Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Jan 28, 2012, 12:34 am
I received this letter from Joyce: Hello, my grandson, Dmitri, is 18 years old and may be facing surgery for Scimitar Syndrome.  His mother, my daughter, just called me a few minutes ago and gave me the news.  He has to undergo a MRA to confirm the doctors’ suspicion.  Please pray for him beca...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Jan 11, 2012, 12:43 pm
In my mailbox this morning: “My daughter Madison has just been diagnosed with Partial Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return.  I’m so glad I found your story.  Please keep Madison and our family in your prayers!” I will.  Nathan had cardiac catheterization at two, and it was determined that hi...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Jan 9, 2012, 8:04 pm
I don’t normally follow the Broncos, but as an admirer of Tim Tebow’s bold profession of faith, I tune in every so often to see how he’s doing.  He certainly did not disappoint last night with that amazing win! And even more intriguing–Tebow is well known for sporting “John 3:16″ on hi...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Jan 7, 2012, 3:56 pm
In my mailbox this week: “I’m just 30 weeks pregnant and my baby has been diagnosed with TAPVD/R.   Please pray that the next scan shows that there is nothing abnormal and that it was a misdiagnosis.  We have waited so long for her and can’t even start to believe it.” I pray that this i...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Dec 23, 2011, 11:06 pm
I received a brief message requesting prayer for 2-week-old Herbie.  He’s been diagnosed with scimitar syndrome and will require surgery soon.  It’s never easy to hear your little one needs medical treatment or surgery, but when this news comes during a holiday associated with joy and celebrat...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Dec 10, 2011, 9:58 pm
Monday will be an anxious day for this family who requests prayer: Lord! I trust Your word and turn to You for help. My son, Victor Alfonso D. Sta.Maria, will undergo an open heart surgery on Dec.12,2011. He was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect called Tricuspid Valve Atresia with Ventricula...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Nov 8, 2011, 8:00 am
I received this letter from an anxious mom: My daughter, Brittani, is 19 years old and has just been diagnosed with Scimitar Syndrome. She was diagnosed as a baby as having Dextrocardia and has had no health problems whatsoever. She became pregnant which ended in a miscarriage. During the D & C...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Oct 7, 2011, 10:43 pm
Nathan at Children's Hospital in New Orleans - pulmonary function tests. Stressful, stressful, stressful.  That’s how I would describe these past few weeks.  I always dread Nathan’s annual checkup. I know exactly why I have a hard time settling down.  Nathan’s heart surgery about five yea...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Sep 8, 2011, 11:22 pm
Delaney Watkins is on a mission to educate people about Mitochondrial Disease, the disease her two-year-old brother has.  “Would you please consider posting this page on your blog?” she writes.  You bet I will, Delaney! My name is Delaney, and I’m 14 years old. My brother, Grant, who is a t...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Sep 4, 2011, 2:47 pm
In mid-August, Sam wrote requesting prayer for her son, Lucas, who needed surgery to correct Truncus Arteriosis, a rare congenital heart defect.  I received an email over the weekend reporting that the surgery went well! “We were discharged yesterday and he is recovering quite well. I would lik...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Aug 25, 2011, 11:43 pm
Want to win a copy of Veronica Janus’s book, Abundantly More? Read this August 22nd article and post a comment.  I’ll put your name in a hat and get Nathan to draw the winner on September 5, 2011.
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Aug 22, 2011, 8:00 am
This week, Veronica Janus releases her book, Abundantly More: A Mother Clings to God as Her Infant Clings to Life. “Abundantly More shares my journey of hope and healing,” writes Janus, “and it also offers practical knowledge on how to navigate life in a pediatric ICU.” I’m not aware of m...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Aug 20, 2011, 8:48 pm
Angela writes: Our beautiful daughter Callie was adopted from China almost two months ago. She was diagnosed last week with Scimitar syndrome and we are in the process of making decisions on how best to proceed. The doctors are not in agreement at this point on whether or not to go ahead with surge...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Aug 17, 2011, 7:36 pm
My friend, Bob Lopez, a chaplain at a hospital in New York, requests prayer for a little baby girl named Georgia.  “She recently had major heart surgery,” Bob reports.  “She has an ongoing heart condition, but she is very strong, and her family has much faith.” Prayers to Georgia and her ...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Aug 9, 2011, 9:00 am
I received a lovely email from Samantha (“Sam”) whose son, Lucas, has a rare congenital heart defect called Truncus Arteriosus.  Lucas is almost 3 years old–such an adorable age.  On the 17th, he will undergo his second open heart surgery.  “We are a Filipino family,” Sam writes, “and...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Aug 1, 2011, 8:52 pm
Nook will store several 9th grade textbooks at Gulfport High School this fall 2011. Have you lifted your kid’s backpack lately? Ugh!  When I first got my Nook, I commented to friends that I hoped schools went to eReaders one day.  My son, Nathan, had back surgery to correct Congenital Kyphosi...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Jul 21, 2011, 11:57 pm
I have been contacted by a loving, concerned parent whose son will have heart surgery to correct PAPVR (Partial Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return).  She has three requests: Pray that Joshua will make it through. Pray that he will come out healthy and strong. Ask for others to pray, too. Sending lo...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Jul 1, 2011, 12:00 am
I received a prayer request from Vicki concerning pulmonary hypertension.  She says, “Please pray for Canaan.  The doctors cannot figure out how to help him.” Will do, Vicki.  Both you and Canaan are on my heart tonight.
