Translate This Page To: Spanish German French Italian Portuguese Norwegian Brought to you From FreeTranslation.com Mikey A gift from a friend. Mikey's Miracle ..... Current Page Page One Page Two UPDATE: 6-30-10 Mikey is well, thank You, Lord. He's starting his new heart meds for the ventricular tachycardia, and we're still waiting for the report on his heart monitoring. He had a CT scan at the hospital this week. They're looking for possible polyps in his sinus cavity, as he has not responded to 4 courses of antibiotic therapy since december of last year (now on this 5th)! UPDATE: 6-4-10 Last week, Mikey was in Children's Hospital, hoping for a new heart valve. The new heart valve was not available for Mikey, so they attempted another balloon valvuloplasty. Mikey's porcine (pig) valve is actually INSIDE a large dacron tube extending out from a hole in his heart. It's hard to inflate a balloon inside a tube, and it had already been ballooned once last year, but they were able to do some good. Mikey was able to come home this week with a few extra holes, but home, so we thank God for that. Doc says the pressure ratio in his heart was reduced some by this procedure, buying him 6, maybe 9 months time... says he is still hoping for new technology that will help Mikey. The dacron tube is now pressing against his sternum. His great pulmonary artery has outgrown the artificial artery (dacron tube/conduit) it connects with. Mikey is fragile, but safe right now. He is breathing better, and feeling better. Thanks for all your prayers. UPDATE: 5-17-10 May 16th, 2010... Mikey's pulmonary tests they ran at St.Edwards Hospital went well. After this week, he will be going to Children's Hospital in Little Rock to repair (or replace) a failing heart valve. He won't quite finish the school year, but he was getting A's, so they are going to freeze his grades where they are, and he will advance to the next grade. UPDATE: 12-22-09 Mikey was at Children's Hospital in Little Rock this week. They have found that the implanted heart valve they repaired this summer is already narrowing. He will be watched carefully, and if the narrowing continues, and a repair is not possible, he will need another open-heart surgery to replace the whole system (dacron tube, porcine valve, etc). We knew that he would need this surgery eventually, but not so soon. The good news is that they will be able to implant adult-size parts on this next operation.. that he won't outgrow. They will still need to be replaced, also, but... there is a new procedure on the horizon. During the surgery they may be able to implant a system that is partially replaceable via heart cath. Then, when a new valve is needed, the valve itself could be implanted in the dacron conduit in the cath lab inlieu of major open-heart surgery. So.. some bad news, some good news. I'm believing God for the good news.. seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Mikey is alright for now. Every year, we all take the kids out to ride the Holiday Express steam train and see the pretty lights. We also celebrated Emily's 5th birthday. UPDATE: 8-4-09 August already, and .. Mikey is doing so well right now.. thank You, Lord! Summer break is winding down now, and "freshman" Mikey will be entering the 9th grade in just a few weeks. We're so thankful that we were able to get Mikey in (and out, hallelujah!) of the hospital right after school adjourned for the summer. It's been a BUSY, but GREAT summer for all of us. We were able to make many outings, including a lot of trips to the waterpark to stay cool on the 100 degree days... a good value, too, at $1.00 for toddlers and free for seniors (grandma and grandpa)! We're all having so much fun with the grandbabies right now. And it just keeps gettin' better. We are blessed! UPDATE: 7-27-09 Mikey is thriving, just weeks after the repair of his heart valve! Just a few months ago, he took his written test and got his learner's permit. After a few months practice, he has now driven with the state police, passed his road test, and turned in his permit for a license! He's been going to the waterpark regularly with A&E (our "grandbeauties", Andy & Emily)... fully enjoying his summer break, and he will return to school August 19th as a freshman (9th grade).. We've come such a long way with Mikey! Mikey and Family.. walking in the FOG! (Favor Of God) UPDATE: 7-21-09 Mikey is home and feeling great after his heart valve "repair" just a few weeks ago! Mikey got his a new bike. This is actually his first bike, and he has just learned to ride. Because of his heart and subsequent medical problems, he never learned to ride until now. He got the bike this week and learned to ride in just 2 days.. one day he learned to balance while coasting down our driveway.. next day he learned to pedal while balancing in a parking lot. He really enjoys riding. Now he and niece Emily can ride together..hehe! UPDATE: 7-14-09 Mikey is home and doing well. It was just a few weeks ago that Children's Hospital repaired his failing heart valve and gave us a few more years before we should have to worry about another heart surgery. Thank you for all your prayers, and thank You, Lord! UPDATE: 7-9-09 Michael is still doing well. Children's Hospital was able to open his failing heart valve, decreasing the pressure in his heart by 50 percent and "buying" him perhaps a few more years before another major open-heart surgery. He is home and doing well! Thank you for all your prayers, and thank You, Lord! UPDATE: 6-22-09 Happy