How to Contact the Parkers

Hi, I have gotten a number of comments wanting to know how to get in touch with us. I have set up a special email account that will come directly to both me and Sarah if you need to reach us. Please note that we will try to verify identities before responding.

Email Kevin and Sarah here.

Phew: She's back to normal today! But our finances aren't quite.

Today Trinity seems just fine! No tummy aches, no throwing up, and no itching. I keep having to remind myself that it's not that uncommon for kids to get a bug and vomit, even if it's uncommon for our kids.

Thanks to all who prayed for Trinity last night and today!

Hospital update:

We have received correspondence from the hospital that basically says they still don't know what happened to her.

Financial update:

My mom helped me work through the insurance documents. It seems over $10k of bills from the hospital were denied for coverage by our insurance company because it appears to have come from the doctors and not the "facility." We're going to have to sit down with the hospital and work this out.

It turns out that our out of pocket expense, even after everything is covered that is supposed to be, will be around $10,000. I thought it was $5,000, but it's that deductible plus 20% of the remaining cost up to an additional $5,000. I remember that now, but we got this coverage years ago and never had to use it.

Even in paying $10,000 with the help of RHCC and now some additional and appreciated help from our friends at the Saginaw Church, the insurance company has paid out over $157k already. We thank God for having this catastrophic insurance (and thank you Dave Ramsey!).

Trinity is Sick. Oh, Boy.

Today is Ethan and Elijah's 8th birthday. Good times with Star Wars Legos, Star Wars Transformers (that's just weird and cool at the same time), and Lego Batman the video game. Oh, and the spring-loaded, light and sound light sabers are awesome. We don't have to make the "voom" sound with our mouths now—but we do because that's just fun.

Grandparents and good friends are awesome, cuz all we got them was the video game.

Sarah's parents left today. My mom came and is staying with us. All would be great, except...

After eating birthday dinner with the boys, Trinity freaked out and seemed to have an allergic reaction to a pecan she ate. She's never really had nuts before. After today she probably won't have them again for a while. After an anti-histamine (we keep it around the house because I know I've been sensitive to a number of things, and perhaps the kids would be, too), Trinity seemed to get better.

Then after being in bed a while, we heard the screams: Trinity was barfing up the contents of her last three meals. I got it on my sleeve and between my toes. But it was much worse on her obviously.

To say the least, we're freaked out. The ONLY other time she's thrown up was the few days before she went into that coma last month. Is this just a virus? Or what?

After another half hour or so of a cleaned up, sleeping Trinity, the screams came again. She still had food in her system.

So after 2 big episodes of blowing chunks (so far), we are not a little uneasy. Please pray for her again tonight. What is going on? Is this in any way related to the episode last month? Is she deathly allergic to nuts? Sigh.

Putt Putt in the Rain

Today Sarah and her parents and sister took Trinity, Ethan, and Elijah to Putt Putt!

Evidently there are some very cheap weekday deals. I got to go for a quick 18 holes before returning to the client's office I've spent the last week in. But I thank God for the hour I got to spend with the kids and wife at Putt Putt today.

I did have to introduce myself again, however, since it has been so long since they've seen me. ;)

I will get pictures of Trinity playing Putt Putt and put here as soon as I can get Rachel to email them to me.

Trinity and Sarah go to a "normal" tea party

Last Sunday some awesome folks at RHCC threw a tea party for little girls and moms (and aunts and etc.). And Princess Trinity and her queen mother attended.

Yes, life is slowly returning to normal!

No, no answer yet on what caused her sickness.

I'm going to try to start sorting out the hospital bills, insurance, and contacting RHCC about pledged "Share the Joy" help tomorrow. Fun!

And I'm still working superhuman hours. Pray that I don't end up in the hospital next. There is a threshold I'm aiming for, after which I will do my best to reduce my work load to somewhat normal hours (50-60 hours a week) instead of never ever taking a break.

Enjoy your Tuesday, church and friends!

Weekend Update on the Parkers

Wow, has it really been 3 days since I last blogged here? Time flies when nobody's in the hospital.

I'm about to go to bed so I can wake up bright and early and head off to sound check at Richland Hills. My praise team is up tomorrow morning. I really enjoy this ministry.

But I can't help thinking about the last time I was up, three weeks ago. I woke up late, not hearing my alarm, at 7:30am. We were supposed to be there at 7:45am. And my daughter was sick, so I was going to take the boys. I got there with the boys at 8:00. I won't tell you how fast I drove.

But it wasn't nearly as fast as I drove later that day. You see, it was three weeks ago that Trinity would not wake up and later slipped in and out of this life in two different hospitals. I am still not over the feelings of that day, or of this month really.

It's hard to believe all that happened and now my little girl is sleeping in her bed after a long day of playing and laughing. She has gone to gymnastics this week, played on our trampoline, and just been her beaming joyous self. Amazing.

Don't take one minute with your children (or grand children or nieces and nephews or friends' kids or whatever) for granted. Every moment with them is precious.

Speaking of precious moments, this picture of Trinity is from a few days ago!

I'm planning to write the Parker bio maybe tonight.

I also want to deal with the topic of evil and suffering, especially on the heals of the "When Past Meets Post" series we've had on Wednesday nights the last several weeks. But I still need to do some thinking.

Sarah and I went through our colossal stack of mail and paperwork tonight. It was our date night. [insert marriage joke here]

Trinity Went to Gymnastics!

The nurses in Cook Children's Pavilion third floor gave me a really funny look last Friday as we prepared to leave when I said, "I bet little Trinity will be back in Gymnastics class next Tuesday." They looked at me like I grew a third eyeball in my forehead (or like I claimed that I did).

Yesterday, Trinity XiaoLi Parker did indeed go to her Gymnastics class! We did not push her—we asked if she wanted to go, and she beamed back a smile and the answer "SURE! I would LOVE to go to Gymnastics!"

She was a bit slower than normal at the various activities for her 3 and 4 year old class, but she did everything. She was SO determined and had the best attitude about it all. I don't know that I've ever seen her so focused and determined in her life.

We've noticed other changes in Trinity from before and after this big ordeal. For one, she seems to be thinking and speaking in much more complex sentences. And there were a few "toddler" habits she seems to have given up completely.

On the flip side, she is horrified any time she sees the small stitched areas on her leg and torso. She's never even had a needle to her body before this, and those stitches freak her out. As long as her clothes cover them, she's cool. But if you even talk about taking her shirt or pants off to change or bathe her, she melts into a bawling mess.

We embrace her to reassure her. It would be foolish to discipline her in any way, as this is pure fear and not disobedience. Thankfully she is right at the age when we can—with all the patience and understanding we can muster—talk with her and help her understand her fears and the reality that these stitches are temporary but were part of making her better. We feel so inadequate as we do it, but after all it's our reassuring presence that is more important than the actual words we say.

We still have no answer as to a cause of all this. We've gone through our entire house looking for any weird chemicals she could have ingested, and the only thing I found she would have any access to does not produce the same symptoms she experienced. We thank God for this healing and her continued recovery.

I realized last night I never got to that short biography on our family I was going to write. With getting to go home and trying to catch up, that one slipped through the cracks in my brain. I still plan to do this very soon by popular demand. :)

I encourage you this week to visit someone you know who is in the hospital or nursing home or home-bound. Talk with them, and listen more than you talk. You will make a huge difference in their lives this week!