DAVID TURNS 25 TODAY!!!

It seems impossible. My youngest son is turning 25 … TODAY!

There are lots of reasons I could give for this feeling of impossibility, and many people would instantly identify. However, not so many people would guess correctly the main reason for my feeling this way. You see, on my birthday twenty-three years ago, my husband and I were told that David had less than a year to live. He had been diagnosed with a terminal disease. Nothing in life has been as painful as that moment.

But … David is turning twenty-five today!! YES ! I’m writing today to outwardly proclaim what I’ve been proclaiming inside for the past 23 years: PRAISE GOD for willing that there be a life for this young man, David Allison! His life has changed mine.

I hope you will PRAISE GOD with me for the impact that he and his life have had upon others: our family, our church family, our friends, his friends, and his doctors and teachers. There isn’t anyone who has known David, really known him, who won’t recognize this delighted grin in his pictures below…

So, because the earlier diagnosis was actually incorrect, as discovered by an outstanding doctor (his very own pediatrician from birth)... David has lived to celebrate many birthdays, and TODAY is his 25th!

Praise God for people who do the very best they can at their job… every day! One day, one little “no-longer-significant” blood test provided the information that gave my son his life back. Someone took their responsibility seriously! May we all learn from this, and put everything we have into everything we do. Daily. Someone’s life may depend upon it!

And what a life it has been!! YES, filled with ups and downs! Whose life isn’t? YES, costly in the financial sense. Whose life isn’t? But what a life he has had – fitting in fun whenever he could… garnering pet names for himself, such as Davey-Wavey, Pretzel-Man, Seabiscuit, and now the grown up “Uncle Dave”.

TOMORROW, I'll post his story in pictures - as a part of our celebration!

SO… WILL YOU CELEBRATE DAVID’S 25th WITH US??

In asking you to join in our celebration, please remember that David doesn't need any gifts for his birthday. He doesn’t really want them . He isn’t into THINGS… unless they are chocolate or music - he is only interested in experiencing those, not stockpiling them!

Instead… to those of you who DO know David, or who know OF David, or who have grown to LOVE David… maybe you'd consider contributing a token amount to just one of the following groups, programs, ministries, churches, or facilities. They ALL do an outstanding, remarkable, and NECESSARY job of helping those who need a little help (or a lot!). It'd be great to know that some of these people and organizations would be receiving needed funds to carry on their work with and for people with special needs. David would love that!

How about donating, perhaps 25 dollars (or 25 cents!), to an organization or group that is working to help families and individuals who have special needs? Take a look below at the ones which have directly impacted David’s life.

SPIRITUAL Opportunities…
*Special Connections Ministry at Briarwood Presbyterian Church, in Birmingham, AL
... David’s current church friends - providing Sunday School class, friendship, and activities
*The JOY Ministry at Graceview Baptist Church, in Northwest Houston (Tomball, TX)
... David’s church friends, TX - provided him Sunday School, Bible Study, and a Christian Day Hab experience (prior to 2006)
* Sylvania Church, in Tyler TX
... David’s first experience of acceptance and accommodations in a church class … please give in honor of Dona Stone, his first teacher - she welcomed him with open arms!

EDUCATIONAL and CONTINUING EDUCATIONAL Opportunities…
*LINCPoint, by UCP-Birmingham – providing a wonderful set of programs - including the Day Habilitation Program which David currently attends weekdays
*St. Louis School - Wayne D. Boshears Center for Exceptional Programs -giving children with special needs a sense of independence and freedom within appropriate educational settings, and providing therapies and so much more for children with severe disabilities and special needs. (David attended 1992-2000)

RECREATION Opportunities
*Camp CAMP, in TEXAS (David is an 11-year veteran “special” CAMP-er!)
*Camp ASCAA, in ALABAMA (David attends for the first year this year!)
*Special Olympics bowling team – “The JOY Angels “from Graceview Baptist Church

MEDICAL Support and Opportunities…
PLEASE support the Children’s Hospitals…
in TX, AL, or ANY Children’s Hospital near you!

*UT-HSC, Univ. Texas Health Science Center - Houston, TX … provided research benefits, hospitals, and healthcare to David… 2000-2006.
*UAB Clinics and Hospital - Birmingham, AL … providing research benefits, hospital and healthcare to David… beginning 2006.

Thank you for your generosity!
And whatever you decide to do,

Please... tell them,
“David sent me”!

(Replies and comments are welcome. REPLIES to emails containing this information should be sent to: DavidAllison.turns25@yahoo.com COMMENTS to the blog will be monitored, but WILL show up later! : ) Please do not add more than one comment! )

Monday Musings

Sifting through medical bills, correspondence, and other related items is no fun. But it’s part of our lives, especially for those of us who have family members with special needs. For a couple of weeks, I’ve been catching up on the filing for those types of items. I’ve been preparing to make payments for the bills after comparing with insurance EOB’s. And, I’m preparing to write the report that my adult son with special needs is required to fill out annually relating to resources he receives from SSI. (his disabilities occurred before the age of 22.)

The bill paying is a standard process, one that we all do for a variety of things that we are billed for during the year. It’s not tough, the process that is. However because our son receives secondary insurance through Medicaid , it takes some extra phone calls to find out what has been paid , and therefore what the remaining balance might be. This process is standard, not really difficult or frustrating to me. But I still have to write the checks.

The record-keeping for the annual report that the government requires from my son with is more detailed and highly frustrating to me. I keep all of his receipts and create an itemized two-category list for the government: food, and "everything else"). Actually the form that makes up the annual report is relatively simple. I just transfer the totals of the columns of numbers I have created… and then sign it verifying that there are no errors, before mailing it off.

Sifting through those receipts and deciding the totals for the food and non-food frustrates me. I make separate trips (when I have enough time) for food and for those other things my son needs. But often, I end up needing to make a trip for both categories of things. Then… I’m drawn to Wal-mart, where I can pick up ALL the items on the list whether it’s food… or clothes, hygiene products, etc. When I give in to the Wal-mart temptation… I end up with a receipt that has to be sorted into the categories for the government. It takes time, and a calculator (there’s some prorating of the tax on the receipt… when splitting things out into two categories.). The frustrating part comes in the fact that it is such a DAILY process… or at least, it should be.

How do I discipline myself to get this done when the strong temptation is to put it off? Procrastination never helps anything and in this case, it really makes the matter worse! The cure for my procrastination (and my frustrations) is to add the necessary steps into my daily routine… which of course means subtracting something from it (my daily routine I mean). How does your daily routine work for you? Does it suit the needs of your life? Does it need a bit of tweaking? Are you leaving enough room for the things you are responsible for? More importantly, are you leaving enough room for the things of God?

““Then Jesus said to them,
“Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's.”
And they were amazed at him.”

Mark 12:17

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