Dad's Day, and I am one happy dad today! Mikey is home, and healthier than before he left. His breathing is better. His voice is stronger. And he seems to have more stamina.. thank You, Lord! Doctors were able to open his implanted heart valve enough to reduce the pressure by about 50 percent. They believe they have bought a couple of years, before the dacron tube and porcine heart valve will have to be replaced now. Yesterday, we went for a long walk and another walk is planned for today. I had a hard time keeping up with Mikey and I had to take several rests while he waited. After church today, the kids are getting together and barbecuing for this ol' dad. Ribs! Oh yes! My little tough guy, grandson Andy, loves to help grandma and grandpa. As I mowed, he blew the grass clippings off the patio: UPDATE: 6-13-09 MIKEY NEEDS YOUR PRAYERS! Monday morning, in Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, they will try to open Mikey's failing heart valve. This is his 3rd heart valve to fail. During his last open-heart surgery they implanted a dacron tube with a porcine (pig) valve in one end. That tube extends from a hole in his heart out to his pulmonary. The fact that THIS valve is INSIDE a tube, makes it more difficult to repair, but they will attempt the repair monday morning. Failure, would necessitate another major open-heart surgery, but we are believing God that this valve WILL be opened. PLEASE PRAY AND BELIEVE WITH US. THANKS SO MUCH! Mikey and Family UPDATE: 5-19-09 Mikey played scrabble with mom on our living room floor last night. He is using his wheelchair to finish out the school year, and he will be returning to Little Rock next month for another heart procedure. He is short of breath (due to his failing heart valve) and not able to get any exercise right now. They will do a heart cath and see if it's possible to "balloon" the heart valve to "buy some time" before attempting yet another open-heart surgery in June. We're praying and believing God for another miracle healing for Michael. Mikey and Family.. walking in the FOG! (Favor Of God) UPDATE: 5-14-09 We had a party at the house and Mikey injured his knee playing ping pong with his brother, Joe. They can't do an MRI because of his pacer, but they did remove a pint of blood from his knee cap and a CT scan shows a large blood mass, chipped knee and possible LCL or ligament tear. He will have to finish the school year in a wheelchair and then they will look at the knee again for possible repair. We're sorry to report that Mikey's heart valve is failing again. Next month (June) he will have to return to Children's Hospital where they will attempt a repair to "buy time" before proceeding with yet another open-heart surgery. Pray and believe with us for another miracle healing. UPDATE: 5-5-09 Mikey's heart valve is failing again. Next month (June) he will have to return to Children's Hospital where they will attempt a repair. Pray and believe with us for another miracle healing. On the long ride home from the hospital, after receiving the bad news, Mikey prepared a message on faith for his Youth Alive group at school. Mikey also shared his message with our church last sunday morning. Yesterday we went door-to-door again.. in the rain this time (it was fun!) inviting people to church. When it's NOT raining, we love taking our little grandbeauties and miniature golfing. UPDATE: 4-27-09 April 26th 2009... Mikey and Family travelled to Children's Hospital in Little Rock this week. We're sorry to report that Mikey's heart valve is failing again. During summer break (June) he will have to return to the hospital to attempt some kind of repair. The valve that was implanted in 2004 is obstructed. Another heart echo will be done and possibly another cath at this time to see how to proceed. They may attempt another balloon valvuloplasty to open the valve. The problem is that the porcine (pig) heart valve is INSIDE a dacron tube now. A stent can't be used. And a balloon could only be inflated to a very small degree with the valve being inside a 22mm tube. We're not sure what will happen if the valve cannot be opened... the last surgery took hours, just to get through all the scar tissue from previous surgeries. We're just gonna pray and believe God to open this valve! We took Mikey and the grandkids to the Little Rock Zoo while we were there. In the photo above, you can see them with the elephants... Andrew's favorite.. he got to pet them! On the long ride home, Mikey prepared his message for his Youth Alive group at school. He was speaking on faith. Pastor Don is having him share his message on faith with the congregation today in the main service. UPDATE: 4-14-09 EASTER! What a great day.. Mikey is well, thank You, Lord! He will be going to Children's Hospital in Little Rock next week for testing, but we're expecting things to go well, and he should return home the same day. Yesterday was so beautiful. After breakfast and a trip to the health club, we took Mikey and the grandkids miniature golfing, then we all got together for barbecue at Rhonda and Mister Eds. UPDATE: 3-23-09 Mikey is well, thank You, Lord! SPRING is here.. the "vernal equinox". It is said that during the equinox, you can balance an egg on it's point. I can't do it, but Mikey CAN! I tried and tried, and never got close. Mikey balanced the egg in seconds, over and over again, making it look easy. Hmmm... School is out for spring break now, and Mikey has plenty planned to keep him occupied. We took the grandkids to a