Jonathan Cooper Update

God has faithfully brought us through another week. We remain thankful for the place that God has brought us to and anxiously await what He is going to do next. After resting a couple of days from basketball practice and exercise, Jonathan’s ankle was fine by Wednesday. I’m glad it was nothing serious. We were able to go for a walk later in the week and he did fine. The biggest event this week was Jonathan’s endocrine appointment on Thursday. We finally were able to meet with a doctor instead of a physician’s assistant. He made some adjustments on his insulin and we talked about a number of health issues. He was very interested in every detail of Jonathan’s story and seemed pleased at his progress and all that we were doing so far. We talked about the weight issue and he wanted to have him tested for Cushings disease. He said he hoped it was not that, but that could be an indication of why he was gaining weight, although he is growing normally in height. The only reason I agreed to have him tested for this is because he doesn’t have to do anything but pee in a bottle for 24 hours and we take it to the lab for testing. I didn’t say anything to the doctor, but I wanted to tell him that he doesn’t have Cushings disease. You see, the last time we went to this appointment, they had his thyroid and growth hormone tested, thinking they might be the problem. It they were the problem, he would have to take a pill for the rest of his life for thyroid and get another shot every day for the growth hormone. My immediate reaction was to worry about the results until they came back. After a couple of days of thinking about Jonathan’s situation and how it related to those tests, I came to a conclusion. Let me take you back to this day one year ago:

1-30-05

Jonathan had a rough start today. He was crying most of the morning due to some stomach cramps. He did settle down and was fine for the rest of the day. We have started seeing some small arm movement and some movement in his legs. The doctor came in today and told us that we would probably be moving to The Children's House at Baylor sometime this week. We are praying that God would raise him up before that transfer, but if that is where God wants us to go we will follow.
We were watching a video tonight and got 2 scripture passages in particular from the Lord, which we are claiming for Jonathan. The first is John 14:13-14 which says "And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it." And the verse that we are claiming for Jonathan specifically is
Mark 11:24 "Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted you."
We are asking for people to join us in prayer that God has already healed Jonathan and that we will be patient and wait on the Lord to reveal to us the time of his complete healing. Join with us also in praise to the Lord for what He has already done and what He is doing in the future!

My conclusion was: If in fact we still believed in this promise God gave us, there is no way either the thyroid or the growth hormone could be a problem, because he has been completely healed. I stopped worrying and lived in the knowledge of that promise. Needless to say, I was not surprised when they told us that both of those things were fine. So this time I wanted to tell the doctor that Cushings disease is not a problem either. But I’ll let the test results tell him that. We are still waiting for the results of his A1C test, but overall, he had a good visit this time. We had a great week at school and were able to accomplish many things during this last week. Jonathan is still resting during the afternoon, but I can’t tell that it is helping him sleep any better at night. We continue to have pretty rough nights. The endocrinologist really couldn’t tell me anything since they don’t treat that and it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with his diabetes. He did tell me it sounds like night terrors, but I didn’t really get any help from him. I still haven’t heard from Dr. McDonald, so I guess I’ll just have to discuss it with him at our visit this week. Although he wakes up many times during the night, he is not affected by it during the day at all. And even though I get very little quality sleep, the Lord seems to sustain me each day, and we are able to accomplish what we need to. On Saturday during four of the afternoon basketball games, we were able to share our testimony with the parents and families at the half time break. Many of those people have prayed for Jonathan since last season, and it was an honor to be able to share what God has done and thank them for their part in Jonathan’s miracle. Jonathan had another good game. It was a tougher game than last week. He had more opposition while trying to shoot this week, which is good. It only took him a couple of tries to get the basket, and he only made one basket for his team. This week he also got to bring the ball down to half court for the first time this year. Everyone cheered him on and he was able to dribble the ball down to the half court line and pass it off to a team mate. It was pretty cool. We had another first – someone bumped into Jonathan and knocked him down. He fell backward and of course, started to cry. His coach was there even before I could get there and had him back on his feet in an instant, trying to calm him down. He coach really took the lead with him and was able to talk him into going for the shot. Through the tears, he tried two times before the other team rebounded and took the ball to the other end of the court. We are glad that finally happened. It is never fun, and I think it scared him more than hurt him, but at least it has happened and we don’t have to fear it anymore. We talked about when that happens again, he won’t have to cry he can just get up and keep going because his team needs him. His team mates and coaches are all so very supportive and encouraging. They amaze me week after week. He did hurt his left wrist a little and complained of pain when he turned it a certain way, but we have been as gentle as possible with it and it seems to be better today. When we weighed on Sunday morning, Jonathan was down a pound! We continue to try to exercise 20-30 minutes at least twice a day and we continue to try to watch what we are eating. God is working on helping me deal with this with Jonathan, so please continue to pray for both of us.
God continues to bless Jonathan and our family. That doesn’t mean that all our struggles and issues are gone, but He continues to bless us in spite of our difficulties. Your prayers are what hold us up when we want to give up, or when discouragement tries to set in. Thank you for so faithfully lifting us up. Please continue to pray for Jonathan’s complete healing of his brain, vision and diabetes. Please continue to pray for his sleeping issues. Pray that we will be able to make it through this healing process and that God will either bring us a solution or sustain us until His complete healing is realized. Pray that we can maintain a consistent exercise routine and healthy eating. Pray that I will let God be in charge of this and not obsess over it and try to make it what I want it to be. Pray for us as we go back for a visit with Dr. McDonald at the OCH on Thursday afternoon. After our visit we are going to go by and visit little Benjamin and his family who are still at the OCH. Pray that we will be able to meet this family and let God use us however He wants to minister to them. Please continue to pray for strength and flexibility for Jonathan’s hips, legs and ankles. Pray that God will continue to keep him safe and allow him to enjoy his basketball games each week. God has blessed us with such good health; please pray that we be able to remain in good health. Pray that Lamar and I will have wisdom to know what direction to proceed in as far as Jonathan’s continued therapy. Pray that God’s will and direction will be abundantly clear to us as we look at available options.
At anytime of the day or night, my mind will go back to “this time last year.” Those memories are never far from my thoughts. This day, one year ago, was the most significant turning point for Lamar and I. When we heard those Scriptures spoken, we knew that God had indeed spoken to us. It changed our lives. Not only did we pray and stand on that promise in faith believing, but you joined us there as well. And God remains faithful to His promise every single day. I want to leave you with some Scriptures we read in church on Sunday which so beautifully describe our sweet Jonathan and the miracle that God has brought about not only in his life, but in all of our lives. It also describes you, our faithful friends and reminds us of the incredible part each of you played in this miracle of God. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! We love you all.

2 Corinthians 1:8-11 For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; 9 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; 10 who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, 11 you also joining in helping us through your prayers, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed upon us through the prayers of many.