Please keep praying for this precious woman! These are the updates as posted by Jenny's family and friends, copied in one place. https://www.carepages.com/carepages/JennyBizaillionUpdates
Fri 2-5-10 4:35pm Update
It is currently 4:35 on Friday afternoon and the family is meeting with the doctor. Josh, Jonathan are in town and many other family members and friends are here supporting Jenny and her family in prayer.
It would be very helpful if everyone would restrain from texting or calling the family and asking for individual updates at this time. The family will update as often as possible.
Here are a few very specific prayer requests that you can ask God to answer:
1. Pray that Jenny's heart rate goes down.
2. Pray that Jenny's Blood Pressure goes up.
3. Pray that her kidney's don't fail.
4. Pray her lungs drain.
5. Pray the words of John 14:27 over the family and ask God to give the family His peace!
-Joel
Jenny update
Posted Feb 5, 2010 8:50pm
This is directly from David right now:
I am in the room with Jenny right now. they r now hooking her up and starting the dialysis. please pray for recovery of her body! some organs are getting weak and we need her body to start fighting the infections. the dialysis is the slow type that will clean her over time, continuously. she is too weak to do the 4 hour type. This is a very critical time! I share this because Jenny loves you all so much and knows you will fight God for her life! Thanks.
Fri 2-5-10 9:20pm Update
This is a surreal scene. 60+ people packed into an ICU Waiting Area... 10+ churches represented... People joining together and begging God to heal Jenny! As one guy said, "You have to think that God is looking down at this unity, this commitment, this community and saying...'Now that is what I've wanted! That is my will!'"
Jenny is making progress. Slow, small steps of progress. And at this stage on the journey, we celebrate any step towards healing. Here is what we know right now:
- She's on kidney dialysis to save her kidneys.
- She's on an vent to help her weak lungs.
- She is taking a myriad of medicines to aid in the healing.
- Her vitals are slowly moving in the right direction.
These are all good signs but we must keep faithfully and fervently praying! Her dad, Rick just reminded us that "she is in no way out of the woods but God is so in control."
More updates to follow as information becomes available. In the mean time, please meditate on these promises and truths from Scripture as you passionately plea for Jenny's complete healing.
Psalm 6:9
"The Lord has heard my supplication, The Lord receives my prayer."
Psalm 34:15
"The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous And His ears are open to their cry."
Psalm 145:18&19
"The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them."
New Testament:
Matthew 21:22
"And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."
John 9:31
"We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him."
Philippians 4:6&7
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
1 John 5:14&15
"This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which have asked from Him."
Fri 2-5-10 11:10pm Update
This has been a rough 36 hours.
Here is something to praise God about...Jenny's vitals are the best they've been since she has been in the hospital. She still has a ways to go, but her blood pressure is the best it's been and she is finally breathing better. Earlier, they wanted the machines to do the breathing for her but Jenny kept fighting it.
We are blown away by the love and support.
Keep praying in faith. We're asking for the God of healing to speak the word.
Sat 10:07 Feb.6
Here is the first update of the day.
Earlier this morning the dialysis machine broke. Jenny had too much fluid coming out and it clogged up the machine.
She is fighting and the doctors are fighting.
They have put her on a new medicine this morning. It is a risk because it is a make it or break it drug. If the medicine causes bleeding, there is no way to stop it. The doctor feels it is worth it because it is very effective against sepsis.
It is still a crucial 24-hour period. She is still in very serious condition.
Good news is that her kidneys are beginning to respond.
David and Beverly rarely leave the bedside. They are exhausted so pray for God to give them supernatural strength.
Visitors are welcome to come to the waiting room, but only family members will be allowed to go back to see Jenny today.
We feel so loved by all of you. Thanks for caring for my sister and my family.
Right now as I type there are 3 churches meeting to pray for Jenny. Last night, all 420 men at the Richland Hills Men's Retreat got on their knees to pray. Thank you.
Sat Noon, Feb.6 Update
We wish that we had paragraphs of good news to report.
They have started a new dialysis, so please God, let this one work.
The doctors and nurses have the full-court press on.
The doctors names are Dr.Lester and Dr.Kolligari.
The nurse right now is Tamara. They have have all been honest and courageous. We assure them that they are prayed over.
They have told us that Jenny is the sickest person in this ICU.
Many of us are too tired to pray, so thank you for praying for us. Your prayers are sustaining Jenny and her family.
Sat 1:30pm Feb.6 Update
There is nothing new to report at this time.
We have had a number of visitors to the point that security just came and cleared them out. They told us that we can only have 6 in the waiting room at a time. For some reason, they thought that 75 people in a small waiting room was a bad idea. HA!
Most people have gone to other waiting rooms. Not a set back...we've just gone from a mega church to a bunch of cell churches! HA! We are planting churches throughout the hospital!
We will get them news whenever we hear new info.
Remember to message the family, put this link on your Facebook and Twitter Account. Forward it to your churches and contact lists. People from throughout the world are locking arms and lifting prayer! Praise Him!
Blessed be His Name!
Sat Feb 6 3:35pm
Just got word that the drug that was given to Jenny to fight the infection was causing some dangerous side effects. Therefore, the doctors decided to stop the medicine. This simply means that they will not be able to attack the infection as aggressively as they would have liked.
Please continue to pray for Jenny, the family and especially for the medical staff to have divine wisdom. We will keep you posted as information becomes available.
Think on this:
The disciples asked Jesus how to pray. He said, "your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven."
There is no strep, staph, or pneumonia in heaven.
Pray for heaven to come and hell with it's sickness to be cast out!
Pray with the authority of God through the power of the Spirit that the resurrection power of Jesus be released in Jenny's body!
Sat Feb 6th 4:10pm
This is a roller coaster but we are on it together. There are no major changes to report at this time, however, she is making baby steps!
Keep praying like Jenny's life depends on it.
In many ways, it does
Special Need - 2/6 4:35pm
We are trying to get the rest of Jenny's family here in the DFW area. If you have miles, tickets, or a free pass on American Airlines that you would like to donate for her family, please email Joel Quile at joel@barachurch.com.
Sat Feb, 6 6:25pm
We have several PRAISES to share!
1. Many of you offered buddy passes and airline miles but we couldn't quite work out the logistics. However, God sent us an angel who offered to pay for the tickets! That is a praise!
2. The heart doctor came in a said that her heart is "holding steady" which is also a praise!
3. The blood work report came in and shows that the PH (blood gas)levels are coming up; have made the most significant jump to date; and are the highest levels since Thursday. This is a praise!
4. Bottom line is that Jenny is still critically ill and clinging to life but she is also not getting worse. This is a PRAISE!
Keep praying! The family feels it. Jenny needs it.
Prayers Needed 2/6 - 8:46
If you are reading this message, please say a prayer for Jenny. She needs to be lifted up in prayer right now - pray for blood circulation!
Another Crisis 2/6 - 9:20pm
Jenny's hands and feet are turning black. Please continue to pray for circulation in her body. God is the ultimate healer, pray for him to heal Jenny's body!
Sat, Feb.6, 11:07 Update
The doctors think that the circulation can be treated. That was good news!
The nurses feel that she is stabalized for the night, so we're going to try and get a little rest.
1st Report on Sunday, Feb.7, You don't want to miss this one!!!
We woke up to good news and we are lifting our hands praising the Lord Jesus because his mercies are new every morning.
All of her numbers are moving in the right direction. Some numbers aren't great, but they are going in the right direction.
Last night, they couldn't find a pulse in her hands and feet. Both were black and they were fearful that Jenny would lose some fingers and toes. This was tough news to take, but we'd all take a fingerless and toeless Jenny Biz. This morning we were told that Jenny squeezed a hand and that they were able to hear a pulse. They began to put some nitro cream on her hands; the same kind of cream they put on the heart after a heart attack. David is back there now hoping for a squeeze. Hallelujah!
Also, this is the first morning that a nurse used the word "good" or "great" to describe Jenny's improvement. She is still sick, but this was the first they didn't use the phrase, "she's not out of the woods yet."
Last night the doctor said that this was the worse case of sepsis that he's ever seen.
We started to play music over Jenny last night. God is singing over her.
As for the Decatur Church, Bammel Road, and Sycamore View, you are without three of your ministers today because they are standing shoulder-to-shoulder fighting for their daughter and sister. Thanks for loving us.
Sunday, Feb.7, 10:15 Update
All numbers are still better. Jenny is still in septic shock, but she is fighting. The doctor is guarded, but he is pleased with the improvement. His quote was that, "She is still day-to-day."
Kayci is now here with the family, so all of the family is together.
David and Beverly were able to get some good rest last night, which is an answer to prayer.
We have a God who has been able to cure leprosy, blindness, and all kinds of illnesses and diseases with just a word from his mouth. We're asking for God to send that "word" down from heaven. We're told in Isaiah that when a word leaves God's mouth, it doesn't return to him empty but fulfills the purpose for why it was sent.
Sunday, Feb.7, 2:45 Update
We cannot believe that our Jenny is sick. It doesn't make sense. This entire experience has blown our minds, but we are being sustained by the prayers of the saints.
The doctors just came in to look at Jenny. They are still worried, but she is not getting worse. That's good news. The improvements are slow, but at least she is heading in the right direction. They admitted that yesterday she was hour-to-hour. The doctor said we are still right in the middle of the fight. We are well aware that this is a marathan.
She has acute kidney failure. If it was just kidney failure, they'd be exploring options for a transplant. Acute-kidney-failure can be reversed.
She is on too much medication and that is a concern. We really need Jenny to get off the blood pressure meds so that is our specific prayer right now; we need Jenny's blood pressure to go up on her own without the help of meds.
As for her hands and feet, they are still black. The doctor was very honest with us, and we appreciated his honesty even if it is hard, but they are afraid that gangrene has set in. That is so hard for us to imagine, but we would much rather have Jenny's mind and heart than her hands and feet. Again, this is a prayer for blood pressure and circulation.
Thanks for wrestling in prayer for us.
Sunday, Feb.7, 4:20pm, Update
Dr. Lester came by and said that we are on this side of 50/50. This was in response to what we were told 48 hours ago that she was given a 50/50 chance to live.
They took her off the blood pressure meds and it immediately dropped, so they had to put her back on the meds again. We really need her blood pressure to stabilize on her own.
Thanks so much for your love for us.
Sunday, Feb.7, 10:50, Update
It has been 4 days since Jenny was admitted. I wish we had more to report tonight, but not much has changed. We are still in the middle of the fight. Sometimes, no news is good news, even though we're ready for Jenny to pick up her mat and walk.
It might be a good idea for everyone to provide the family with year long memberships at a fitness gym because you all have fed us like we haven't eaten in months.
We'll have a report up by 10:00 in the morning, even if nothing has changed because so many of you are eager to hear some news.
Keep standing in the gap for us in prayer. Praise God for a royal priesthood.
Mon., Feb.8, 10:00am, Update
We are extrememly grateful for technology. The Lord has been singing over Jenny and her nurses 24-7 thanks to a ihome. We have claimed "Mighty to Save" as our anthem throughout this experience.