shopping mall in Oklahoma last week, where they have rides, an aquarium and a little train to ride on UPDATE: 2-11-09 T.G.I.S. .. Thank God It's SONday, and we get to go to church today! God is Good! Mikey IS doing well. He has regular pacemaker checks via phone modem, and he visits his cardiologists in Little Rock. They have a new surgery team there that will perform Mikey's next heart surgery. It's hard to believe, as healthy as Mikey appears now, that he is still so very ill. The expectation is still that his life will "be short". That's what this page is about. Thousands of wonderful people have visited Mikey's page and prayed for him. Many have been inspired, blessed, and even found Jesus through these simple pages. It's surprising how many emails we have received from "back-slidden" couples and families who have returned to church after being inspired by Mikey's simple pages. To God be the glory. It's all about Him. Mikey IS well. His last trip to Little Rock he saw his cardiologists and got a great report, thank You, Lord! He had ekgs, a pacemaker clinic and a heart echo done, and everything looked fine. The dacron conduit in his heart is clear and the porcine valve is working well for him. He still has "heart rub" and a leaky mitral valve, but medication is controlling the sinus tachycardia (fast heart rate), and we are all very happy with Mikey's progress since his latest heart surgery last summer. UPDATE: 12-22-08 Merry CHRISTmas & Happy HOLYdays. Mikey is well.. thank You, Lord. He gave me a little scare friday morning. The school called and said Michael was having chest pain and breathing problems associated with his heart. I rushed to the school, and putting my ear to his chest, I could hear his heart beat, then stop, then start again.. over and over, so I took him straight to the emergency room. The cardiologists and pacer specialists were called in and determined that he was having PACs. He was released after all the tests confirmed it was safe, but he will have to wear a "Holter" heart monitor for a while when he returns to school. They say that he may have to "get used" to these PACs. PACs stand for Premature Atrial Contractions. Well.. "premature contractions" sound like labor pain to me, so now I can tease him about going into labor UPDATE: 12-9-08 Mikey is well.. thank You, Lord. December already.. BUSY December! Yesterday was "Take The City" for our church.. Mikey went with me, door-to-door inviting people to church. Today is our CHRISTmas drama. In the photo above, Mikey is playing with niece Emily and nephew Andy in his room. They stayed with us while mom and dad CHRISTmas shopped. We love this time of year.. besides going to our church, we like to try and visit other churches as well and enjoy their music and CHRISTmas dramas. UPDATE: 11-19-08 Mikey is well.. thank You, Lord. His heart is still pounding a little harder (and louder), but we're keeping an eye on that. Mister Ed has been out hunting this week, so Mikey and grandpa have been doing a little more A&E sitting than ususal (A&E= grandkids Andy & Emily). We got the kids some Plasma cars, and they've been riding them a lot in our garage. They're really neat.. no pedaling, no pushing, no batteries.. you just sit down on the seat and steer.. they work like magic on some kind of "inertia system" (that I don't understand). Where were these when I was a kid?!? I found a good deal on them, so I bought four of them.. UPDATE: 8-04-08 Mikey is well, thank You, Lord, and.. he's still making the most of his summer break. This week, we loaded up our van and headed for the Wild Wilderness Safari (photo above)... just north of us in Gentry, Arkansas. It had been a while since we were there last, but we are SO glad we decided to go again. Our temps are in the 106-108 degree range in the river valley right now, but when we got to the "safari" they had a brief shower and then it was overcast with a nice breeze for the rest of the day, which felt GREAT! The kids particularly enjoyed the petting zoos, while grandma and grandpa preferred the 6-mile drive thru area where the animals roam free (and we get to enjoy them from the comfort of the air-conditioned vehicle). There's a snack bar and picnic areas also, where we lunched. There are 31 more of our safari pictures in a little online album we made HERE, including one with a 20 pound boa constrictor wrapped around grandpa's neck! Today is Miracle Sunday at our church, where we'll be praying for families, finances and healing. ~ Mikey & family.. walking in the FOG! (Favor Of God). Life is good. GOD is good! UPDATE: 4-22-08 Mikey has been in Little Rock for tests, but he is fine. He had an EKG, a heart ultrasound, and an arrythmia clinic. His cardiologists think he is doing well, and that as long as he doesn't have any further problems, he can go another 6 months before being seen again. His "dacron tube" conduit is clear, the porcine valve is functioning well, and his pacing device is still working well for him, so we're all pleased with his progress. UPDATE: 3-8-08 Hope this email finds everyone well. Mikey, Andy & Emily are reminding everyone to set those clocks ahead tonight before bed, and.. change the batteries in the smoke alarms too.. God Bless, Mikey & Family UPDATE: 1-28-08 Mikey has been doing well after our little scare last week. He has had no more heart "incidents" since last wednesday, and he hasn't been back on the heart monitor, thank You, Lord! Today we're having another church fundraiser for lunch, right after morning