My friend, Mandi, posted something a while back about this girl on Facebook. I went to research what it was all about. Now I've gotten sucked in and this little girl has stolen my heart and many tears!
Hannah Grace Harrison lives in Ashford, AL. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 2.
Here was their first "post" when they learned of the tumor. This was in May 2008.
Friday, May 16, 2008 9:10 PM, CDT
I don't know how much any of you know or if you have heard, but Hannah Grace was diagnosed today with a brain tumor. She is in ICU and we have another MRI scheduled in the morning. Just a quick update for anyone who didn't know Hannah has been sick for the last week and we took her in for a CT scan today and they found a tumor about 2.5 cm in her brain. It is blocking one of the main passages in the brain causing sickness and fatigue. Our doctor in Dothan sent us straight to Birmingham and we are at Children's Hospital.Please pray for her recovery, pray for us for strength to make it through, pray that we will get direction on what to do as far as surgery. I don't really have much more to say other than thanks for all the calls.....I will post updates as soon as we know something.
In Him,
Jarrod
There are nearly 100 posts on her page, but here's the one from last night. Hannah is now 4 years old. They've battled this for 2 years. I saw this and couldn't stop crying. It was all I could do not to go wake Frank up just to hold him. Please keep this family in your prayers!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010 11:08 AM, CDT
How do you say goodbye to one of the most precious people that has ever come into your life. Words seem to fail when it comes to trying to convey the range of emotions that we have felt over this journey. The love that we feel for our daughter is one of the greatest loves I have ever felt. The only thing that could even come close is the love that our Heavenly Father has for us as His children.Last night around 2 am Hannah Grace started having trouble breathing. We called in the hospice nurses to evaluate Hannah Grace and see what was going on. She is resting comfortably, but her breathing is labored and becoming shorter with each hour. As a parent watching your child go through this it rips you to the very core of your being. Our nurses tell us that clinically we are down to the point of having 24-48 hours left with our precious child. These are the hardest words I have ever had to type for any entry. We hold tight to the grace that God has given us knowing that it is only Him who holds the final say with our daughter.
Even though this is not an easy path we are taking our family takes comfort in the peace that God has given us. We don't take that peace that He gives lightly. We know that as believers either in this body or our souls living on in eternity we are in God's hands. When Paul wrote in Philippians 1:21...
"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain!"
We believe in and through our journey have tried to embody those words. While we are on this earth and breathing we are to imitate Christ. The very word "Christian" means Christ like. If we are following that command when we leave this world we have nothing lose, but everything to gain.
As the earthly body Hannah Grace has is transitioning out of this world we know something greater is to come. If we have learned anything in this journey it is to gain a greater heavenly focus. Our lives here on this earth are only for a short time. I don't know why some lives are shorter than others, but I do know while we are here we should do everything we can do fulfill our calling. I have never written any more true words when I say that I know that my daughter has fulfilled her calling.
The life that has been brought to our family because of Hannah Grace, the love that beams from her face, and the lessons that we have learned from a 4 year old cannot be contained in a simple blog post. I have told few people this, but I believe it with every fiber of my being. My 4 yr old daughter saved my life, saved our family, and touched more people than I could in a lifetime. I would not trade one second of any day that I have spent with her in our lives. Marci and I both were talking earlier today about what an honor it is to be her parents.
I in no way want to take away from our family because God has blessed us with just as much of a miracle in Chandler. I don't write as often as I should about him, but the joy that he has brought into our lives is just as important to our family. Please remember to pray for Chandler as well. I know he is only two, but he knows something is wrong.
He asks why Hannah Grace has a tube in her nose and why she doesn't feel good. He loves his big sister so much. Marci was holding Hannah Grace in the chair last night when Chandler walked into the room. I say that because it is rare for our two year old to walk anywhere. He made his way over to the chair and patted Hannah Grace on the arm then just held her hand for the longest time. He told her he loved her then kissed her on the head. We are blessed in so many ways.
We have spent our time today holding Hannah Grace close to us and keeping her as comfortable as she can be. It is a miracle that her pain level has been minimal and we have seen no seizure activity like we did over the weekend. Marci and I are surrounded by our families. We both tell Hannah Grace how much we love her and how proud we are of her. Her life has been filled with mountains that sometimes seemed insurmountable, but she somehow found a way to conquer them. The strength and courage she has shown still amazes me when I think about it. The protecting hand of God that was with her each step of the way is still upon her today.
Marci wanted me to use this verse particularly in my post today. We have two pages of Scripture that we gathered and were given in our journey to pray over Hannah Grace and believe in. This verse comes from 1 Peter 5:10
"And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast."
We hurt over the thought of not having Hannah Grace with us here physically, but rejoice in the fact that her restoration is near. As a father the peace that I have knowing that in a short time there will be no more cancer in her body, no more tests, no more chemotherapy, and no more pain is beyond words. I know she has suffered, but that time is coming to an end. We should all look forward to that time of restoration in Christ where all the pain is taken away.
We thank you so much for the love and kindness that has been shown to our family. Your kind words are a testimony of what God is doing in our lives and through this journey. We hear so many comments of our strength and faith. I will tell you that it has nothing to do with me, but it is through the grace and mercy of our Heavenly Father that our family has the strength and faith to make it each day. We battle fear, doubts, uncertainty, attacks, and sin just like everyone else. This is a battle we are in that is not ours. If we take on every battle every time it can sometimes be too much. 2 Chronicles 20:15 sums it up when the armies are all around..."The battle is not yours, but God's". Lay your battles and struggles at His feet.
Continue to pray for our family and Hannah Grace. God is merciful, gracious, and loving. He is able to do ALL things.
In Him,
Jarrod, Marci, Hannah Grace, and Chandler
All I can say is that we can learn a lot from this family. I was so unbelievably humbled last night as I read this through tears. How petty is it to complain about a fussy baby, clingy baby, or a baby that will not eat?!?! God chose this family to go through this battle. How easily could he have chosen or choose us? As awful as this sounds to anyone, it hits in a different spot to a mother. I cannot imagine not having my precious boy to kiss and hold every day. I love Frank more than these words can ever say. I cherish him so much. The gift of being a mother is the most precious gift from our Heavenly Father. Who are we to deserve this joy??? We are so blessed to have a healthy, beautiful child. I've heard more and more lately of miscarriages, sick babies, stillborn babies. I am so humbled right now and abundantly thankful for my healthy, happy, clingy, fussy, crying, picky eating baby!!!!!!!!!!
If any of you want to follow more, her blog address is
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/hannahgraceharrison
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