Weekend Wrap-Up--Family Prayers Edition

 

Well, my weekend didn't exactly go as planned.  Right now, I am in West Virginia...my grandfather had a bad fall down a flight of stairs and is in the hospital, so I'm here to help out and be with him and my Mema.  I would appreciate any prayers you can offer up for him right now.

Speaking of prayers, I also have a major one for my 17-year-old cousin, Jazzmin Peluchette.  For the past five weeks, she has been in the hospital in Miami after contracting a rare auto-immune disorder called Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO).  Among other things, it has labored her breathing, caused blindness in one eye, and she is paralyzed from the waist down.  There is no cure for this disease, and it is so rare that Jazz is the youngest person ever diagnosed with it.  They don't know what caused it, but the treatments she is receiving are helping--in the past month, her paralysis has gone from chest down to waist down, she can now breath on her own, and has regained sight in one eye.  She has a long road ahead of her, but is doing amazing...her strength and determination are incredibly inspiring!  Earlier this week, a local Miami news channel did a story on her, and it is so wonderful to see her progress in just a few short weeks.



There also is a fundraising page that has been set up to help pay for treatment.  If you or anyone you know would like to help out, please follow this link:  Jazzmin Peluchette Treatment Fund

I guess the curse of having an enormous family (mom is one of 10 kids) is that we seem to suffer through more than our fair share of heartaches.  My family has certainly seen tough times over the last decade or so, one person and then another and then another.  But the amazing thing about a big family is that there is that many more people to support you and pray for you and love you, and my family certainly does just that.

I may be on a short hiatus for a few days while I am in WV...not sure how many days I'll be gone, but I would really appreciate your prayers for my Pap and for Jazz while I am gone.  It means the world to me!