March 2002 Updates on
Mary Beth's
Journey
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We spent a great evening with friends and family at the HIS KIDS annual dinner auction. Sheila was the chair of this event and the evening was a success. There were not many dry eyes in the room as various presentations were made including two performances by young teen cancer survivors. HIS KIDS is the organization that runs the summer camp for cancer kids and their siblings. Mary Beth, Barbie and Heidi have received immeasurable benefit from this organization and William will have the opportunity to attend camp as well in the future. Thanks to the generous support of Mary Beth's Angels Foundation, Sheila had the pleasure of presenting a $5,000 check to the cause as well. We know that MB and all the children that lost their battles with this dreaded disease were smiling on all of us this evening. God bless, Last week, I was driving our 2001 minivan at night when the dash lights began to flash and flicker. I told everyone in the car that there must be a short in the lighting and it needed to be fixed. I seldom drive this vehicle and Sheila stated that it has never happened when she is behind the wheel. It occurred again last night as we were leaving the HIS KIDS auction. Heidi and Sheila were in the car with me and the lights were going crazy. I was really beginning to become annoyed with the situation. We were about half way home when Sheila began speaking to Mary Beth. She said, "Mary Beth, we know it's you. This evening was all about you and you know you will never be forgotten. This is pretty funny how you have got to your dad. We love you honey!" As soon as she started this conversation, the lights were back to normal and remained that way the rest of the drive home. We often feel her presence, but seldom is it this physically visible. God bless, Mary Beth's friend and former classmate Mary Schaeffer paid a visit today along with her parents Tom and Nancy. Mary is one of 34 youth from all over the country, ranging in age from 9 to 18, selected for the honor as "Very Best Youth". The recognition program is sponsored by Nestlé in conjunction with Reading Is Fundamental and recognizes young people who have made an impact in their community through volunteerism. She was informed of this honor on January 23, 2001, just hours after receiving the phone call that her friend Mary Beth had been called home to heaven. Part of her award was a check for $1,000 to her favorite charity. We wish to congratulate Mary and thank her for selecting Mary Beth's Angel's Foundation as her favorite charity. God bless, One of the many blessings availed to us during the past 2+ years is the development of new lifelong friendships. Today, I had the opportunity to share the company with two such people who are very special friends. Nikki Schindewolf and Debra Spoljaric are very special to us for a number of reasons. They are two of Mary Beth's healthcare providers and hospice nurses. They also worked with and are friends of Sheila's sister Joan who helped found the pediatric hospice group for Children's Hospital. We feel a real connection with Nikki and Debra, especially since they were so close to Mary Beth and Joan before they both left us. We are so blessed to have them in our lives and thank them for the superior care they administered with Mary Beth. God bless, William has been acting more and more like a 5 year old boy lately, especially when around his sisters. One of his latest antics is to run up to Barbie or Heidi, sit on their lap and give them a hug. While there, he relieves himself of gas and laughs hysterically. What can I say, boys will be boys! God bless, It was great to see our friend Dan Meyer out and about today. His second surgery on Monday was considered a success and he is anxious to get this chapter closed and move on to the next. Please keep Erin Wilson in your prayers as she is experiencing one of the low points on the emotional roller coaster. Just a few days ago, she was joking and laughing with all of her visitors in Children's Mercy Hospital and today she is battling bouts of depression and anxiety. Please consider sending a card of cheer to Erin at 6520 Walmer Street, Shawnee Mission, KS 66202-4173. God bless, "If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts". These words from today's psalm made me think a little. Seldom does anyone physically hear God's voice. In fact, the only instances in which I recall this happening are in accounts in the Bible. However, I believe we all have the opportunity to hear his voice calling us through other people. There are multiples of less fortunate people in this world, not only in third world countries but in our own communities. We feel so blessed every day of our lives to have as many gifts as we do. We have an abundance of the basics of food and shelter and an overabundance of loving friends and family. Let us all strive to remember to listen and seek out his voice so we may share our hearts with those who are in most need. God bless, The next phase of parenting arrived for Sheila and I a couple of days ago. Barbie is now carrying her drivers permit. As soon as she received it, she drove with me in the car and performed admirably. I am sure she will be a great driver, especially with such a good tutor (yes, me). Some people have commented that they did not know Barbie's birthday was in March. Well, it is not in March but on January 27. This begs the question as to why she waited. The answer lies in the fact that she did not want to get her permit picture taken when she had braces. She had them removed a couple of weeks after her birthday and had a half day of school this week to sit for the test. God bless, I recently had the opportunity to share my Olympic torch relay memory with my hometown newspaper and thought I would share my thoughts here as well. Simply click on the name of the article: "Light the fire within". God bless, Tonight we ask for your prayers for the Meyer family. Our friend Dan lost his father on Saturday morning to cancer. Dan shared that he, his mother and all of his siblings were with his dad when he went to our Lord and it was very peaceful and beautiful. For those who have not had this experience, it is something that is difficult to describe. The harsh human reality of not having your loved one on earth any longer is overshadowed by the joy and happiness of sending them to eternal peace. If ever given a choice to be at someone's side in this situation I will always choose to be there because the beauty outweighs the pain. God bless, Wherever I went today, I heard the news accounts of the six month anniversary of the terrorist attacks on our country. It is comforting that we are such a resilient people. I heard most of the accounts while in the airports in St Louis and Detroit en-route to Grand Rapids. Both flights were full as are many flights now that the initial fear of flight is past. Our financial markets have rebounded, the recession is over and we are more united than ever before to live in peace. We pray that this will occur not only for Americans but for all of God's children the world over. God bless, We heard from one of Cornell University's finest today, informing us of a marathon she is participating in. Meagan Stacey is a freshman at Cornell and will be running a marathon on June 2nd in San Diego to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. As a 2001 graduate of St. Joe, she will be carrying Mary Beth's memory with her on her 26.2 mile jaunt. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is a national health organization striving to cure forms of blood cancer. If you would like to join us in sponsoring Meagan in this wonderful cause, you may make a check payable to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and forward it to Meagan Stacey, 5543 Clara Dickson, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853. Thank you in advance for your consideration. God bless, "Lord help me to remember that nothing is going to happen to me today that You and I together can't handle." These words are inscribed on Ray Meyer's prayer card and depicted in the program outlining his celebratory mass today. When I read them, they rang so clear and struck at the very core of my existence. I have heard it said that God gives you only what you can handle. While I firmly believe this, I know that it should be said with the following caveat "... you can handle with his love." For it is his love for us that sustains us. Just remember when the chips are down and you are not feeling upbeat that you are never alone. He is always there. God bless, Hints of Spring are all around us. The flowers are shooting up from the ground, the buds are appearing on the trees, there are a lot more birds chirping around, and Spring Break season is among us. We wish all of you a great time during your "break" and pray for the safety of all travelers this year during Spring Break wherever they may venture. God bless, Surrounded by many friends and family this evening, we were responsible for the crew serving at the Pillar Fish Fry. We fulfilled in a very small way the words of Matthew when he wrote, "For I was hungry and you gave me food." The fish fries at Pillar have become an institution of gathering to build community and break bread with our fellow man. One of our friends and fellow workers, Tom Calhoun, informed us that their daughter Erin had been involved in a traffic accident in Colorado where she attends school. Erin did not sustain major injuries, however her roommate is hospitalized in intensive care and is in need of our prayers. We ask you prayers for healing for the girls and strength for all. God bless, The weather today was cool and brisk with a biting north wind. Over the course of the past 15 years we have experienced a myriad of weather on this day, the day of Aunt Sheila and Uncle Gerry's Easter Egg Hunt. Despite the weather, a group of 132 brave youth endured to seek the 2,500+ Easter eggs "hidden" in our neighbors' back yards. All in all the event was another success stemming from its humble beginnings of 6 kids in our back yard in Overland Park. The goal of bringing smiles to the faces of the children while remembering the true meaning of Easter was achieved. God bless, 3-17-02 Happy St. Patrick's Day Our weekend was action packed with the fish fry, egg hunt, having family in town and attending the corned beef and cabbage feast at Pillar this evening. So much action that William fell asleep around 7:30 this evening. I took advantage of this time to read a poster made by the sophomore class at St. Joe on Friday. It was full of notes from Mary Beth's classmates who wrote to her while on retreat. The overwhelming message that shines through their comments is the inspiration she continues to provide her fellow Angels. MB provides us with strength everyday and we certainly appreciate hearing the same from others. God bless, John writes in the gospel today of the story about the woman who was brought to Jesus for committing adultery. They stated that she should be stoned according to the law of Moses. Jesus' response was simply to say, "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." The group dispersed one by one until the only people left were the woman and Jesus. He asked her to sin no more and released her. It is very difficult for us not to pass judgment on our fellow man. Today's words remind us that we are all human and we all make mistakes. Let us not look at others in judgment by pointing out their weaknesses but rather focus on improving ourselves. God bless, We have heard that Erin Calhoun is doing well and her roommate Kara was scheduled to be released from intensive care today. Erin is very sore and Kara has a punctured lung and broken ribs. Thank you for your prayers for these two young ladies and for the other two in the car. Please continue your prayers so they may get back into the full healthy swing of college life. This is a real testimony to listening to your parents and wearing seatbelts. Speaking of parenting, today is the feast of St Joseph, father of Jesus. He even had his parenting skills tested by Jesus early on when Jesus stayed in Jerusalem at the age of 12 without telling his parents. When they found him in the temple three days later teaching he did not understand why they were concerned. He then joined them and obeyed from that point on. God bless, Thoughts of spring break are running rampant in our humble abode. William is already enjoying his two week break and Sheila and the girls are scurrying around for the right beach shoes and attire. We know that we will have a fish with us in William. He is brushing up on swim lessons this week and has offered to teach me to swim as well as he can. With the forecast of tomorrow's temperature possible breaking the record low of 13, warmer weather will be welcome. God bless, I had the opportunity to visit Matthew Kerschen and his mom Jill this evening at Children's Hospital. Matthew is 7 years old, lives in Wichita and has cerebral palsy. His dad and I share the same hometown of Garden Plain, KS. Matthew underwent neurological surgery performed by Dr. T. S. Park on Tuesday in an effort to enable him to walk without the assistance of crutches. He was released from ICU last night and was resting comfortably in his bed while watching the NCAA basketball tournament rooting for the Big XII teams. Mary Beth and Matthew share the same surgeon in Dr. Park, a brilliant and caring man. He is known the world over for pioneering the procedure he performed on Matthew and children literally come from all parts of the world to seek his services. Please keep Matthew in your prayers as he recovers and is blessed with the opportunity to commence a life without the crutches. We take so many thing for granted in our own lives, like the ability to walk on our own. Please pray for Matthew's health and for all those similarly afflicted. God bless, Most of the times we visit Mary Beth we find something new that another visitor has left behind for her. While I was visiting today, I noticed two seashells laying on her tombstone over the wings of her angel. They were covering the angels wings and were very symmetrical. It is somewhat profound to find these on the day prior to our arrival on the beach for spring break especially on a cold blustery day, just the kind of day MB loved. God bless,
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