5 Stars

Before I (Ron) share the what and why for the above rating, let me give a quick update on Kari.

She keeps walking on the edge, which keeps us on our toes. For the last 48 hours we’ve been under a fever watch: “If her fever goes beyond a certain point, she needs to be hospitalized immediately!” Good news: For the past 12 hours Kari has been fever free! We’re breathing easier at the moment and very thankful. We appreciate your prayers.

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I’m never sure how people are going to respond to my special needs children in various situations. I imagine most parents of special needs kids know what I mean.

This past Sunday I took Matthew to church. Because it was just the two of us, and because Matthew rarely gets to go to “big church,” we changed it up and went to the first service. Now here’s where I debated. If we sit near the front of the auditorium, he won’t be as distracted by everyone around him (since no one sits in the very front). But will he be a distraction to everyone else?

Amazingly he did remain focused and sang heartily and even hung in there with Beau’s entire message. I didn’t even have to go for the rescue snack food! Allowing him to highlight verse after verse on my phone was a big help. There were only two things. 1) the time when I pulled him back into the pew because he had the urge to dance in the aisle. And 2) in the middle of the sermon when Matthew suddenly stood up and pulled up his pants because he could feel they were falling down (just how far down had they fallen? – I cringed!).

Immediately afterwards, people started coming up to me, telling how blessed they were with Matthew’s enthusiastic singing. In the foyer a fellow ABF member came up to us with open arms telling us that Matthew had made his day. Later, a friend conveyed how she was in the balcony with her son who was so excited to watch Matthew. Okay, the whole place, at every level was indeed watching and thankfully also appreciating rather than being hindered in their worship. Phew!

Such has been our Calvary experience almost every time, Of course, there are the elderly who have panic on their faces when Matthew gets away and charges down the hallway. And there are those taken by surprise when Matthew is (without warning) in their face and wanting to be introduced. Hey, I get it. Who wants that?

Compare that with how Matthew is generally received at WalMart or wherever. Let Matthew do his thing there and the response is a little better than 50% favorable. And it’s okay. I get that too.

And then there is Kari. As you know, she needed an OR procedure the other Thursday. I often wonder what people will think at such times. “Why do they bother?” “Isn’t she using up limited medical resources?” “At what point will the parents say they are putting her through too much?” “Is her life worthy to be lived?” But I have to say the team there was great.

One response in particular: After introducing himself, one physician (the anesthesiologist) looked at Kari and then said to us ever so sincerely: “She looks great! Bless you!” And in those five words he told us: “She is precious. You are obviously taking great care of her, and I want you to know I value her and what you are doing for her.” At least that is how I took it. And that obviously meant a ton to me because I could have cried, I was so moved. And though we had not been to UPMC Harrisburg previously, in my book they instantly earned 5 stars right then and there!