There are 3 specific prayer requests today:
1) Her heart needs to be able to sustain her blood pressure ON HER OWN! This is critical and it is the #1 need today. Jenny has got to get off blood pressure meds. It is crucial.
2) Her liver is not functioning right now and we need it to function.
3) Her kidneys are not functioning and we need to begin to function. The dialysis is like a fake kidney.
Thanks for praying today, and let's believe for great things.
Mon., Feb.8, noon, Update
Please look at the 10:00am update this morning for specific prayer requests.
Around 11:00 they wanted to see if Jenny would wake up and respond to a few commands. David, Beverly, Rick, Jonathan, Josh and Kayci were with Jenny along with a nurse. We were asking Jenny to do two things: 1) lift her eyebrows, and 2) move her hands. When she moved her eyebrows we wanted to throw a party. It was like it was Christmas morning or like the Cowboys had won the Super Bowl (hey, it could happen). Then, she began to lift her left arm. We couldn't control ourselves.
This only lasted a few moments because they wanted to put her under again because she needs the rest and she needs the machines to breathe for her right now. But to interact with Jenny like this was enough to sustain us for a few hours.
URGENT PRAYER REQUEST!
The past 15 minutes have been brutal for Jenny and the family. Jenny's blood pressure has dropped significantly! Doctors are doing everything to stabilize! Pray right now! Pray hard! Ask God to cast out the sickness in the name of Jesus and heal Jenny! Ask God to increase her blood pressure right now! I will update as soon as I hear from family. They are all back there. Pray!!!
Feb 8 1:00pm Keep Praying!
This is a roller coaster and some might say it is too emotionally draining to update this often or with so much detail. But this is what the family wants. If we think it is hard on us...imagine how it is for them!
Jenny's blood pressure is going back up! Slowly. But it is going back up!!!
I have a theory as to why that might be:
- 3 doctors working on her right now.
- 7 nurses working on her right now.
- 2500 people in the CarePage loop praying for her right now.
- Thousands more praying for Jenny around the world.
- The Great Physician being The Great Physician!
Keep praying!!!
Feb 8 1:20pm Praise!
Jenny is stable. They got control of her Blood Pressure (BP.) They gave her more BP meds.
This is good news!
So now we are back to the prayer request of:
- Get Jenny off of the BP meds without her BP dropping!
I'll keep you posted.
You keep praying!
Mon., Feb.8, 3:30pm, Update
Jenny is a fighter. More importantly, we have a God who has a long resume of fighting for people. In Exodus 14:14 he tells the people to chill because he was going to fight for them. We beg for God to do that again.
They are about to do a blood transfusion. Jenny is in need of blood. The moment we heard that we all pulled up our sleeves ready to give blood for her, but I think they already have what they need.
They have also put Jenny on more antibiotics to fight the infection.
This is Josh writing right now. Back when I was a freshman in high school, this new girl came to our school and I thought she was hot. I started flirting with her and she would flirt back, so I asked her out to a movie. One of our mom's dropped us off along with about a dozen other people, because that's how you date when you’re in 9th grade. We had a good time. I even kissed her in the movie theater because that's what you do in 9th grade, you make out in movie theaters. HA!
Later that night I called her and a boy picked up the phone. It was in that moment that I discovered that this girl had a boyfriend. He was older than I was. He was a senior at another school. Just a few minutes before I called, he was informed that she had gone to the movies with another guy. Needless to say, he wasn't very happy with me. On the phone, he began to threaten me. He told me that he was going to kill me during his verbal attack. A few minutes into the conversation, I heard someone pick up another phone on the other side of my house. It was Jenny. She had heard enough from this dude, so she picked up the phone and said, "Listen here you _________. If you don't leave my little brother alone I'm going to jump through this phone and kick your ___." He hung up without saying a word.
Now, understand that Jenny Biz has probably said 3 curse words in her life and those were two of them.
The moral of the story isn’t that Jenny fought my battles for me. That would make me out to be a sissy, and who wants the reputation of a sister fighting for him. But some of you will interpret the story as such and that’s ok; I’m confident in my masculinity. HA!
The moral of the story is that Jenny is a fighter. She has always been one who protects, nurtures, and will go to great extremes to make sure that others are safe.
Now, we all join her in this fight and even though it is exhausting, we won’t stop.
God, you are great. You do miracles so great. There is no one like you. Unleash your glory and power. We long to proclaim this healing to all the world. You will get the praise. We make that promise to you.
Mon., Feb.8, 4:45pm, Update
The blood transfusion will begin around 7:00. May this blood be claimed in the name of Jesus.
Mon., Feb.8, 6:00pm, Update
Please read the 10:00am update for specific prayers.
They are about to begin the blood transfusion. This will be about a 4 hour process. Thank you in advance for praying over this blood.
Come, Lord Jesus, and manifest your healing power in our precious Jenny.
Feb 8 6:35pm Update
Jenny's blood transfusion has just begun. Things are understandably tense. The immediate family is back in the room with Jenny. Pray. Please pray right now! I spoke with someone today who said when she gets these updates she turns off her TV or shuts her computer or silences her cell phone and just prays!
I would ask that we each do that right now. Stop whatever we are doing and just pray!
And if you could do one more thing...when you're done praying (you know what I mean...) please forward this site to someone else you think might be willing to join this army of prayer warriors! We have over 2500 prayer warriors at this point. How cool would it be to add 500 more and top 3000 by the time Jenny is finished with her blood transfusion?
Jesus, your blood given freely saves our spirit. May the blood that Jenny is receiving save her flesh! We claim your resurrection power!!!
Mon., Feb.8, 6:45, Update
Jenny is having complications with the blood transfusion. We do not know how serious. The doctor has been called in and he is in route.
Feb 8 7:35pm Urgent Request
Please pray that the doctor who can make the decisions that need to be made regarding the blood transfusion complications GET HERE (like physically drive and arrive) AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! Please pray for him to arrive NOW!
More updates to follow as soon as I get 'em!
Feb 8th 7:55pm
The good news is that the Doctor made it! The bad news is that Jenny has internal bleeding. This is reversible. They are giving her plasma. They are trying to determine where the bleeding is coming from. They are still moving forward with the blood transfusion (They have to at this point) Just keep praying!!! The family is really weary. Thank you for your prayers!
Feb 8 8:25pm Urgent
Prayer Warriors...we are truly in a race against time! They are trying to solve Jenny's internal bleeding. Pray that they can solve it quickly!
Feb 8 8:40pm
Jenny will be going into an emergency procedure to drain her massively infected gall bladder within the next 20 minutes. The doctor's name is Dr. Long. She is driving from Keller. Pray she gets here quick. The surgery will take place in her room. It will be done with ultrasound and a needle. It is high, high risk! It must be done with pin point accuracy with a ton of variables in play! We are praying in the room as I type this and we are praying for the best surgery ever in the history of the world! We are begging God for a miracle! We are praying for super natural wisdom for Dr. Long! We are calling the healing and holiness of heaven and casting out the hurt and infection of hell! We are asking God to move a mountain! We are calling on our God who is mighty to save!!! Please, please, pray!!!
Feb 8 9:20pm
Dr. Long made it! Family can't be in the room. The moment is tense! Some feel confident. Some are so scared. God is there. God cares. God be with Jenny!
I'll keep you posted.
Feb 8 10:35pm Urgent!
Apparently the gall bladder has gone from a 14 back to somewhere close to a 5. (5 is normal, but they didn't say the #5 and they didn't say normal) But here is the cool thing! 2 hours ago they were about to do a massively high risk procedure with a minimal chance of survival and now they have determined that it is not even needed! Keep praying!
Her main doctor wasn't here. We updated and we prayed and the doctor arrived within minutes!
We prayed for Dr. Long to get here and within minutes, she arrived.
We prayed for a successful surgery and they didn't even have to have surgery!
Keep praying!
Specifically for this:
- Doctors to have wisdom.
- To find the source of the internal bleeding.
- For Jenny to stay stable.
- For the blood transfusion to finish up strong!
- For the family who are absolutely worn out!
Keep praying!
PS: she started the blood transfusion with like 2500 members and I said it would be cool if we had 3000 members. We are 25 away! Wow!
Feb 8 11:05pm
I wonder how that big old nasty gall bladder just shrunk so significantly to a point where it didn't even need surgery while the doctor was driving from Keller to Grapevine? Hmmmmm? :)
Mon., Feb.8, 11:05, Update
After 3 docs examined Jenny for an hour, they still are not sure what is causing this new infection and the internal bleeding. The bleeding is better.
Here's the crucial thing right now. They want to do a CAT scan, but there are major risks, which is why they haven't done it yet. They want to do a full-blown scan...from the neck all the way down to the feet. They have to travel 3 floors and down 2 hallways. This is VERY, VERY RISKY!!! It is going to take an entire team to make this short trip...many doctors and nurses. If something goes wrong in a hallway or an elevator, it might be hard to control it.
PLEASE PRAY FOR A SAFE TRAVEL! We need Jenny to remain calm. We need her blood pressure to remain where it is. We need these doctors and nurses to guide her in peace.
They have found one spot and they are eager to find what it is. If the CAT scan reveals what it is, they will operate.
We know it is late, but stay tuned for more updates.
Keep on praying for the activity of God. We trust that he is moving.
Feb 9 12:45am
It is a surreal scene. A remnant of family and friends gather and hold on tight to the most tangible thing left - prayer. We get silent. Smaller pockets of prayer break out. More silence. Praise music fills the room. Addison Road's What Do I Know of Holy is what captivates our heart at this moment. Beverly is ministering to another family in the room.
Jenny is down on the first floor under going a CAT Scan.
People are praying all over the world.
God is not asleep. He is not dead. He is very much alive.
We are waiting for Jenny to get back from the CAT Scan.
We'll let you know as soon as we can.
Kayci is dancing.
Angels are among us.
God is here.
Feb 9 1:15am
You know something you almost never see in an ICU waiting room? Chest bumps! Seriously! Just saw some of that as friends and family celebrated the baby step of Jenny making it from the 3rd floor to the 1st floor, thru a CAT Scan and back to the 3rd floor again! Safely! The doctor said it was a "stress test for sure and she passed!"
Praise God!
We celebrate and...
We wait.
Wait with us and pray!
Keep praying!
We are going to follow the example of our brothers in Acts 16 and pray and praise our way out of this prison of pain and sickness!
We love you!
You love Jenny and you love Jesus!
We do too!
Josh Ross just said, "that was the coolest chest bump I've ever done!"
Amen!
Last Update from Monday
We leave this night with good news worth praising God for. After a smooth trip to get the CAT scan, we were informed by the docs that they were unable to discover another infection. Jenny's blood pressure is stable. An infection would have meant surgery tonight, and they did not want to have to do that because there are way too many risks with Jenny's present condition. So, no surgery, no foreign infection. Hallelujah, Praise God Almighty.
The goal tonight is to begin weaning her off blood pressure meds. She is on 3, and by the morning the doctor wants her off of 1. Then, we'll go after the 2nd one and then the 3rd. After that, we will continue to reverse everything as Jenny is weaned off all of the machines that she is on.
