Prayers for Grace.

Hello all,
The following is a post from TOTJF by Mark. His family is in need of our prayers and it would mean the world to them and to me if you would find the time to at least reply to this post. Here is the original posting from TOTJF......

Hi
Please could you spend a moment either praying, meditating or whatever your belief leads you towards:

Grace is 15 - she is my daughter. She has a loving, caring and supportive family. Her situation is breaking our hearts. Grace has a diagnosed Obessessive Compulsive Disorder. She receives counselling from Teens in Crisis, she is seeing a Psychiatrist, she gets special needs help on the days she goes into school - which is not very often - and so much more. The greatest burden is upon my wife - whom Grace relies upon the most.

grace has now developed anorexia. Her absolute minimum body weight should be 118 pounds - she is now down to 100 pounds. She is tired all the time and has very little energy. We cannot get her to eat. My wife woke up at 4am today in tears, she feels in her spirit that we are getting to crunch time! The next step for Grace is hospital, or being 'committed' to an institute. The long term damage, if she doesn't die will be osteoporosis, diabetes and renal failure (needing dialysis).

Please, please, please focus your thoughts and the energy of the Living Force upon Grace...

MTFBWY.

Mark

Thank you all in advance for your time and prayers in this matter.

Yours in the mystery,
~Merin~

Thanks for sharing that with us Br.Merin. That is certainly a heavy and heart breaking story. Grace is certainly very young and needs all the love she can get. I don`t think anyone can really appreciate the pain she and her family are going through, but I can certainly understand the worry a parent feels for a daughter. I will pray for her and her family. MTFBW them.

OMG, please let them know that they have our support, prayers and energy.

Grace and her family will be in my thoughts and prays.

My prayers are with Grace and her family.

Br. Merin, my heart goes out to Grace and her family along with my thoughts and prayers. I too have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder along with Post Tramatic Stress Disorder, so I understand what Grace and her Family are going through. She will be in my meditations. May The Force Be With you.

Grace saw the Doctor again on 26/03. She has lost a little more weight; her white blood cell count is way down and there may be a problem with her liver function. She has to go back for more blood tests. It certainly means her immune system is now, not working correctly. The Doctor and Consultant have stated that if Grace loses as little as 2 more lbs then she will be admitted to hospital as she will be well below her minimum Body Mass Index.

Grace still does not recognise that she has a problem. As you meditate, please may I ask that you focus on breaking down the barrier Grace has formed in her mind - that she may see and acknowledge that she does need help.

Thank you for your support, it is really appreciated!

MTFBWY

Mark

oh dear \

mark the best advice i can give is get her into a program that will help and give her the support she needs. i prey most hard for you and your family

I ask all Jedi here to concerntrate on Grace and the wall which she has built around herself. Send her the strength to resist this wall, to rediscover the joy of food, to feel her own body, to live again. Concerntrate the power of the Force to blast this wall to pieces and liberate Grace. Let us then send out the loving power of the Force to pick her up and let her experience the love of that same Force. MTFBW her.

Fr. Jon

Anorexia is terrible. I suffer post-anorexia stress disorder, coming out of anorexia was one of the hardest things i've EVER had to do. She has a long and seriously difficult struggle ahead of her. I have had an eating coach for a year and a half now who has to make sure i eat enough everyday and i still have to submit reports of my caloric intake and output weekly....i look healthy now but weighing 105 when you should drop below 120 looks bad. My prayers and support are with her, and if she needs a teen who has been there, and is still recovering...i am ALWAYS here

Grace went to see the Doctor at 1140 today (01/04). It was crunch day, if she lost 2lbs or more they were going to admit her into hospital. It is difficult to describe the swirling feeling inside my stomach all morning at work, waiting to hear the news from Christine (my wife). Especially as Grace has hardly eaten over the weekend - she had some sweeties on Sunday, so has starved since! Well, the news is that her weight has remained static! This can only be of the spiritual - thank you for your prayers and meditations. As parents we didn't want to see our little girl in hospital! The Doctor spent a whole hour with Grace preparing an daily eating plan, and arranging for a dedicated nurse to make home visits. This are little steps - the 'Tap, tap, tap of Taipei 101'!
I do not take for granted the toguhts, and time given to Grace by my fellow Jedi...MTFBWY ALL

*bows*
Mark

10/04/08 Grace saw Doctor today. Her weight is down - she is now right on the limit of her BMI (Body Mass Index) at a score of '15'. It means 'any' weight loss will require hospital admittance.

