While We're Waiting® - Hope After Child Loss

Hannah had big dreams for her future, including living a "long, happy, healthy and content life", getting married, becoming a teacher, and retiring close to her grandkids someday.  But God, in His sovereignty, had another plan for her.   Thank you for joining me for another bonus episode of the While We're Waiting podcast in this year-long series in which I share our family’s experi...

I’m excited today to introduce you to my friends, John and Ann Downs.  The Downs are from the Houston area, where they host a While We’re Waiting support group in The Woodlands.  They have a passion to minister to those in prison and founded Lighthouse Prison Ministry in 1996.  John serves every day in a 10,000 inmate prison in downtown Houston.  You’ll hear John’s own testimony of God’s redemptio...

My first visit to Walmart after Hannah's brain cancer diagnosis opened my eyes to how many hurting people surround me every day, and most of the time, I'm not even aware of it.  This episode describes that experience and ends with a poem that still encourages my heart today ...  Thank you for joining me for another bonus episode of the While We're Waiting podcast in this year-long s...

"THIS IS A FOUR."  Those words from Hannah's oncologist were jarring, and gave us just an inkling of what we may be facing with her glioblastoma diagnosis.  As we committed her life into God's hands that day, we couldn't help but wonder what might lie ahead.   Thank you for joining me for another bonus episode of the While We're Waiting podcast in this year-long serie...

Sixteen years ago today, we were given the news that our daughter Hannah's brain tumor was a glioblastoma.  We clearly did not really "hear" what the oncologist was saying to us on that day.  In fact, it took a while for the gravity of a glioblastoma diagnosis to sink in.  Today's bonus episode tells the story of that day ... Thank you for joining me for another bonus episode o...

The three days we had at home when Hannah was released from the hospital after her brain surgery were idyllic.  We reveled in our time together, not paying any attention to what was going on in the outside world.  But in the background, an appointment was looming ... one we knew could possibly change the trajectory of our lives from that day forward.  Today's bonus episode discusses that feel...

Sixteen years ago today, we came home from the hospital after Hannah's brain surgery to some fun surprises from our family.  Such a welcome relief to have the opportunity to catch our breath and enjoy some time together at home.  Today's bonus episode shares the story ... Thank you for joining me for another bonus episode of the While We're Waiting podcast in this year-long series i...

Our Hannah was an avid American Idol fan.  I celebrate that aspect of her personality in today's bonus episode ... Thank you for joining me for another bonus episode of the While We're Waiting podcast in this year-long series in which I share our family’s experiences as our teenage daughter Hannah battled glioblastoma brain cancer from February 2008 through February 2009.  My desire is t...

Sixteen years today was a Leap Year, just like this one.  It just added to the surreal nature of the situation in which we found ourselves.  In today's bonus episode, I share a little about that day ...  Thank you for joining me for another bonus episode of the While We're Waiting podcast in this year-long series in which I share our family’s experiences as our teenage daughter Hannah ba...

My friend Julie is well acquainted with grief, experiencing the loss of two of her children ... her son David to stillbirth and her teenage son Bryan  to the choking game.   She is passionate about serving mothers facing unplanned pregnancies, the importance of grieving in community, and produces an excellent blog titled “Can’t Change That.”   Today's episode is a continuation of our conversa...

Sixteen years ago on this date, I sent the first of what would eventually be hundreds of emails chronicling our daughter Hannah's journey through glioblastoma brain cancer ...  Thank you for joining me for another bonus episode of the While We're Waiting podcast in this year-long series in which I share our family’s experiences as our teenage daughter Hannah battled glioblastoma brain ca...

Sixteen years ago today, Hannah was starting the recovery process after brain surgery ...  Thank you for joining me for another bonus episode of the While We're Waiting podcast in this year-long series in which I share our family’s experiences as our teenage daughter Hannah battled glioblastoma brain cancer from February 2008 through February 2009.  My desire is to process through the events...