We are going to sleep. It is 2:00 and we are tired.
We love you all! There were so many updates tonight. We kept giving you specifics and you can't laying them before God. We marvel at God's willingness to speak into each one of those requests.
I will not post again until around 10:00am.
Feb 9 10am First Big Update
The first update of this morning should have called for chest bumps but the truth is that we are all so tired that we couldn't bring ourselves to perform a chest bump with a meager 2" vertical jump.
But the news is good.
We are cautiously joyful.
Last night we witnessed the power of God! There is no denying that God did some things that we cannot explain. Some things that the doctors cannot explain.
But some things you just don't comprehend. You simply celebrate.
We were overwhelmed by it all.
The prayers...the messages...the fact that at 2:30am there were 20 of us still in the waiting room...and so much more!
Thank you.
Here are the specific prayer requests for this morning.
Jenny was taking 3 blood pressure medications. She has been weaned completely off of one med and is currently being weaned off of the second.
Pray that her heart can sustain the BP needed without the meds. This is the big prayer for today! We need this to happen!
Jenny's kidneys are beginning to show some improvement! Praise God!
Jenny's color is improving this morning...in her face as well as slight improvement in her hands and feet too! Wow!
And for the icing on the cake...we even got a faint pulse in her feet this morning!
But if we have learned anything on this roller coaster of emotion, it is to pray expectantly and in faith for specific requests. While we don't begin to fully understand the theology of prayer, we will not stop the faithful practice of praying!
Keep praying!!!
Feb 9 1:10pm
It has been a good morning.
We are blown away by around-the-clock prayer vigils going on right now. God has woven together a community of prayer warriors and God is at work in powerful ways. We will never hear of some of the things God is doing right now. You all are functioning like Epaphras in Colossians 4 when he would "wrestle in prayer" for that church.
This remains--Jenny has got to get off these bp meds. She is now on 2 and she is doing "ok" as they attempt to get off the 2nd one. Her body temperature has dipped a few times this morning, but it's nothing that the nurses are too concerned about.
Here's something that is cool--KLTY called the waiting room this morning. They are the big christian radio station in America. They have received so many emails about Jenny that they want to pray over her on the air. This has been a lifelong dream of the Ross'...to be on KLTY. HA! Just joking. It's only been Jonathan's dream.
Rachel Patterson from the worship band "Branch" just called David and sang "Mighty to Save." We have claimed this song as our anthem.
Feb 9 2:00pm
A few thoughts to consider while we pray...
A verse on Jenny's kitchen cabinet:
"Answer my prayers and use your powerful arm to give us victory." Psalm 108:6 CEV
A quote from Jenny's blog from 2008:
"God began developing a passion in me the past 15 years about the unifying of Christians. I know it seems an impossible thing to happen especially when I read blogs and sorts that do nothing but divide Christians and throw hateful words back and forth to ANYONE that doesn't agree exactly the way one does. I pray we can become a body that can work in "the streets" together, that can do outreaches together, that can do mission trips together, that can do youth rallies together, that can truly be the hands and feet of Jesus TOGETHER. So there goes my naive, dreaming rant:) God is faithful and graceful! Festivals allow people to come together as a FULL body of Christ and not under a specific church name. I LOVE it!!"
In an effort to share with Jenny WHEN she recovers COMPLETELY how God is unifying his people in the middle of this, we are going to begin to compile a master list of all the churches who are praying for Jenny. If you know of a church that is praying for Jenny simply send an email to Jenny@barachurch.com.
Put "Jenny's Churches" in the subject.
Please put the following information in the body of the email:
Church Name
City
State
Country
Thank you so much! We'll keep you posted on how many churches are praying!
And finally, the link below is to a picture of Jenny posing in front of a shark. The story behind it is that Jenny is deathly afraid of sharks and so this picture represents her standing in defiance of her fears!
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOcGFglbiQwkhbsMul-XZvk02N703PCRkWbvX2MAtSfvwWWDxyY465JPmAnIZ3FkbG5JsNxLpgudPNAnqbiCezz04nCCpbbB8cocK331EJ-Deo54Ghv1P-zr9e0pkvlsXJbuZ57iXExgU/s320/PICT5087.JPG
We are standing in faith in face of our fears.
Keep praying!
Feb 9 3:00pm
Wow! Amazing!
Didn't expect over 100 emails within 30 minutes from the last post!
Thanks to my new friend in Abilene for compiling this for us!
Here is the deal: You have to put "Jenny's Churches" in the subject line! I made a script that auto forwards these emails to my Excel expert to make Jenny a master list. If you don't put that exact phrase in the subject line, your church may not make the list. Hope that makes sense.
Remember to keep praying about the things we asked for specific prayers this morning at 10:00am.
Jenny was taking 3 blood pressure medications. She has been weaned completely off of one med and is currently being weaned off of the second.
- Pray that her heart can sustain the BP needed without the meds. This is the big prayer for today! We need this to happen!
- Jenny's kidneys are beginning to show some improvement! Praise God!
- You are so loved...so love! And pray!
PS: you should see Rick's smile right now. Talk about a happy daddy!
Feb 9 4:30pm
Today has been a great day! But it is very important to remember that we still must stay vigilant in prayer:
We desperately need to get Jenny off of the blood pressure medications as soon as possible! To do this, she will need to be able to sustain the right blood pressure on her own. This is the big request! Keeping Jenny on these medications comes with a very negative cost. Let's specifically pray that by 8:00pm tonight Jenny is off of BP meds and her BP is right where it needs to be!
And we have another important prayer request at this time. Pray specifically for the health and healing of Jenny's organs. We must keep praying against permanent damage to her organs. Things look drastically better than they did 24 hours ago, but we are not out of the woods yet!
Keep praying!
The doctors are literally contributing the changes in Jenny's health to your prayers!
Oh yeah, in the past 3 hours over 200 churches have let us know that they are praying for Jenny and donations have picked up significantly with one generous person making a $3,000 donation in the past hour!
Wow! Wow! Wow!
Pray! Pray! Pray!
Feb.9, Tues, 7:20, Update
There's not much to update right now, but so many of you are sitting by your computers hitting "refresh" eager for updates. You have chosen to stand in the gap and to plead for Jenny's life. Your love and commitment to God, Jenny, the fam and friends is a glimpse of heaven on earth. We are bound together by the blood of Jesus. Jenny is going to be blown away by the unity that is taking place because of her life.
You have all been praying over the blood pressure. Jenny is halfway off the 2nd bp med. Keep praying for her body to respond well.
David has gone to spend some time with little Malaya. She is 9 and we have no clue what is going through her mind. Ask for God to comfort her.
We will have a couple more posts tonight just to inform you of how things are going.
Feb 9 Quick Story
READ THE UPDATE BELOW FROM 7:20pm! This is something I (Josh) forgot to share last night.
As they took Jenny to get the CAT scan last night there were some of us in the waiting room who sat in the hall praying for God to guide the journey. We were fully aware of all of the risks. At the end of that prayer session, we were absolutely worn out!
Before we left the room to pray for her travel, the family was in the room with Jenny along with Stacey Pearson. As David does frequently throughout each day, he was reading every single facebook & carepage message to Jenny. The 20-30 minutes before they made us leave to prepare for the travel downstairs, David began reading comments from this website. He was reading your prayers. Even though she wasn't awake, he was reading her every single word that you wrote. He does this throughout the day. It is David's way of connecting with Jenny.
Thank God for his presence and for the power of community.
Just thought you'd like to know.
Last Report of Feb.9
We hope this is the last update until the morning. Jenny is stable and progressing. Nothing has changed. We are all thrilled because this was a really good day. The doctors and nurses continue to work hard.
Josh Ross and Joel Quile have been doing all of the updates. Tonight, Joel was able to go back to see Jenny with 2 other friends. He said that there wasn't a better way to end the night.
The same specific prayer needs to be prayed throughout the night, Jenny has got to get off the bp medicine. Period.
God, thank you for living among us. We don't deserve for you to listen to our prayers, but you tell us to petition you for whatever we want, and we are begging for Jenny's life. Keep getting involved in this.
We'll have an update up mid-morning.
Feb 10 9:00am Update
We pick up today where we left off yesterday...on the rocky road to recovery. But the good news is that we are marching forward towards our prayer driven goal of complete healing.
Jenny is down to only blood pressure medication (as opposed to the 3 she has been on) and her body is maintaining her blood pressure on it's own! This is great news! They want to get her completely off BP meds but are waiting until ...
They attempt to take her off of the ventilator!!!
Can you believe it? The correct answer to that question is - YES!
So they will try to take her off the ventilator and if that works then they will begin to wean her off of the final BP medication.
Please pray that when they take her off of the ventilator, her blood pressure will stay right where we need it to.
Jenny's color is so much better. The doctors outlook is so positive. It just feels so good.
But we cannot stop praying! We will not!
"Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for and hope for and expect the Lord!" Psalm 31: 24
"But if we hope for what is still unseen by us, we wait for it with patience and composure." Romans 8: 25
"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire is fulfilled, it is a tree of life." Proverbs 13: 12
Wed., 10:30am, Feb.10, Update
Dr. Kalipara just came to see us. We have grown to love this guy. He can't stop thinking about Jenny's condition. The word around here from the nurses is that whenever a doctor has a case that he can't explain, he finds himself wanting to solve it because it’s a challenge.
The doctor said this a few minutes ago, "There are some things that have happened with Jenny that I can't explain, so whatever you all are doing, keep it up."
They are about to start weaning her off the last bp medicine. He wants her off of this in the next 16 hours. He made this statement around 10:00am.
At 8:00 tomorrow morning, he wants to begin taking her off the ventilator. At first he said 6:00am, but he has a surgery then and he really wants to be here when this happens.
As of right now Jenny is almost breathing on her own. Thank you God for breathing life into her lungs.
Here's what is so cool--there's a chance that we might be able to talk to her tomorrow.
The doctor said that this is the first time that he can unequivocally say that she is improving.
Dr. Kalipara also gave a lot of praise to the ER doctor. Sometimes ER docs are so quick to send patients to ICU, but this one actually took some time with Jenny and it ended up saving her life.
One fear that Dr. Kalipara has are secondary infections. He is monitoring this closely, but please join in praying specifically against this.
David and Beverly had some good sleep last night, which was needed.
Right now we have people praying in over 20 states and 5 continents.
Your prayers are shaking the walls of this hospital like the prayers of the saints in Acts 4. Thank you for pouring time and energy into Jenny. God is unleashing his glory.
Feb 10 11:40am
Not a lot of news here but it is GREAT news!!!
There are down to only 1/3 (one third) of the last of 3 blood pressure medications! Jenny is responding great and all her vitals are holding steady! It is another reason to celebration!
Keep praying! We'll keep you posted as updates come and improvements are made! It might not be every 2 hours or so like it has been in the past, but we will keep you in the loop.
