The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. Ps 28:7

 

Last Tuesday, Autumn, who is now 13 had her 6 month checkup at Children’s hospital, for her disease ulcerative colitis We woke up early that morning with the rain driving down hard outside and Autumn with a 103 temperature. After dosing Autumn with a whopping Ibprophen dose, I decided to leave 30 minutes early to make sure we arrived on time. Leaving at 8:00am allowed us to arrive right on time at 10:00am for her appointment. It was a tense two hour drive because of the heaviness of the rain. With 7 children, two heavy school backpacks filled with books, one back pack with a dolly and pull-ups, 7 coats, my purse filled with antibiotics, Tylenol, and Motrin for the little girls, we ran through the rain to the elevators obviously getting soaked on the way in! After piling everything into a wagon from the hospital, we rolled into our first appointment for the day!

The good news was that for the first time in 8 years, Autumn has not been on any medication for an entire year and her height and weight were right on target! Except for running a high temperature, she was healthy!!  Sounds funny? Her two little sisters had been diagnosed with Strep A just the day before, so I knew this had to be strep. Life is in perspective these days.  Strep A is an easy fix…Antibiotics!

After piling everything back into the wagon again, giving Autumn some Tylenol, Mercy, and Serenity Tylenol and antibiotics, we raced down to the basement on the other side of the hospital to get some blood work done. Her next appointment was for 1:00 with the Rheumatoid Clinic and we still needed to eat lunch!

With one hour to spare, I left everyone at a table and got in line for the Subway that was in the hospital. Ordering 4 kids meals and 2 footlongs and 8 waters was too much for the poor checkout fellow. Most people are hospital workers and have only one order. He was so flustered trying to get all the kids meals and ring me up, that he took a verrrry long time. That line was backed up very long!!!!!!!   

I met a mother with a beautiful little 6 month old girl, who had testing because of a chromosomal defect that has left this little girl looking like a 10 week old baby. After talking with her and sharing our foundation, the Word of God, I went away thankful for all we have in Christ.

We enjoyed our meal and made our way to the Rheumatoid Clinic. For the last two years, Autumn has had quite a bit of trouble with unexplainable swelling in her knees and ankle. So much so, that she would have a hard time getting up from a chair, or getting out of bed. Running and jumping were not even an option. This swelling would come for a time and then go away.

After examining her, the doctor concluded what we already guessed. That she has Rheumatoid arthritis related to her colon problems. Even though she does not have a colon anymore and she is in remission, the body still has the auto- immune disease that can affect her joints.

We decided for no treatment at this time, because she is not having as much trouble. In the future, if she becomes as bad as she has been in the past, she can receive shots or be on a medication.

At this point Autumn still was running a high fever, Mercy (two) was whinny, and Serenity was feverish and miserable! After putting everything and everyone in the car, I called Autumn’s pediatrician and made an appointment for 4:30pm. Again we took the hour drive to Zanesville and arrived just in time. After swabbing her throat, and doing all the things they do; we left Zanesville with a van load of very tired people.

By the time we reached New Concord, I received the phone call I already new…she had Strep A. We stopped at the pharmacy in town and FINALLY headed home!

All this may sound tiring…Yes it was! At the same time I am reminded how wonderful it is to have the privilege to have children and to be a mom. I love this full time job and I love my God!

See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand. Deut. 32:39




Thursday we went to the orthopedic institute in Columbus for another evaluation of Autumn’s hand. He was thrilled with the progress that she has made so far. Although to the inexperienced eye her hand does not look “good,” it is healing much better than the doctor had anticipated. The stitches will dissolve by themselves and the scabs will fall off. Under the scabs is bright red new skin. The two remaining fingers are getting stronger; however, her thumb is very weak. She has a tendency to ignore her right hand. I am constantly reminding her that she can use her hand. Wednesday she will start Physical therapy. This will strengthen the hand and thumb.

 She played her violin on Sunday. She is in desperate need of a bow that will work for her. I do not like that she cannot hold her bow correctly. At this point, I am at a loss. Holding the bow with only two fingers can only happen if the hand is moved up on the bow. She seems to play pretty well this way, although her grip is very weak. Sometimes when she is playing, the bow will fall out of her hand.

