Hey Guys,
Today has been the worst nightmare that anyone could think up. We are in the middle of our vacation in Washington State and show up to our church picnic. Micah said that he was cold, it was 93degs. out side. But it was evident that he was not well. Then his head started hurting and he was shaking. We felt it necessary to take him to the emergency room. He got progressively worse and two hours later 4:00pm he quit breathing. The prognosis was his shunt was malfunctioning. There was a lot of time just sitting in a room at Kadlec Hospital and damage done. They got a flight for life to Children’s hospital in Seattle and had surgery right away.
Things are not good. They feel that Micah may be brain dead. We are in a dark fog feeling numb at times. Tomorrow they hope that he will wake up on his own. They will do a MRI to see what damage was caused by the extreme pressure with the shunt malfunction. We don’t know how we will survive this one. We will though, with the strength that we draw from our relation with Jesus Christ. We will need lots of support. Please forward this to others that I have overlooked.
Regards
Julian
Micah was born with spinal bifida, but that didn’t stop him from living life to the fullest. He was on the junior bible quizzing team along with my nephews Nick and Ben. They did so well this year, that they went to finals in Missouri and placed 4th.Because of the lack of physical signs of any brain activity, doctors ran a test where they injected a radioactive contrast into Micah’s bloodstream. This test showed no blood going to the brain. Here is another e-mail from Micah’s father:

From: Prantle, Julian L
Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2007 11:58 AM
Subject: RE: Micah Update

Thank you all for the prayers.

We did get the results from the MRI last night. The tests were not conclusive. That makes things really hard, we are not in a Black or White situation. There will be an additional test today around noon that they will inject radioactive material into his blood stream. The focus will be to see if there is any blood flow to the brain. With the lack of physical signs of any brain activity they expect no blood flow which means Micah is no longer here. There are decisions that Cheryl and I will be needing to make that no parents should ever have to make. We still want prayer for Micah. God is able. But the doctors are very honest with us and so our hope is fading, but still knowing that God is in charge and has a plan. If this means that the last pieces of Micah’s life puzzle are in place. This is to be determined. We are resting in God’s peace that He will carry us through this horrible nightmare.

Julian

Here is an e-mail from Micah’s coach:

We are all saddened and speechless and alone in our thoughts. We can not begin to understand the hurt the Prantle’s are going through. We have to stay positive in our thoughts that God is in control, even though I must admit I am having trouble doing that right now. True to form Micah is helping others with his early passing with the gift of his organs. I am reading in the book of Job right now. God took all of Jobs kids and all his wealth and covered his body with painful soars. His wife told Job to curse God and die. Job kept his faith and continued to honor God. The lesson for us all is to keep faith even when we want to be angry or expect some reasonable answers. Life is very fragile; we should not take it for granted. Tell your kids or parents that you love them often, you might not get another chance, have no regrets. Micah’s picture is in a prominent place on my office wall and I will look at it often and smile good thoughts of his first basket that Julian has on film or him asking me midway through the first quarter if it’s almost time for him to get into the game. Micah was more than basketball, although he inspired us all with his lack of fear in taking a charge by someone three times his size. He always had a peaceful smile on his face that lit up the gym. He was fun to be around and a testament to his upbringing by wonderful parents. My life is richer because I met and became friends with Micah and his family. He will be missed in many ways.
With a very heavy heart,
Coach Timblin
I am amazed at the generous, magnanimous spirit of Micah’s parents, Cheryl and Julian in donating their son’s organs to other children who may be needing them. I’m sure this would not be an easy decision for any parent to make. I received an e-mail earlier today that said they have found matches for his organs. A boy in San Fransisco is getting Micah’s lungs. A 7 year old boy in California is receiving his heart, especially pray for this one, as they have had to wait for some medicine Micah was on to wear off before giving it. Children in Seattle, most likely right there in Seattle Children’s Hospital, will be getting both his kidneys and liver. Please keep the Prantle family in your prayers at this difficult juncture in their lives. May something good come out of this heartache. May Micah’s spirit live on in the children who will be blessed recipients of his organs.

Loren 

The Prantle’s and I share a mutual friend who has come to the Tri-Cities to help them through this time. I knew the Prantle family when they lived here, and I was blessed to meet with them several times and to know Micah before he passed.