One thing that I think is cool to remind us all is that EVERY update and message we leave on this site will be turned into a beautiful book at the end of this journey! Facebook and Twitter are cool and Jenny & family can look back through those comments over time, but I would encourage you to encourage you to spread the word to leave your comments/messages on this site so that they can be in the book!
God is Mighty to Save!
Please continue to be faithful to pray!
Feb 10 2:10pm
Airline Miles part 2!
We have another need to bring some more of Jenny's family in from out of state. Many of you responded so generously last time we put the need out and that was when we only had about 1,000 people in Jenny's Carepage Community! We have passed 4,000 and are on our way to 5,000 members!
So here is the drill:
If you want to help by donating money or airline miles or buddy passes, send an email to Angie Merriman at anrye@hotmail.com.
Please be patient and she will get back to you as soon as she can. I had you email me (Joel) last time and I just got blown up! So I recruited Angie after about 5 minutes! HA! This time we're just cutting out the middle man! Besides, I'm detailed challenged and Angie has never met a detail that she didn't love!
Kayci and the boys would like to get in town tonight or tomorrow morning in order to beat the incoming bad weather and more importantly, be there with the rest of the family tomorrow morning when Jenny is taken off of the ventilator and wakes up!!!
Here is the cool thing...I know I will be back updating in a couple of hours saying Thank You!
Jenny is getting back to how God intended her to be.
So is the church.
Feb 10 3:30pm
Now you're just showing off!
It took us one hour and twenty six minutes (1:26) to raise donations/miles and book tickets for Kacyi and the boys to make it out! They will be here by 9:00pm tonight.
Amazing...simply amazing!
Remember to keep praying! Jenny is still in ICU. She still has major issues with multiple organs. There is still a tremendous amount of concern regarding her fingers and toes. Despite the incredible outpouring of love shown to the Bizaillion and Ross families, this is still a brutal time for them. And while the past two days have been good days, doctors have fore-casted tomorrow will be a "tough" day for Jenny, family, medical personal, and everyone involved as Jenny wakes up.
So let's do our part...
The praying part.
God will do his part too...
The saving part!
Our God is mighty to save!
...and His church is pretty good with airline tickets!
Feb 10 4:05pm
And the praises keep coming!!!
Jenny is completely off blood pressure medicine!!!
And her blood pressure is the best it has been since she has been since she has been in the hospital!!!
Praise Jesus!!!
And we have passed the $7,000 mark in donations towards the ever rising medical costs! Wow!
Remember, it is simple to give and ALL money you give with special instructions go directly to Jenny and David. Simply visit www.greggpearson.org & click the Donate button. During donation process click "Special Instructions" on left side & type "Jenny Bizaillion". The Gregg Pearson Foundation is a tax deductible 501c3.
Give.
Pray.
May God get all the glory!
Wed., 7:10pm, Feb.10, Update
This is an important message from the family and the hospital concerning the next few days.
To begin with, we do not have the words to say thank you for your love, care, and support. We would not be at this point without you.
Through the power of God, Jenny has conquered "Phase One" of this painful experience. She is here because of God's glory and the beauty of community.
"Phase Two" is critical. The doctors have advised us that it is easy to fumble in this phase. At 9:00 in the morning they will begin taking Jenny off the ventilator. This is a process that could take 1-3 days.
We have been told that this will be a very difficult time for Jenny. She has been on her back in a bed for seven days and her body has been through all kinds of stress, and now it’s like they are telling her to get up and run.
Because of the difficulty for Jenny, we have been informed that this is going to be a painful experience for the family as we watch her come out of this. Surely we will rejoice when she responds positively, but we will also have our meltdowns as we watch her struggle.
1)We need her blood pressure to stay steady. This is extremely important. Improvement cannot be made without it. You’ve all been praying over her blood pressure for days, and Jenny needs those prayers more than ever in Phase Two.
2)Pray against infections. The doctors are monitoring this with great precision, but this is one of the greatest concerns at this point in Jenny’s recovery.
3)Due to limited space in the hospital and waiting rooms, the hospital administration and chaplain departments have advised us to not have any visitors over the next 72 hours. Phase Two is going to be draining for Jenny and the entire family. This was tough news for us to hear, because your presence has given us great strength, but the administration is adamant about the family receiving rest and rejuvenation, and in their experiences, they feel that over-stimulation can be a burden.
As of right now, they are going to give us the chapel in the hospital every night from 6:30-8:00. The family will be there to talk with whoever wants to visit. If the times change, we will advise you.
Thank you for your prayers, love, and support. 1 Corinthians 12 and Acts 2:42 and Acts 4:32 have all taken on a whole new meaning for us. You have shown us Jesus and we will never be the same again. Thank you and He is mighty to save!
Feb 11 6:28am
This is a big day for Jenny and consequently a big day for her Prayer Warriors!
We wanted to remind you of a few things and then share with you a letter from Russ Hamilton who is an elder at the Decatur Church of Christ.
- Please see the last update from yesterday regarding an important announcement from the family and hospital. Bottom-line is that they are requesting NO VISITORS to the hospital for the next 3 days outside of 6:30pm - 7:30pm.
- Many of you have heard the song, "These Are The Words I Would Say" by the Sidewalk Prophets...well, although we can't be there with Jenny and the family physically for the next few days, we can still share our heart with them. Please leave a message below and share with them what you would say if you were there. How cool is it going to be for Jenny to be sitting on her couch at home reading all these messages in the book that will be made from all of our updates and your messages?
- Speaking of...if you have left a comment on Jenny's or someone else's Facebook, please copy and paste it as a message to one of the updates closest to the time you posted it. That way it will be in the book!
- The doctors have told us that today will be a rough day for Jenny and the family. Please, please, please be fervent in prayer! Pray specifically that as Jenny wakes up and is taken off of the vent, that she doesn't fight it too much thus causing an undesirable change in her BP and potentially delaying the transition.
- Continue to pray for the complete restoration and healing of Jenny's internal organs as well as of her hands and feet. If we've learned one thing on this journey, it that specific prayer requests are good...really good.
- Updates will be coming with a little less frequency, but they will be coming. The stories we've heard about people wearing out their 'refresh' buttons and sleeping with their laptop on their nightstands, etc are amazing! We'll keep them coming because we know you will keep the prayers coming!
And finally, please read and prayerfully consider this beautiful request from Russ Hamilton:
The past several days the burden of this hospital bill has been weighing on my heart. David & Jenny have no medical insurance. When they first arrived, the hospital assured David not worry about how they would pay for her stay and that the quality of Jenny’s care would in no way be diminished due to this fact. We have been earnestly praying for a week for God to miraculously heal Jenny. It is obvious that He has heard our leading by the fact that she is alive right now. Wouldn’t it be an incredible witness to this world for the 4,000 plus people who have been praying to each contribute $100? Let’s challenge ourselves, be diligent, and act quickly to ease this burden from the family. We can return this hospital’s generosity to the Bizaillion family by helping take care of this debt. The hospital didn’t hesitate to take care of her, let’s not hesitate in giving sacrificially. Please give something even if its not $100. Our goal is $500,000!
Here’s the simple process: Go to the Gregg Pearson Foundation at www.greggpearson.org, click on “donate”, during the donation process click on “special instructions” and type “Jenny Bizaillion”. 100% of what is donated will be given to David and Jenny. The GPF is a tax deductible 501c3 organization.
From Russ Hamilton, Shepherd at Decatur Church of Christ
Feb 11 10:05am
Although the doctor has not arrived (he was in surgery this morning at 6) yet, they have begun taking Jenny off of the ventilator.
First attempt did not work. She was biting the tube too hard. They will try again in 15 minutes.
So keep praying for the peace of John 14:27 to fall all over Jenny!
On a different but related front...we have received over $14,500 with half of that coming since Russ' request this morning! Praise God! Keep 'em coming!
Feb 11 10:31am
Quick update: They are going to wait until 1pm to try taking her off the vent. God is in control. Pray. Family is in good spirits despite the set back.
Posted Feb 11, 2010 2:01pm
As we enter our 7th day, which feels like 162nd day (no, really), I figured it was time for me (Jonathan) to break into this posting business.
First off, we want to welcome one our newest members to the carepages here. Welcome, Dr. Kollipara!!! This is Jenny's main doctor. He said his staff called him this morning because he had to see something. What did they show him? This page right here. So what did he do? He joined. We continue to pray for him and his staff as they work with Jenny.
Now, on to the newest update. As Dr. Kollipara was talking to us, Jenny began to wake up so they decided to go ahead and start the test trial with her off of the ventilator. She made it about five minutes or so, but they said she was just not ready. They will try again at 7:00 AM tomorrow morning.
Here are our two major prayer requests right now:
1. Her white blood cell count is about 5 times what it needs to be. We need this to come down.
2. Her lungs look a little worse today than yesterday. Pray that the breath of God is breathed into her lungs.
Again, thank for your prayers, thoughts, and friendships. I cannot begin to tell you how much it means! As has become our anthem, "He is mighty to save!"
Thurs, 3:15, Feb.11, Update
This "might" be the last update for the night. It has been snowing in Dallas all day and a weather advisory has been issued this afternoon. It is supposed to be 29 degrees by 4:00pm. The hospital administration has strongly advised families to go home this afternoon.
Most everyone has already left the hospital, but good luck trying to get David and Beverly out of here.
I will post throughout the evening as I receive updates from David, Beverly, and/or doctors.
We pray for God to intervene in these areas:
-Breathing. Jenny is struggling to breathe this afternoon. They have called our doctor and friend Dr.Kallapara to see if he wants to come look at it. We are waiting for that call. Keep praying, as we have for days, for God to breathe life into her lungs.
-Keep praying for Jenny's white cell count. They are afraid that it is the result of another infection. If so, the doctors and nurses want to get ahead of it.
Thanks for being so faithful and so involved.
Thurs, 5:45, Feb.11, Update
Jenny's oxygen level in her blood is the lowest it has been since she has been in the hospital. This is a concern, because it is half of what it should be. The nurse said this is not a setback, but a bump.
You got to love the relationship we've formed with the doctors and nurses. God has cultivated a beautiful community.
Beverly asked the nurse, "Is this something that we need to have our prayer warriors praying over." She emphatically responded, "YES!!!"
We will keep you posted.
Thurs, 7:50pm, Feb.11, Update
The blood oxygen level was a concern for the nurse attending to Jenny. In response, they performed another x-ray on her chest and they did an ultrasound to search for blood clots in her legs.
The x-ray came back normal. Her lungs haven’t improved today, but they have declined either. There are no blood clots in the legs. Hallelujah!
Check this out because it’s kind of humorous: there was a new nurse who came on at 7:00. This guy has been with us for 3 consecutive nights and we really like him. He looked at the numbers and immediately said that they didn’t add up. He told the fam that he thought the last nurse had tested the oxygen level in the blood with blood from the veins and not the arteries. So, he did the exact same test with blood from an artery. Results=perfect blood-oxygen-level. More fist bumps from the Biz/Ross fam.
Jenny is in good hands tonight. I have confidence that you will continue to stand in the gap for Jenny, but please pray for Rick, Beverly, and David. They are about to leave the hospital for David-Malaya-time and for a meal. Then, off the hotel for some rest.
