My Cousin, The Treasure
When my mom, my son and I set out on our trip to Atlanta a little less than a week ago, I was so nervous, hoping and praying that God would give me the right words to say to encourage my cousin Shea, and the whole Hickok family. Little did I know, I would be the one who would end up encouraged and ministered to. As I have spent time listening to Shea processing the events of the last eight weeks, and filling in the blanks to the missing moments of her life, I am overwhelmed by the sense of peace and strength that Shea has as she rests in God's promises and goodness. She truly has found shelter under the shadow of her Father's wings. She has never become angered by what has happened, but continues to remind us that this was part of God's plan for her life. What an example of God's grace she has been to me in these days as well as to countless others. Thank you Shea.
We also have been encouraged that during a week's time, we have seen more movement in the left side of Shea's face. She is able to smile evenly and her dimple is more beautiful than ever. The spot in her left eye has improved as well. Shea believes that her vision is getting much better as she is able to see more clearly. Please continue to pray that her body will absorb that extra blood and that her vision will be completely restored.
Shea is also continuing on through the long days of rehab. Her stories of the experiences she has in convincing them that she is not brain damaged have kept us all entertained, and we look forward to the hysterical updates at the end of each day. As always, she has been instrumental even in encouraging the other patients, and was recently involved with helping a therapist with a break through on a patient whose therapy has been very difficult. Steve and Susan have a meeting with her therapists this Wednesday. Please pray that the report will be positive and that Shea will be released soon.
Exhaustion is part of the reality of what the whole family has been through. And there are still dark times as Shea works through the grief and pain that has become a part of her journey, but she continues to keep her eyes fixed on her Savior. Even when the dark clouds roll in, the light of God's goodness breaks through as her walk towards healing and complete recovery continues.
What a privilege it has been to be here and see the beauty of God's miracle unfold before us as we lift our hands to Him with thanksgiving for what He has done and continues to do in our Shea. She truly radiates the beauty of God's glory and shines brighter than any star I have ever seen.
I love you Shea, my treasure,
Your Cousin,
Carie
We also have been encouraged that during a week's time, we have seen more movement in the left side of Shea's face. She is able to smile evenly and her dimple is more beautiful than ever. The spot in her left eye has improved as well. Shea believes that her vision is getting much better as she is able to see more clearly. Please continue to pray that her body will absorb that extra blood and that her vision will be completely restored.
Shea is also continuing on through the long days of rehab. Her stories of the experiences she has in convincing them that she is not brain damaged have kept us all entertained, and we look forward to the hysterical updates at the end of each day. As always, she has been instrumental even in encouraging the other patients, and was recently involved with helping a therapist with a break through on a patient whose therapy has been very difficult. Steve and Susan have a meeting with her therapists this Wednesday. Please pray that the report will be positive and that Shea will be released soon.
Exhaustion is part of the reality of what the whole family has been through. And there are still dark times as Shea works through the grief and pain that has become a part of her journey, but she continues to keep her eyes fixed on her Savior. Even when the dark clouds roll in, the light of God's goodness breaks through as her walk towards healing and complete recovery continues.
What a privilege it has been to be here and see the beauty of God's miracle unfold before us as we lift our hands to Him with thanksgiving for what He has done and continues to do in our Shea. She truly radiates the beauty of God's glory and shines brighter than any star I have ever seen.
I love you Shea, my treasure,
Your Cousin,
Carie
posted by admin | 10:15 AM
13 Comments:
Carie,
Thank you for the lovely update. What an inspiration our Shea has become to many of us and we enjoy keeping up with the latest.
Sweet Shea,
Continue to rest in the arms of our saviour and let your body and mind heal. Our family continues to lift you up in our prayers. Hang in there baby!
Teresa Holman
hey hon, i'm glad to hear you are still doing well. it cracks me up to hear ou still convincing your doctors' that you are not in fact brain damaged! It just makes me laugh, its a good thing you are clever, AND full of good humor.
