Childhood is supposed to be a time free from pain, trauma, and suffering. Sadly, however, sick kids in the hospital are all too familiar with those emotions and experiences as they fight for their lives.
After spending the past 6 years in and out of the hospital fighting to be healed, an Oklahoma 6-year-old received a blessing that made her feel so good that she was determined to find a way to give that blessing back to other kids fighting for their lives…
An Exciting Time
When Kristen Williams and her husband, Toby, found out they were expecting their first child together, they were overcome with excitement at the idea of starting a family together. As the months passed, their excitement and love for their baby only grew.
Dreams And Expectations
During 1 of their early scans, the couple from Hugo, Oklahoma found out they were going to be parents to a baby girl. After finding out her baby’s gender, Kristen couldn’t help think about all the things her daughter would do as she grew up and couldn’t wait to witness it all…
5 Months Later…
However, all those dreams and expectations were torn away when doctors found something concerning during an ultrasound 5 months into the pregnancy. According to the couple’s doctors, their baby girl had 2 conditions called hydronephrosis and ureteral reflux.
Dangerous Conditions
Doctors explained to Kristen and Toby that hydronephrosis is a condition where the kidneys swell because urine can’t drain from them to the bladder as it should. To make matters worse, their baby also had ureteral reflux, which is a condition where urine flows backward from the bladder to the kidneys…
A Chilling Realization
While the doctors had diagnosed their baby girl, Kristen and Toby had no idea what to expect for their baby once she was born since every case was different. However, once Kristen gave birth to baby Brinley, they started to realize just how sick their daughter was.
The First Surgery
Brinley needed to undergo a variety of tests and a few months after she was born, she had to undergo surgery to fix the tubes that connect the kidneys to the bladder. The surgery was successful, but sadly, it also caused some serious complications…
A Serious Complication
According to her doctors, Brinley lost a large amount of blood. “Brin had lost so much blood from her kidney surgery that she had developed a heart murmur and the pediatrician at the hospital told us to ‘prepare ourselves’,” Kristen said.
A Long Journey Ahead
“It was the scariest day of my entire life. I will never forget the feeling of complete hopelessness I felt. I cried over and over and over (well screamed) out to God in prayer,” Kristen said. Unfortunately, that was the just the start of a long journey full of complications and setbacks…
Losing Faith
Over the next 6 years, Brinley has spent much of her time on Earth fighting to be healthy instead of playing and having fun like other children her age. Sometimes, her parents struggled with their faith and worried that Brinley would never be healed.
A Mother’s Worst Nightmare
“I remember crying even sometimes screaming out to God over the last 6 years and asking ‘Why have you not healed my baby, you say in your word that by His stripes she is healed, but she’s still sick!’ over and over and over,” Kristen explained…
A Fighter
“I remember feeling so alone, even when we had so many people who were there for us. I knew deep down that God was in control, but I somehow let my flesh take over and started to question,” said Kristen. Brinley, on the other hand, never lost faith that she would be fine.
Staying Positive
Even when Brinley was sent back to the hospital in July 2017 with more kidney issues, she tried to keep up a positive attitude even when she was in pain and doctors and nurses poked and prodded her with needles to administer her IV medication…
The Challenge
During that stay at the St. Francis Children’s Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Brinley’s nurses came up with an idea to make her time in the hospital more enjoyable. “The hospital staff told Brinley that if she would learn to swallow pills to get off of the IV medication, they would give her an American Girl doll,” Kristen explained.
A Blessing
“Brinley worked so hard to learn how to swallow pills to get that doll!” Soon enough, Brinley didn’t need the IVs anymore since she could swallow all of her medicine. As promised, the nurses presented Brinley with her very own American Girl doll…
Giving Back
Brinley loved her new doll, which helped cheer her up and feel like a normal kid even when she was stuck in the hospital. Once she was released, Brinley was determined to give back to the hospital and the other kids who were still sick. “After being released from the hospital Brin prayed to bless the hospital tenfold,” Kristen said.
The Plan
Brinley decided to raise money to buy 10 American Girl dolls for other kids at the hospital since it had made her so happy and helped her keep faith. Since each doll costs over $100, Brinley started thinking up ways she could raise the money on her own…
Raising Money
At first, she decided to set up a lemonade stand and use all the money she earned towards the dolls. After selling lemonade for hours, Brinley managed to save up $400. It was a good start, but she still needed more than double that much.
A 6-Year-Old Waitress
After that, Brinley got ‘hired’ to waitress at a family friend’s restaurant. When the community heard what the determined 6-year-old was doing, they came out to support her and helped her raise another $1,500 in tips, which gave her enough to buy 15 American Girl dolls for the kids at the hospital…
Exceeding Expectations
“Thank you so much to everyone who donated to make Brinley’s prayer become reality! The store was so sweet and blessed Brinley with a new doll as well,” Kristen said. Soon, Brinley will be able to deliver all 15 dolls to the St. Francis Children’s Hospital.
Time To Celebrate
As if that wasn’t reason enough to celebrate, Brinley hasn’t had any further health complications and has been healthier than ever. “After all she’s been through she still has faith and is the first person to ask someone if they need prayer. She is a true example of what faith looks like! Today we celebrate that Brinley is 10 months without a hospital stay and 3 months without ANY medication! God is so good and always faithful with his promises,” Kristen said.
Sick 6-Year-Old Gets Waitressing Job To Return Blessing Given To Her At Hospital is an article from: LifeDaily