Update on Jen

Another quick update on Jen Knapp and her baby! The Lord is so Good!

"She is doing even better today! They got her sitting in a chair, eating solid foods, and we even played go fish today! She's also doing a lot better on her breathing! Barely using the little mask at all. just the nose tubes...it's such a miracle! They are going to keep her in the ICU for a few more days still, just to keep a close eye on her, then transfer her back to teh other hospital!!"


Praise the Lord for the good report!!! This information is from a friend of the family earlier today.


I JUST got off the phone with Melanie and wanted to let people know how Jen is. Mel hasn't gotten a chance to go in and see Jen personally yet, but Scott just did and Jeremy is staying in there... only two people at a time are allowed in the room. Melanie said she's doing really well.... praise GOD!!! She's sitting up and they are giving her apple juice and believe she may be able to eat solid foods by the end of the day! She also has a new breathing mask and is breathing 60% on her own! She's able to talk now and the baby continues to do well. Continue to pray for her for continued improvement and strenght as well as for the rest of the family and praise the Lord for answered prayer!!!!

"I will lift up my eyes to the hills-
From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the Lord,
The Maker of heaven and earth."
-Ps. 121:1-2

Please Pray!!!!

This is the only information that I have but please pray for these families!!! The bold upper section is the latest information that I have received. These are both pasted from e-mails.



I just got an update on Jen (Knievel) Knapp’s situation. They are moving her from Columbia Regional to the University Hospital. Jen is still not responding to the antibiotics. So far her baby is still doing fine. Jen is weak and has an oxygen and feeding tube in.

Jen’s parents, Scott and Deb Knievel ask that you please do not come to visit at this time. They Thank You for praying for wisdom and clear thinking and for a miraculous healing of Jen.


We have called upon you all before, and we are calling upon you again. We have an urgent prayer request that we would ask you to be in prayer about:

Jen Knapp, my younger brother Jeremy’s wife, at this point in time, is in ICU in a hospital in Missouri. She is in critical condition. What started out as a kidney infection a few days ago has really taken a turn for the worse and she is now faced with the possibility of lung failure. What complicates the issue is that she is about 7 months along in her first pregnancy and so treatment is difficult. As of 9:00 this morning, she was finally sleeping for the first time in almost 2 days. My brother’s prayer request is that as she sleeps in the next 3 to 4 hours, that God would miraculously cause her lungs to improve instead of continuing on this road to lung failure. I would add that you also pray for my brother, that God would grant him peace, wisdom, and comfort as he watches his young wife and unborn child go through this painful situation.

Thank you for your prayers, they do work! You are a large body of believers and we have seen God work mighty miracles through your prayers. Thank you and keep praying.

In Christ,
Jason

Strawberry Bunny's Birthday Tea Party

Natalie's special Strawberry Bunny's birthday is today so my very fancy ladies celebrated her birthday with a wonderful tea party in the play room with many of her favorite friends. Enjoy the pictures of this very celebrated occasion!

Answered Prayer

Thanks to all of you that took action. The Lord has answered their prayers and their little girl will continue to receive medical care!


Oh My, What a Day!! I’ve been trying for hours to get to the computer and pass along this wonderful news – its official, Emerson has been reinstated by Colorado Medicaid! She will continue to receive benefits, without interruption, for all in-patient and out-patient expenses incurred while here in Nebraska.

The day started out with word that ABC national news had picked up the story. I did a phone interview with a reporter from abc.com this morning. Look for that story online tomorrow morning! That interview was followed, several hours later, by a call from Colorado Medicaid with the good news.

Within minutes of receiving the official word from Medicaid, I was flooded by calls from reporters. TV crews were here within the hour. I gave phone interviews, followed by several on-air interviews just outside the PICU. Emerson’s story has aired on every station, multiple times, since it broke on Monday. Tonight news of a successful resolution was the top story!

I have no words to describe my feelings for the people of Omaha, Nebraska. They have supported us like one of their own and have opened their hearts to Emerson and our whole family. I’m amazed by the outpouring of love we feel here. Thank you Omaha – you will forever hold a special place in our heart. I also want to thank all our friends back home in Colorado Springs and everyone who sent letters & made phone calls on our behalf, each one made a difference. Finally I want to thank the media. You gave our collective voices a public stage & were ultimately instrumental in overturning this senseless decision.