David’s parents and siblings are in town and we desperately want them to sleep in peace tonight. All of the Ross’ need this peace too, as do friends and prayers warriors. We are united tonight around the power and glory of God. It is an honor to journey with you.
We trust that Jenny is cradled in the arms of God tonight. We pray for Him to sing over her with his gentle mercy.
We love you all even though we don’t know you all.
1st Post on Fri, Feb.12, 9:15
Quick update:
They have moved Jenny to another room in ICU. They wanted her closer to the nursing station. Jenny's breathing is very intense right now. They have not started breathing treatments today.
Her liver and kidneys are struggling.
This wasn't the best news to start the morning.
Lord Jesus, we want more. You have performed your wonders over the last 9 days. You have healed miraculously, but we want more. We cannot stop laboring in prayer...we will not stop...until Jenny is walking and talking as a healed, resurrected woman.
Posted Feb 12, 2010 4:30pm
So far today, Jenny has held steady. Her lungs are doing better now that she is back on dialysis. Her lungs were really struggling while she was off. Her liver, kidneys, and white blood cells are still concerns for the doctor. Also, her breathing remains a concern. These are the things we lift up the Father in prayer right now. We believe that He can breathe life into each of these. He is mighty to save! As we sit here and discuss all of this, my mom puts its best. We are looking for a 'wow' from the Lord. Show us your glory Father!
Fri, Feb.12, 5:35pm, Update
We prayed for a "wow" and we were given one.
Dr. Lester met with us for a little while and he used the phrase "solid as a rock." You all can only imagine the peace that came over us when we heard that. He went on to lay out a possible plan of what the next few weeks could look like. It is a great feeling when the doctor begins to talk about the future. We haven't heard much futuristic talk. From ICU, Jenny would go to a long-term care center here at Baylor. He thinks that this could happen at the end of next week.
The major concerns are still infections and internal bleeding, but they are monitoring both of these so that they will be on top of it if something were to happen.
Jenny has lost two teeth because she has been biting down on the tubes too hard. They handed us one tooth as if it were a prize or something. We aren't sure if we're supposed to put it under the pillow or what. It will definitely go in the scrapbook.
Jenny is still on the ventilator and it might be a few more days until she’s off.
The kidneys are beginning to wake up, but they have a ways to go. The doctor said that 2/3’s of the patients who have suffered this kind of kidney damage recover. The other 1/3 don’t recover, but with Jenny being so young, there will be options.
Josh said the following to the doctor, “We are a family of ministers. Jonathan and I are debating what to do about tomorrow. We both plan on returning to Memphis and Houston, but we’re just making decisions hour-by-hour.”
Dr. Lester responded, “Go home. She is stable as a rock. Go home and do your thing. She will be here.”
When he said this:
-Beverly’s mouth fell open.
-Rick began to cry.
-Josh and Jonathan pumped their fists in the air.
Imagine that for those who know the Ross’—Beverly was speechless and Rick was the emotional one. HA!
BTW--Since visitors are advised to not visit Jenny and the family at this time by the hospital administration and chaplain office, the family plans to be in the chapel at Baylor around 6:30-6:45.
Fri, Feb.12, 8:16pm, Update
I hope this is the last post for the night. If not, most likely it is something extremely important.
Specific prayers are still needed for Jenny’s liver, kidneys, white blood count, and breathing. If you have to zone in on one of these tonight—make it the LIVER! Jenny has made a lot of turns throughout this process, but in order for her to make this next turn, her liver has to begin producing.
Thank you for your persistence in lifting Jenny up to God as a sweet aroma. He’s an amazing God and we are delighted that He has chosen to enter into the brokenness of people.
Feb 13 7:00am
This is my first update from outside of the ICU Waiting Room...consequently, it is not an update on Jenny's medical condition.
It is a reminder of a spiritual reality...
I awoke this morning - after a long day, filled with good and bad news, of warring (sp?) in prayer for Jenny, serving, preaching, and worshiping followed by a short night of sleep - with the following image on my heart:
Bowls filling up with the most beautiful substance that I could never describe.
As I lied there in bed trying to figure out what that meant and what that beautiful substance was, God brought Revelation 5:8 to my mind.
"And when he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God's people."
I simply wanted to remind us all that the bowls in heaven are filling up!
Keep praying!
Fill 'em up church!
Posted Feb 13, 2010 11:33am
Thanks for the reminder Joel!
Jenny is holding steady this morning. We asked you to pray for her white blood cell count to go down and it has. Two days ago, her count was over five times what it needed to be, and today, it is down to three times what it is supposed to be. Continue to pray that this will go back to normal.
The other prayer request as of now is that there is some internal bleeding. The source for this is undetermined, but needs to be found and treated. Or God could just stop it, that would be fine too!
Lastly, we are still praying for the liver to begin to function again. The enzyme numbers for the liver are improving, and we need this to continue to pick up.
As the passage says, "The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save!"
Posted Feb 13, 2010 1:33pm
Jenny is making some progress today. She started a 4 hour dialysis instead of the continuous dialysis. Keep praying and thanks so much for joining us in this. He is mighty to save!
Saturday 2-13-10; 4:00
Quick update:
Jenny just started breathing on her own for the first time. This is a big deal since the Doctors and Nurses had decided this a.m. to do a Trachea tube Monday a.m. Personally, I was down (David) when I got this news this a.m. since it was a sign that they did not feel she was doing well enough to continue trying to take her off the ventilator.
As of now she has been breathing on her own for an hour and half. So exciting. They are doing a couple of test to make sure she is ready to keep breathing on her own (i.e. getting enough oxygen to the blood).
We are so so so excited, this is the biggest sign of improvement in a few days.
I personally want to thank you all for your passionate prayers. Because of her light the whole word has prayed. Jenny is still alive and improving b/c of your prayers, the wonderful work of the Doctor's and Nurses, and Baylor Medical. THANK YOU with all my heart.
God is Mighty to Save my Jenny!
David
Sat, Feb.13, 10:25, Update
Jenny continues in a positive trend. She was able to breathe for two hours on her own today. There might have been a misunderstanding earlier today; Jenny is still on the ventilator even though she was able to breathe on her own. This is still a huge blessing. In the words of Beverly, “God continues to WOW us!”
Tonight, they woke Jenny up for a few minutes to see if she would respond to a few commands from David. That is kind of funny, because even when she is well she doesn’t respond very well to David’s commands, but she did tonight. He asked her to blink twice, and she did it. He also asked her to move her arms and she did that too. They said that Jenny began to cry towards the end. Tomorrow they will try and extend the time.
Jenny still needs prayers for her kidneys, livers, and fever. Her fever got up to 103 today, but they aren’t too concerned.
Thank you for your being so involved in this season of our lives.
God is Mighty to Save!!!
Sun, Feb.14, 10:30, Update
Jenny had a few bumps during the night with the dialysis machine. It was nothing major. The nurses didn’t even call the family to inform them.
The doctor did give us all 3 things to pray for today. You’ve got to love it when the doctor feels compelled to offer specific prayer requests, and he does it in the “3 point” style. I’m still a little skeptical, but I’m wondering if he has Church of Christ roots due to his "3 point" method.
Seriously, here are the 3 requests:
1) Jenny needs to get off the vent. If she isn’t off by Monday, they are going to put in a trachea. They’d rather not do this.
2) Remove the fluid. Jenny had over 6 pounds of fluid removed from her body yesterday, but there is still approximately 15 pounds of excess fluid still inside of her.
3) Pray against infections and complications. And this point in the game, bizarre things can happen.
He is mighty to save!
Sun, Feb.14, 11:05am, URGENT UPDATE
A new post went up at 10:30am, so scroll down because there are 3 prayers requests.
This is an URGENT REQUEST and we need to enlist the prayers of warriors. Please call upon the power of God to work in Jenny's feet. Knock down the doors of heaven with this plea.
They are calling in a vascular surgeon tomorrow to look at Jenny's feet and determine if they need to be amputated. They are afraid that wet gangrene has set in, and if so, it can spread throughout the body.
Come, Lord Jesus, and get involved in Jenny's feet!
Mon, Feb.15, 9:15 Update
We didn't realize it has almost been 24 hours since an update.
There wasn't much to report yesterday other than what we posted. Today is a big day. A few doctors will be by to check on Jenny. Please continue to pray for her feet.
We woke up to good news this morning. At 3:30am, Dr. Kallipara was at the hospital checking on a patient and he decided to go by to see Jenny. Jenny woke up while he was in there and he immediately had a nurse call Beverly (Jenny's mom) to come up to the hospital so that there would be someone familiar.
They have decided to not do a trach today. They feel that Jenny is ready to get off the vent.
Feb 15 10:30 am
PRAY!!! PRAY for a MIRACLE!!!
Pray right now for a miracle!
The doctors are discussing with Jenny's family as I type this having to amputate Jenny's feet.
The doctor wants to do it asap.
This is an urgent prayer request! Get the word out!
Do NOT head up to the ICU Waiting Room. No visitors. Just pray!!!
Mon, Feb.15, 10:50 Update
I don't know what to say.
We just received the news that they are going to perform surgery on Jenny at 3:00pm to amputate just below her knees.
They are a little concerned about performing such a procedure with Jenny in the condition she is in, but they are convinced that this is necessary.
Keep praying for a miracle.
How Beautiful
This is my first time to write an update (Rick). The family is in a state of shock and numbness at the news we received this morning. The attending doctors have just decided to do some further testing -- so they have postponed the surgery until tomorrow.
It is incredible what happens in the mind at a moment like this. I keep hearing my precious daughter singing Twila Paris' "How Beautiful" at Jonathan's and Jennifer's wedding (she gives me goosebumps when she sings).
And while we preachers are taught to always preach in context (though we sometimes break that rule when it serves our purposes), I keep thinking about Romans 10: 15. "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news." Although my daughter is not a preacher, she is a vessel in which the gospel is carried -- as has been evidenced on these pages. And no matter what happens, I have confidence that she will continue to be God's ambassador, feet or no feet, perhaps in greater ways than ever.
Satan has delivered a severe blow. No doubt he wants to cripple our family. Gangrene and sepsis are only part of the Fallout from the Garden. But no matter what Satan delivers to us here, there is one thing that cannot and will not change. My daughter will be made whole again -- for all eternity. And all this makes me say with greater passion, "Come, Lord Jesus."
If my attitude is wrong about what I am about to say, I have already asked God to forgive me. But I cannot wait to see Satan cast into the pit forever and ever for all of the pain and suffering he has inflicted on God's children -- and in particular, my baby girl.
So while we are numb today, we do not lose hope. Victory has been secured at the cross. And we WILL rejoice in that.
February 15, 4 PM Update
(Rick again) The doctors have X-rayed Jenny's legs and see no gas, which means that for the time being surgery is not needed. They will go day-by-day. There is still some source of infection that they have been unable to pinpoint.
For now, she is stable, awakening occasionally and responding to our words.
