Fox 8 News Video Links

As you know, Fox 8 news covered the story of Nicole yesterday on it's 6pm broadcast.  Annette Lawless of Fox 8 was the reporter and she did an amazing job telling the story of Nicole and the radical, God-inspired love of Wendy.  Annette was kind enough to email me links of the story both on the Fox 8 website as well as her personal website.  The video on her website is also available on YouTube and thus will be available forever.  I have provided them below if you haven't had a chance to view the story.

For His Glory,
Brian

http://fox8.com/2013/03/12/live-saving-lesson-teacher-to-give-student-a-kidney/
http://www.annettelawless.com/?p=3832

A Long-Awaited Update - The Power of our Choices

This is the first update of my blog in over a year so there is a lot to catch up on.

First, regarding Nicole...her kidney function has continued to decline over the past year.  Her kidney function now sits at a GFR of around 16.  Her latest labs show that many aspects of the delicate balance of the body are beginning to spiral out of control.  Her blood pressure is extremely high for an 8 year old despite her medicine being increased up to the maximum levels permitted.  She continues to struggle in school because focus is extremely difficult for her.  However, she is progressing and we are thankful for what she has been able to accomplish.  She is definitely a strong little girl.

Since my last blog post we have been able to obtain a donor for Nicole that has been approved by the transplant team at Rainbow Babies and Children.  Wendy Killian, Nicole's kindergarten teacher last year from Mansfield Christian, stepped up late last spring and volunteered to be tested as a potential donor.  After the initial blood work showing that she was a reasonable "match" for Nicole she began the testing procedure in early June of 2012.  After completing the testing she was approved as the donor in early August of 2012.  It is an amazing story and has been fully documented at the following link in the Mansfield News Journal.

http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20130310/NEWS01/303100023/Teacher-donate-kidney-former-student

Words cannot express how thankful we are for Wendy and the sacrifice she is making for Nicole.

We are expecting a call from the hospital at any time to schedule the transplant.  Her kidney function reached these critically low levels 3 months and has remained there.  Her nephrologist stated last month that if her levels remained at the present levels that the transplant would be scheduled.  Her kidney function actually declined so we are fully expecting scheduling to occur.  We were told that the transplant would most likely be scheduled 1 month out.  If that is the case then we expect the transplant to occur sometime in April.  If you feel led to please begin to pray with us for this procedure.  It is certainly not without risk both to Nicole and Wendy!!  But our faith remains in the Lord who has guided this entire process.

I am writing this immediately after returning from Mansfield Christian School where Letitia and I were interviewed by Fox 8 news out of Cleveland.  Wendy and Nicole are also going to be interviewed.  The News Journal story linked above was picked up by the Ohio News Network and has spread.  Fox 8 wanted to run the story because it is such an amazing thing how a teacher is willing to give of herself for the good of one of her former kindergarten students.  As I was driving to my office on this cloudy, rainy day in North Central Ohio I was overwhelmed with one simple truth.  There is a lot of really bad news in the world.  Right now as I am writing this blog the economy continues to struggle and many people are finding it very difficult to just get by.  North Korea is threatening war in the Korean peninsula and preemptive nuclear strikes.  Iran continues to threaten Israel as well as the stability of the entire Mid-East.  Our government continues it's dysfunction over budget issues and the future of the entitlement programs.  I could go on and on.  However, what is fascinating to me is that Fox 8 out of Cleveland seems so excited to run this story because it is "good".  And it is good!!  In a selfish, greedy world someone is willing to give of themselves for the well-being of another.  If that isn't good I don't know what is.  If you can look through the fog of what is going on in the world it comes down to choices.  We can each choose each day to be beacons of good and reflect the love of God in this world or we can be perpetuators of evil.  We can choose to be selfless and help out others who have no chance of ever paying us back or we can be self-centered and look out just for ourselves.  We can focus on the bad news that dominates the world around us or we can look to the future and focus on the good.  I believe I would like to be someone that chooses all of these goods...how about you?  It really is just a choice.

I will update this blog frequently through the transplant process and keep everyone informed.  I will also be sure to provide links to the Fox 8 story once it is completed.

Thank you so much for your continued thoughts and prayers.  It is a source of encouragement and hope for Nicole and our entire family.

