JACOB'S FUND :: Prayers for Fabiola

In loving memory

Sweet, sweet Princess. It is with heavy hearts that we share that she passed away early this morning. 

Yesterday morning, she came through her open heart surgery fine. By afternoon, the medical team was already discussing plans for her next procedure in 6 months following her expected recovery. Yet sometime during the night she slipped away. 

Tomorrow TRTP VP, Sonya, her children, and a friend will be visiting Princess's mother, Fabiola, to comfort her in any way possible. Sonya is printing out the photos she took of her two days ago and framing them to give as a gift - a small something for Fabiola to take home. We cherish the photos and hope that the family does as well. 

If you pray, please say a prayer for the family who is in deep mourning. If you think positive thoughts, please send your energy to them. The mother, father and grandmother's separation from one another must be unbearable. 

Gifts in her memory are gratefully accepted. Please write "Princess" on the memo line. To make a gift via credit card, visit our website. To make a gift via mail, please make checks payable to The Red Thread Promise:

The Red Thread Promise
249 N Belfield Ave
Havertown, PA 19083
Attn: Kathy Korge Albergate

Thank you as always for your support for all parents that grieve the loss of a child.

JACOB'S FUND :: An overwhelming day

Princess and Jacob Noah Beachy

Our hearts are OVERWHELMED today. It is a day for CELEBRATION, MEMORIES, TEARS, and most importantly, HOPE. 

Today we honor the life of Jacob Noah Beachy, namesake for Jacob's Fund, the US arm of The Red Thread Promise. Today would be his 10th birthday, a day we celebrate every year. Jacob was born with a heart condition that required multiple surgeries; complications from his final procedure took him from us 3 years later. While his life with us was brief, his memory continues to make a lasting impact on children with disabilities. We honor him every time we award a hippotherapy ridership to a disadvantaged child. Along with his family, we are happy that a bit of Jacob lives on in every child who receives this life-changing treatment.

On this same day 7 years later , an infant girl with a similar heart condition went to Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio for open heart surgery. Today, tiny Princess, a Haitian infant just 6 months old and barely 10 lbs, had her first of several critical operations, under the skilled hands of the same surgeon in the same hospital where Jacob was treated. Both children will forever hold a special place in our hearts.

We ask for your prayers and positive thoughts for this little girl, her mother, the surgeon and the hospital staff. Although she made it through surgery, we are unsure of her status as of this post. We trust that everything went well, and following all procedures, she will grow up to lead the most normal life possible in Haiti with her family. The Red Thread Promise will continue to support Princess and her mother, Fabiola, while in the States as well as in their home country.

Your donations make a huge difference in the lives of disabled children in the United States and abroad. Please consider making your next gift to The Red Thread Promise in honor of Jacob to help children like Princess receive the medical care and therapy they need to lead the fullest life possible. Thank you for your support and for sharing this critical need with others so we can make a huge impact on children with disabilities.

To make a gift via credit card, visit our website.

To make a gift via mail, please make checks payable to The Red Thread Promise:

The Red Thread Promise
249 N Belfield Ave
Havertown, PA 19083
Attn: Kathy Korge Albergate

JACOB'S FUND :: Hilltop workday re-scheduled

Jacob's Fund Director, Glenna, and Amayzzing at Hilltop Equestrian Center

With a number of commitments pressing on Hilltop, plus the prediction for rain on Saturday, Hilltop has decided to postpone their work day for May 10th. We will let you know as soon as we have the new date! Thank you to all who have shown interest in joining us. We look forward to working with you at a later date!

HAITI :: Critical time-sensitive request for host family in Columbus, Ohio

Meet Princess. 

Her story is heart-wrenching, but there's hope on the horizon. Long story short, she was born with a serious heart defect that MUST be operated on & quickly. Thankfully, Nationwide Children's Hospital (Columbus, OH) has stepped up to the plate!!! Just this morning a host family was found to house Princess and her mom when they come to the US for her surgery - hopefully in May! 

This is where we need your help. We are looking for a backup host family. Why? Because sometimes things don't turn out as planned - families have emergencies, kids get sick, jobs are lost, circumstances change. Our goal is to find a second family - people with a big heart, extra space and ready access to Nationwide. 

Interested in becoming a host? 
Email us and we'll give you all of the details available at this time. 

Want to help? 
You can do so via PayPal or by sending a check to:

The Red Thread Promise
249 N Belfield Avenue
Havertown, PA 19083

Be sure to mark "Princess" in the memo line.