I will be praying that you are all getting good sleep, i can definitely understand that overly exhausted state.
i was just thinking about how blessed you are to have such a supportive family and see how much they all love you, its very uplifting. well, its time for me to head into work, so i'll talk to you later. Love you Shea
rach
Hi Hickok clan,
It has been such a joy and a blessing to have this blog so we can walk this journey with you all. We check it all the time, and we just marvel at what God has done. It is our privilege to be praying with you and for you...thanks for the updates.
I miss you all. Shea, we made a deal once that I would always get to be the one to push your wheelchairs (that sounds so terrible, doesn't it? But remember the night your ankle was broken and we got to laugh our way through the stress of the emergency room? And then there was the time you nearly passed out on the platform while your dad was leading the choir and you and your mom were singing and they couldn't leave, so God let me be there for you?) I've thought about that so many times in the last few weeks, and it made me think of your sweet spirit and how you always make the best of everything you face. Your courage is amazing. Of course, I know where you learned to be upbeat and positive...Steve and Susan, your love and kindness are contagious. It has been so hard to be so far away during this difficult time, but just know we have been part of your prayer team.
Ryan just came in with a copy of your CD!!! I guess they had them at SBC tonight (okay, I'm caught...we got back in town late from a volleyball tournament, and I'm decompressing from a weekend of loud gyms, cheering girls and multiple games!)I can't wait to listen to it!
I had to tell you how encouraging it has been to watch your extended families during this time. You are so blessed to have such great families on both sides, and the support is so evident. That has been encouraging to discover, because you never know the inner workings of a family until a crisis, and I am so grateful God has blessed you all with a functional, loving, sacrificing group ready to drop anything to be there for each other. The body of Christ needs to see this, and so I wanted to thank all of you for your incredible example of a true family.
Luke, we are so with you. Ryan misses you like crazy, and hopes to see you soon. You are so wonderful, and I'm praying for you.
Jesse, we are praying for you, too. I hope you are getting lots of good time with friends and making up time with your family now that everyone is home. It will be interesting to hear your story about all of this in the year's to come. I'll pray for Jesse and Luke to have an easy time catching up in school. Don't worry, Jesse, you'll be multiplying in no time.
I just wanted to send our love to you all. It is tempting to just let others write and think one more post won't matter, but I am always so moved to tears each time I read, I have to let you know we love you and are praying for you.
Sending our hugs and love,
Tracy Goble in Arizona
Shea,
What a praise about your smile and your eye getting better!!!!!!!!
What a great update from your cousin and how sweet that she came to bless you and was so blessed by you!!
I did not get to go to SBC tonite. I went to get your cd the other day and they said they were passing them out tonite, and then they would be in the bookstore. I pray that there was an amazing amount of support tonite. I hope to get my copy this week. So looking foward to it.
Will be praying for you this week as continue all your work to get better!
Psalm 89:15
Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship,
for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.
They rejoice all day in your wonderful reputation.
They exalt in your righteousness.
You are their glorious strength.
Our power comes from the Lord.
Yes, our protection comes from the Lord.
How you are reflecting that trust and joy in God, as you continue to worship Him through this!!
Praying for God's Hand of mercy to keep making you stronger and stronger.
Blessings,
Denise Nicolette
Hello Shea and family. It is me, Joni from Jamestown . It has been awhile since I have left a comment in your blog,however I have checked it out!!I am so happy that there is constant improvement.Keep amazing those doctors!! God is good!!! God is awesome! God is the great I Am!!
Shea,
I would really like to visit you in person. When do you think you would be ready to see maybe Dani and I? I just miss you so much and would love to give you a big hug! I know you are busy as well as your family. If someone could just e-mail me and let me know. If you can't I understand. Thinking about you always.
-Jaime- djsunshine23@hotmail.com
Sweet Shea,
They gave away your CD at church last night. I was so excited to hear it. I replaced my Jeremy Camp CD (mind you, not an easy thing for me to do :-) with yours as I went to bed. Oh Shea it was so powerful! I miss you and your family so much. It was funny to me that as soon as I heard the first song, memories flooded back to me about the choir we had at SBC. You see, that was an incredibly special time for me and, as I realized last night, it was really one of the best times of my life. I had a lot of hard things going on around me, but God used the choir family to lift me up and to show me more of Himself. You were a part of that Shea, and I am still so grateful for the opportunity to have known you and your family.
