This blog was started in 2004 when Annie was badly burnt. Over the years we have seen how God has continually provided for us and answered our many prayers.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Pray for Mike and Keri!
Mike and Keri are leaving now and I just wanted to ask you to pray for a safe travel for them. They will be traveling by car until tomorrow night. We are so happy that God took care of their children so that they could be here and serve us. We are so thankful!
Another tough day behind us!
Hi everyone!
Today was one of those not so fun, days again. I (Missy) must say I am getting tired of expecting one thing and getting another. I am trying so hard to look at her cleanings positively, however some days that is harder than others. Today the nurses cleaned her wounds well. Imagine having a thick scab on top of a bad sunburn. Now imagine someone pulling the scab off piece by piece. That is pretty much what they did to her today. She screamed blood curdling screams for a long time. We are pretty sure a lot of her screaming comes from anxiety as well as it hurting her.
They are very pleased with how she is healing and continue to encourage us about her final outcome. At the same time they slowly give you news that you haven't yet heard. We were told today that the different pigment in her skin will slowly fade. They never say it will go away. Then they told us she has to wear this pink stocking on her arm, legs, torso and a glove on her right hand for the next 6 months to a year. EVERYDAY. That wasn't fun to hear. I am sooo grateful to God for healing her fast and for showing His face to us during this difficult time. At the same time I covet your prayers for our future. I think we still have a ways to go until we are done with the painful cleanings. We now have to try hard to keep these stockings on her in the heat and try to keep her from getting any sun. They have told us that if she gets any sun on the new skin it will stain her skin forever.
We are praising God for the good news that Annie is using her right hand more and she is beginning to walk more by herself. Her independent spirit is starting to come back as she is quite the fighter. Please pray for all of us. All of the emotional stress is starting to get to Greg and I. We hate seeing Annie in pain and know that is what must happen for her to heal.
We will never be able to express to you how much we appreciate your messages and more importantly, your prayers. We know we wouldn't be doing as well if it weren't for those prayers. We noticed that there have been 7543 hits to this blog and that shows us just how much people care about us and about our Annie. No words can express how that touches our hearts!
Today was one of those not so fun, days again. I (Missy) must say I am getting tired of expecting one thing and getting another. I am trying so hard to look at her cleanings positively, however some days that is harder than others. Today the nurses cleaned her wounds well. Imagine having a thick scab on top of a bad sunburn. Now imagine someone pulling the scab off piece by piece. That is pretty much what they did to her today. She screamed blood curdling screams for a long time. We are pretty sure a lot of her screaming comes from anxiety as well as it hurting her.
They are very pleased with how she is healing and continue to encourage us about her final outcome. At the same time they slowly give you news that you haven't yet heard. We were told today that the different pigment in her skin will slowly fade. They never say it will go away. Then they told us she has to wear this pink stocking on her arm, legs, torso and a glove on her right hand for the next 6 months to a year. EVERYDAY. That wasn't fun to hear. I am sooo grateful to God for healing her fast and for showing His face to us during this difficult time. At the same time I covet your prayers for our future. I think we still have a ways to go until we are done with the painful cleanings. We now have to try hard to keep these stockings on her in the heat and try to keep her from getting any sun. They have told us that if she gets any sun on the new skin it will stain her skin forever.
We are praising God for the good news that Annie is using her right hand more and she is beginning to walk more by herself. Her independent spirit is starting to come back as she is quite the fighter. Please pray for all of us. All of the emotional stress is starting to get to Greg and I. We hate seeing Annie in pain and know that is what must happen for her to heal.
We will never be able to express to you how much we appreciate your messages and more importantly, your prayers. We know we wouldn't be doing as well if it weren't for those prayers. We noticed that there have been 7543 hits to this blog and that shows us just how much people care about us and about our Annie. No words can express how that touches our hearts!
Sunday Report
Good Morning,
Sorry for no post in the afternoon yesterday as we took a Sunday off from the post as well. Once again we want to say we are overwhelmed by your comments that are coming from all over the world. So many of you we do not know personally but your prayers are appreciated and have power. Thank you, thank you.
We had an incredible time at Church yesterday. We had a pastor contact who met us at the door and others assisted Jerod, Alex and Annie to get them where they needed to go. It is a very large church but we were given a few minutes to share during the service and a prayer by the pastor. Annie was with Keri in the childrens area and played well and walked the whole time. She cried at the end as she did not want to leave. Thank you Sagemont for the love you showed us.
We had to give Annie another cleaning last night. This is still difficult to see Annie in pain as we clean and dress her wounds. Her skin is healing but please pray for faster healing as these are tough for Annie (and for us) and she definitely knows now when these times are coming and gets very anxious.
