In the Hands of the Creator

Acts 17: 24-28

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'”

Tammy was a preschool teacher for 10 years. She used this verse to teach the kids how God created them. She used the analogy of them building something with Legos. They knew what they wanted to make and how they wanted to make it. If it broke, they knew how to fix it. God is our Creator. He built us, and He knows how to fix us. That is a great source of peace for us, as we await word on where Tammy will be “repaired.”

We are getting closer to making a decision on which hospital will do the bone-marrow transplant. To catch you up, we went to Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis 10 days ago. This is one of the best transplant hospitals in the country. Though they were very willing to take Tammy's case, they didn't think it was necessary for us to come there. They felt any good transplant hospital could do this successfully, because Tammy is young enough and in good enough health otherwise.

The only problem is that the one hospital in Kansas City that could do it—KU Medical Center—is not in Tammy's insurance network. We will appeal that decision, but we can't appeal until a denial is actually issued.

Next Thursday, we will have a consultation with the doctors at KU so they can decide if they think she needs a transplant. That's a no-brainer. Then they'll submit it to Tammy's insurance and see what they say.

We're leaning toward going to KU either way, as long as the out-of-pocket maximum is not too much. We believe her recovery would go smoother if she is close to family and friends. The extra expense will be worth it, as long as we can afford to do it. We may have to come up with some creative ways of paying the extra cost. (Anyone want to buy a homemade pie?) We should find out the out-of-pocket maximum next week.

We're still very much at peace with whatever God decides to do in this situation. If He wants her at Barnes, we'll gladly go there. If He wants her at KU, we'll go there. We appreciate your prayers for God's will to be done, and for grace and peace to accept whatever His decision is.