services.. Mister Ed and a lot of other volunteers are making homemade chili, chili dogs, various sandwiches and desserts, and the youth group is making chili cheese fries. Tonight we will have a free concert with CO3 (Cord of Three). They are a really good gospel music group. They've been at our church before, and we're really looking forward to seeing them again tonight.. We LOVE our church! We're on a weather roller-coaster right now.. cold one day, warm the next. We were in the upper 30s the last 2 days, now we're expecting mid 60s today and 70° tomorrow, then a few 40s later in the week. We never know how to dress from one day to the next. UPDATE: 1-22-08 Mikey gave us a scare after church wednesday night, but he is alright at the moment. He took his shower after church and had sit down on his bed to read his bible. Suddenly his heart started racing at nearly 180 beats per minute, his arms and legs became numb and he got very weak and dizzy. We took him to the emergency room, where he got an EKG, xrays, and Medtronics were called in to "interrogate" his heart-pacing device. He had been hit in the stomache with a basketball at school earlier. His present (3rd) pacer is implanted in his stomache and we thought the jolt might have loosened one of the lead wires. The cardiologists were called and he may have to go back on 24 hour heart monitoring again, but he has been alright for the last few days now. UPDATE: 12-24-07 Merry CHRISTmas! Mikey is thriving, thank You, Lord. He's out of school for CHRISTmas break now .. doesn't return to school until January 7th! Mikey helped prepare some of the CHRISTmas presents for the kids. It's been a great year. Mikey has been dong SO well. In fact, these last few years have been the GREATEST.. thanks to the grandkidlets. We're looking forward to spending mucho time with them during the winter break! ~ Mikey & family.. walking in the FOG! (Favor Of God). Life is good. GOD is good UPDATE: 10-29-07 768 souls saved in 8 days! That is the count for our 8-day "Heaven Or Hell" drama which ended last week. Wow! Mikey is fine. He saw his cardiologists last week, and we're all pleased with his progress. Our weather is really nice.. In the photo above, you can see Mikey playing in our backyard (which needs mowing, AGAIN). We celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary last night.. UPDATE: 10-22-07 Mikey saw his cardiologists this week and he got another good report... thank You, Lord! The "dacron tube" in his heart is clear and the porcine valve is working well. If he continues to do this well, he will not need to be seen again until next year in Little Rock! Mikey & family.. walking in the FOG! (Favor Of God). Life is good. GOD is good UPDATE: 9-17-07 Mikey is doing well, thank You, Lord. He will be seeing his cardiologists again next month. ~ Mikey & family.. walking in the FOG! (Favor Of God). Life is good. GOD is good! UPDATE: 6-25-07 Mikey is doing well, thank You, We took A&E (Andy & Emily) with us to the bowling alley for a little bowling and billiards. A rainstorm broke out after we got inside and we lost power briefly. It wasn't until we got home, that we found out a tornado had touched down just north of us. I had carried an umbrella inside with us, because it looked like it was going to rain, but we didn't know there was going to be any severe weather. Little Emily figured out how to open grandpa's umbrella, and she insisted on carrying it around with her (opened), the whole time we were there! UPDATE: 6-18-07 Happy Dad's Day! Mikey is doing pretty well. I've only had to use his monitor to transmit one "heart event" in the last week or longer. Our Mister Ed took 2nd place in our church's BBQ contest last week (we'd have given him 1st place), and the church has asked him to do the cooking for our 4th of July BBQ. We took A&E (grandkids, Andy & Emily) to the zoo last week. In the photo above, Mikey and Emily are watching the camels. Andy was fascinated with ALL the animals. Emily spent much of HER time chasing the turkeys! Our families went out for a joint Father's Day celebration last night, for all the dads. My kids and I snuck off into a corner of the restaurant to take the picture below (this ol' dad with my 2 boys, my daughter, and the grandkidlets): UPDATE: 6-11-07 Mikey is doing alright, although he is still having some heart "episodes". I got one recorded on his "event monitor" the other day and transmitted it to his cardiology team in Little Rock. Mikey and niece Emily are riding the little train at one of our local parks. UPDATE: 6-4-07 Mikey is doing okay. He has a new "heart event monitor" now. It's hardly bigger than a credit card. When he has a "heart incident", he just presses it against his chest, records the incident, and transmits it directly to the cardiology team in Little Rock via phone. What a week.. and now Mikey is out of school for the summer. UPDATE: 5-28-07 Memorial weekend! Let us not forget our brave soldiers, past, and our present troops in prayer. Mikey is doing fairly well. He still has some heart "incidents".. pain, fast heart rate and numbness in the arms and hands, but they seem to "maybe" be a little milder and not quite as often. In the photo above, Mikey is kickin' back, takin' it easy out on our front patio. He had a couple of teeth removed last week, to make room for the orthodontic work he is having done. He can't have the nitrous, so it was quite painful, but he feels fine now, and we're taking full advantage of the long weekend. After a special Memorial