The Jeffrey Journey
Description:... In May, 1997, Randy and Helen Baldwin eagerly welcomed their third child, Jeffrey, as did his older siblings, Matthew and Katie. Jeffrey's arrival, unplanned but greatly anticipated, sparked a few adjustments in this family long removed from diaper duty, but Jeffrey was deemed a special gift. Eight weeks later, life took a completely unexpected downward spiral into the depths of despair when Jeffrey was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a relatively rare, progressive, genetic neuromuscular disease with deadly ramifications. The neurologist handed over the utterly devastating news that Jeffrey had a severe case of the most destructive form without a morsel of hope that anything could be done to thwart the effects of the killer disease.
Faced with the nightmare that their baby was expected to die within two years and that there was no treatment or cure, Randy and Helen took their faith in God to a higher level and embarked on a quest to defy SMA and its stranglehold on their precious baby's life... and theirs. They sought the expertise of alternative practitioners, support from other SMA families, and relentlessly relied on prayers for Jeffrey's health and for strength, courage, and wisdom for themselves.
The Jeffrey Journey is the story of how one family - with friends and family, prayer, and God's grace - rose to the challenge of caring for a dying child while realizing untold blessings from their life-changing assignment.
The book is accompanied by Dreams for Jeffrey, a CD of lullabies composed for Jeffrey by his grandmother, JoAnn Derden (the author's mother). To learn more about JoAnn and/or to listen to snippets of the soothing CD, please visit http://balderdashe.com/joannderden/index.html.
To learn more about SMA: Families of SMA (http://fsma.org/) The Suite Life of Lucy and Ethel (http://www.thesuitelifeoflucyandethel.blogspot.com/)
The author may be reached at jeffreyb@skybest.com.
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