So,please:
1. Be praying hard for her legs to get better -- taking talk of amputation off the table.
2. Pray that the doctors will be able to locate the source of infection.
Words will never be adequate to express our gratitude to you all. Your support and prayers have truly been evidence of the 2nd incarnation -- Christ in His people. We plead with you to be furious in your prayers for these two requests.
Posted Feb 16, 2010 10:40am
Good morning! Jenny had a quiet night and rested well. Her temperature did not go above 101 and is holding steady now. Her white blood cell count is down to 22,000 which is MUCH better, but still needs to get down to around 10,000.
She just completed dialysis and is going in for a CT scan around 10:00. We continue to pray for God's miracle in all of this. The vascular doctor still insists on surgery for her feet, but the other doctors are more hesitant. In David's words, "we pray for God to show this doctor up." He is mighty to save!
Mon, Feb.15, 9:00pm
We have been with doctors almost all afternoon discussing Jenny's hands and feet. We hate to keep you all waiting, but we'll have a detailed update here within the next 30-45 minutes.
Mon, Feb.15, 10:30pm Update
Today has been like a punch in the gut. It has been a long day of talking with doctors for extended periods of time. Dr. Kollipara and Dr. Lester are now two of our favorite people in the world. They genuinely care about Jenny.
Before reading any further, we are asking that all of those who know Malaya or have children who know her, please refrain from sharing the following to people who might pass this on to Malaya. We trust you to keep this from those who might pass it on.
After hours of discussion, we are left with only one option—they are going to have to perform an amputation below Jenny’s knees. Basically, the medicine that had to be used to treat the Strep A and sepsis focused primarily on the organs. The doctors didn’t have a choice. They had to protect the essentials—the organs and the brain. Because of this, blood was not able to flow to the fingertips and toes. The tissue in her feet is dead and it will not grow back. There is a probable concern that a secondary infection has developed in the feet, and this could work its way up the leg causes serious consequences; notably, death.
We are begging God to:
-Save Jenny’s hands. They are looking good today and we want it to stay that way.
-Protect Jenny from all of the negative emotions that could come with the realization that life will now be different.
-Bless David with the words to say as he communicates this to Jenny.
-That everything in this surgery will go smoothly. This is a complicated procedure, so please pray for the doctors to be on their “A” game.
-Protect Malaya’s heart.
-Help Jenny to experience healing and grace so that she can be made whole.
There is some good news:
Jenny has been able to communicate some today. The only word she has muttered is, “Help.” Other than that, it has been a lot of head nods. Talking with Jenny made our day. She confirmed that she misses American Idol.
All of her numbers are improving. Her white blood cell count is still very high, which most likely means there is a secondary infection.
Thank God for the incarnation of Jesus. He chose to enter into pain so that he could love it and redeem it. We are experiencing this power today.
We are still praying for a miracle in Jenny’s physical feet. The time of surgery is set for 9:30am. May the same power that was able to lift up Jesus from the grave be upon her.
Posted Feb 17, 2010 9:05am
We thank you for all your prayers and joining us on this journey. Jenny rested well during the night. We will meet with the doctors at 8:30 and surgery currently is scheduled for 9:30 (though we believe God can still do something miraculous between now and then).
The family has asked for no visitors today please. We will try our best to keep everyone updated as much as we possibly can on these pages.
Again, thank you for standing in the gap for us; praying for us; and loving us. The Spirit moving through the body of Christ is one of the only thing that has sustained us!
Wed., 10:00am, Feb.17, Update
As I type this post, they are preparing to take Jenny into the O.R. It is going to be a 4-hour procedure.
The doctor asked us to pray specifically for:
-Them to find strong tissue in the leg below the knee.
-For her liver to withstand the surgery.
-For their hands to move in rhythm with God.
There are risks with this procedure, but the doctors feel confident (over 5 opinions were given by docs) that this is needed for Jenny to turn the corner.
We are all hurting today, but we continue to trust that God is in this. He is moving. He is healing. He is the Lord of all of life, which means He is the Lord over medicine and science.
We know many of you are eager to see us today, but we are asking for no visitors. We feel your love.
We will keep you updated as we are informed by nurses and doctors throughout the procedure.
Wed, 12:30pm, Feb.17, Update
Jenny is halfway through surgery. So far everything is going well.
Feb 17 2:09pm
Jenny made it out of surgery! The doctor said that it went great (that is a relative term these days but was still received as good news!) and is back in her room. The doctors felt really positive about everything related to her surgery and the family made a B-line back into her room, relieved and ready to see their Jenny.
Please continue to pray for a good post-op recovery, for peace for the family, and for the doctors to continue to have wisdom.
Please remember to respect the family's wishes and refrain from visiting the hospital until further notice.
This is a very emotional time for the family and thus a great time for all of us to leave a message of encouragement below!
Consider these words from Isaiah 61...
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners, [a]
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
Posted Feb 17, 2010 5:54pm
Jenny is resting very peacefully right now following surgery. The family just met with the doctors and they are pleased with how she handled the surgery and how her vitals are now. They are beginning to talk about the future (which we have not her much about yet). We are very blessed to have the doctors that we have here. They have been great and the Lord has moved through them. They believe Jenny will rest through the night due to the anesthesia.
For me personally (Jonathan) I viewed this day similar to that of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. I believe that God could heal her feet, but even if He did not, we will not bow down to any other god. He is good! He is faithful!
Here are the things that the doctors have told us we need to be in prayer for:
1. For her hands. The doctors are very hopeful that she will not lose much of her hands (probably only fingertips) but we want to pray against infection setting into her hands.
2. For her liver to begin fully functioning.
3. For the pneumonia to be healed.
4. For no other infection to be allowed into Jenny’s body.
5. For Malaya as she receives the news about her mommy.
David is planning to tell Malaya tonight. If you are friends with Malaya or know Malaya, please be sensitive to her as she begins this transition.
Thank you once again for joining us in prayer and walking with us through this road of suffering.
He is mighty to save!
Thurs, noon, Feb.18th
It is day 14. I can't believe it has been 2 weeks.
It has been a very slow morning. Jenny is still coming off the anesthetics, because the liver is still minimally functioning.
Her numbers look good today and we continue to pray for complete healing.
A sonogram has been scheduled to look at her gallbladder to see if it is the source of a problem.
God’s goodness and favor continues to rain on us every day.
I’m not sure if Twila Paris is a member of this site, but she was contacted yesterday. A friend of Twila’s informed her of Jenny’s condition and that Jenny sang “How Beautiful” at a wedding. Twila wanted to pass on that she is praying.
Feb 18 4:30pm
The Christmas carol describes the scene here well:
"All is calm; all is bright."
Father sits in the ICU waiting room for the 14th straight day. The journey has been brutal. He is doing a crossword puzzle. His sermon is finished and Lord willing, he'll get to take the pulpit for the first time in 3 weeks this Sunday.
A family friend sits quietly admiring the dedication of the father and typing away at his laptop.
This is a very different scene than the past 13 days.
It is a welcomed, holy moment.
A few thoughts in the middle of this holy moment...
In the middle of the storm, the Bizaillion and Ross family still praised the Lord...
They still believe that God is Mighty to Save...
They have been overwhelmed by God's faithfulness and everyone's goodness...
---
On a final note, if anyone is willing to donate some money towards 3 tickets on Southwest Airlines to fly family back home, email me and we'll make it happen. We need about $600.
---
Keep praying for Jenny. This has been a remarkable journey and we are not done.
I believe God has been so pleased with the response of His people to the suffering and pain of Jenny and her family. I'll close with the beautiful words from Isaiah 58:6-9. May we hear the "well done" of heaven daily as we serve.
"This is the kind of fast day I'm after:
to break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
free the oppressed,
cancel debts.
What I'm interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.'
Fri, Feb.19th, 11:00pm, Update
Another slow day at Baylor Hospital in Grapevine. Jenny's numbers are still good. She is going through dialysis again as we type.
It has been 15 days and we are all eager to communicate with her again. We want to hug her, hold her, kiss her, and laugh with her.
Yesterday, someone brought by every episode of American Idol from this season. Jenny will be thrilled to watch it when she fully wakes up. Now if someone will bring General Hospital, GMA, Regis and Kelly, and Rachel Ray. Actually, the Rachel Ray is for David. (I'm just joking about the tv shows). We are just ready for God to lift Jenny out of this hospital.
Waiting rooms can drain people. But they are still thick with the presence of God.
Thank you all for your commitment to pray Jenny through this.
**********
Thanks to so many of you for offering money, airline miles, and flight passes to take care of the family. We are well taken care of.
Friday February 19 6:00 PM
Jenny has had a restful day today. She just finished having her hair washed. All her numbers except for her bilirubin are doing well.
The goal is to get her off the vent tomorrow, and get her a talk button put on her trach. Maybe by tomorrow we will actually get to talk to her!
The surgery is healing well. Her hands are not getting any worse -- thank the Lord! Occasionally when she does wake a bit, I (Rick again) have gotten a smile. And when Beverly told the nurses how much Jenny loved a long bath, she raised her eyebrows. Just like Jenny!
The doctors and staff are talking more about her next step -- rehab. It is music to our ears! REHAB! Until just recent days, there was no talk about tomorrow!
So please pray for:
1. Her vent to be able to be removed
2. Her bilirubbin to come down
3. Her continued improvement
God is good! And we feel SO blessed to have our precious Jenny.
Saturday February 20 9:00 AM
Well, so much for the calm of yesterday. We received a call in the early morning hours that Jenny had a grand mal seizure. Since then, she has had another one, as well as a minor seizure. They are attempting to discover the cause of these. It could be a number of things, or a combination of things:
1. It could be related to her high bilirubin count.
2. It could be due to the level of her sedation -- so they are cutting back on that.
3. She is running a fever, which could be the cause.
They are going to do an MRI as soon as possible to see if it shows any problems. Dr. Lester is not expecting it to. Also, a hematologist has been called in to see what can be done about her bilirubin. She is also losing blood somewhere or somehow, but it is not showing up anywhere.
So we are calling on Jenny's prayer warriors to arm yourselves and go to battle once again.
On another note, a few days ago we had requested no visitors. We are now past that point if anyone would like to come by. Josh and his family have returned to Memphis, and Jonathan will be leaving today. So Beverly and David and I will be here at the hospital. If you do come by and there is no one in the waiting room, it will probably be because we are back with Jenny or gone for a bite to eat.
Saturday February 20 5:30 PM
We have visited with a number of doctors today. Jenny has had an EEG and a MRI of her brain. It appears that some of the sepsis bacteria had clung to her heart valves, and has now released into her brain. The MRI shows a number of lesions, and the neurologist has not given us the rosiest of prognoses.
So we are asking you to pray for the cleansing power of Jesus to mend and heal Jenny's brain. They have removed her from all of her pain meds so that they can find out how cognitive she is. It may take a while for her to wake up, because her body cannot metabolize the medicines very quickly. The doctors are discussing the best anti-seizure meds right now, as some have adverse affects on the liver and others on the kidneys.
In summary: We are up against the wall. We are desperate for the healing power of our Savior to anoint Jenny's body right now.