It continues to be my hope that we can help other families too. I’ve written a letter to Governor Ritter asking him to remember Emerson’s story next time they review the Colorado Medicaid program. I urged him to amend the law so other families are spared the same devastating call we received 2 weeks ago. No parent should hear that Medicaid has decided they’ve paid ‘enough’, or that coverage will be dropped over a technicality such as residency. Certainly life is more valuable that. It is my great hope something positive will come from the struggles we’ve endured these past two years. It is my greater hope that Emerson’s battle has not been fought in vain.

Finally, a nursing student here is organizing a large local fund-raiser for Emerson. We’re expecting lots of media coverage – television and radio – both before and during the event. So many people are looking for ways to help. Thanks to Katie & everyone who’s working so hard to bring it all together. Stay tuned for much more information on that!

Molly Monkey

I found a pattern for this monkey on mmmcrafts.blogspot.com. It's easy and fun! This is one that I made for my niece Julia.

Please take action if this grips your heart!!!

Please read the following story about a little girl who needs our prayers and action right now. Her transplanted organs have recently rejected and she had to have them removed. She is now waiting to be relisted and cannot be moved. She is from the state of Colorado but is in Nebraska in one of the only of a few hospitals worldwide that can perform the small bowl transplant that she needs. Now the insurance company in Colorado will not cover her anymore because she has been in the hospital for "too long" and is not considered a resident of Colorado anymore. Nebraska does not consider her a resident because her home address is in Colorado and has also refused to cover her care. The hospital will not perform a transplant for her if she is not covered by insurance. Please read the letter posted after the information on Emerson White and please take action if this grips your heart!!!




" About Emerson White


We received “the call” Wednesday, June 18th & Emerson received her gift of life in the early morning hours of Thursday, June 19th. The surgeon removed her large intestine, spleen, and 2/3 of her stomach. She transplanted her small intestine, liver, and pancreas. All organs were from a single donor of similar body size. We are so thankful to the donor family and think of them often through this difficult time. As you may know, Eme’s journey doesn’t end here…rather, it’s now just beginning. The surgery is the “easy” part, it is the recovery in the months & years to follow that will be very difficult and will ultimately tell her story. She is sure to have setbacks & she is sure to struggle through bouts of rejection & infection. There is no time at which her body will accept the new organs as her own, rather she’ll be on strong medication to suppress her immune system for the rest of her life – this in an attempt to prevent rejection. She is as likely to reject her new organs 10 years from now as she is today. One thing is for sure, though, without the transplant she had no chance for “10 years from now”, she would not have survived. She will spend the next 6 months in Nebraska recovering from surgery & will live now with many daily meds & an ostomy bag for the rest of her life. Emerson is the strongest little fighter I know & I’m confident she’ll overcome the many obstacles ahead - she has much yet to accomplish in her lifetime.

We are overwhelmed with gratitude for the family and friends who have gathered to raise funds on Emerson’s behalf. We are especially indebted to Amy Howarth, Melanie Oliver, & Cherie Parker for selflessly taking on the challenge of organizing her campaign. Everyone should be so fortunate as to have such remarkable friends in their life – we are truly blessed.

In all, thanks to everyone for your continued support - emotionally, spiritually, & financially – together it gives us the strength to face each day and the power to dream for a brighter tomorrow!

With Love, Erika & Jim"

URGENT CALL FOR ACTION
Submitted by Erika on Thu, 01/15/2009 - 5:48pm.

Colorado won’t budge. Period. Nebraska already knows about Emerson and has preemptively declined her any and all medical coverage insisting she is NOT a resident of Nebraska. Clearly they cannot be expected to pay transplant bills for every out of state patient that comes to this hospital for treatment. They are writing a formal letter to Colorado stating their position.

So – for all who have ever wanted to help us, here’s your chance. I am officially organizing an all out campaign to address this absurdity. I am asking for letters, phone calls, &/or media contacts.

The main thing to remember is this: Colorado will NOT reinstate Emerson’s Medicaid unless (&/or until) her little body is physically in Colorado. That is impossible. If Emerson were to be transferred back to Colorado she would DIE. Make no mistake about it. There are NO hospitals in Colorado equipped to manage her right now. There are NO hospitals in Colorado that perform small bowel transplants. As a matter of fact, there are only 4 hospitals in the WORLD with established small bowel transplant programs.