She is still sleeping right now and slept okay last night. We have an appointment later this morning at the hospital for another cleaning and some physical therapy. Keep up the prayers as they are working. We praise God she is walking more and trying to use her fingers on her right hand more to play. Her personality is back and she is talking lots. The first 4-5 days after the accident she talked very little.
We will check back in later. The Woods
Sorry for no post in the afternoon yesterday as we took a Sunday off from the post as well. Once again we want to say we are overwhelmed by your comments that are coming from all over the world. So many of you we do not know personally but your prayers are appreciated and have power. Thank you, thank you.
We had an incredible time at Church yesterday. We had a pastor contact who met us at the door and others assisted Jerod, Alex and Annie to get them where they needed to go. It is a very large church but we were given a few minutes to share during the service and a prayer by the pastor. Annie was with Keri in the childrens area and played well and walked the whole time. She cried at the end as she did not want to leave. Thank you Sagemont for the love you showed us.
We had to give Annie another cleaning last night. This is still difficult to see Annie in pain as we clean and dress her wounds. Her skin is healing but please pray for faster healing as these are tough for Annie (and for us) and she definitely knows now when these times are coming and gets very anxious.
She is still sleeping right now and slept okay last night. We have an appointment later this morning at the hospital for another cleaning and some physical therapy. Keep up the prayers as they are working. We praise God she is walking more and trying to use her fingers on her right hand more to play. Her personality is back and she is talking lots. The first 4-5 days after the accident she talked very little.
We will check back in later. The Woods
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Sunday - A Day Off
Yesterday evening we treated her wounds and had another tough time but those treatments are getting easier and faster with experience. She got her hair washed and a bird bath afterwards and felt great and slept pretty good overall. She is starting to move around and changing positions at night while sleeping which is good. She continues to have some nightmares so please pray that the nightmares will stop and for little Annie and her sleep at night.
Today is Sunday and we have a day off today from Doctor and therapy visits. The physical therapist wants Annie to use her legs and fingers and not just be sitting around the house all day. Thus, we are excited to be making a visit to a church today just outside of Galveston. Missy and I really need this and are excited about worship today in English. Our friend Keri, who is with us, offered to take Annie into the preschool room at the church and be her personal teacher so we could enjoy the service. Annie is showing more signs of trying to walk on her own but still is cautious and nervous so we are hoping that being in a classroom setting with other kids will help her in her movement and walking.
The doctor told us yesterday that you just have to be patient with burn injuries and wait. Thus, we are doing that and at the same time trying to work with Annie's walking and finger movement in her right hand. Please pray for Annie to get through her nervousness of walking and using her right hand. Pray for us for patience with each other as we are in the waiting process. Our friends will be leaving soon and Missy's parents will be arriving on Tuesday to help out which is a huge blessing. Jerod and Alex are doing well and we are doing our best to keep them from getting bored. Galveston is located on the Gulf so we had them out in the ocean for a little while yesterday.
Thus, off to worship and we will touch base later.
Today is Sunday and we have a day off today from Doctor and therapy visits. The physical therapist wants Annie to use her legs and fingers and not just be sitting around the house all day. Thus, we are excited to be making a visit to a church today just outside of Galveston. Missy and I really need this and are excited about worship today in English. Our friend Keri, who is with us, offered to take Annie into the preschool room at the church and be her personal teacher so we could enjoy the service. Annie is showing more signs of trying to walk on her own but still is cautious and nervous so we are hoping that being in a classroom setting with other kids will help her in her movement and walking.
The doctor told us yesterday that you just have to be patient with burn injuries and wait. Thus, we are doing that and at the same time trying to work with Annie's walking and finger movement in her right hand. Please pray for Annie to get through her nervousness of walking and using her right hand. Pray for us for patience with each other as we are in the waiting process. Our friends will be leaving soon and Missy's parents will be arriving on Tuesday to help out which is a huge blessing. Jerod and Alex are doing well and we are doing our best to keep them from getting bored. Galveston is located on the Gulf so we had them out in the ocean for a little while yesterday.
Thus, off to worship and we will touch base later.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Baths are getting a little better
Today was a better day and there were a lot of tears. Annie had her bath at the hospital and cried her way through it. We were blessed by the nurse who did the cleaning super fast and it was over. When it was over Annie looked up at me and said, " I love you Mommy." At this point I was glad I wasn't the "meanie" today. She then heard a baby screaming in pain and said, " Mommy we need to pray for that baby because she is hurting bad." These burns may have hurt her skin, but her heart is exactly the same! Praise God! Greg and I did much better with the cleanings today and are determined to learn how to do this quickly. We were so encouraged because the Dr. said she was healing well. We were a little discouraged because he said what we thought were 2nd degree burns were actually 3rd degree burns. They will continue to watch these areas and see if she will need surgery. We are praying hard that she will heal without surgery. Annie is struggling with a lot of anxiety. She is scared to death of anything hot, scared to go potty, and scared of small insects. All of this is new to us. Please continue to pray for energy for all of us as we are literally exhausted and pray that Annie can learn to reuse her right hand and begin walking on her own. We read every post and continue to be blessed by each of you! Thank you so much!!
hospital address
Many of you have requested the address here. You can send mail to Annie at the following address:
Shriners Hospitals for Children
815 Market Street
Galveston, Texas 77550
Attn: Annie Wood
We have been told we will be here for at least another full week. We will keep you all updated on that. Thanks again for all of your encouragement, it means the world to us!