Many thanks to Morna Smith from Nationwide Children's Hospital for reaching out to us for help! It is both our duty and our pleasure. And thank you to John Carroll from Haitian Hearts for bringing light to this child's needs and for his work on behalf of the Haitian people. Together, we can make a lasting difference!

For more info on Princess:

http://blogs.pjstar.com/haiti/2014/02/27/princess-buggie/

http://blogs.pjstar.com/haiti/2014/04/13/princess-is-still-fighting/

As we wait for her VISA to be processed and for her arrival in Columubs, please keep this child and her family in your thoughts and prayers over the next few critical weeks. Of course, we'll keep you up-to-date on her progress. 

CHINA :: 2 years old and growing like a weed

2-year-old WZX

Every day that we hear from our partners in China with an update on one of the children we sponsor is a GREAT day! Our hearts swell when we see these children growing and thriving in the hands of the caregivers at Swallow’s Nest. We are thankful to be able to provide life-changing surgeries, life-sustaining hospitalizations and medical care for these babies until they are matched with a loving family forever.

As you can tell from his smile, WZX is a happy boy. He loves to eat, which is no surprise based on his chubby, kissable cheeks. He enjoys holding and playing with toys but occasionally gets upset and cries for no obvious reason, sometimes during meals or at night. Then, after a minute or so and some comfort from his caregivers, he’s fine again.

Although he’s over 2 years old, WZX has never spoken yet he responds to speech and sound, especially music. He often seems unaware of what’s going on around him and doesn’t process sounds very well.

Following his clubfoot casting, he appears to have no feeling in his legs. Due to his weight and lack of feeling, it is challenging to get him to move around very much. We are unsure as of yet, but he may require a wheelchair. His caregivers are working to provide him more exercises that will help him build strength in his arms and upper body.

Your support of WZX since January 2013 has been amazing and we are so thankful for your donations on his behalf. We will continue to provide medical care for him as he grows and pray for him to become a permanent part of a family soon.

If you'd like to support WZX and children like him, 

you can do so via PayPal or by sending a check to:

The Red Thread Promise

249 N Belfield Avenue

Havertown, PA 19083

January 2013

Jacob’s Fund :: Work Day at Hilltop Equestrian Center

Jacob's Fund Director, Glenna (center), surrounded by Hilltop staff

Spring on a horse farm in Ohio is the gurgle of a stream winding through a meadow, all-legs foals kicking in a breeze that carries birdsong from a nearby stand of forest, and grass so impossibly green you kneel to touch it to make sure it’s real.

If you’d like to experience a morning like this, come join us on Saturday, May 10, from 8:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. at Hilltop Equestrian Center, 4051 U.S. Rt. 35, West Alexandria, Ohio. That’s the day that Jim Hazelwood, Amy Day, and the staff and therapists at Hilltop have set aside to spruce up the farm after the long, cold Ohio winter.  

We’ll receive our assignments and get to work on a beautiful horse farm and barn where kids with disabilities enjoy hippotherapy and therapeutic riding in a warm, loving atmosphere. Following our morning labors, we will gather with the Hilltop “family” for food and fellowship at 1:00 p.m.

If you’ve longed to be part of one of our mission trips but have not been able to commit the time for a trip out of the country or for a long weekend, this is quite possibly the ideal experience for you to “get your feet wet” in a mission experience.  

Please join us in this hands-on experience that helps ensure that the children we sponsor have the best possible experience as they gain the strength and skills to live their lives as fully as possible.

No need to RSVP. 

Just show up on the morning of the 10th and be ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work. 

Inside the Hilltop stable

JACOB'S FUND :: McKenna Farms Spring Mission Trip 2013 (part 5)

Sunday Morning: Amazing Grace

Before my eyes open I hear Ted in the kitchen making his family recipe pancakes.  In seconds I’m dressed and following the delicious smell of pancakes on the griddle.

It’s raining. Hard.

Brian lifts his eyebrows at me and asks, “What’s our plan now?”

“No work. It would be impossible. We’d be mired in mud, red Georgia clay mud.” I hate leaving things undone, but it can’t be helped. Jessie tells me she has volunteers coming this week who can take care of what’s left.

A double helping of pancakes later, we’re gathered in the waiting room, warm and dry. We sing “Amazing Grace” to the accompaniment of Brian’s guitar.  

From where I’m sitting I have a view of the side and front of the barn, and a few feet away from it is the sign along the path that says it’s the Jacob Beachy Sensory Trail.

We would never have thought that sign would be there six years ago at this time. We’d be happy if, instead of the sign, we’d see Jacob emerging from the barn on a horse. But sometimes we don’t get a choice. And we do what we can to help others. ~ Glenna Fisher