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Jun 27, 2011, 8:19 am
I received this prayer request last night: My daughter Rosabela just turned 4 years old a few days ago.  She went to have a procedure to fix the SVT (Supraventricular tachycardia), and that became unsuccessful.  It was discovered that she has PAPVR (Partial Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return).  W...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Jun 15, 2011, 11:51 pm
Right to Left: Karen Blakeney, Sandy Adams, Grace Booth, and Sandy Lemoine; Southern Christian Writers Conference This past weekend, I traveled to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for the 20th Annual Southern Christian Writers Conference.  I attended several nice workshops and met some wonderful folks.  It ...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Jun 1, 2011, 10:40 pm
I recently tried my hand at making cake pops, a delicious dessert novelty made popular by blogger Angie Dudley, aka Bakerella.  With the help of my daughter, Michelle, we knocked out about fifty of these babies in an evening. There are hundreds of different cake pop design possibilities; we chose ...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - May 29, 2011, 4:56 pm
Nathan watched me make honey bee cake pops last night and was dying to get in on the kitchen action. I promised him I would let him try his hand at decorating cake pops today if he would let me do the bees by myself (I’m faster by myself). I made good on my promise today and boy, did Nathan get c...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - May 5, 2011, 2:38 pm
Just read this on Broady’s Caring Bridge page: Thursday, May 5, 2011 2:18 PM, EDT God is Good! BROADY IS OUT OF SURGERY! Everything went great and they repaired everything that needed to be repaired.  We should get to see him in about an hour! Thursday, May 5, 2011 4:19 PM, EDT Broady is in ...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - May 2, 2011, 12:54 am
Broady Doland Broady Doland will have surgery to correct his congenital heart defect, Partial Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return (PAPVR), on May 5, at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh.  Like my son, Nathan, Broady has Scimitar Syndrome. A nice article, “Benefit Aids Vandergrift Boy’s Family...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Apr 12, 2011, 10:31 pm
Sylvie with Jordan, "...a gift from Sydney." In August of 2009, I connected with a lovely mother, Sylvie Stephens, through my Nathan’s Prayer website.  Her baby daughter, Sydney, was a patient at Children’s Hospital in Minnesota.  Sylvie and I exchanged long emails over a period of time as we...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Mar 23, 2011, 11:54 pm
I received a lovely letter recently from Taylor Lewis, mom of an adorable toddler named Riley Rae.  She stumbled across Nathan’s Prayer and wrote that her daughter was also born with congenital heart defects.  Riley Rae has double inlet, single left ventricle with transposition of great vessels,...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Mar 17, 2011, 10:53 am
“Your son is in heart failure.” As I read those words in the early pages of Bill Coon’s book, Swim: A Memoir of Survival, I knew I would have to read the rest of this story even if it took me on an uncomfortable journey.  I’m the mother of a child with a congenital heart defect, so hearing ...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Mar 15, 2011, 4:56 pm
In late August of 2010, I wrote a post about one-year-old Colin, son of Abby Scklarek.  Colin was born with scimitar syndrome and had heart surgery in October.  The surgery appeared to be successful, but Mom Abby reports that the scimitar vein that was re-routed is narrowing.  A heart catheteriza...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Feb 22, 2011, 6:15 pm
A thoughtful friend of mine, Alisha, got together with her Mom’s Group in North Aurora, IL and made tutus and tuques (winter hats) in honor of my daughter Sydney who died from Scimitar Syndrome and a little girl Hannah who battled and beat childhood leukemia. The gifts were given to me to donate ...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Feb 11, 2011, 11:13 pm
Guest blog by Jenn Merket Whenever I think of Valentine’s Day, my first mental image isn’t of a romantic candle-lit dinner for two, or of clinking champagne glasses or a bouquet of roses. Instead, I am transported back to the early 1990’s, where I sit in a circle of school desks, bedecked in...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Jan 15, 2011, 8:01 pm
Velvet Elvis Cake A twist on Red Velvet Cake — think blue suede shoes! 2 cups sugar 1 ½ sticks of softened butter ½ cup blueberry puree* 2 eggs 1 tablespoon cocoa powder 2 teaspoons Wilton royal blue food coloring 2 ½ cups cake flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 ...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Dec 28, 2010, 9:45 pm
This is Nathan with his new niece, Honey Jane.  He says, “Hi, baby.  This is your funky unky.” 
