Load off my shoulders-GOD IS SOO GOOD!

Kalysa's surgery is getting closer and closer everyday and the stress of it all has started settling in on me. I am so thankful that the Lord worked it out and we are able to utilize the Shriner hospital. When Kalysa was just 2 1/2 years old, she was referred to a specialist. Many children with her condition are referred just to an orthopedic doctor often specializing in sports medicine who would normally do surgery. The only problem with that is that they do basically the same surgery for all muscle tightening problems and it often does not work or has to be repeated several times. Kalysa's therapist at the time had heard great things about Dr. Wright, the only pediatric physiatrist(specialist in children's reabilitation) in the state of Oklahoma, and we were able to ask her pediatrician to specifically refer her to him. Dr. Wright has worked with her for the last 4 years with botox injections to relax the muscles, physical therapy, casting to stretch the muscles and splints to keep them from tightening back up-everything he could to avoid surgery. His efforts were fruitful and the muscles in her right leg have responded well-she no longer walks on her toes on the right foot and her muscles now have a normal range of motion. The left leg has continued to give her problems. Little did we know 4 1/2 years ago that Dr. Wright personally knew and had been working with and learning from Dr. Gates, the children's orthopedic specialist with the Shriner hospital. Dr. Gates specializes in orthopedic surgery on children and will customize the surgery to exactly what each patient needs based on the results of a full gait analysis that will show him exactly what each muscle is or is not doing. Without Dr. Wright setting up a personal appointment in OKC with Dr. Gates for Kalysa, we would never have had this opportunity. God has been working all these years behind the scenes. As of today it is 1 month until our first scheduled visit to a hospital that is 400 miles away. The stress of this impending trip and the costs associated with it really started weighing on me this past weekend. The hospital provides a place for the parents to stay but not the siblings. Kalysa has to check in early in the morning so it would be necessary for us to be there the night before requiring us to need a motel room for all of us. The costs have been adding up and adding up in my head. Today I contacted our local Shriner organization to see what may be available in the way of transportation assistance. Would you believe that they already have Kalysa on the list with her appointment dates and times and have already scheduled to drive her and I down in their van the night before her gait analysis, they have a motel room booked and paid for for us and have scheduled to bring us back home after all her tests are finished. The only thing I will need to pay for is food and they have a cafeteria at the hospital. The man assured me that their food is unusually good for hospital food and very reasonably priced-about $1.50 for breakfast. They also have her transportation there and back scheduled for the surgery. We are hoping that we can all be there as a family when she has surgery and the van can only take the patient and one parent but my mom and a friend from church are going to be driving down so it may still be possible for Monty and the kids to share a ride and not have to spend a lot of money. Also the kids may be able to ride home with grandma before we leave so we will not have to have a motel room for them the whole time. I have been starting to really stress about these 2 trips and the details were already worked out without my help or my knowledge. Oh Wow! GOD IS GOOD-ALL THE TIME-ALL THE TIME-GOD IS GOOD!!! I want to thank everyone who has been praying with us. God and God alone is faithful in hearing and answering our prayers and I am so thankful for His promises. I am just in awe of how wonderful He is to us even though we deserve nothing. The Lord Jesus Christ already gave His life on the cross to save me and that is more than enough for anyone but He is so faithful and loves us so much that He continues to care for us and provide for us. I fail Him so often yet He has never and will never fail me. I stand amazed!!