Pray

Hi, all! I realize that I haven't written an update in over 6 months, and that I am grossly overdue to give one. After our last "big" event, The Color Run, life got busy and time got away from me and I have been sorely behind. For that I do apologize.

That said, we do have our Break the Grey parties scheduled for this year! Our first one at Kosair Children's Hospital is tomorrow night - Friday, February 22. Our second one at Riley Children's Hospital is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, March 6.

In the past 6 or 7 months since I've written, Break the Grey has undergone some changes and some decisions have been made to help protect the integrity of our ministry. Since I last wrote, I have begun working full-time as a night shift nurse at Kosair Children's Hospital on 7 West - the unit where Break the Grey originated and where we still host annual parties. As a nurse, I get to interact with and care for these families that I once knew via Break the Grey on a more frequent basis. Because I now have a professional relationship with them as their nurse, I was unsure of how this would influence my involvement with Break the Grey. It could be argued that going to my workplace on a night off to volunteer with Break the Grey and see the kids and families outside of work is overstepping my professional boundaries and/or compromising my professional integrity. A conflict of interests, if you will.

In order to preserve my professional integrity and protect the privacy of the nurse/patient relationship that I now have with the kids and families on 7 West, I will not be attending the party at Kosair Children's tomorrow night. I have several fantastic volunteers who have stepped up these past few months to plan, organize, and prepare for the party so that I could step away. I have full confidence that they will love these families well and that I will hear nothing but a great report in my absence.

I do, however, plan to attend the Riley Children's party, since I do not work there and there is no conflict of interest with their organization.

All of that said, please be in prayer for the party at KCH tomorrow. Please pray also for the upcoming party at Riley in March. And please keep the leadership of Break the Grey in your prayers as we continue to process and discern how to continue to conduct our ministry with integrity, whatever shape that may take.

As you are praying for our events, please also pray for our families.  Since Saturday, February 16, two of our kiddos have passed away and one has relapsed. One of those most amazing kids was JP.

JP Peters, age 12 - May 19, 2000 - February 16, 2013

I met JP a while ago when I was beginning my treatment for an immune deficiency - even though they live in South Dakota! JP had many health issues, one of them being an immune system defect exacerbated by his underlying primary diagnosis, HSAN. JP's family - especially his mom, Deanna - was a tremendous source of encouragement and support for me during my diagnosis and treatment, even as they endured untold depths of suffering with JP. Through each and every procedure, lengthy hospital stay, surgery, and treatment, JP had a smile. He was an incredible little boy; one who loved baseball, fishing, and going to school. He was the eternal optimist, and truly loved life and those with whom he spent it.

JP defied so many odds in his short life. So many, in fact, that I more or less assumed that he was invincible. His death came as a shock to me, and I am absolutely heartbroken for his family. One thing that I do know though is that JP loved Jesus, and that when he took his last breath here on this earth, his next was in the presence of his savior. Please, please, please pray for his family in the days ahead - for dad, Jason, mom, Deanna, and siblings Matthew and Julianna.

In the words of JP's mamma: "Grace like rain."

Hoping, Believing, and Never Giving up,

Sarah