"It Has God Written All Over It"

Tuesday, August 3rd started early with a vision test followed by a hearing screening. The eye specialist informed Whitney and Darin that Tessa's retinas are normal and her nerves in her eyes have not been damaged. It is very rare for a baby born with CMV to not have any retinal damage. Whitney and Darin understand that not until Tessa is 5 or 6 months old will they really be able to tell the extent of her vision impairment. Tessa passed her hearing screening at birth, so an additional one was performed to see if anything had changed, and the results showed that Tessa cannot hear the smallest of sounds. An audiology appointment will have to be scheduled in order to further determine the potential of Tessa's hearing.

There has been a social worker visiting Whitney and Darin. She is being very proactive about helping them figure out the best options for meeting Tessa's needs and helping her reach her fullest potential following their hospital stay. They learned today that there is a place called The Children's Center which is located in Bethany, OK and is the only center of its kind in Oklahoma and surrounding states. Bethany, OK is probably about 10 miles or so from their house in Yukon. I don't think anyone can deny the fact that God placed them in Yukon several years ago specifically for the betterment of Tessa's health. It amazes me how God can orchestrate such details to fall into place exactly when and how He intends for them to happen to prove His love for us and His involvement in our lives. Whitney and Darin were told that if Tessa was accepted into this center, she would be receiving top-notch, professional and medical care specific to her individual needs. This center accepts children from birth through age 18. Their social worker at the hospital began taking all the steps necessary to find out if Tessa could be evaluated and accepted into this center.


God has shown his hand in Tessa's life in so many ways. Even amid all of the devastation we cannot deny His presence and how He has gone before them in their suffering to prove that even still He has plans to prosper her and not to harm her. This afternoon, Whitney and Darin received word that Tessa had been accepted into The Children's Center. The representative from the Center who visited them in the hospital today asked Whitney where she worked and ended up having gone to church with the man who runs her company and a woman who Whitney also works with. They had a chance to talk about her company and their concern for Whitney's family. Whitney has expressed over the last few days that if all that Tessa is going through and all their family is dealing with is not causing people to turn to God in prayer, then "why are we doing this"? Their desire in all of this is to give God the glory and recognize that He alone has sustained them and is carrying them through one of the most difficult things a person could be dealt.


The next step they are facing is leaving the hospital. They are hoping that they can take Tessa straight to The Children's Center to start observations that would be done. Tomorrow will bring more news, and the day after that even more. Pray for God's strength to continue to sustain them. They are so weary from all the tests, information, decisions, doctor and nurses coming into their room, and also making sure Parker's and Tessa's needs are being met. Pray that God will give rest to their weary souls.


Psalm 63:1 O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.


Psalm 119:28 My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.

~Lindsay