I am excited to hear about further recovery in your body. Keep up the hard work girl. You are truly a mighty encouragement and a vessel of God's love and power.
Steve and Susan,
Keep hanging in there...hold on...what am I saying? Keep flourishing in the circumstances God has placed you! You are such an encouragement to me and to many, many others. Thank you so much for the CD. Who am I to be so blessed? I pray God's continued blessings on you and your family.
I love you guys!
In Him,
Kristen
Carie, my dear,
Thank you for updating us this time...It's wonderful to think of you guys being there and sharing in Shea's journey. I have no doubt, knowing you, that you've been a great comfort and encouragement to them, and your enormous laugh has undoubtedly been heard all the way down to Savannah...(ha!). Give everyone a hug... we think of all of you all of the time...
Love,
Hayes (Carie, please assure my Jellies shoes- wearing fan club that I still deeply care...)
Shea Hickok! You completely amaze me, girl! Keep that awesome strength up! Miss you so much!
Meagan Fulford
Shea,
Sounds like things are really looking up for you! I am so thrilled to hear such wonderful reports of your determination and faith! You may have heard the saying that when the cup gets bumped what's inside is spilled out for all to see. A pretty cup may look good but who cares what the cup looks like if its filled with spoiled milk? You have shown your lovely "cup" to be filled with sweetness.
I know things are rough for you now. I wish for you that you could be with Mike and that he could encourage you through all this and that you didn't have scars or struggles but I know that when this season is passed you likely would not wish it away because of the invaluable lessons and maturity you will have learned. I ache for your current struggles and am excited for your future!
I love you all lots and look forward to seeing you.
Melissa Eimers
Hi Shea! My name is Dawn and i met your mom at the RMH in Macon. We stayed there when my twins (boy/girl) were born prematurely and we went back to stay a night when our little boy had a follow-up visit with one of his doctors. Your mom came downstairs early that morning to find my twins just cackling laughing. She said it helped brighten her day to hear the kids laughing! She told me your story and i asked if there was a website to keep in touch and she gave it to me and i've been checking on you daily. I'm so glad that you are doing so well. I remember telling her that God does heal and perform miracles because my 2 pound twins are living proof! Just from the short conversations that i had with your mom, it seems that she is an awesome mom! I haven't posted until now, but wanted to let you know that I have you on the prayer lists in Tifton, Georgia! I'm so glad that the prayers are continuing to work and that you are healing just beautifully! Please let me know how to get a CD of yours. I would love to have one and a few for gifts! Love, Dawn Pridgen
Hi Shea,
It's me again; you are probably like, who is this that keeps writing. Was thinking that we are all blood related as believers by Jesus, and I just so care about how you are doing!!! Maybe my heart is really heavy, because I lost my Dad in a car accident.
Heard today on the news how they are seeing that prayer is causing healing. What a testament you are to that!!!!
Also, heard the group, Telecast, when they were in Arizona last year. They were the most witnessing group; such powerful music. Lead you right before the throne. I was listening to their new cd, Eternity Now. If you don't have it, you might want to go to their website at, Telecastmusic.com. Listen to, Absolution and Everything.
Everythings words go like this:
No matter what this day will bring, I will lift my hands and say,
Be my everything, I'll make my life an offering and You alone I'll sing. Be my everything.
It's really good. I love music too, and so we have that in common. I called SBC, and they don't have your cd in the bookstore yet. Waiting to hear back from Sean Johnson.
Anyway, you are all in my prayers; may God just be your everything,
Denise Nicolette
Shea,
I am not anyone you know
but you're story is one that
has touched my heart and given me
hope that there are still people out there who can turn to god and pull through a situation and be strong. I just wanted to let you know that I admire you and your integrity and hope. You are in my prayers and my dreams Shea.
Stay strong.
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