Whatever it takes...

February 25, 2008 at 10:07 PM EST
Catherine Wagner Wrote: I am sure you are all aware that Sunday was a very difficult day for Beth and her family. Meredith is stable now and continuing to be strong. We are thankful that God gave them a new day today. Meredith opened her eyes again today and even had some slight movement of her leg. God is so good to answer our prayers of giving them small blessings in this storm. Meredith started Chemo again today and I just ask that you pray for God's strength for sweet Mer. God gave me a good reminder in my bible study today in Hebrews 13:5. He says... Never will I leave you and never will I forsake you. I was so comforted to have this reminder in a time that is so hard for my sweet friend. I claim this verse as God's promise to never leave tem. I am truly so blessed by their faith and know that God is with them...especially our precious Mer Mer. A very close friend has had it on her heart to fast for Meredith. She sent out and email to some of us about how she is planning to do this for Meredith. I am posting her email asking you all to consider joining us in fasting for Meredith. Right now Anna Marie has people dedicated to fast for at different times. We are looking for individuals who are interested in filling in the gaps of time. How amazing would it be to have each day covered in times of fasting for Meredith. Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions. You can email her directly if you interested. (amgdiggs@gmail.com) Anna Marie's Email Not sure if all of you know me, but I am one of Beth's friends. We met at BSF and I was in her prayer group until moving to KY 2 years ago. Fasting has really been on my heart this past week. During this past week, I felt like God wanted me to email everyone so that we could be fasting as a group for the healing of Mer and peace for the family. Beth's latest email seemed like an open door to ask you guys to join in. A few years ago, I had few experiences with fasting and didn't really understand it. I'm still learning about how God uses fasting, but I'm convinced that it can be a powerful way for us to connect with God in prayer. The Bible consistently pairs prayer and fasting. A few years ago, my husband and three of their friends felt as if God was calling them to fast for another friend who was a nonbeliever and a heavy user of drugs and alcohol. They took turns fasting a day for two weeks for their friend. After the two weeks, they talked to their friend and he said that over the previous two weeks he had "no desire" for drugs or alcohol for the whole two weeks. This friend had no idea that they were fasting for him. This friend later went on to become a Christian. Also, some friends and family set aside some time to pray for my mother as she tried to quit smoking. She had been a smoker for almost 40 years, and I'm convinced that our prayers and fasting helped her quit. She has been a non-smoker for almost a year now. I'm writing this email because I'm hoping that maybe some of you will join me in fasting as we pray for healing for Meredith and peace for her family. I encourage you to think and pray about this to see if God may be leading you to fast as well. For me, fasting a meal, gives me time to focus on prayer, listen to God and study His word. I am going to fast one-two meals on Mondays. If you're interested in joining me, please email me so that we can coordinate times for fasting - how awesome to have someone fasting every day of the week, especially during this critical time.

February 24, 2008 at 11:06 PM EST
Last night the Lord gave me this verse...And He said, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer. 2 Samuel 22:2 In my devotion it talked about the Israelites and all the things they would have missed if they had gone by the short route- the thrilling deliverance from Egypt's chariots when the sea was rolled back. It encouraged us to not ask for shortcuts and to keep alert for the wonders our Guide will show us in the wilderness. How appropriate this was for me. I feel like I am in the wilderness, a dry, lonely place where I feel like I have lost my way. But, everyime I get to this place, God brings me back. I feel like I can survive another day. His grace and mercy are amazing. Our friends and family have been incredible. I cannot express how grateful I am for each of you. You have carried many of my burdens as if they were your own. As I look back on my life, I see how each of you was webbed so perfectly into my journey. My Prayer Group of five years continues to pick me up in my darkest hours, my parents from Exploris Middle School have become my babysitters for Tyler and my organizers, my family has given me multiple shoulders to cry on and my best friend, Cat (who you all know by now) has been all these things including my personal assistant. God is so good to have given me each of you! Chris said to me a couple of weeks ago when this all started that this is the time to use all that I have learned in my Bible studies, Sunday School and church. Everything that I have learned about the Lord over the years was not for me to become a better Christian or a stronger person. It was all for this moment. I have to use everything I know about God... He is all knowing, in control. loving, faithful, He hears our cries, He comforts, He sustains us with His sure words- in a place where there is nothing else we can count on. Each day I struggle to remind myself of these things. Every day there are victories and great setbacks. Meredith is fighting and she is strong. Today was a terrible day full of worry and frustration. My heart brakes every minute I am with her. There is nothing worse than watching her hurt. I know you are praying your hearts out for our little Mer Mer. I ask you to continue doing so, we need God to zap all those tumors immediately- especially the ones around her brainstem. Pray for a better day tomorrow. Pray for her heartrate and breathing to get back to normal. Pray for her heart and lungs to stay strong and her body to fight the cancer. Pray for her to be free from infection. Most of all pray for her to feel God's comfort through this painful ordeal. Thanks for all of your love and care. Beth

