All photos, wav files, and plaintext copy courtesy of Mikey's Dad.
Thanks, Rick!! ~smile~

April 6th, 2003... Ballgames and barbecues.. We love this time of year! Mikey is well. He gets a little short of breath, but he still has PLENTY of energy. This year has went by so fast. School will be out next month!

April 13th, 2003 Palm Sunday... You can see some of Mikey's "machinery" in today's picture. The sensor bands on his arms are connected to his pacemaker tester. The readings are transmitted to the heart center in Little Rock via phone modem. The probe on his finger is attached to an oximeter that monitors his heart rate and the saturation of oxygen in his bloodstream. If you can read the small LED display in the picture, you can see that his heart rate is 105bpm and his oxygen saturation is 97%... both are good numbers. Thank You, Lord!

Everyone have a happy and blessed Palm Sunday!

JOIN MIKEY & FAMILY IN PRAYING FOR OUR TROOPS! The world is in such a volatile state now. Pray and be ready, "for no man knoweth..."

April 20th, 2003 Easter Sunday... Easter Eve.. pajamas on.. Bible reading and prayer before bedtime. Mikey is doing well. He has lots of energy.
He just gets short of breath real easily. God is good, all the time
And all the time, God is good!

Mikey and family need your prayers!

Once again, we're fighting the battle to assure Mikey receives the health care that he needs. As we can no longer buy private health insurance for him, we have to access the "TEFRA" program. TEFRA is for disabled and seriously or terminally ill children. However, the governor and the new legislature in Arkansas could not agree on a budget, so they recessed and went home, leaving thousands of families with sick and disabled children twisting in the wind. If they do not reconvene and save the TEFRA program, it will end in June. We just spoke with Mikey's cardiologists this week, and they say it is important that he have a heart catheterization next month. They may place a metal stent in Mikey's homograft (the conduit in his heart) at this time, or depending upon the results of the heart cath, they may need to proceed with more open-heart surgery. We're not asking for a "hand-out" at all. We just want to be able to buy health insurance like anyone else. With Mikey's "pre-existing condition", TEFRA is the only insurance we can access. Our governor and our lawmakers agreed to spend millions of dollars of our money to remodel their apartments on Capitol Hill and gave themselves millions more in raises and pension enhancements, but they couldn't find enough of our money left to fund the most vital state health programs, so they recessed and went home early for Easter. They must come back into session and save TEFRA, specifically, or many families will suffer. Thank you all for your prayers, and much thanks to everyone who has written or will write our governor and legislators.

Everyone have a happy and blessed Easter Sunday!

We've come such a long way with Mikey, and we're SO grateful and SO blessed! Thank you all for your prayers. WE feel like Mikey is doing very well right now. His doctors will still schedule him for a heart catheterization at the end of this school year.. late May to early June.

April 27th, 2003... Today's pictures find Mikey playing a little badmitton in sissy's backyard. In the pic on the right, he is relaxing in the shade with his buddy Patrick and Mister Ed. The weather was super, and we had a nice little barbecue on their patio. What a beautiful spring God has given us, and we're going to enjoy every minute we can with Mikey before the school year ends and the trip to Little Rock nears. God is good!

Thank you all for your prayers, and thanks to everyone who has written or will write our governor and legislators. If YOU would like to HELP us by writing our lawmakers and telling them not to cut TEFRA, CLICK HERE for the addresses. To email the governor, go HERE and look for where it says "To eMail Governor Huckabee...". Many thanks from Mikey & Family!

Thank You, Lord, for sending us Mikey. Thank You for looking out for him and keeping him safe. Thank You for Mikey's life, and the wonderful Christian witness that he has. God is good!

Peg's note: The Governor's email is not always user-friendly to out-of-staters. Here is an alternate address for him if you are having problems with the form:
mike.huckabee@state.ar.us

VERY IMPORTANT!!