Sunday February 21 11:20 AM
Jenny continues to have seizures this morning, after having gone quite a while without any. The infectuous disease doctor is changing to an antibiotic that has more success than penicillin at penetrating into the brain. He seemed more hopeful that she might recover than was the neurologist yesterday.
We so long for answers -- especially from YHWH-Rapha.
Sun, Feb.21, 6:45pm Update
We trust that God is still involved in this. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. His ways are higher than our ways.
We are so desperate for him to speak a word, because his words do not return to him empty.
This situation is very serious…worse than we could imagine. Lesions (infected abscesses) are all over Jenny’s brain. She is still a very, very sick girl. At the time, the doctors do not know the extent of damage caused.
We are calling for our prayers warriors to beat down the doors of heaven tonight because we are need of a serious Holy Spirit breakthrough.
1) Pray for the lesions to shrink with the new antibiotics.
2) Pray for the seizures to stop.
3) Pray for Jenny to wake up and respond. The reason she isn’t waking up is because of medicine issues, but we need Jenny to respond.
4) Pray that nothing has been affected by the lesions. Pray against long-term affects.
5) Continue to pray for the doctors to have wisdom and discernment because at this point the doctors are forced to think outside the box. Dr. Lester is bringing in more experts tomorrow to decide what the next step is. We need the new doctors to be able to understand this crisis.
Thank you to the 3 winners of ACU’s Sing Song for donating all their earnings to Jenny Bizaillion.
Posted Feb 22, 2010 12:24pm
So far it has been a somewhat quiet night and morning. Not much has changed since the last update. Doctors are coming in and out and we are waiting to hear from them. The seizures have continued although the duration of them is shorter.
Please continue to pray for the same things requested last night:
1. We pray for the lesions on the brain to shrink.
2. That Jenny responds to the antibiotics the doctors are giving her.
3. For the doctors to have clarity (or the God just do it for them and leave everyone with their job on the ground!)
Thanks for joining us in this!
Mon, Feb.22, 12:10pm UPDATE
Jenny's blood pressure and heart rate dropped significantly just a few minutes ago. They immediately gave her a shot that helped her out. They are sending her downstairs for another CT scan.
Jenny Bizaillion
Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Jenny Bizaillion passed from this world at 3:38pm.
She was the most beautiful, wonderful friend, perfect mom, devoted sister, loyal daughter, and best wife a person could ever have.
We will see her again.
Tuesday February 23 10:20
The family will be meeting this afternoon to make arrangements for Jenny's memorial service. We will update with the details later. Right now we are looking at Thursday afternoon, but this could change.
On behalf of David, Malaya, Beverly, Rick, Josh, Jonathan and ALL the family, we want you to know that words will never express the gratitude we feel toward all those who have ministered to us during this trial. We have done our best to keep track of those who have given to us in so many ways, and ask you to forgive us if we fail to thank you individually.
We also want to thank the hospital staff: doctors, nurses, administration and chaplaincy. They receive an A++ from us! Our nurses were so caring and loving. And we want to personally thank Dr. Kalipara and Dr. Lester for their 2nd-mile efforts. We are forever in your debt.
I long for the day that I will see my princess again. Beverly's and my life changed the day she was born. And we will be forever better because of what we learned from her.
Thank you all again.
Tuesday February 23 4:00 PM
The celebration memorial service for Jenny will be on Thursday, February 25th at 1:00 PM at the Richland Hills Church of Christ, 6300 NE Loop 820, Fort Worth, TX 76180. The church phone number is 817-281-0773.
Prior to the service, there will be a Children's Celebration at noon for Malaya and all her friends, as well as any of the many children that Jenny has touched. The church coffee house will be opened for adults during this time.
Visitation will be Wednesday, February 24th from 6-9 PM at Shannon Rufe Snow Funeral Chapel, 6001 Rufe Snow Drive, Fort Worth, TX 76148. The phone number for the funeral home is 817-514-9100.
Wednesday February 24 9:00 AM
Many people have been asking about making a memorial donation in lieu of flowers. While there are several worthy organizations that Jenny would be passionate about, the family has decided that the best way would be for donations to be made to the Gregg Pearson Foundation. You can do that on-line by following the link just above this update. Or you can write a check to the Gregg Pearson Foundation. In the memo line, write "GPF Benevolence." This will mark it for Jenny. Any donations can then be used by the family for medical bills, "KidStand", etc.
Thank you so much.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Gregg Pearson Foundation
The Gregg Pearson Foundation website is www.greggpearson.org. The mailing address is 2531 Carl Rd., Arlington, TX 76015. If you have any questions, please call Stacey Pearson at 214-415-9568.
To make donations, go to www.greggpearson.org, click on "Donate", and put "GPF Benevolence" in the special instructions (if you don't find special instructions, it still should be ok).
Thanks to all for your generous donations, we are now over $51,000!
Wednesday February 24 3:30 PM
Jenny's memorial service will be streamed live tomorrow. You can see it by pasting the following site: www.livestream.com/rhchurch.
Thanks to the Richland Hills Church of Christ for making this possible.
Feb 26th 9:25am
There are no words to describe yesterday’s experience.
You can’t describe Jonathan declaring in praise, “you give and take away…blessed be your Name!” three days after his sister was taken away…
You could use 1000 words to describe the moment Rick shouted the three words, “Lord, come quickly!” and still never do that moment justice.
And when Josh had us all bow our knees to Jesus as a declaration to our adversary that “we win!” and death has no victory…it was a feast of a foretaste of glory divine! Everyone there (or watching online for that matter) experienced the holiness; we just can’t explain it with mere words.
You can’t describe it but that didn’t stop people from trying. You usually don’t hear the following spoken about funerals…
“It was the best church service I’ve ever been a part of”
“I would have paid $100 to experience that…make that $1,000”
“I wanted to punch satan in the throat!”
“It made me want to go to heaven…right then…like I wished I could of!”
“I’m a college student at UT and drove in from Austin. I don’t know Jenny…in fact I don’t know anyone in the family. I feel like I do now. I’m so glad I came.”
“I’ll be a better wife and mom because of this...because of Jenny.”
“That felt like heaven will feel. I know it.”
Josh spoke yesterday about keeping the Carepage Community going (on a personal side note, I’d be in favor of a Bizaillion/Ross ‘reality’ show because they are about as ‘REAL’ as a family gets and as strong as any family I’ve met. But that’s a subject for a future post) and I don’t know what the family will do in the future with this virtual mega church, but I do know that there is still plenty we can do for the family.
Continue to pray for healing! Not for Jenny – she is completely healed! But pray for the family to be healed. May the hope that Jesse spoke about yesterday…the hope that Jenny walked in daily…heal the hurt, the loss, the pain, the anger, and the deep sadness that fills the family.
Continue to give! With over 12,000 members, I am confident that we can give even more than the $51,000 we’ve already given. With medical bills in the hundreds of thousands, funeral expenses and David’s loss of income due to the past 3 weeks (and the next however many as he and Malaya adjust to life without Jenny), the need is greater than ever. All money we give to the Gregg Pearson Foundation with “GPF Benevolence” in the special instructions goes directly to the Bizaillion family! Keep on giving.
Continue to share this site with friends and family and continue to post your super encouraging messages! The family can use our encouragement in the days and weeks to come every bit as much as they have these past three weeks. At some point every post and every comment will be made into a beautiful (and big!) book for the family. We can only imagine how God will use that book for His glory in the future!
This site was started three weeks ago today. We wanted to as many people praying for Jenny to get out of the hospital as possible. Josh reminded us yesterday that we didn’t get the answer we wanted. But as those of us in attendance witnessed yesterday, Jenny’s family knows that she got into heaven! May we all follow Jenny’s example. After all, she just followed Jesus!
May these words from the song, “Let the Waters Rise” by Mikeschair speak to our spirits today.
Don't know where to begin
Its like my world's caving in
And I try but I can't control my fear
Where do I go from here?
sometimes its so hard to pray
When You feel so far away
But I am willing to go
Where you want me to
God, I trust You
There's a raging sea
Right in front of me
Wants to pull me in
Bring me to my knees
So let the waters rise
If You want them to
I will follow You
I will follow You
I will follow You
I will swim in the deep
'Cuz You'll be next to me
You're in the eye of the storm
And the calm of the sea
You'll never out of reach
God, You know where I've been
You were there with me then
You were faithful before
You'll be faithful again
I'm holding Your hand
There's a raging sea
Right in front of me
Wants to pull me in
Bring me to my knees
So let the waters rise
If You want them to
I will follow You
I will follow You
I will follow You
God Your love is enough
You will pull me through
I'm holding onto You
God Your love is enough
I will follow You
I will follow You
Ohhh
There's a raging sea
Right in front of me
Wants to pull me in
Bring me to my knees
So let the waters rise
If You want them to
I will follow You
I will follow You
I will follow You
Posted Feb 26, 2010 12:30pm
Joel, thank you so much for those words and recap of yesterday. God is on the move in all of this!
The Richland Hills staff has been amazing to us through all of this. Thank you guys so much for being so accomodating and loving. They said a couple of thousand were able to view the live stream yesterday. However there was a glitch in how they did it and many people were unable to view it. So, they called me last night and wanted us to let you guys all know they will be putting the service on their website for the near future for anyone who wants to view it. You can go to:
www.rhchurch.org
then click on the link for sermons and podcasts.
You will be able to find the service on that page. It will be up sometime this afternoon. Thank you to Bill Southern for everything.
Posted Feb 26, 2010 12:30pm
Joel, thank you so much for those words and recap of yesterday. God is on the move in all of this!
The Richland Hills staff has been amazing to us through all of this. Thank you guys so much for being so accomodating and loving. They said a couple of thousand were able to view the live stream yesterday. However there was a glitch in how they did it and many people were unable to view it. So, they called me last night and wanted us to let you guys all know they will be putting the service on their website for the near future for anyone who wants to view it. You can go to:
www.rhchurch.org
then click on the link for sermons and podcasts.
You will be able to find the service on that page. It will be up sometime this afternoon. Thank you to Bill Southern for everything.
Tuesday, March 2
I have no clue how many of you are still following this page, but here are few things for you to know. (Click on "read more" to read all of this post)
We cannot put into words how grateful we are for you all. God has worked through the power of community to reveal himself during this dark time. You have been faithful prayer warriors and friends.
David would like to personally thank everyone for your willingness to get so involved in this story. David has never experienced such pain. He is truly broken but God's work through people is holding him together. He treasured Jenny more than anything in this world.
David continues to be strengthened by the messages left on carepages and on his facebook. He reads them all.
He is also blown away by all of the financial gifts. It has freed him from the stress that comes with bills and life. It has allowed him to make sure Malaya gets the very best. For her, a cell phone is "the very best" and she holds on to it like a priceless treasure.
Here are few things:
1) Many of you asked about Jenny's song "How Beautiful". We are working to get it on itunes and all of the proceeds will go directly to David. We weren't lying were we? That girl could sing.