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Dec 8, 2010, 9:01 pm
It appears to me that some of the innocent bystanders got swept up in the excitement and began to sing along.  Beautiful! Click here to view the embedded video.
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Nov 22, 2010, 8:35 pm
My friend, Jan Spiers, is passing along a prayer request via her sister, Karen, in Kentucky.  Karen’s friend, Christy, has quintuplets–born this year–and one of them has a congenital heart defect.  There is concern that baby Easton’s condition may be serious enough to warrant a heart trans...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Nov 11, 2010, 3:50 pm
Nathan watches a Disney video during EKG testing at Children's Hospital in New Orleans. Annual checkups are an important part of maintaining Nathan’s heart and back health.  Recently, Bryan, daughter Michelle, and I traveled with Nathan to Children’s Hospital in New Orleans to see how his hear...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Oct 23, 2010, 3:36 pm
Nathan loves Tiramisu, a dessert we usually share after a meal at an Italian restaurant.  Here’s a wonderful recipe we’ve had success with at home.  It helps to have a heavy-duty mixer when the recipe calls for whisking. Nathan's sister, Michelle, made this tiramisu. Tiramisu 8 egg y...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Oct 18, 2010, 12:16 pm
Prayers and hugs go out to Abby Scklarek and her son, Colin.  Colin will have heart surgery tomorrow at Children’s Hospital Boston to correct PAPVR associated with scimitar syndrome. Update!  See comment.
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Oct 16, 2010, 9:00 am
Several months ago I entered a writing contest sponsored by the Southern Louisiana Chapter of RWA (Romance Writers of America).  I don’t actually write in the genre typically associated with Romance, but the contest included the category, Inspirational, which I felt was a good fit for Nathan: A H...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Oct 11, 2010, 6:12 pm
Mom Felisha writes that her nine-year-old son, Blake, will have surgery to correct PAPVR (Partial Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return).  His heart surgery is scheduled for November.  Felicia reports that she is scared but wants to be strong for her son.  Our prayers are with you!
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Oct 8, 2010, 7:20 pm
by Sylvie Stephens Tieszen While enjoying a perfect fall day downtown, we went inside a Macy’s Holiday Store filled top to bottom with Christmas decorations. Almost trance-like, forgetting it’s not yet Halloween, I went in search of a pink Sydney Ornament. I lost my baby girl at 6 months and ...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Sep 23, 2010, 10:05 pm
One of my favorite books of the year has been The Help by Kathryn Stockett.  When I posted my thoughts on the civil rights era story back in March, I had fun imagining it as a movie.  I even plotted out a cast. Have you heard the news?  The Help will, indeed, become a movie!  DreamWorks Studios...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Sep 15, 2010, 1:17 pm
I received an email from Heidy requesting prayer for her son: PLEASE PRAY FOR MY LITTLE MAN COEN. HE IS 6 WEEKS OLD AND IS FACING HIS SECOND SURGERY SINCE BIRTH. HIS FIRST SURGERY WAS A COARCTATION OF HIS AORTA AND HE IS NOW PRESENTING PAPVR. GOD BLESS. I’m posting it exactly the way I received...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Aug 31, 2010, 12:55 pm
About mid-June, I received an email from Abby Scklarek that began:  “I just read the article in Parents Magazine and I knew I had to get in touch with you…”  It turns out Abby has a one-year-old son, Colin, who also has scimitar syndrome.  She shared with me that he would need heart surgery...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Aug 28, 2010, 9:01 pm
Angie from Yukon, Oklahoma writes: My daughter just went in on Thursday August 26, 2010 to have the catherization surgery to close her ASD but when they got in they found out that it wasn’t the kind that could be closed that way.  They also found that she had the Partial Anomalous Pulmonary Veno...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Aug 17, 2010, 9:43 am
My brother Tom and I pose at our house in Gulfport, Mississippi, almost a year before Hurricane Camille. August of 1969 could be described as a month of turmoil and rebellion.  The Vietnam War was in full swing, provoking protests in the streets and heated disagreements at the dinner table.  The ...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Aug 3, 2010, 6:23 pm
Needing a little on-the-road encouragement, I purchased “WOW Gospel 2010” a few months ago.  Thirty of the most popular songs of gospel radio are in this collection, and I have enjoyed them all. But there’s one song in particular that I find myself playing over and over–Fre...
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Karen Blakeney posted an article on Nathan's Prayer - Jul 29, 2010, 11:12 pm
Having a newborn transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit is unimaginable to most parents, especially when the medical issue that warrants the transfer is unexpected. I was recently emailed by a friend who gave birth 4 weeks early. Her baby was transferred to Children’s Hospital in Minnea...
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