February 22, 2008 at 09:36 PM EST
Catherine Wagner wrote: My encouragment for Beth, Chris, Meredith and Tyler today was: Psalms 27:13 I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. We have not yet seen the Lord's answer to our prayers, bue we are confident we will and that the Lord will sustain them in this time. Today was a good day for Meredith and her family. She opened her eyes just a little. We are not sure she is awake, but we got some pictures of the moment. Beth read some of the cards she received from friends and famly and while she was reading the cards, Meredith opened her eyes halfway. God gives us blessings through this difficult time, and we are thankful for this small blessing. Beth also found out today that Duke is putting the hospital on "lock down" regarding visitors. They are no longer going to let anyone back to see Meredith but Beth, Chris and their parents. They are even asking for visitors not to come to sit in the waiting room. The flu epidemic is the worst Duke hospital has seen in four years, and the CDC is trying to contol the spread to the patients. So, until they lift the restrictions (at least the next week or so) we ask that you send emails and pray. I am sure you will see on the news about this need to protect the patients at Duke. As I spend time with Beth, I see how amazing her strength to Trust God remains. I know that God is faithful to Beth and Chris because of all of our prayers. Please continue to lift them up in prayer, for God's strength and peace. I am also praying for God to show Himself in specific ways each day to help them Hold fast to their God in their time of need. I added a few pictures of the exciting moments of seeing Meredith's blue eyes. Tyler is doing well and spending most of his time in the room in the Ronald McDonald House. He is still so small and the Dr's is concerned for him to be exposed to any sickness. He had a good report from his Dr. today, and Beth is just working hard to help him gain weight. You all mean so much, and I pray you can continue to join me in prayer and fasting for this family. I believe they need it more than ever before. Sincerely, Catherine Wagner

As a new parent, everyone of my heart strings are attached to Pressley as are Dustins... A couple from Mom and Dads church have a little 1 yr old girl, Meredith... She has been diagnosed with cancer and is now in coma. My heart breaks to think of Meredith and her family. Here is a log in the family website updating everyone on Merediths condition...

February 21, 2008 at 05:10 PM EST
"We have moved to the Ronald McDonald house and unfortunately I am having e-mail issues. I think my issue is fixed, but if you are not a member of the Carepage, please e-mail my friend, Catherine (catherine_wags@yahoo.com) or me if you would like to be invited to Mer’s page. It is more reliable than my e-mail. Today my mother and I spent the entire morning with Meredith. It was a really peaceful day. Her labs look good – they are keeping a close eye on her sodium levels as well as her counts. She has tolerated the chemo well. Our oncologist confirmed yesterday that Meredith is in a coma. We pretty much guessed this was the case, but chose to believe she was sleeping. However, the reality is that she is in a comatose state. Her pupils no longer dilate and her only way of communicating at this point is through her vital signs. This state is due to the pressure on her brain from the tumors. We are praying fervently that one round of chemo will alleviate some of this pressure so she can wake up. Hearing that your daughter is in coma is definitely a shocking thing. I cannot even describe the feeling that wells up inside when I try to comprehend this fact. I keep envisioning Meredith at Christmas crawling around playing with Puddin’s Christmas bone. She could have cared less about all of her new clothes and toys. She just wanted to play with Puddin’s stuff. I guess it is only fair considering he rips the eyes off of her stuffed animals. Anyway, it is truly unbelievable that a month and a half ago our baby was just like every other 1 year old and now she is fighting for her life. I encourage all of you to savor every day you have with your children. I thank God that I held Meredith and stayed home with her since she was born. Don’t ever let anyone tell you not to spoil your baby/child. I have no regrets with Meredith. We all spoiled her like crazy and I thank God we did! Every moment is a gift- treasure your children- Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord; and the fruit of the womb is His reward. Psalm 127:3. This is the verse I put on Meredith’s birth announcement and it is so true! Our families are believing and claiming that Meredith is in a “Heavenly Coma.” We all decided that if she was awake, she would surely be in pain and agitated. It would be more difficult to get through the days watching her cry or be in great discomfort. We believe that God is holding her in His hands right now- protecting her from the pain of these tumors. The next 10 days are critical for Meredith. The chemo will be working and a lot of things can happen. She will be very susceptible to infection because her white cell counts will be very low. It is critical that she is protected from the flu, colds, etc… Chris and I have made a list of our immediate family to go see Meredith. The fewer people who come in contact with her the better. We know that many of you would like to see Mer, but we feel it is critical to protect her and that means restricting visitors. If you would like to see Chris, Tyler or me, just give us a call before coming. Chris and I are on different schedules- so you might catch us together but more likely we will be separate. I usually stay with Meredith all day and he sits with her after work. Feel free to call though so we can work out you seeing us all together. Again, we appreciate you wanting to come see us, but the BEST thing you can do is to PRAY. There has been talk by various people about fasting for Meredith and so that is definitely something we would love for you to pray about. People are fasting different things until she is healed. Whatever God lays on your heart to do would be great. We have no expectations and just appreciate anything you can do to help. Tyler is doing great. He is getting p every 3 hours hungry. He is growing and is just as cute as can be. He has the same mouth and chin as Meredith (they get that from Chris). I think the rest of him looks like me! Chris sees it differently though- "

If anyone would like to be added to the update list please go to Meredith's website and register.
http://www.carepages.com/ServeCarePage?cpn=MEE2007&login=true&seed=195037&ClusterNodeID=jb00&tlcx1=wakemed

Please pray Gods will to be done concerning this situation... I can not fathom the pain this family is in... I know Pressley is Gods little girl, but I pray everyday that nothing like this happens to our baby girl. I will try and update my blog as soon as I hear info about Meredith.

Ok ok ok! So I know this blog is WAY LATE, but I'm finally getting a chance to sit down and think for a minute! Dustin took me The Grove Park Inn and we had dinner! He was so cute by meeting me at the door with a card and a corsage! He was all dressed up! :) Mimi and Poppy watched Prissy while we went out... and she had a great time too!