Looking back at this day from the perspective that sixteen years has brought, I'm so thankful for our blissful ignorance at that point.  I'm grateful that we knew nothing of the childhood cancer world, that we could not see the rounds of radiation and chemotherapy ahead of us, and that for at least a little bit longer we thought that just maybe our lives were going to return to normal af...

Sixteen years ago on this date, our daughter Hannah underwent brain surgery to resect a tumor.  At the time, we could not have known what was ahead of us.  We were just grateful for a successful surgery.  Today's bonus episode tells the story of that day ... Thank you for joining me for another bonus episode of the While We're Waiting podcast in this year-long series in which I share our...

Giving consent for your child to undergo brain surgery is an incredibly sobering task, and that's where we found ourselves sixteen years ago on this date ...  Thank you for joining me for another bonus episode of the While We're Waiting podcast in this year-long series in which I share our family’s experiences as our teenage daughter Hannah battled glioblastoma brain cancer from February...

Just a few months before her cancer diagnosis, Hannah had attended a youth gathering at our church called "Disciple Now", where she prayed a prayer that became very significant in her life.  Today's bonus episode shares that story ... Thank you for joining me for another bonus episode of the While We're Waiting podcast in this year-long series in which I share our family’s expe...

Just like two months ago, when my husband Brad was in a very serious ATV accident, our family was flooded with so many kindnesses when Hannah was diagnosed with a brain tumor sixteen years ago.  Today's bonus episode acknowledges those and concludes with the first of what would become a series of hundreds of emails.   Thank you for joining me for another bonus episode of the While We're...

Julie Thomas is my guest on the podcast today.  Julie is married to Marcus and has a degree in secondary education from Baylor University. She has served for over 25 years at Real Options, a pregnancy clinic in Allen, Texas. Her passion is equipping volunteers to talk with women dealing with an unplanned pregnancy. She also produces an outstanding blog, titled “Can’t Change That”, which explores i...

Sixteen years ago today, our daughter Hannah was admitted to Arkansas Children's Hospital to begin preparing for her upcoming brain surgery.  Today's episode describes the events of that day ... Thank you for joining me for another bonus episode of the While We're Waiting podcast in this year-long series in which I share our family’s experiences as our teenage daughter Hannah battle...

Sixteen years ago today was the MRI that changed the trajectory of our lives.  We are thankful to God for the grace that carried us through that day and every day since.   Thank you for joining me for another bonus episode of the While We're Waiting podcast in this year-long series in which I share our family’s experiences as our teenage daughter Hannah battled glioblastoma brain cancer from...

Both of our girls had doctor appointments on this date sixteen years ago, so Brad and I decided we needed to divide and conquer.  I brought Bethany to her appointment, and Brad took Hannah.  Hannah's doctor did not appear to be overly concerned, but referred us to an ophthalmologist that very afternoon, who examined at her and said, "If it was my daughter, I'd want her to have an MR...

When Hannah called me from school and said she was having double vision, I knew something wasn't right.  I wanted to pick her up from school and take her directly to the doctor, but she convinced me she was fine and would finish out the day.  When she got home, and I saw how dilated her pupils were, I scheduled an appointment at our doctor's office for the next morning.   Thank you for j...

As Hannah's severe headaches continued, I found myself in the pharmacy section of Walmart, searching for something that would give her some relief.  Maybe she was experiencing migraines.  I bought some Excedrin Migraine, then hurried off to my next responsibility, hoping a name brand medication would be more effective than a store brand.    Thank you for joining me for the third bonus episode...

Hannah was a young lady who took school seriously, and even had a goal to be the valedictorian of her graduating class.  So when she asked to stay home from school for the second day in a row, I knew she really wasn't feeling well.   Thank you for joining me for the second bonus episode in this year-long series in which I’m sharing our family’s experiences in the last year of our daughter Han...

Welcome to the first of what is planned to be a year-long series of bonus episodes on the While We’re Waiting podcast.   This month marks sixteen years since our 17-year-old daughter Hannah was diagnosed with glioblastoma brain cancer, which she battled for a little over a year before she went to Heaven on February 26, 2009.  During that year, I documented her journey through a series of almost da...