For His Glory!!

Donor Request

Friends,

As you know, Letitia and I have been praying for wisdom on how to proceed with Nicole's potential donor.  I know this may sound strange, but Letitia and I do not have the names of everyone that called the hospital and/or have volunteered to be a potential donor for Nicole.  We know that many people called the hospital anonymously without ever informing us of their decision.  And to make matters worse, the hospital will not tell us all of the names of the individuals that contacted them for privacy reasons.  (I could blog about that for pages and pages!)  Therefore, if you have volunteered in the past and/or would like to be a potential donor for Nicole please contact us either through a private message on Facebook or an email to bbmillerr@earthlink.net.  Without a complete list of individuals who have volunteered it is extremely difficult to make the most informed decision about how to proceed.

Thank you so much for your willingless to support Nicole in this process as a potential donor and also for your prayer support.  It is such a blessing to know that so many care for her and our family.

For His Glory,
Brian Miller

Prayer Request

I have sent this prayer request out to many friends and family.  However, I know that I have most likely missed some very important individuals that follow Nicole's situation.  So I am posting the letter here.  Thank you.  We covet your prayers:


The kidney donor process for Nicole has run into multiple road-blocks. At this point, Tiffany (Titia's niece) our primary donor for Nicole, has been rejected by the transplant team for reasons that I will not enumerate at this time. Krista, our backup donor, has run into a road-block because there are no Transplant Institutes in Florida that can perform the appropriate testing and no other qualified organization has agreed to cooperate. Therefore, the travel hardships would be so immense that we have decided to stop the process and move on to other qualified donor's.

We feel it prudent to stop at this point and seek the will of the Lord. We felt that we heard His voice clearly on the choice of donor's. However, with the road-blocks that have been presented we know it is time for some intense prayer. Please pray with us. We are humbly seeking prayer warriors to come along side us and intercede on our behalf so that the Lord's will may be clearly discerned.

Fortunately, Nicole's drop in kidney function has stabilized at around 19%. As you may or may not know, she dramatically dropped in kidney function right before the holidays from 26% to where she is today. If her kidney function were to continue to decline without a donor in place dialysis would be required. We are obviously trying to avoid that at all cost. Please pray for the following:

• That we would discern the Lord's will concerning the donor
• That Nicole's kidney function would remain stable until the donor process is complete
• That Nicole would be healed

Thank you for joining us in prayer at this time. Your friendship and common bond in the faith of our Lord Jesus is incredibly comforting.

Blessings in Christ,

Brian and Letitia Miller

The Decline Continues - Christmas Edition

I mentioned in the previous blog that Nicole’s kidney function had declined from 25% to 20-21% during the three month period ending in November.  This decline caused the doctor’s to increase the regularity of her blood-work from every three months to once a month.  Nicole had her December blood-work a couple of days ago and her kidney function slide has continued, unfortunately.  She has slid from the 20-21% range to the 18-19% range.  This indicates to me, a total medical novice, that the rate of decline has continued.

The extremely important level for kidney function continues to be 15%.  It is at this point that Nicole will feel extremely ill and also where a kidney transplant is desired.  Fortunately, the donor testing with Tiffany is progressing quite well.  So far we have not heard of anything that would keep Tiffany from being the donor.  The transplant board needs to give the final approval for Tiffany and we are praying that this happens shortly.  With this approval we should be good to go and it will just be a waiting game for Nicole to reach the magical 15% threshold.  Please pray that Tiffany is approved as the donor and that Nicole’s kidney function remains above the 15% threshold long enough to get everything in order.