 One evening, as I was reclining in bed, I was speaking of Autumn’s hand. I said, “I feel bad because her hand is going to be like that forever.” My husband reached over, took my hand, and replied, “No, not forever, just on this earth.” That is a perspective that is eternal and not temporal.

In 2006, Autumn had surgery to remove her colon. We were at the dinner table the other day, when someone brought up all her missing body parts. Her quick answer was, “God sure has a lot to give me when I get a new body in heaven.” Amen to that! There is not a better answer. In the same context, I thought of our little Zoe Farmer, my new niece given to my sister and her husband as a gift from our wonderful heavenly Father. www.treasureinafield.com What a precious gift God has given them to take care of. Zoe will someday be given a perfect body in heaven as well.

 The other children are doing a lot better; time is always good. Serenity, who always has something profound to say, commented on the way home from church on Sunday evening, "God let us have that crash". This opened a whole conversation on how wonderful our God really is. We praise the Lord for His graciousness to us in spite of our failures.

 Please pray for the Pastor Shawn Smith family. There son 7 year old son Andrew is fighting for his life tonight with a brain tumor that has started to grow again. We love them dearly and know that our Saviour loves them even more. Read the latest update now by using this link: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/aws

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. James 4:14 

 

One moment of time, one second of inattention, one glance in the opposite direction, can change a person's life here on earth forever. I didn’t know that when we left the house at 3:00 p.m., October 10, 2008, in a matter of one hour, our lives would be different. My little girl’s hand would have a new form, I would have a new perspective on life, and God’s glory would shine through a dark cloud in our life.

Eternity. A word I have contemplated these last two weeks. A word that stretches ones mind; contemplating a concept that our earthly minds can barely grasp. Was I ready? Were my children ready? Had I done all for Christ?

Spiritually, I knew that if I had not awakened on this earth, I would have opened my eyes in heaven. In the spring of 1995, I recognized my sinfulness before a holy, just God. I came to realize that all of my good behavior, my church attendance, my religious upbringing, my baptism, my Sunday school teaching, my Godly parents, my knowledge of Christ's burial, death and, resurrection were not the confidence I needed to meet a Holy God.

With the knowledge that Christ paid for my sin debt--the sins that were already sending me away from God to a place called Hell--I bowed my head humbly and acknowledged my need of Christ to save me from my sin and accepted His free gift of Salvation. He had paid the debt that I could not pay here on this earth. He had taken my sins on Himself when He died on that cross. At that moment, my life was no longer my own; I now belonged to my dear Savior.

But, had I done all I could for Christ? Could I honestly stand before God and say that I had finished my course? One of the first things Autumn said to me when I walked into her hospital room at midnight, October 10, was, “Mommy, God has something special for me.” She was echoing the wisdom her Papa had shared with her sometime before her surgery. Yes, God does have something special for her. He has something special for me, my other children, and for you as well. What a wonderful God we serve!

Someday, when Autumn goes to meet Jesus, she will have new body. Her hands will be whole and her colon will be intact. With outstretched hands she will praise the Savior for His loving kindness to us here on this earth.

The song writer says:

I wonder, have I done my best for Jesus,
Who died upon the cruel tree?
To think of His great sacrifice at Calv'ry!
I know my Lord expects the best from me.

The hours that I have wasted are so many,
The hours I've spent for Christ so few;
Because of all my lack of love for Jesus,
I wonder if His heart is breaking too.

I wonder, have I cared enough for others,
Or have I let them die alone?
I might have helped a wand'rer to the Savior,
The seed of precious Life I might have sown.

No longer will I stay within the valley,
I'll climb to mountain heights above;
The world is dying now for want of someone,
To tell them of the Savior's matchless love.

Chorus
How many are the lost that I have lifted?
How many are the chained I've helped to free?
I wonder, have I done my best for Jesus, 
When He has done so much for me?

We were on the road one minute, and flipped the next. When the van came to a stop I, Autumn, couldn’t believe it had happened. You know when you see or hear about an accident you don’t really think about it happening to you. I think it’s about the scariest thing that has ever happened to me! I guess you have heard about me losing two of my fingers. It doesn’t really look that bad! After the accident I kept thinking about all that had happened. A couple of years before that mommy had our family memorize Ps 91:1-5.  It has been a big help. God has given me the strength to be happy about it. 

