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6/14/03 God Is in the Driver's Seat From:
Rob Payne <rob@everydayisprecious.com>
Answered Prayer: We got a wheelchair accessible van! Marcy can't come to the phone, she's with her masseuse New specific prayer request: God's wisdom as we evaluate a new clinical trial And here are the details: Answered Prayer: We got a wheelchair accessible van! Our research for vans took us to Tennessee Mobility in Gallatin. Wednesday, June 4 they came to Franklin, picked us up and took us to their shop to see a wide variety of vans and entry methods. Marcy was out of bed for 4 1/2 hours that day and got very uncomfortable, but was happy to be part of the process. The bottom line was that all the vans were out of our price range. But we found the style of van and entry that worked best for Marcy and her power wheelchair. The next day, Thursday, as we were talking with a wheelchair expert at Vanderbilt, without my telling her we were looking, she casually mentioned a van that a family was wanting to sell. It was in our price range, so we called for details. We talked with the owner, Marlene, who described the van and it was the model and entry style that had worked the best at the dealership. Marlene's husband, Pete, had ALS, opted against the trach, and died this past April. Marlene's van was older with more miles, but sounded like it would work. I told her I was interested in looking at it. But she had promised to sell it to someone with whom she had corresponded over the Internet. They were to wire the money Monday and she felt obliged to finish the transaction with them. So, Marcy and I didn't get excited, we knew God would provide in His own time. Monday morning, when Marcy woke, she didn't have the "God-twinkle" in her eye that she normally does. I asked her what was wrong. She typed out on the speech synthesizer, " I WANT" - I thought she needed her lungs suctioned, her dressing changed, or something else to remedy a pain or discomfort. But she continued, " A VAN" - oh, boy, I thought. It's going to be a long few days while we continue our search for transportation. But then she continued, "AND" - what now, I thought. She continued, " A PIZZA." Since Marcy hasn't eaten anything by mouth since August or September, we both laughed out loud. Well, Marcy laughed out loud in her own way. Monday afternoon Marlene called back. She had not received the wire and upon asking the Internet host for the selling website, there is a scam coming from the Far East - as Marlene's buyer was. Somehow they wire more money than asked for, then ask you to return the difference, then collect back their original wired amount, so you end up losing whatever you sent them. Whether this was the case with her buyer or not, Marlene said that after talking with us and going to Marcy's website, she had prayed about it and wanted us to have the van. She had always wanted the van to go to an ALS patient. She had bought it from an ALS patient who was the original owner. Tuesday Marlene drove from Cookeville to Franklin (1 1/2 hours one way) with Matt, a physical therapist who had worked with her husband, driving his own car to take Marlene home. Together we got Marcy into her wheelchair for the test drive. The van is in great shape, did everything we wanted it to do, and was in our price range. Marcy blinked her OK, so we told Marlene we wanted it. Then Marlene lowered the price another $1,000! We bought it. All in all, it was a good day. Now all that is needed to close the deal on this prayer request is to sell the Mazda MPV that couldn't be converted for wheelchair accessibility. Please look at our on-line ad to see if it sounds right for someone you know. Last night (Friday, June 13) was our maiden voyage in our Plymouth Voyager. We went to a movie (The Italian Job) and things took a little longer than planned. We had planned to go to the 4:00 show and made it to the 7:05 show. After all the delay, Marcy couldn't stay in her wheelchair long enough to finish the movie, but it was great for us to get out. The kids are still in Illinois and we haven't told them about the van. We hope to surprise them when they get home: now Mommy can go to more of their life events. In our 5/21 email, we told you about the column in the Williamson AM that features our neighbors' bringing dinner. The column "Every Day Is Precious" is now appearing on the Faith page of the Williamson AM every Friday. Columns published since our last update feature (click to read online version) last October's golf tournament and Audrey's manicures. We're hoping the Williamson AM columns lead people to this website in search of ways that readers can help other families in need. To make it easier to find many of the blessings we have received, we added a "How to Help" page to the navigation bar of this site. If you've been following this site, you may remember most of them. But if you re-read this quick synopsis, you may think of someone else in need and send the page to one of their friends or caregivers. Over the last couple of weeks, Donna and Stephen loaned us a DVD and Mariellen picked up rental we requested from Blockbuster and it gave us an idea. I went to our Blockbuster and talked to the manager about Marcy's condition and the great escape that movies give both of us. He graciously offered to let any of our friends keep their rentals for twice as long as the stated rental time, if they bring the rental to our house for us to watch it as well. If you want to be part of this network please email me and I'll send you the permission form. Back
to top. About a year and a half ago, Suzanne, an animal lover who helped Marcy at Happy Tales, who happens to be a massage therapist, offered to give Marcy a massage whenever she wanted. When Marcy mentioned that she wanted a massage about a month ago, I remembered Suzanne's offer and called her. Suzanne has come every Tuesday since. She even came back when we weren't at home at the scheduled time last Tuesday (we were doing our test drive for the van.) God continues to bless us with supernatural friends. As you know, Marcy spends a lot of time in bed. She prays more than the average person and much of that prayer is for others. We would be honored if you would let us pray for a need in your life. Not that we are any more special than the next person, but just so we can do as commanded:
Even if you don't consider yourself a "saint," please email your prayer request. I'll print it and put it on a card right next to Marcy's speech synthesizer. New specific prayer request: God's wisdom as we evaluate a new clinical trial A new clinical trial for ALS patients was just announced and is being conducted in St. Louis - a manageable distance for us. The theory makes sense to us at first glance. Please pray for wisdom for us we look into this farther. Thank you again for your prayers. He is Who keeps us going. Rob
& Marcy |