I would like to express my thankfulness this Christmas season for several things.  First of all, I am thankful for my wife.  She is reasonable and steady while I tend to be more impulsive.  She brings a great balance to my life and she is certainly a “suitable helper”.  I am also thankful for my children.  Nathan, Nicole, Caleb, and Katelynn are all a blessing from the Lord.  I have at times wished Nicole would have been born without BOR but I know she was fearfully and wonderfully made.  Therefore, I am thankful for her just the way she is.  She truly is a gift from the Lord! J  I am also thankful for my job and the ways in which the Lord provides for me and my family each and every day.  We lack for nothing that we need and have an abundance of things that we want.  I am also surrounded by a wonderful network of close friends and extended family (you know who you are J).  These individuals are a rock and a fortress during unstable times.  I know Nicole and our entire family are lifted up in prayer on a daily basis.  This is so comforting.  I can literally pick up the phone and call any number of families and I know that every need will be cared for.  It is often said that if a person can make one true friend in their life then they are blessed.  Well, I must be have been given a double portion of that blessing J.  Finally, I am thankful to the one and only God who has seen fit, by his grace and mercy, to call me His child.  Without getting overly theological I will just say that I receive full family benefits when in reality I am soooooo undeserving.  These benefits are enormous.  All of us, just and unjust alike, receive a great many blessings from the Lord whether we believe or submit to Him or not.  He does this….”just because”.  However, as a full blown child, the blessings overflow.  For that, I am thankful.

Have a blessed and joyous CHRISTmas season.

And oh, I would be remiss in not quoting one of the great theologians of the past 40 years…Linus from the Peanuts gang J

“‘⁸And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. ¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. ¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. ¹²And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ¹⁴Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and

goodwill towards men.’” (Luke, chapter 2)

“…And that’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown” – Linus

Blessings,

Brian

A Setback

As of my last blog Nicole was doing amazing and because I have not blogged in awhile everyone has been assuming that Nicole is continuing to do well.  Unfortunately, that is not the case.  We have had a setback...  unfortunately, a substantial setback.

About a month ago Nicole went in for her regularly scheduled bloodwork to check her kidney functions.  She had been hovering around 24-26% GFR (a measure of kidney function) and her bloodwork came back with a result of 18%.  These results caught us entirely off guard.  This was a substantial drop in a 3-month period.  The doctors requested a retest and fortunately the results were a little better at 20-21%.  This was still a huge drop but not as bad as it had been.

A result of 15% GFR is an important threshold according to Nicole’s doctor.  It is the point at which a kidney transplant needs to take place and also the point where Nicole will begin to get noticeably ill.  Thus, a drop from the 25% area to the 20% area in just 3 months implies that if things continue at the same rate (of course this is a major assumption) then we would have just 3+ months to get things together for her transplant.

Nicole at her 7^th Birthday Party

The nephrologist informed us that we need to make a selection for the donor.  So we did.  Titia’s niece, Tiffany Smith, is the primary donor.  We also contacted our backup donor and a final backup to make sure that they were still willing and available, if needed.  Everyone is still onboard.  Praise the Lord and what a great blessing to have such willing servants available to minister life to our daughter.

Tiffany happened to be in town over Thanksgiving and she sacrificed almost 2 complete days in Cleveland performing a substantial number of the required tests.  Not only did she perform testing but also met with the surgeon and so on.  Titia and I got a chance to thank Tiffany in person for her great sacrifice.  She took it all in stride and demonstrated amazing humility.  She really does have a servant’s heart and wants to genuinely help out Nicole.  I really felt like there were not enough words to express my thanks.  I think she understood. J

The great challenge is this.  If at any point in the donor testing process there is a hiccup then we have to start over with another donor.  If Nicole’s kidney functions drop too low then it will be necessary to start dialysis.  We REALLY pray that dialysis will not be necessary.  Pray for two things to occur; first, that Nicole’s kidney functions remain above the critical threshold and second, that the donor testing with Tiffany goes smoothly.  It will require both of these things to occur for us to avoid dialysis with Nicole.  That is our desire.  We covet your prayers.

Once again, I am reminded things are really completely out of our control.  We cannot control Nicole’s kidney functions and we also cannot control how the testing goes with Tiffany.  We literally must live a life of faith in this regard.  I understand the requirement to live a life of faith because of my relationship with the Lord Jesus.  He calls me to die to myself daily and to sacrifice the strong desire to control outcomes and to turn every aspect of my life, small and great, into His loving hands.  This just happens to be a GREAT matter and it is easy to worry.  But Why?  The Lord has been faithful in every matter and this will be no different.  The just (those that are justified…declared innocent before a Holy God) shall live by faith.  That is my life calling and in this matter things will be no different.