Shriners Hospitals for Children
815 Market Street
Galveston, Texas 77550
Attn: Annie Wood
We have been told we will be here for at least another full week. We will keep you all updated on that. Thanks again for all of your encouragement, it means the world to us!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Our morning
Hi everyone!
We started the morning off with prayer. We then got ready to change Annie's bandages. I (Missy) was looking forward to this about as much as I would if I were going to the dentist to have my wisdom teeth pulled. Pure dread. We explained to Annie that mommy and daddy would be doing the changing of her bandages instead of the nurses. I told her that mommy would do her best not to hurt her. Keri, Greg and I started the process and all was going okay until we got to her hand. (which Keri describes as a charcoaled marshmallow) All of a sudden Keri says, "I think I am going to pass out." About that time, she passes out. We have since then, joked about her doing that on purpose for some comic relief. She came to a few seconds later and was fine. Then Mike decided he should take over. It wasn't funny at the time except for the fact that Annie was really confused, because Miss Keri wasn't in pain. She wanted me to tell you all of this because she wanted you to know just how bad her burns really are. You can't tell that because she is covered in bandages and only we can see what is under them. Jerod and Alex still do not know the seriousness of her condition. I say all of this because when I feel someone is doing better I tend to slack off of the prayers. Sorry, I just do. So, I want you to know, she is doing great for someone who had 20% of her body burned and some of those places we don't like to talk about. However, she still screams as if she were being burned all over again as we scrub the burned skin and rebandage it. She still has fears about going potty and can not stand on her own for more than a few minutes without the assistance of a walker or someone's hand. I really don't want to seem like I am complaining. God has done a miracle for her! The doctors continue to tell us that the majority of children who are burned like she was usually have all 3rd degree burns, all need surgery and almost all of them have their faces burned and lose all of their hair. So, I praise God that Annie's face is still PERFECT and her beautiful red hair is all there! Those are only cosmetic things, however it makes her seem normal. When you walk through the burn unit, you realize just how precious life is and just how much people look at the outside of a person and not at one's heart. We covet your prayers for tomorrow as she will again go to the "torture chamber" at 8:00am EST. We love reading your posts and tell Annie of all the people who are praying for her. She says, "Thank You!"
We started the morning off with prayer. We then got ready to change Annie's bandages. I (Missy) was looking forward to this about as much as I would if I were going to the dentist to have my wisdom teeth pulled. Pure dread. We explained to Annie that mommy and daddy would be doing the changing of her bandages instead of the nurses. I told her that mommy would do her best not to hurt her. Keri, Greg and I started the process and all was going okay until we got to her hand. (which Keri describes as a charcoaled marshmallow) All of a sudden Keri says, "I think I am going to pass out." About that time, she passes out. We have since then, joked about her doing that on purpose for some comic relief. She came to a few seconds later and was fine. Then Mike decided he should take over. It wasn't funny at the time except for the fact that Annie was really confused, because Miss Keri wasn't in pain. She wanted me to tell you all of this because she wanted you to know just how bad her burns really are. You can't tell that because she is covered in bandages and only we can see what is under them. Jerod and Alex still do not know the seriousness of her condition. I say all of this because when I feel someone is doing better I tend to slack off of the prayers. Sorry, I just do. So, I want you to know, she is doing great for someone who had 20% of her body burned and some of those places we don't like to talk about. However, she still screams as if she were being burned all over again as we scrub the burned skin and rebandage it. She still has fears about going potty and can not stand on her own for more than a few minutes without the assistance of a walker or someone's hand. I really don't want to seem like I am complaining. God has done a miracle for her! The doctors continue to tell us that the majority of children who are burned like she was usually have all 3rd degree burns, all need surgery and almost all of them have their faces burned and lose all of their hair. So, I praise God that Annie's face is still PERFECT and her beautiful red hair is all there! Those are only cosmetic things, however it makes her seem normal. When you walk through the burn unit, you realize just how precious life is and just how much people look at the outside of a person and not at one's heart. We covet your prayers for tomorrow as she will again go to the "torture chamber" at 8:00am EST. We love reading your posts and tell Annie of all the people who are praying for her. She says, "Thank You!"
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