2) We wrestle with what to do with this site. Many people have asked us to keep it going. Josh joked at the funeral about our family being made into a reality tv show. Here's what we'd like to do over the next couple of weeks--I'd like to interview different members of our family and some of our close friends and to post their responses on this site. So many of you have continued to pray over our family and we'd like to share some of our experience with you as we grieve.
3) There are many activities and fundraisers in the works to raise money for the Bizaillion's. Some highly talented artists are working together to create some benefit-events. As for now, we will use this site to inform you.
We don't want to wear you out with updates, but many have expressed interest...so for now...we'll keep this going for a few more weeks.
Sun, March 7, 2010
We are missing Jenny like crazy. We are extremely grateful for the hope that comes through the resurrection of Jesus, but we really miss her. I can't believe it has been two weeks.
All of the family was back ministering today. We are "playing injured" but God knows how to use weak people.
Today is Beverly's birthday. She is __. (I don't know if she would want me to tell you her age and that she was born in 1957). I know this was a tough day for her. Jenny was always the best at celebrating birthdays.
Malaya is back in school.
David is learning how to live with a broken heart. He continues to amaze us with his determination to live fearlessly and to give Malaya the best life possible.
You might want to check out Rick's blog at www.rross.blogspot.com.
There will be more coming this week.
Monday March 8 2010
Today David, Beverly and I (Rick) made a trip back to Baylor Grapevine. We had a two-fold purpose for our return. First, we wanted to make sure that we left a 5-star commendation for all of Jenny's doctors, nurses and support people -- each and every one. These angels loved our Jenny, and went the 2nd mile in their care for her -- and for us.
2nd, we wanted to meet again with our two lead doctors, Dr. Lester and Dr. Kollipara. David and Beverly had some questions just to help them to bring some closure. These two men are my heroes. Their compassion and concern for us goes beyond anything I have ever experienced. They sat down with us for an hour! They never looked at their watches, nor seemed to be in any hurry. In fact, at one point I tried to offer them an out by saying we had kept them long enough -- and THEY continued to give of themselves.
A few of the highlights of our visit:
1. They explained that the Group-A strep that Jenny originally has usually infects a person for a few days, and the body will fight it off. But in Jenny's case, the strep infected her lungs -- causing an empyemia (puss pocket between the lungs and the ribs). This allowed the infection to enter her bloodstream. A combination of toxic blood and her body's reaction against it led to the sepsis. They said such a reaction happens in less than 1 in 100,000 cases. They compared it to a sinus infection -- which usually goes away on its own, but in rare cases leads to spinal meningitis. We are now realizing that Jenny was in grave condition when she arrived at the hospital -- even though she was still talking to us, etc.
2. They were so concerned that none of the family blame ourselves -- that we understand that there was NOTHING we did or did not do to make Jenny's situation worse. David said something about how Jenny will probably let him have it when he gets to heaven, and both doctors said the only reason she will let him have it is if he continues to beat himself up.
3. A nurse told us that as the doctors stayed with Jenny as she passed away, Dr. Lester was singing. This really moved me, so I asked him if he would tell me what he had been singing. He said, "It is Well with My Soul." How special is that?
4. As we were wrapping the time up, we thanked them again for meeting with us, to help us bring some closure. Get this: They thanked US for meeting with them -- because it helped them bring some closure as well! They told us that they are keeping up with CarePages -- and Dr. Kollipara is even reading my blog.
As Beverly and I were driving back to Decatur this evening, she said, "You know, in the whole time we were in the hospital, something about just seeing either one of them coming made me feel hopeful. Even as they came at the last, there was a sense of peace and comfort in having them there."
I'll tell you what: This daddy would take a bullet for either one of these men!
One Request and One Fundraiser Opportunity
Here's our request:
You have heard the names of Dr. Lester and Dr. Kollipara on this site for weeks now. These two men worked their tails off for Jenny. They bent over backwards for her and the family. They have given us permission to write them at the following addresses. Many of you have requested their info so here it is. Please show them our appreciation.
Dr. Ronald Lester
3801 West 15th Street
Suite 350
Plano, TX 75075
Dr. Madhu S. Kollipara, MD
4375 Booth Calloway
Suite 307
North Richland Hills, TX 76180
Also, here is a great fundraiser opportunity. Our dear friend Josh Kasinger (worship minister at Sugar Grove Church near Houston) worked out an arrangement with Best Friends (a singing group from LCU) on the Sugar Grove worship CD. They have agreed to dedicate half of all the proceeds on the new acappella worship project entitled, LOVINGKINDNESS, to David and Malaya. You can find the information at the following link: www.lovingkindnesscd.com. The goal is to raise $10,000 for Jenny.
Thanks to Josh Kasiner, the Sugar Grove praise team, and Best Friends.
Two Fundraisers
David, Malaya, Rick, and Beverly are all preparing for their Disney Cruise. They leave in 6 days. Please pray for that trip.
David went running today and had a powerful encounter with God. He was able to share with Him all of the emotions that he is feeling and he finished the run knowing that God is revealing himself in all this.
Here are two fundraisers worth noting:
1) Jenny Bizaillion's "Run for Hope" Fundraiser will be on April 17 at Timber Creek High School in Keller Texas. It is a 5k run and Benefit Walk and it will end with a Festival/Concert.
Here's how you can help: Email Heather @ mom23gr8kidz@yahoo.com or Jessie @ kidstand@yahoo.com
"Jenny's Run for Hope" needs: (Donations of each need or discounts are greatly appreciated so that all proceeds can be given to the Bizaillion Fund)
-A Stage for performers
-Volunteers - set up and clean up
-Banners/Signs donated
-Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, buns, drinks and water
-Limited Space Available if you want to set up a booth for your home business or Crafts $50 a space which will go toward the Bizaillion fund.
-Bounce Houses and Inflatables
-Screen Printers to donate shirts
2) A reminder from the last post. Our dear friend Josh Kasinger (worship minister at Sugar Grove Church near Houston) worked out an arrangement with Best Friends (a singing group from LCU) on the Sugar Grove worship CD. They have agreed to dedicate half of all the proceeds on the new acappella worship project entitled, LOVINGKINDNESS, to David and Malaya. You can find the information at the following link: www.lovingkindnesscd.com. The goal is to raise $10,000 for Jenny.
Thanks to Josh Kasiner, the Sugar Grove praise team, and Best Friends.
Last thing, Jenny Biz T-shirts are still available at www.jennybizaillion.com
New Women's "Bling" shirts will be available pre order @ mom23gr8kdz@yahoo.com
Thanks to everyone who purchased shirts! 300 were sold already to the states of Texas, Colorado, Arizona, Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina and Alaska!
Some Explaining to Do
This song was written by a Grammy-Award-Winning song-writer in honor of Jenny. IT HAS NOT BEEN PUT TO MUSIC YET. IT IS IN THE PROCESS.
SOME EXPLAINING TO DO
by Lisa Aschmann & Karen Taylor-Good
Her faith was like a river, it ran so strong and wild
She was full of love and promise, and she was Your child
So why’d she have to suffer when she loved You so well
You must have had a reason..............do tell
God, You’ve got some explaining to do
I’m not saying I’m over believing in You
But when I take my last breath and my life here is through
God, You’ve got some explaining to do
I believe that someday we’ll have a heart to heart
We’ll all sit down together, You’ll illuminate each part
And I’ll say….”OH, I get it, she was living out Your Plan”
But now it just seems mean, like we’re Play Dough in Your hands
God….You’ve got some explaining to do
I’m not saying I’m over believing in You
But when I take my last breath and my life here is through
God….You’ve got some explaining to do
Cancer & Columbine, earthquakes and tsunamis
Children who are starving cause land mines kill their Mommies
I swear from this perspective it sure looks hit or miss
I can hardly wait to understand all this
God….You’ve got some explaining to do
I’m not saying I’m over believing in You
But when I take my last breath and my life here is through
I hope to understand the gain that lies behind the grief and pain
I hope to hear in Your own words the reasoning for what occurred
I hope to have more than a hint of what this was and what it meant
I still believe in Your great works but God this really hurts
God, You’ve got some explaining to do
Written in loving memory of Jenny B.
Monday March 22
Today marks one month since our precious Jenny went to be with Jesus. Our emotions remain raw, as the memories of her laugh and smile and mannerisms still seem so alive!
David, Malaya, Beverly and Rick returned yesterday from our Disney Cruise. We wanted to thank our generous friends for making this possible. It was a welcomed diversion. We shed tears in the midst of laughter. We fed, kissed and hugged dolphins, fed stingrays, and fed ourselves, and fed ourselves, and fed ourselves.
The shows onboard the ship were spectacular. The little touches that Disney adds were precious. Malaya's eyes were like saucers as she saw the Disney characters, and was able to get her picture taken with them.
Again, thank you to those who made this trip happen for us. We are so grateful for your thoughtfulness.
Posted 20 hours ago
First off, as Jenny’s brother, I want to thank everyone once again for joining our family through this. Your prayers, thoughts, friendships, etc. have been a great source of strength for us. We believe God is on the move in all of this and that much glory has been brought to His name!
I’ve debated whether to get involved in the discussion or not about the song that was written and posted. I find it ironic that this is the forum for it, but feel that I have waited as long as possible to join in. I have not wanted to respond out of anger, but out of where my heart is and where my faith is. It is interesting to me how some did not know Jenny, or knew her very little, yet “know” exactly what she would have said in a situation like this. The truth is Jenny would have been one of the first ones to ask questions. It is one of the reasons her faith was so strong. Over the last decade, she did a lot of questioning of where God was in certain situations and why He answered the way He did to certain situations. I also find it astounding how many people do not know the author of this song (which is someone’s heart, not theology) but know exactly the motives that the song was written in. I find it unbelievable how many know exactly God’s involvement through this with Jenny. Is it of Satan? Is it of God? I believe it to be of the evil one, however, he did not do this behind God’s back, so God obviously had some role even it was simply allowing it (more on this in a moment.)
The book of Job has been referenced a couple of times through this discussion and the question has been posed, “Don’t we see how God responded to Job when he questioned God?” Let’s be clear here. Job expresses his questions for 37 chapters. When God shows up in chapter 38, He does not say, “Who darkens my counsel with questions?” I believe in chapter 40, we see something clearly. God says, “Let him who ACCUSES God answer him.” God does not “set Job straight” because Job questioned, it is when those questions turn into accusations. We do not accuse God of anything throughout the past seven weeks. However, I do have a number of questions. And I, personally, would love an explanation. Now, it is a whole different topic of whether I deserve one or not. It is also a whole different topic of whether I could handle one or not. That does not change my futile thinking of desiring one. Plenty of people have gone before me for thousand of years asking God for an explanation on certain things. Some of them, God even responded to and does explain. Jeremiah asks for God to explain and God does. Moses, Jonah, David, Abraham, just for examples. Questions are not always meant to be responded to. Sometimes, we ask questions for our own benefit and working through stages of life.
Which brings me back to God allowing this to happen. I know there are things much bigger than me going on in this world and in this situation. Such things I cannot attain. As Job, “I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer—twice, but I will say no more.” I simply fall to my knees, throw my hands in the air and say, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”