service at church today, we're taking Mikey and Emily to the circus! Tomorrow are more special Memorial Day events, including the Memorial Day parade downtown, a "Fly-In" at Flightmaster's Field, and the kick-off of the Old Fort Days Rodeo. Then we're going to Springdale for a couple of days of fun. What a busy week ahead, and... Mikey only has 3 school days left before summer break!!! We took our "grands" (Andy & Emily) out to try out a new seafood restaurant that just opened. UPDATE: 5-21-07 Mikey is doing pretty well.. thank You, Lord. Only 9 more days of school left before summer break! And that includes one "Fun Day" and one field trip we're all taking to the "Jones Family Center" in Springdale. The Jones Center is a great recreation center for family fun.. swimming, indoor ice-skating rink, etc. etc. and they're catering in the meals for all of us. We love this time of year... great weather and so many outdoor festivites before the "real" heat arrives! We had the "grands" (Andy & Emily) out at the park to ride the little train again.. UPDATE: 5-14-07 Happy Mother's Day! Mikey is still "cordless" (off the heart monitor), although he is STILL having incidents of pain, numbness and fast heart rate. What a week we have had! In the photo above, Mikey is pictured with the rest of the family celebrating TWO birthdays.. mom's and brother Joe's. Joe turned 30. Mom turned, well... Yesterday, after a BBQ cook-off in the park, we went to the Old Timer's Day Festival. It was near 90° and humid, but we just got some cool drinks and found some shade! The picture below, was taken last night at the restaurant where we took all the moms (Dee Dee, Rhonda, & Mary) out to dinner for Mom's Day. UPDATE: 5-7-07 Mikey is cordless again.. He's off his heart monitor for (hopefully) a while again, although he is still having some heart "episodes". Our weather is still good, although a little hot and humid. In the picture above, Mikey is at a local carnival with A&E.. Andy & Emily (our "grands"). May is such a busy month for our family.. Along with all the spring festivals going on, Mikey has brother Joey's birthday, mom's birthday, Mother's Day, extra-curricular activities at school, church activities, etc. etc. Yesterday it was men's ministries in the morning, Fort Smith Classic golf tournament in the afternoon, followed by "Dinner And A Movie" at our church last night. ~ Mikey & family.. walking in the FOG! (Favor Of God). Life is good. GOD is good! UPDATE: 4-30-07 As you can see from the photo above, Mikey is still on the heart monitor, due to continuing episodes of weakness, fast heart rate and numbness in his arms and hands. We will send another "digital reading" of Mikey's heart functions to Little Rock sometime this week for interpretation. Meanwhile, our beautiful weather continues. Yesterday, our church had a car wash fundraiser. Today we have a spaghetti fundraiser and anniversary celebration. And, we've been spending a lot of time outdoors with A&E (our "grands", Andy & Emily). UPDATE: 4-23-07 Mikey is still having episodes of weakness, fast heart rate and numbness in his arms and hands, so he is back on the heart monitor. Mikey can be seen wearing his monitor in the photo above, with niece Emily. Emily is not so sure she likes all those wires hanging down from Mikey's chest and sides! The monitor registers a continuous EKG, right around the clock. After 72 hours we overnight the memory discs to Little Rock. Our weather has been great and we're enjoying many outdoor activities with Mikey and the grandkids. There are many Spring Festivals going on right now, and the monitor does not keep Mikey at home. Yesterday, we got a little TOO MUCH sun (even with the sunblock on) watching our Lions' baseball team beat the Seminoles! In the photo below, Mikey is pictured with Emily on a picnic/outing at our local nature center. Our little tough guy, Andy, was along too, of course, but he doesn't seem to get in all our photos. They've been out there many times with us. UPDATE: 4-16-07 Mikey is home and doing well now. As many of you know, he had some heart problems over the last 2 weeks, and we had to take him to Little Rock. More tests were run and they gave him a heart echo. They changed his medications and made some adjustments in his pacemaker settings. They believe that he is alright now and that the changes they made will be the only intervention necessary at this time. Another 6 weeks and Mikey will be out of school for the summer. UPDATE: 4-9-07 EASTER! What a GREAT day... a day to reflect on our RISEN Saviour! Mikey is home again (photo above) and doing well. Last week he had some heart problems again, and we had to get him from school and take him to Little Rock. They ran more tests and gave him a very thorough heart echo. They changed his medications and made some adjustments in his pacemaker settings. They believe that he is alright and that the changes they did make will be the only intervention necessary at this time. Mikey feels better after being assured by his cardiologists that he is alright. He went to our Men's Ministries breakfast with me yesterday, and he's walking to early Easter services! We had A&E (Andy & Emily, our grandkids) with us when we went to Little Rock, so we stopped at the zoo while we were there. We got some great pictures, and printed them out, but... when I went to upload them, the memory card shorted out somehow and all electronic images are lost, so I can't show them to y'all online. The kids sure had a good time. Emily particularly