About 9 years ago I “met” a group of expecting moms on iVillage.com.  Most of us were first time moms and used the site to navigate through our pregnancies, childbirth and raising baby.  It was so much more valuable than any parenting book I had read because these were real people, in different walks of life, all sharing a similar experience.    Amazingly , a group of us are still  hanging out together in an online world…although it is more than just a message board now….we are friends– as involved in eachother’s lives as if we lived next door to one another.  We share ups, downs, good and bad.  We fight and we make up.  We share in eachother’s joys and sorrows.  And, when a member of the community is in need, we do our best to meet it.  I have had the priviledge of praying for these women for a myriad of different things. 

Dylan was diagnosed with leukemia in January 2007.  It was devastating for all of us, as it was sadly the second child of “ours” that had battled cancer (Katie’s our other fighter, who I’ll devote another entry to at another time).  He’s been through numerous chemotherapy treatments, a bone marrow transplant (from his little brother)  and has now recieved Natural Killer Cells from his dad.  His mom updates his Caring Bridge site (see link on the sidebar) daily and I have come to greatly anticipate those updates so that I know specifically how to pray for him.  

I am amazed by Heide, Dylan’s mom.  Because I know the pain of having a sick child, I understand how hard it is to keep your chin up on a daily basis.  People look to you to know how to act – it can be an enormous burden and some days seems impossible.  Heide has wonderful quotes that she shares – which have given me great inspiration over the past year.  She has also taken on a couple of acronyms….F.R.O.G. stands for Fully Relying on God.  And, this family is….it’s amazing and uplifting to witness their faith.  The other is P.U.S.H – Pray Until Something Happens.  And, in her wonderful humor, she’s put them together and we are all Pushing the Frog.   I found this delightful picture the other day – this brave little frog, clinging to new life.  It reminds me of Dylan – and makes me smile.  Hang in there Dylan.  We love you!