Wow, this last week has been pretty full. Let's see, where to start? How about with last Friday (April 23). Josiah came home from work and we were sitting on the sofa chit-chatting. All of a sudden, while smiling, he said "Guess how my day ended." I said something like "I don't know..." and he said something that made me ask "Did you get fired?!?" He quickly assured me no, that he got laid off. They told him at 5pm that he was laid off immediately. He was the 3rd person in the company laid off, but he was in the middle of a project so he did not see this coming. Since then, two more men have been laid off. The lay offs were due to lack of work. They didn't want to lay him off, but had to. Josiah's trust in God is amazing, though. He was smiling and said he is excited to see where God is going to take him next and what opportunities he was going to give him next. He has been applying to tons of jobs since then. I am kind of hoping a new job won't start until after the baby is born so he will be here to take me to the hospital! But will you please pray that he will be able to get a job, the job God wants for him, soon? Thank you!
Another thing that has been happening is our van, which has 92K miles, is having trouble with the transmission. We took it into the Honda dealer and they told us it was not the trans, but then in the days following it got worse. It clunks into gear when you go in reverse, it wouldn't go above 20MPH one time, another time it wouldn't go above 20MPH and started to shake when it was at 3000RPM. Then one time at 35MPH the whole van "locked up" and jerked me forward in the van, another time it did this at 55MPH while on cruise control! It is getting very dangerous! So we took it back to the dealer and they said it is the trans and that it needs to be replaced for a small fee of only $4,800!! Our van was under a recall for the exact problem we are having, but apparently they did the "preventative fix" so the Honda dealer will not do anything to help us with the fee, not even with the price of the parts. We decided to take it somewhere else, they are checking it on Monday but they said it should be $1,600-$3,500 depending on what is actually wrong with it. Please pray the price will be something closer to the $1,600!! We have to fix the van - our baby is coming in a few days and we need transportation that will fit all three of our children in their car seats plus Dillon's equipment and wheelchair!!! Josiah's corolla is just too small. We have squeezed the three car seats in the back, but it is TIGHT and the wheelchair has to be broken down every time to go into the trunk and it is very hard to reach Dillon to take care of him while driving. Thank you for praying for this matter as well!
Some more possibly not so good news - we took Dillon back to the doctor for his pneumonia check up and the doctor has two guesses as to why Dillon is so tight. His first guess, and the best option, is that Dillon has a virus that is causing arthritic pain in his joints that is making him tighten. If it is the virus it should go away within the next week. Dillon and Jay both have had pink cheeks, which he believes could be a sign of a virus. However, the second option is that it is a neurological change - which would not be good. This would mean that this will be a life long problem we will have to start figuring out how to deal with it. I believe it is a virus because he is doing a little better. He is actually laying on the floor again. He is still tight but not as often as he was before. Please pray that it would be a virus, and he would return to normal quickly, and not neurological issues.
Enough of the not so good news! There is a bright side to this week. Even during trials, God reminds us that He is still in control and cares for us and will supply our needs. Dillon does have a small special needs trust to help us get a home that is accessible to him. Our current home is a 3 story row home that is over 100 years old, has small hallways, a lots of steps, a small bathroom that is impossible to use for Dillon, and a bathroom and kitchen that are not insulated and are freezing cold in the winter! There are also neighbors that smoke more than cigarettes, and it comes through the walls sometimes and is often so bad outside that we cannot have doors or windows open.
So a friend, who is a Realtor, has spent hours and hours helping us search for a home that would be able to be accessible to Dillon in the price range we have to work with. It has NOT been easy! Do you know how expensive homes are now-a-days?!? There are very few homes that would work without needing major renovations. But at last - we have found one! Dillon's trust was able to put an offer in on a home and the offer was accepted! The owners are willing to wait the several weeks (6-12 probably) necessary for the court system to do what it needs to do in order to take possession of the home. It is about 25 minutes closer to Philly than we live now. It is a great location! We will be about 15 minutes from church, about 20 from Dillon's doctor, and about 30 minutes from CHOP. It is also very close to King of Prussia, which is the other main place besides Philly for Josiah to work. I will post pictures later, but Praise the Lord is all I can say! I am so thankful He has helped us be able to live in a home that will make taking care of Dillon so much easier! The only thing the home needs to be accessible is a wheelchair incline stair lift installed. (platform that carries a wheelchair up and down the stairs and folds up against the wall when not in use) Again, I will post pictures but I will do that a little later, I have to save them to my computer and then upload them...
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