enjoyed the bears, the monkeys, the giraffes, the elephants and the train that runs around the zoo. She did NOT like the iguanas... she did not want anything to do with those! Below is a photo of Mikey's nephew Andy and one PROUD grandpa! ~ Mikey & family UPDATE: 4-5-07 Mikey has had several more incidents with his heart. We had to run up to the school and get him today. He was scheduled to be in Little Rock in 2 weeks, but his cardiologists want to see him right away now, so we'll be headed to Little Rock in a few hours so they can do a heart echo, run some other tests and maybe change his pacemaker settings. We'll let you know what we find out. UPDATE: 4-2-07 Mikey is much better this week. We had to rush him to the hospital last week after he returned from his Spring Break trip. He was suddenly light-headed, his heart was racing and his arms and hands went numb. All the tests from the hospital could not pinpoint anything, but he is scheduled for further investigation with his heart doctors in Little Rock. He has only had one more "milder" incident. He's still "understandably" nervous and gets a little upset, especially around bedtime, since last week's scare. In the photo above, Mikey is at the bowling alley with big brother Joe and sister-in-law Brittney. They took him out for lunch and bowling yesterday. Our temperatures remain a little above normal, and forecasters are saying it could hit 90° tomorrow.. WOW! SeeMikey's Spring Break pics right HERE! Below is a picture of our little tough guy (Andy) with this VERY proud grandpa! ~ Mikey & family.. walking in the FOG! (Favor Of God). Life is good. GOD is good! UPDATE: 3-26-07 Most Recent Update: Mikey is resting comfortably at home tonight. We're not really sure what  happened. The results of all of the tests they have done so far show  nothing that extraordinary, other than low carbon dioxide in his blood.  One ER doc suggested he had hyperventilated, setting off a chain of  heart events. But I was with him and watching him every second and I  would have known if he was hyperventilating.  For now, the doctors and cardiologists think he will be safe at home  until further follow-up w/heart echo in Little Rock.  Yesterday: Note: Mikey was rushed to the hospital yesterday. We were just relaxing, and he suddenly got light-headed, his heart started racing and both arms and hands went numb. EKGs have been done.. also blood-work, xrays and pacemaker "interrogation". The doctors and cardiologists are not positive what happened, but Mikey is stable and resting comfortably this evening (we're actually doing this update early, on saturday). We had just returned from a Spring Break vacation in Branson, Missouri, so we are going to go ahead with a little "vacation update" and do any "medical update" "if and when" we learn anything new. Mikey had been on Spring Break in Branson, MO. We had met Mikey's grandma Moore, Uncle Rusty and Aunt Carol in Branson for Spring Break, then they all came to Fort Smith to visit with the rest of the family and see the babies. The photo above was taken out at our mall before they left.. Mikey in a four-generation picture with great-grandma Moore, Grandma Dee Dee, Mom Rhonda and kidlets Emily and Andy! While in Fort Smith, our "vacation group" got together with Joe & Brittney, Uncle Bob & his girls, and Ed & Rhonda's family at our house, then we all went out for a pizza buffet.. While in Branson, we: saw an IMAX movie, visited Ripley's Believe It Or Not, the Branson Landing, Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede, the Titanic Museum, Jim Bakker Show, Jim Stafford Show, outlet malls, go-karts, Pierce Arrow theater, Showboat Branson Belle.. hmm.. not sure if I listed everything here, but that was a lot right there! We kept busy and had a great time. Mikey loved spending the time with grandma Moore, and it made it more fun for us since it was grandma's first trip to Branson. Note: Mikey is feeling better this evening, although nervous and understandably frightened.. We're not counting this as a setback at all. We're just thankful for the long period of time, we have been able to enjoy WITHOUT any "heart events". God is good! THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS! ~ Mikey & family.. walking in the FOG! (Favor Of God). Life is good. GOD is good! UPDATE: 3-19-07 Mikey is WELL, thank You, Lord! He has seen his doctor and his orthodontist again. In our pictures, you can probably see the metal in his mouth (new braces). In the photo above, you can see we're all still enjoying our BEAUTIFUL spring weather. Mikey and "grandma", along with A&E (Andy & Emily) are eating Happy Meals and ice cream outdoors, after a day at the park. "Grandpa" is there too, of course, but I'm always the camera-man! Mikey and family are having a ball with the "grands".. 