1998 YULETIDE ANTHOLOGY

Special Delivery!

 

When Chip and Jamie Cash were married on November 15, 1997, they vowed to love, honor, and cherish. They also vowed to wait five years before having a baby, because they wanted to have a good time as a carefree, young married couple before taking on the responsibilities of parenthood. Well, as I mentioned in my Christmas of 1997 newsletter, the newlyweds quickly had to abandon their five-year plan and go with an alternate, nine-month plan! Despite this, they have had many "good times!"

One really "good time" came on the night of December 4, 1997 with the purchasing and utter disbelief in the reliability of five early pregnancy tests (this was followed by a frantic, next-day trip to the OB/GYN to prove that EPTs are not always right)! But this time, they were!

Another really "good time" occurred while making preparations for the new baby. We cleaned out a spare bedroom and put up new pink and blue striped wallpaper with a Rainbow Fish border. Next, we brought down all of Chip's baby furniture from the attic and purchased a Rainbow Fish comforter set, curtains, and lamp set. We also purchased a "Lexus" baby carriage that also transforms into a stroller. Very quickly, however, we realized that our new baby was going to have feline competition for the nursery!

 

Another "good time" came on March 16th when Margie had her tenth knee operation and her twenty-second surgery overall. On the day of the surgery, Chip and Jamie took the Grandma-to-be to Piedmont Hospital, where Dr. Eric Oser did another total knee joint replacement; this time of the left knee. The surgery went well, and Margie continues to grow more bionic with every passing year!

In late July, a baby shower was given for Jamie and Chip by great-grandmother-to-be, Dot Deines. They received many nice new gifts for Amber Lynn Cash, who was about to make her long-awaited appearance.

On August 5, 1998, Jamie went into labor (another really "good time!") and Amber Lynn was born later that evening. Aside from the umbilical cord being wrapped around her neck, the delivery was normal, and Amber came into the world three days earlier than expected!

From the moment of birth, however, we worried about Amber's eyes. When she was born, they were rolled back into her head, like her muscles were very weak, and she couldn't control them; but we rationalized that this would eventually improve. Her pediatricians assured us that this was normal and not to worry.

As the weeks and months went by, we began to worry a little more. Amber seemed to be looking past us and not focusing on or recognizing our faces. The pediatricians again reassured us that everything was "ok," but we were not convinced. Finally, Jamie began conversing with parents of children with vision problems on the Internet, and she was put in touch with a pediatric ophthalmologist who, upon hearing Amber's symptoms, recommended that Jamie take her to a specialist right away.

Waiting several weeks for an appointment, on November 19, we took Amber to a pediatric ophthalmologist who gave us some very grim news upon examining her eyes. She told us that Amber was blind and that there was a 99.9% chance that nothing could be done to correct her vision, because the problem was coming from the cortical region of her brain, rather than from her eyes themselves. This news was not really surprising to us because we had come to believe that Amber couldn't see, but we were not expecting to hear that her problem could not be corrected; not in this day and age! Also, since we have no history of blindness in our families, how could this be? The doctor then scheduled a series of tests to determine "why" this birth defect had occurred so that Chip and Jamie would know if any future children would also be at risk.

After feeling like we'd been kicked in the gut for a couple of days, Chip and Jamie both asked me to call Dr. Paul L. Walker, our former Senior Pastor at Mount Paran, who is now the General Overseer of the Church of God International. They wanted me to ask him to pray for Amber's healing. Since Dr. Walker travels extensively, I figured he'd be out of town, but upon calling, I reached him at home on Saturday afternoon, and he agreed to pray for Amber after the service the following day at Mount Paran Central, where he was scheduled to preach.

During the pastoral prayer on Sunday, November 22, Dr. David Cooper prayed for Amber's healing and asked the entire congregation to be in prayer for her. Later, after the service, a small crowd of people gathered around to pray with Dr. Walker for Amber's healing. Leaving the church, we experienced renewed hope.

The next evening, Jamie asked me if I'd ever heard of a show called The 700 Club! I laughed and said, "Yeah, I used to work for CBN and Pat Robertson back in the early eighties." Jamie then told me that she'd been flipping through channels and that some old man (sorry Pat!) had given a "word of knowledge" that someone was being given the gift of sight while he was praying. Jamie went on to say she'd never seen The 700 Club before that day; and then she asked me what a word of knowledge was! The following day while going through a McDonalds drive-thru, Jamie heard a radio playing a song in a nearby vehicle. Suddenly, the announcer said, "And, that was Expect that Miracle by …"

As such confirmations began to manifest themselves, we each had a growing assurance that God was touching Amber. Immediately, we noticed a change in her alertness. For the first time, she seemed to be focusing her eyes on us and reacting to light (a couple of weeks earlier, I'd taken about 40 close-up photographs of her with my flash attachment, and she didn't even blink!).

On Wednesday, November 25, Amber had a MRI that showed normal brain and eye structure, but with a slight amount of excess fluid on her brain (she had never had a discernable soft spot because it was filled with fluid). Several weeks passed, and on December 17, we went to the Emory Clinic for a series of extensive eye tests that would take several days to interpret.

On Monday, December 21, Amber awoke with a high fever and went into seizures. After spending the day in the Scottish Rite Hospital emergency room (checking in vain for spinal meningitis or a severe infection), Amber was admitted by a neurologist for overnight observation and an EEG. Apparently, seizures related to high fever are very uncommon for a 4-5 month old baby, so the doctors were very concerned.

On Tuesday, December 22 (exactly one month after Amber was prayed for by Dr. Walker, Dr. Cooper, and the Mount Paran congregation), we received word of a normal EEG (which shows brain function); and, Amber had no more seizures while in the hospital. Also, we received a call from the pediatric ophthalmologist concerning the eye test results from the Emory Clinic. The tests showed that Amber now has a decreased vision potential in the moderate range, but she can see! Praise the Lord!

On Wednesday, we learned that a urinary tract infection was the cause of the high fever and subsequent seizures, so Amber is on an antibiotic to get rid of this. She also has follow-up appointments with the neurologist, the neurosurgeon, and the pediatric ophthalmologist, not to mention the pediatrician, during the next 30 days, so your continued prayers for Amber are appreciated!

These days, Amber is smiling at us and focusing on our faces! She can see us up close, and she can see us at a distance. Her eyes are bright and attentive, whereas a month ago, they reflected a vacant stare. So far, she's had to endure various tortures: IV needles (they had to stick her 8 times in order to get an IV into a vein!); a spinal tap (which subsequently relieved fluid pressure on her brain, so she now has a soft spot!); a MRI; an EEG; and super high-tech equipment for eye tests. But, this year has been a "good time" for Chip and Jamie because God has shown them that His hand on Amber's life. And, we have all seen His glory!

 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
               Love in Christ,