 When I was 5 I knew that I was a sinner but Jesus had died for my sins, and was buried, and rose again. I asked Jesus to take away my sins. That’s how I know, if I wouldn’t have made it, I would have gone to heaven!   Thank you for all your prayers.

Autumn Kay De Leon

Autumn wanted to write in her own words about the accident.  She typed this with her left hand using one finger. :) Nothing was changed except some mispelled words.  I hope this blessed your heart as it did ours.  

Cassandra

Psalm 91
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2  I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. 7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. 8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. 9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; 10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. 11For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. 13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. 14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. 15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. 16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.


Last night, I meditated on these precious verses. The comfort of the Almighty’s protection is overwhelming. God is good to allow all of my children to live through that horrible accident. As I got to meditating on how good God is, I thought, no, God would have still been good if he had called one of us home to Him. I do not say these words lightly. Even now, the sounds of the screams of my children echo in my ears. Autumn’s cry for help, that I could not heed, still races through my mind.  I am reminded that God is good, but a better way to say it is, His mercy was manifested by allowing me to have my children a little longer.

We are going on with normal life, although, now it is a new normal. My sister-in law from South Carolina is here to help with my children. She has done an amazing job taking over the meals, school, and, cleaning. Joshua has continued to be a blessing helping wherever needed. The other children have continued homeschooling half days.

We are keeping Autumn comfortable with pain medicine. Because of this, she is her cheerful self. Walking around, talking, and talking.  Anyone that knows Autumn, knows she can. She is sleeping well. We put her on the living room couch so we can give her medicine to her better throughout the night. We see the Surgeon on Thursday morning in Columbus. They will unwrap her hand and evaluate how well the surgery took.

I am very tired. The accident threw me behind the passenger side seat. I had my seatbelt on but, it must not have worked. From looking at the car, blood is on the seatbelt and the steering wheel. Because of being thrown, I have many aches and pains. I look like I was is a fight and lost.  I see the orthopedic doctor on the 24th to evaluate the shoulder I separated.

Thank you for all the prayer, kind word, calls, and email. Each one is very precious to us. Already we have seen God using this tragedy for good in our community. Brent, the Fire Chief of New Concord, had tears in his eyes as he told us how much he was impacted by our children’s attitudes during and after the accident.

On the funny side, Autumn kept saying, “yes sir and no sir” to the firemen and medical personel that helped her. They told her, “Honey you don’t have to call us that” her response was, “Yes sir”. Habits are hard to break.

Please continue to pray for our community, our testimony, and for many to come to a saving knowledge of Christ.

Cassandra De Leon

The Lord is Good. His mercy's are everlasting and His truth endureth for all generations.

 The Accident 

Many people have asked what happened. On October 10, I (Cassandra) left the house at 3:00 on Friday afternoon (Oct. 10) to drop off three of my children at Stacie's house (a friend at church). The car was packed with suitcases, pillows and all 8 of our children. Joshua, 13, was sitting in the front passenger side. I asked him to trade places with Autumn because I wanted to talk to her on the way. I remember he willingly gave up his seat with a sweet spirit. Autumn, 12, was now sitting in the passenger side and Joshua was behind her. Next to him was Mercy Anna, our 13 month old, in a 5 point harness. In the second bench seat was Melody, 10, Carissa, 9, and Serenity, 3. Serenity was in a booster seat. In the third bench was Timothy, 6, in a booster seat, and Stephen, 5, in a booster seat.  We were heading south on 83.  After thinking it over, I remember looking in the left side view mirror and when I looked up, I saw us going off the road. But I was too late, the embankment was steep and I saw a pole coming at us. I tried to swerve, all the children were screaming; I knew we were going to hit the telephone pole.  I turned the wheel and we hit and somehow we rolled.    The van was upside down, I had blood all in my face and eyes. All I kept thinking was, "I need to turn the engine off." I asked the Lord for strength and He allowed me to find the ignition. I knew if it was kept on we might blow. Next I unhooked Autumn's seat belt. Joshua was getting Mercy out. He succeeded in getting all the children out with the help off some teenagers. I knew I had to get out but I didn't want to leave Autumn. She was screaming.

