Abby's Journey Archive

Carlin left peacefully at 1 this morning. Please pray for his family.

Since we last posted, Carlin's condition has steadily declined. He has been unresponsive since this past Monday when he started having seizures. This prompted an MRI. The MRI revealed that although the chemotherapy he had received seemed to shrink some of his tumors, another large spot showed up on his brain stem next to the original tumor site.

They have discontinued all treatment and are providing only comfort medical support. I was able to pray for Carlin last night at the hospital with his parents, Ling and Sammy, as well as Carlin's aunt and grandmother. I praise the Lord that we had the wonderful priviledge to share the story of Jesus with Carlin when he was still awake and alert a few weeks ago.

This evening C.R. brought Josiah to the hospital (at his insistence) to say good bye to Carlin. Josiah wanted to tell Carlin one more Jesus story. C.R. also had the opportunity to talk with Sammy.

Please pray for Carlin's family as they say their good-byes to their only child. Ask the Lord to wrap His loving arms around them and comfort them with His peace. If you'd like to see pictures of Carlin, you can see his website at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/carlinshi

We've had more than a few people ask "how are you handling this?" I can only say that it certainly has brought back memories and prompted many tears, but we continue to feel certain that our friendship with Carlin and his family was divinely orchestrated. With that in mind, we press on and trust our loving Savior to provide us with the emotional support we need to do His work. He continues to give us strength we didn't know we had and it reminds us again of His faithfulness. Josiah wrote a "Dear Abby" letter in his Abby journal today asking her to meet Carlin at the gates of heaven and introduce him to Jesus as well as a few other important bible characters like King Josiah, Abigail, Daniel, and Elizabeth.

Finally, we heard from our news reporter friend, Jeff Bills today. Channel 5 will air Abby's follow up story this Monday at 10 pm. He has been done with the piece for a few months, but his producer wanted to air it during sweeps month. You can pray that the Lord will use it for His glory and good purposes.

We continue to humbly ask you to pray for Carlin. We have enjoyed his company so much (and that of his mom and dad as well). He is bright, funny, and has an impish streak that reveals itself most often in the form of a rapier-sharp wit. He has become one of Josiah's good friends.

Amy has been privileged to have him come for our weekly science lesson. Some days he has been here all afternoon.

About two weeks ago his condition worsened considerably and he began to become extremely tired all the time. All he wanted to do was sleep. Their oncologist sent them for an MRI which revealed terrible news--his tumor has spread significantly throughout his central nervous system. Like we did with Abby, they have increased his Decadron sizably in hopes of lessening his body's natural inflammatory response and helping him to feel better.

He has been admitted to the hospital today to receive a round of chemo and also because he has been having respiratory issues related to the tumor progression. Ling called Amy today to let her know that they were now inpatient, and said that Carlin, in spite of his exhaustion, very much wanted Josiah to come visit. God willing, they will go this evening.

We are very encouraged because Ling has expressed more and more interest recently in what it is that makes us able to cope on a day-to-day basis. She has said she is open to us talking about who Jesus is and what He means to us, both with her and with Carlin. This is the opportunity for which we have been waiting and praying.