A visit to the Hickok plantation
It was just a week ago that DeDe and I visited the Hickok clan. It was my first time ever to visit them since they moved to Atlanta, and what a precious time it was! For the first time we were able to see the way God has answered the prayers of those who have prayed for Shea...to see the healing that has taken place there and the beauty that God has restored to her physically. To God be the glory!
While we were there, Shea's dentist was able to replace her retainer-like "removable teeth" with some semi-permanent ones that more closely resemble her own. What a remarkable difference! We will surely miss the jokes though as she took out her retainer and did her various "impressions". But there is a beauty that the Lord did not need to restore to Shea, which comes by His grace. It is that inward spiritual beauty of a girl whose first waking thought was centered upon Jesus and how much she loves him.
How thankful we are to have witnessed God's amazing way of delivering and healing this family. But there is still a long journey ahead for them. All four of Shea's surgeons will be meeting on June 6 to discuss a game plan for Shea's upcoming surgery in July. That meeting will include 2 plastic surgeons, a dental surgeon and an ortho-periodonic surgeon. Pray for wisdom as they work through procedures that will be performed during that first surgery. They will be rebreaking the left eyesocket and grafting bone for that from her skull, grafting bone from her hip to her top jaw below her nose to make dental implants possible and rebreaking her jaw and spreading her palette to give her room for teeth and an ability for the teeth to meet so that she can finally chew. Most all of the teeth that remain in her mouth must be repaired, so that will also be addressed. This will be an important meeting as they strategize about that upcoming surgery.
We do want to close by speaking a word about the unseen struggles that are daily being dealt with by the Hickok family. Pray for God's wisdom as Steve and Susan seek to guide their children through these difficult times. We went to the Hickok plantation hoping to be an encouragement, but instead, came home with a harvest of blessings and precious memories. What an amazing family!
Uncle Johnny (UJ)
While we were there, Shea's dentist was able to replace her retainer-like "removable teeth" with some semi-permanent ones that more closely resemble her own. What a remarkable difference! We will surely miss the jokes though as she took out her retainer and did her various "impressions". But there is a beauty that the Lord did not need to restore to Shea, which comes by His grace. It is that inward spiritual beauty of a girl whose first waking thought was centered upon Jesus and how much she loves him.
How thankful we are to have witnessed God's amazing way of delivering and healing this family. But there is still a long journey ahead for them. All four of Shea's surgeons will be meeting on June 6 to discuss a game plan for Shea's upcoming surgery in July. That meeting will include 2 plastic surgeons, a dental surgeon and an ortho-periodonic surgeon. Pray for wisdom as they work through procedures that will be performed during that first surgery. They will be rebreaking the left eyesocket and grafting bone for that from her skull, grafting bone from her hip to her top jaw below her nose to make dental implants possible and rebreaking her jaw and spreading her palette to give her room for teeth and an ability for the teeth to meet so that she can finally chew. Most all of the teeth that remain in her mouth must be repaired, so that will also be addressed. This will be an important meeting as they strategize about that upcoming surgery.
We do want to close by speaking a word about the unseen struggles that are daily being dealt with by the Hickok family. Pray for God's wisdom as Steve and Susan seek to guide their children through these difficult times. We went to the Hickok plantation hoping to be an encouragement, but instead, came home with a harvest of blessings and precious memories. What an amazing family!
Uncle Johnny (UJ)
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