Created and Called: Please Pray for Catie

Last summer, I learned about a 7-year-old girl in our area that is battling cancer. I don't know her or her family, even though they live just over mile from me, but learned about her through a friend.

This past summer, Catie learned she had a spinal tumor that is an extremely rare type of cancer. A very aggressive regiment of chemo, radiation and stem cell recovery was started, but the cancer has continued to spread and her parents decided to stop treatment in November.

Just in the last several weeks, the tumor has spread to her brain and is currently affecting the left side of her face, specifically her eye, cheek and mouth. She is not able to open her eye completely. Catie can no longer smile or chew with ease. She cannot drink through a straw. She is having difficulty speaking so that she is understood.

You can follow Catie's story on her Web site. Her parents update the site almost daily with Catie's progress and condition. Here is just a snippet of what her father wrote today:

It has been 57 days since that Tuesday when we first learned of the tumor spread
and stopped treatment. We have had two months to enjoy her. We can look at the last two months and see pictures of Catie and be saddened by what she has lost; mobility, eyesight, the ability to smile her trademark smile, the list goes on and will continue to grow. Or we can look at the gift of 57 days and realize that there are parents who lose children in car accidents and do not get 57 seconds to say good-bye. Tomorrow will be Day 58, and God willing, I will have another chance to hold my child in my arms and feel the rising and falling of her chest and be able to be blessed enough to witness her strength, her piety, her inner beauty, and her love. Every parent will tell you that the first time you hear your child say “mommy” or “daddy” it will melt your heart. As Catie lives from day to day, and her final day approaches, each day that I still get to hear her say “daddy” is a gift to be treasured.

Please pray for Catie and her family. Her parents know that she could be taken home any day, but they still hold on for the miracle of healing. Let's stand with them for that miracle.