If you do not live a life of faith I would encourage you to do so and to commit yourself to the sovereign Lord of the Universe who loves you more than you know and demonstrated that love by sending His only Son to sacrifice Himself on your behalf.  Hmmm, appropriate to think about these things at Christmas time (even if we all know He was not born on December 25^th).  Giving up control to Him is really not that difficult to do.  After all, neither you nor I actually control anything at all.  So what is there to lose?

Blessings,

Brian

Back in the Saddle

Summer is over and I am back in the blogging saddle.  I took a few months off because the days here in North Central Ohio were MUCH longer and one needs to take advantage of the much valued sunshine.  As I look out my window right now what I see are clouds, clouds, rain, and more clouds.  With that, it is officially fall in Ohio.  No need for a calendar here.  Just look outside and it will be all too obvious to those of us lucky enough to live close to the shores of Lake Erie.  Grrrrrr.  I can honestly say though, summer in Ohio is just about as beautiful as it gets anywhere in the country.  It is just from mid-November to mid-April that you want to throw yourself off the nearest bridge.  J  This too shall pass.

I have received so many warm-hearted questions concerning Nicole during my sabbatical from writing.  It has been encouraging to know that so many of you have continued your prayers for her and not hesitated in letting our family know.  You all are so amazing and thank you.  You will never know how much it means to us.

Now an update

Nicole is doing amazing.  When I first started my blog back in February Nicole was at around 21% total kidney function and sliding fast.  The doctors were estimating that a transplant would most likely be in the works in 6 months to a year.  They asked us to find potential donors.  Wow, did the donors ever come in.  Praise God.  We eventually reached 18 potential donors who volunteered for Nicole and the hospital made us stop.  Now, a mere 6 months later, Nicole has a total kidney function of 25-26%.  Yes, that is right, things have improved!  Not by a ton, but they have improved and stabilized.  She stopped dropping and even starting inching back up.  This reprieve has made Nicole feel so wonderful and she is doing amazing (relatively speaking).  She started kindergarten this year at Mansfield Christian School and is doing great.  Her growth is still anemic, but all in all we give praise to God for the progress!  Keep praying, you never know what might happen!

We also have a little more time to assess where we are at in the donor process.  As you know, Titia and I were “matches” to be a potential donor for Nicole’s kidney.  Titia’s niece, Tiffany, and Krista, from Florida, also came in as matches.  So far, all 4 people that have been tested are potential matches for Nicole.  The doctors have asked us if we want to pick from those that match so far or if we want to test any more of the potential donors.  If we pick from one of the four then a whole series of additional tests will be performed on that individual.  We have been praying about this and we believe we are going to test 2 more individuals before making a final decision.  We believe we have decided on who one of the two individuals will be.  The second choice is a work in progress, if you know what I mean.  We need clarity on this and would ask that you would remember us in prayer as we make this decision.  This will be the next step in the process.  Because of Nicole’s improvement we have a little time.  However, we don’t want to take that for granted because things could turn on a dime and we would be scrambling.  That is not where we want to be.

Don’t give up

Now, a final thought.  The title of this blog reminded me of a quote that I recently heard.  It went something like this…”It is no sin to get knocked down, but it is a sin to stay down”.  A scripture related to not giving up:

Galatians 6:9

⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

I have to be honest, there are times when Titia and I get tired and frustrated, like everyone.  Nicole is not growing fast enough.  Nicole is not learning fast enough.  Nicole is always more tired than everyone else.  Nicole..Nicole..Nicole..Nicole.  There are times we feel like giving up and that our labor is in vain.  Then, I look into her beautiful blue eyes and realize what an amazing gift she is.  What an amazing little girl, full of life, love, so trusting, and in need of so much.  She is like a field that Titia and I are sowing seeds of love and life into.  Hoeing the field, preparing the soil, and planting the seeds sometimes is back-breaking.  The harvest we are looking for is a godly woman who is a blessing to everyone she knows.  She can be a loving wife, mother, and anything else that God has prepared for her.  We have been given the gift of laboring in this field and it is worth every last minute of it.  We will reap a beautiful harvest if we do not give up.

What field are you laboring in?  Are you laboring?  Are you tired and want to give up?  Look past the difficulty and look forward to the harvest.  Don’t give up!  It will all be worth it when, at the “proper time”, you reap the long-awaited harvest.

For His Glory,

Brian