but had a
setback in her treatment a week ago today. She has been
monitored since the setback and has now been informed that she
relapsed yesterday. Please pray for this dreaded disease to
leave her body so she may live a healthy life. Ask everyone
you know to add Erin to their intentions. Please also keep in
mind her family and physicians when you say your prayers. I am
off to Resurrection Cemetery to pray a rosary for Erin with my
favorite angel.
God bless,
Gerry
2-27-02
Our friend Erin Wilson returned to KC
today reunited with her family and ready to continue her
fight. Under the direction of her KC and Seattle doctors, she
will begin a regiment aimed at putting her back into
remission. More important than the drugs prescribed for
treatment, Erin has a never say "quit" approach she has
shown for almost 8 years. When she was informed of the
relapse, she asked if she could get more chemotherapy and another
transplant. This is very close to the plan devised by her
medical team.
Hope reigns eternal in the Wilson
home with the knowledge that the odds are long. Miracles
happen around us everyday and we appreciate your request upward for
this one. We continue to send positive thoughts and prayers
west on I-70.
God bless,
Gerry
2-28-02
As I was saying some prayers today at mass, it reminded me of a
memorable conversation about prayer. Mary Beth and I had an
in-depth discussion about how we pray while she was recovering in
isolation in the bone marrow unit after her stem cell
transplant. She shared with me that she typically prays
through the intersession of a relative or saint and speaks to them
in a conversational style. I shared with her that I am from
the old school in which we were taught to pray formally to our Lord,
the Virgin Mary and the saints. We both found merit in each
other's style and agreed that regardless of the approach, each
prayer is meaningful. We also agreed to deviate occasionally
from our paradigm. I just didn't know that my deviation would
take its current form of having my daily conversations with
her.
God bless,
Gerry
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