She also has her first visit with the allocated 'home' visit nurse today. Please pray that this meeting will go well, and especially that Grace will identify with the nurse...because of her OCD it is really important that she can get on with and trust individuals.

Thank you...

Mark

Indeed trust is the essence of life Br.Mark. Well pointed out. As always she shall be in my prayers. MTFBWY all.

Well thank you Fr Jon and everyone for your generous and continued support. The first meeting went well with the Nurse. Grace responded to her - and the first session was tough! It will involve the whole family...but the Nurse is professionally qualified and specialises in eating disorders. She really understood Grace right from the off! It still might mean Grace has a spell in a special unit - and we will request the strength and energy to deal with that 'if' it happens - but will not become anxious over things that have not occurred. We continue to live for the moment - and really appreciate your kindnesses!

Bless you all...

*bows*

Mark

I am glad to see that things might be improving, with the nurse in the picture things might really improve. But it is good to live in the moment because there are no expectations there and i am sure your family and Grace do not need over enthusiastic expectations just yet.

I have sent her my love in a form of a pink light and wrapped her name into it (because I don´t know how does she look like), then I asked my angels to help her.

Your always in my thoughts Mark. I'm happy the meeting with the nurse went well. I'll be expecting Grace to show my around when I come to the isle hopefully next summer so she better get well.:laugh: Anyway As always you'll both be in my thoughts.

If nothing else the Jedi Temple is teaching me one thing and testing it to the full: To live in the eternal moment of now!

yesterday (14th April) was a day of high drama when I got home from work. Grace had been for the weekly visit to the Consultant Psychiatrist. The Consultant laid thins on the line for Grace - told her that she better believe the Consultant has the power to commit her to a care unit. Trouble is, Grace has an incredibly powerful and defiant WILL. Christine said she could see it Grace's face as the Consultant spoke. When I got home, Christine was upstairs crying, and Grace was lying in a downstairs room really angry and refusing to talk to anyone.

the Consultant said we are to put the same meals we eat in front of Grace and encourage her to eat, but without any confrontation. Now there is what Alan Watts would describe as a 'double-bind'! Grace said, 'If you try to put meals in front of me I'll just throw them in the bin'. She can eat, she just chooses not to - I think we are facing an incredibly strong will and a lot of anger. If this is my fault then I'm willing to 'pay the ferryman', we just want Grace in a 'rightful mind'.

I sent Chris out for the night to her sisters, she needed the break because the stress of it all really is getting to her. Chris said to me she just doesn't have any strength left to fight anymore. And I looked after the children. I am determined to keep things peaceful in the house, and that might mean just little things to take away some of the stress. Please focus on Christine to give her much needed energy and to break down that stubbornness in Grace.

MTFBWY

Mark

Please don't take this as gospel because I'm not an expert on this situation but ... What if everybody's wrong?

Surrender. Say \"you win and I'm not going to fight anymore\". Don't offer, don't even ask.

I know this is radical and is either a great idea OR a horrible idea but since what's happening now is not working for anyone could trying this tactic make things worse?

What does your instinct say?

John

Br John
I thank you for the grace and wisdom with which you have offered those thoughts. In fact, it is a little along those lines that we have approached things today. Tonight, when I got home from work - the 'smell' of battle had gone from the air. Christine just left things all day - didn't react, just let Grace say what she wanted to say. Whilst I was home this morning (before work) I just chatted to Grace like nothing was wrong, regardless of how she spoke with me. Chris said, I'm not going to fight Grace - just do what you have to. This evening Grace had demonstrated significant changes...it is still very early days...but I do believe there is much substance in what you say.
Mark