2-year-old Emily gabs all the time now, and little Andy is growin' like kudzu! Temps have been topping off at 80° and we have many more outdoor activities planned. Mikey & family.. walking in the FOG! (Favor Of God). Life is good. GOD is good! T.G.I.S. .. Thank God It's SONday, and we get to go to church today! God is Good! UPDATE: 3-12-07 Mikey is WELL, thank You, Lord! Did you set your clocks ahead yet? In the photo above, Mikey, Andy and Emily are reminding you of the time change AND urging everyone to check the batteries in their smoke alarms as well. Our weather has been great and we're spending a lot of time outdoors with the kids. In the photo below, Mikey is going down the corkscrew slide at the park with grandma and the babies. Later, we took the kids out for ice cream, sitting at their tables outdoors.. It's too nice to be inside! Ballgames, picnics at the park, barbecues, miniature golf... We LOVE this time of year! ~ Mikey & family.. walking in the FOG! (Favor Of God). God is good! UPDATE: 3-10-07 Mikey, along with niece Emily and nephew Andy, are reminding yall that it's time to "spring forward" and set the clocks ahead again saturday night, March 11th... SEE THE ATTACHED PHOTO! Seems like we just changed them such a short time ago! This new LONGER daylight savings time may take some time for us to adjust to! Be sure and replace the batteries in those smoke alarms as well. Mikey & Family .. walking in the FOG (favor of God) UPDATE: 3-5-07 Mikey is doing well, thank You, Lord! He had his pacemaker checked wednesday and another doctor appointment friday, and everything seems to be alright. The photo above was taken last night at Mr. Ed and Rhonda's house. We were having a barbecue, and Mikey was playing out on the carport with A&E (Andy & Emily) while we waited for Ed to get the food out of the smoker... brisket, corn, taters and beans. Mr. Ed gets better at this every time. The meat was VERY tender and VERY "smokey" after 9½ hours in the smoker! Temps have been in the mid 70s. We've had more tornadoes, but they're gone now.. cooler today, then right back in the mid 70s, so we can't complain at all. Spring is sure here....flowers are blooming, and the beautiful tulip trees are in full bloom. Barbecues, baseball, going to the park, pulling the kids in the wagon.. We LOVE this time of year! ~ Mikey & family.. walking in the FOG! (Favor Of God). God is good! T.G.I.S. .. Thank God It's SONday, and we get to go to church today! God is Good! UPDATE: 2-26-07 Mikey is doing alright still, thank You, Lord! He was a little under the weather for a few days, and he was experiencing a lot of pain in his legs. We were in touch with his doctor and his cardiologist in Little Rock, and the pain in his legs seems to be lessening. The weather was in the 70s all week and we spent a lot of time outdoors. In the photo above, Mikey can be seen at a Lions' baseball game. It was a sunny 75°.. great weather to be outside.. especially at the ballpark! His niece Emily got to attend the last home basketball game with us this week, and now it's baseball season. Mikey has another pacemaker check this wednesday and then he will see his doctor on friday. We had severe storms and tornadoes yesterday, followed by "red dust and mud" last night.. The red dust was blowing in from Texas, making it look like we were in an eerie red cloud. When it rained, it came down as little globs of red mud... murking up the cars we had just hand-cleaned! I hope the warm temps stay with us, as I've had such fun taking long strolls with A&E. We're hooked on A&E (Andy & Emily, our grandchildren)! ~ Mikey & family.. walking in the FOG! (Favor Of God). God is good! T.G.I.S. .. Thank God It's SONday, and we get to go to church today! God is Good! UPDATE: 2-19-07 just given Mikey a new bible for his birthday present. In the photo below, some of the group are gathered around Mikey before cutting the cake. Brittney, Mister Ed and a few others were either early, late, or bashful I guess, since I don't seem to have any of them in our photos. I was going to take a picture of some of the BOYS with Mikey, but at the last second, one little GIRL ran into the picture with a big smile for grandpa.. see it HERE! We held the party in our "Arkansas Rec Room" (garage) and we all had a lot of fun.. Pizza, snacks, candy, cake and ice cream, and.. PING PONG! The boys all had a ball playing ping pong and video games until their parents picked them up later in the evening. Mikey got some nice presents AND some cash and gift cards.. says he'll spend the gift cards and save the cash for spring break.. sounds like a good plan to me! And with temps in the mid 60s to the mid 70s this week, it's feeling more like spring.. and, maybe some severe storms by the end of the week, as we're soon to enter our severe storm season. ~ Mikey & family.. walking in the FOG! (Favor Of God). God is good! UPDATE: 2-15-07 Mikey's birthday is tomorrow, Feb 16th. He will be 12 years old.   We've come a long way since yall first started visiting him on the net.. He's went through several open-heart surgeries and more surgery is pending.   Thank you for your prayers for Mikey! UPDATE: 2-12-07 Mikey is well, thank You, Lord. In the photo above, Mikey and Rhonda are standing by their brand new SUV! It was late last night, before they finalized the deal and brought their new vehicle home, so the picture is not real good after dark. It's a beautiful vehicle and we're very happy for them. It's just what they needed to transport our grandbabies.. A&E (Andy & Emily).. roomy and safe! Emily got to spend the night again last week and go to another basketball game with Mikey. Mikey's buddy, Pastor Don, sat with him at the game again, and he'll be coming to Mikey's birthday party this week as well. That's right.. MIKEY HAS A BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK. Mikey will be 12 on friday! What a long way we have come! UPDATE: 2-5-07 Mikey is well, thank You, Lord. Happy Birthday Rhonda! In the photo above, Mikey is pictured with the rest of the family at his big sister's birthday party. In the photo below, little Andy can be seen with Uncle Joe and Aunt Brittney at the restaurant where we ate. Here's another good pic of Andy and