 With the help of some men, I was able to scoot out on my back. I left my foot in the wreck so Autumn could see some of me. Autumn's hand was caught under the car. When the car rolled, the car landed on her hand, pinning it to the ground. We sang, "The Lord is my shepherd" together until Daddy arrived. Tom, a man from our local middle school, held her hand. The Lord brought him as an angel of mercy to stay with Autumn until Daddy got there.

I was taken to Good Samaritan hospital and transferred to Grant in Columbus. Michael asked Joshua to go with Autumn, so he went with her in the ambulance to Good Samaritan. She was later life-flighted to Nationwide Children's hospital in Columbus. Before she left, I was able to say goodbye to her because they put us in the same trauma room together before they transported us to different places. I told her I could not come with her and Daddy could not come (he was with the other children). That was the hardest thing I had to say to her. I told her that Jesus was with her. Then I remembered that my Dad was already on his way to see us heading east on 70. So I promised her Papa would be there at Children's when she got there and she calmed down some.

 Miraculously, my Dad (Papa) arrived at Children's 5 minutes before the helicopter did. (Michael had called him and asked him to go right to Children's when he heard Autumn was headed there). She had immediate surgery on her hand. She had an excellent surgeon who specializes in hand and finger surgeries. She lost her right pinky and ring finger, but kept her life. Her thumb was able to be saved.

I separated my shoulder, lacerated and fractured my nose and have many bruises. My face is pretty banged up; I have two black eyes. I was discharged from Grant at midnight. Pastor Bob Shaw and his wife Karen came to be with me, as well as Don and Kristy. What a comfort to have that human touch. My clothes were ruined in the wreck and I had nothing to wear. The Shaw's graciously went out and purchased everything I needed.

Melody was transported to Good Samaritan Hospital. Joshua was already there with Autumn so when she flew out, Joshua was able to comfort her until Ron Hinebaugh (from our church) and Perry Griffin (a visiting missionary) arrived. The other children were taken to Bethesda hospital to be checked out. My husband was with them with several other folks from church. Serenity was being checked out in the ER, she said, "Have you ever been in a crash and gone upside down?" Everyone had bruises but were miraculously not seriously injured. After several of them had CAT scans and were watched for a few hours, they were released.

 We are so thankful for our dear church folks who helped us and did what needed to be done—especially staying with the younger children so Michael could get to Children's hospital to be with Autumn.

The Miracles

I still can not believe all the miracles that took place. God allowed the accident, but comforted us all along the way. My mind kept going over and over the verses in Isaiah 41:10 and Psalm 131.

 We are praising the Lord for life and protection and for every little miracle. Here are a few of the more significant ones for which we give our Savior Jesus Christ all praise:

1. No one was killed. We still have all of our precious children with us.

>2. Joshua couldn't have fit in the tiny space Autumn had fallen in during the accident. It was providential that he was in the second seat and not in the front where Autumn was.

3. Autumn's head landed on her pillow. She does not have any bruises or head wounds because of this.

4. All the children's bucked secured them. I'm told the children received their injuries when they unbuckled themselves and fell out off their seats after the accident.

5. Joshua was the rock that kept all my children together and accounted for. The Lord gave him unusual strength to do what needed to be done.

6. My Dad was with Autumn the entire time at children's until Daddy (Michael) could come.

7. Autumn had a Christian nurse who cried with us and got on her knees beside the bed and prayed with all of us. We already knew her from the many previous times Autumn had been on this floor.

8. She had the best surgeon around.

9. We have the most wonderful Lord to comfort us.

The first thing Autumn told me when I saw her was, God has something special for me! Her Papa told her that! Amen!

Many of my children our suffering more emotionally know. Even I have to pray and sing and quote scripture to keep my mind off the accident. Pray especially for Joshua, Autumn and I, as well as the rest of the older children as we struggle with reliving the events. Please pray for physical and well as emotion healing. We know the Lord is the Great Physician of the mind and soul. We can trust Him.

My nephew has a quote, "God is good all the time, all the time God is Good". Amen!

Thank you all for praying for us. Your love and care is a great testimony to the grace of our Savior. May He be glorified in it all!

Cassandra De Leon


  Our wrecked 15-passenger van