Hold Them Close

My heart is breaking.  On Wednesday, (April 3rd) this sweet girl, so very full of life, stopped breathing.  She was without a heartbeat for 30 minutes.

Currently, she clings to life with a very frail thread.  Please hold this family close in your prayers.  Hold your own children close.

Intellectually, I think we all know anyone could be called home any time.  But over the past almost three years, I have seen it up close and personal too many times.  Too many butterflies hung on doors in the PICU.  Too many families who were playing, laughing, carefree just hours or days earlier, with no clue that life was getting ready to change so drastically.

Hold your loved ones close.  Make time for them.  Make sure they know they are important to you.  We never know when that time is going to be gone.

If you want Kenady's full story, or to send a note of comfort to her parents, click here visit her Facebook page.  I don't think we realize how much even a stranger's prayers mean until we're in such a tenuous position.  May God hold them in the hollow of His hand.

Update: Saturday, April 6

Today, Kenady and her family gave the ultimate gift of life in donating her organs.  Amazingly, her heart went to a little boy right in the same hospital.  He had been on the transplant list and now has a beautiful new heart.  If you're inclined to follow, his public Facebook page is here.