mom before we cut the cake. After a big "Men's Ministries" breakfast in the morning, and a big dinner at the Red Barn Steakhouse, then cake and ice cream at the house, Mikey and family have a lot of extra calories to burn off today... Good thing this is "Miracle Sunday" at our church, cuz we need one! ~ Mikey & family.. walking in the FOG! (Favor Of God). God is good! UPDATE: 1-29-07 Mikey is well, thank You, Lord. In the photo above, Mikey can be seen with A&E (Andy & Emily) over at their house last night. Aunt Brittney's mom gave Emily her first haircut.. Isn't she cute (or cuter) now! Mikey saw both his dentist and his orthodontist last week and he'll see his orthodontist again this week. He'll be seeing his regular doctor and getting another pacemaker check next month, and soon be scheduled to see his heart doctors in Little Rock again. After sunny 60s yesterday, we're having some cooler air today that is keeping us indoors, but it won't keep us away from the Lions' games this week! Mikey & family.. walking in the FOG! (Favor Of God). God is good! UPDATE: 1-22-07 Mikey is well, thank You, Lord. In the photo above, Mikey is standing by the stage where they were filming auditions for David Letterman's "Stupid Pet Tricks" and "Stupid Human Tricks". They were holding the auditions in our local mall, and Mikey had a front row seat. It was a lot of fun to see the NEAT dog tricks, and.. the GOOFY human tricks! Mikey has had another busy week with school activities, church activities, fundraisers, dinners, pizza parties and UAFS Lions' basketball... and the Lions won again! We got a cute picture of Mikey's nephew Andy (grandpa's little tough guy) in his UAFS Lion's shirt.. Andy is just 8 weeks old today, but just look how BIG he is already.. He's growing faster than any baby we've ever seen! We love watching A&E (Andy & Emily). There's been a lot of wintry weather near us, but none here in the river valley of Fort Smith.. just a lot of rain. Mikey's sister-in-law, Brittney, came over in the cold rain to give Mikey a haircut last night.. That was nice, huh! Mikey and family are still walking in the FOG! (Favor Of God). God is good! UPDATE: 1-15-07 Mikey is well, thank You, Lord. He had his pacemaker checked again last week. He has his new braces on now, and he will see his orthodontist again this week. In the photo above, Mikey can be seen getting his physical therapy, which he tremendously enjoys. He is on a 3-day weekend from school right now, due to the MLK holiday, and he loves spending time with Andy & Emily (A&E). In the photo below, Mikey's nephew Andy and niece Emily can be seen "play/napping" on our living room floor. Grandpa's little tough guy, Andy, got a bath and got to go to bible study with us, and Emily got to go to the park and she also went to another Lions' basketball game with us this week! Life is good when you're walking in the FOG (Favor Of God), and.. we LOVE watching A&E (Andy and Emily), and... now that Rhonda's maternity leave is over and she's back at work, we get to watch A&E even more! UPDATE: 1-8-07 A brand new year! In the photo above Mikey and family can be seen ushering in the new year with our "good luck meal". For our Yankee friends, the good luck meal (sometimes called a Hoppin' John), is a southern tradition.. eating southern favorites on the first.. usually consisting of hog jowls, black-eyed peas, cornbread, cooked cabbage, fat back, collard greens.. or some variation thereof. Mister Ed and Rhonda hosted this years meal, and.. they did GOOD! As you can see from the photo below, grandpa's little tough guy, Andy, was enjoying his new year as well, sitting on Uncle Mikey's lap. Our weather has been pretty warm still. After a big "Men's Ministries" breakfast yesterday, Mikey and dad got in a little exercise to work off the extra calories. Life is good when you're walking in the FOG! (Favor Of God), and.. we're having a BALL watching A&E (Andy and Emily), and... now that Rhonda's maternity leave is over and she's back at work, we get to watch A&E even more! UPDATE: 1-1-07 HAPPY NEW YEAR! Mikey is still doing so well, and we have MUCH to be thankful for. In the photo above, Mikey is pictured with some of the group we had for CHRISTmas. Mikey enjoyed himself so much, and 2-year-old Emily is old enough now, that she had a great time too. In the photo below, Emily can be seen sitting in her Elmo chair, playing with her new "Tickle Me Elmo Extreme" doll.. she LOVES them both! Grandpa's little tough guy, Andy, is too young yet to understand what all the fuss is about, but he got plenty of presents, and we sure enjoy having him to spoil! Today is Pastor Don's "Resolutions" message, and later we'll all get together for a New Years Eve dinner out. Tomorrow, Mikey's big sister Rhonda will prepare our New Years "Hoppin' John" (good luck meal).. a southern tradition we enjoy. Life is good when you're walking in the FOG! (Favor Of God), and.. we're having a BALL watching A&E (Andy and Emily). If you would like to add a page for your child, click on "Add A Child" below. Please be aware that once a child's page is added to this website the information becomes public. Please keep this in mind when posting information. It is recommended that you DO NOT post your full names or addresses unless using a post office box. We can not be responsible for who views these pages as they are open to the general public. We suggest a password protected page for optimum privacy. Need information? 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