Friends from the local church helped answer the prayers of a couple for their young daughter with a tracheal tube and ventilator who cannot speak and is blind and deaf.
Addie Wolfe, 5, was born with significant chromosomal abnormalities and sacrococcygeal teratoma, with a tumor at the base of the tailbone. The whole of last month she has spent in McLane Children’s Hospital fighting kidney failure. Her diseases are not familiar to most doctors, and over the last few weeks it has been a scary time for the family.
“She started spiking random high fevers with high heart rate and they have been searching for the cause for the fevers,” Stephanie said. “ It’s gotten as high as 107.2 the other day. We’ve rallied everyone to pray for her, hundreds of thousands of people.”
Stephanie and her husband Mathew have been praying for all these matters and another important point as well.
The family has been plunged into financially hard times as well after Mathew lost his job. The family has only 1 car, a Ford Fusion, and is not enough to accommodate Addie’s needs.
“When we take Addie places we have to have someone in the backseat with her at all times in case of emergencies because she has a trach so like her nurse will sit in the back and squeeze between the two car seats or I will sit and squeeze,” Stephanie said.
On a Sunday evening that silent prayer was answered when the couple got a call from members of their small group at church who said they wanted to drop off a gift at the hospital.
“We thought maybe it was some balloons for Addie,” Stephanie said. But when they went to the parking lot, a 2008 Honda Odyssey was waiting. “They showed up and took us to the parking lot and said ‘this is yours and here are the keys,’” Stephanie said.
“We just had tears.” She added, “We couldn’t even believe that his was happening to us. I’m pretty sure we’re both in shock.” Meg Watwood, a member of the small church group had gathered money from 15 couples to buy the vehicle, which they got on discount after a dealership learned of Addie’s story.
“We’ve known the Wolfes have been needing a van for a long time. We gathered money for them a few weeks ago but then someone in class came up with the idea of putting money together for a vehicle,” Watwood said.
The minivan is a big blessing for the Wolfes who said it will change their lives. “It’s such a blessing in so many ways,” Mathew said. “It’s not just that it gives us more room to move around with both our daughter and our son but it also enables us to transfer all the equipment from her wheelchair to oxygen tanks to her gait trainer which she’s been working with to help her walk.” Mathew added.
Stephanie said they have told Addie about the minivan and are looking forward to taking her for a ride in the bigger and more comfortable vehicle.
In a big relief, Addie’s latest CT scan came back clear. She is also set to have a surgery to get a gastrostomy-button or G Button with which she can eat without aspirating her food. Her family says she appears to be “on the mend.”
The Wolfes are thankful to all those who surprised them with their act of kindness. “I think speechless is the word we’re going for,” Mathew said. “We’re just completely speechless.” Stephanie added, “We are so grateful and from the bottom of our hearts we want to say thank you.”
We are so grateful for church friends and community who always come forward and help those who need support among them. 1 John 3:17 “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?”