This is a story the media should be all over – a beautiful young child who’s fought through every possible post-transplant complication & overcome all the odds to now be denied a life-saving second transplant because Colorado won’t acknowledge her residency. Meanwhile her father, her brothers, her home, her bedroom… ALL in Colorado. It’s nonsense. They chose the wrong person to make a point with. Emerson has already fought much harder than any of us will have to. I’ll willingly fight this one for her. The law MUST be amended. Through all our efforts we can help other families too. No one should be faced with this situation.

Your letters do not have to be lengthy. You do NOT need to recount Emerson’s entire story. A few key points & reference to “Emerson White” should be enough. They’ll all know her story soon enough. Pictures, also, are great. Additionally, on the outside of every letter & under the address, please write “re: Emerson White”. My goal is that by this time next week the governor of Colorado is asking, “who’s Emerson White?”

Quantity, quantity, quantity – please ask everyone you know to help us out. We need hundreds, even thousands of letters all flooding the Governor’s Office at once.

Following are the addresses. Write as few or as many as you’re able. Start at the top with the Governor, then his Public Health Administrator, etc. Again, you don’t need to write a lot.

Governor’s Office

Bill Ritter, Governor

136 State Capitol
Denver, CO 80203
(303) 866-2471

Internet messages can be sent at:

http://www.colorado.gov/apps/oit/governor/citizen/assistanceUtility/welcome.jsf

Department of Health Care Policy

Joan Henneberry, Executive Director

1570 Grant Street

Denver, CO 80203

(303) 866-2868

Diana Degette, Chief Deputy Whip

600 Grant Street, Suite 202
Denver, CO 80203
(303) 844-4988

Doug Lamborn, U.S. Congressman

1271 Kelly Johnson Blvd.
Suite 110
Colorado Springs, CO 80920

(719) 520-0055

Your help is immensely appreciated. Together we can make a real difference – for Emerson and for the many children who will walk this path after her.

Thank You…

Baby Shoes!!

I found a pattern for these shoes and since I love the knock off ones I bought at Target, I thought I'd try it. They turned out great and look so cute and stay on Jeremiah's feet just as well as the ones from Target. If anyone knows of a baby that could use some, let me know.

Hap-bee Birthday Isabella!

Isabella's 3rd birthday was actually on December 29th, which happened to be while we were at Winter Camp. We celebrated there with a brownie, 3 candles and some ice cream. The campers and staff sang Happy Birthday to her (she was thrilled) and we let her pick out a "treat" from the tuck shop. So...we celebrated her birthday on Saturday with friends and family! Here are some pictures from the event! Enjoy!

Christmas Program??

Natalie's school Christmas program was scheduled for the last Friday before Christmas break. Well, that ended up being a day of school that was cancelled due to snow so it was rescheduled for today. We enjoyed the singing and festivities every bit as much as if the program had occurred when originally scheduled. We finished up the occasion by devouring cut out Christmas cookies that the children had baked and decorated before Christmas (and had been frozen till now :)) and glasses of milk. The children did a wonderful job! I apologize for the fuzziness in my video. I was holding Jeremiah and he was bouncing to the music so I was having a hard time holding the camera still!

Natalie's 4K class

Natalie with her teachers Mrs. Schmitt and Mrs. Bailey

Natalie and her good friend Lauren

Winter Teen Camp 2008

Well, we were there, back and survived it all! In all it was a great retreat. There were 20-some teens that attended "Survivor Canada". The theme was "Out Live - Out Wit - Out Love" and the verse was John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." There were a lot of fun activities such as Horse drawn sleigh rides, ice hockey, sliding on the thrill hill, dog sled team rides and many more. The teens also had to endure the -15 degree weather (sometimes colder) and complete many outdoor activities such as building a shelter that would possibly shelter them from the elements, human dog sled races, cooking and eating a meal outdoors over a bonfire by their shelter, etc... The response was great and there was amazingly little if any complaints about the cold. Those teens are sure troopers!! Ryan led the worship and Ryan Belton, one of the college kids from our church that rode along with us, helped with that. Stuart Olley, and Jenny Whitham also rode along with us from our church and helped with different needed activities such as kitchen, child care, stacking firewood and clean up after camp was over. We appreciated their involvement so much! We thank the Lord for his watchful hand over our drive both there and back. Also we thank the Wallaces for allowing us to use their 15 passenger van which made the trip much more comfortable for all of us!! Here are some pictures of the week.

Outdoor Bonfire in -27 Degree Windchill...brave souls!

The mountain of parkas and boots between outdoor activities

Warming up by the fire

Worship Time

One of Jeremiah's many new friends!

Indoor game time

Dog sled Team