I know to read a blog like this and not know much else can be tough, so I wanted to leave some thoughts with you now. I was lucky to share some time with Julian this morning, and briefly saw Cheryl and the children. They are amazing people! They are able to see the blessings that have come to them even in this time, and they are so happy that Micah was able to help other’s around him even in his death. Their last weeks with Micah couldn’t have been more perfect either, they recently had his portrait taken as well as a family portrait, and have spent the last few weeks on vacation doing so many fun things. And now they are surrounded by friends and family that love them so much! Our mutual friend left her family vacation in Florida and came to Washington state to help the Prantles in any way she could – and she wasn’t the only friend to do so. They are very strong, brave people, and they have such a family in Christ that I know they will get through this tragedy.

Micah’s funeral will be at Country Christian Center located at 5500 W Sagemoor Rd in Pasco at 4pm tomorrow. Please pray for them, that this time will go well, specifically that Micah’s basketball jersey will arrive in time. Please also pray for Micah’s siblings as well as his parents – he has two sisters and one brother.

Kathi, 

My sympathies go out to the family. I’m a congenital hydrocephalus patient myself from Racine, WI. I’m 30 and have had 2 shunt revisions so far. Once at 5 yrs old and once just last year. News of Micah’s passing really hit me hard. I go to Apostolic Faith Church in Racine and know some of the kids that Micah quizzed with.

Jana Allard

I am so sorry to hear about Micah. Although I did not know him, I have been charmed by his smile. Reading about him going to national finals for Bible quizzing also brought a smile to my face. It will be such memories that bring the needed strength to survive this tragedy. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Micah was an inspiration to all of us. We have now gone two weeks without our little buddy. The hurt continues, but the strength of God is true. We had the memorial service yesterday August 18. Please know that we know that we have never left the plan of God. Here is a thought: If you wrote a book, then a day later you read the book. Would you be suprised by the ending? Of course not. God is not in shock with His arms in the air saying, “I forgot about the Prantles”. On the contrary, He is the author and the finisher of our faith. We have to rest in his plan and know that there is a bigger picture. Micah was able to give physical life to three other children. A seven year old in California has his heart, someone in Seattle area has his liver, and a kidney in Spokane, Wa. We know that Micah’s death was an answer to at least three prayers of families pleading for the lives of their children. Would we have chosen this route. A resounding NO! Micah is missed greatly. But we do see part of the greater plan.
Micah’s Dad
P.S. There are so many more things that we can tell about how God has shown him self stong. We will share more later. Hold on to your faith.

Thank you all for praying for Julian my brother and Cheryl and the kids.
They are vary strong and the Lord will see them through only by the Lord Jesus and the prayers of the people.
Again I have just come acrossed this blog.

Lord Bless the Prantle family allways.

Joel and Teresa Prantle and kids from Pasco, WA.

LeRoy & Sharon Prantle (Grandpa & Grandma)
The Lord is so gracious to us and we are filled with His love and goodness for His mercies that He extends to us. We were able to have Micah for 10 years here with us in Pasco and then 2 years he was away in Wisconsin and we miss him very much. The Lord will allow us to be together again. He was such an inspiration to us as He loved life and others with a compassion that was beyond his years.

Another story is how God confirmed decisions that we needed to make that were tough.
We planned our vacation to Washington for several months in advance, people to see places to go. During a visit with our friends the Harpsters, a mutual friend Andrea happend to show up just after we were talking about her. We had a great time and were glad she happened to come by. Oh by the way, Andrea is in stage 4 heart failure. She will posibly be needing a heart transplant in the future.
The day that we were told that Micah was brain dead and decided to donate his organs. As the meeting was ending I told my wife Cheryl that we needed to call Andrea to tell her of the decision that we made. Cheryl went to Micah’s bed side and I went to the waiting room to share with friends and family the latest news. As I walked through the door, just as before when we talked of Andrea, there she was standing there in front of me. 200 miles from home and showing up just as we needed God to show us that he was watching out for us. I imediatley took her to Micah’s room where Cheryl was. She was visibly shaken by seeing Micah in that condition knowing that someone would have to die for her to live.
Again the story of redemption.

We have since been informed that there are four recipients that received Micah’s organs. His heart in a seven year old, liver in a fifteen year old, one kidney in a nineteen year old, another kidney in a sixty-one year old. As far as we know they are all doing well.
Please continue to pray for our family as we attempt to start life with our Micah. As things have settled down and “normal life” moves in, some tough emotions have surfaced.
Thank you,
Micah’s dad

It’s been about 7 weeks now since our son, Micah, passed away to be with the Lord Jesus! I miss him so much. He was and is so special to me. I will always remember his hugs, his “I love you Momma’s”, and his sensitive heart. He loved life and I imagine he is loving death too because he is in heaven with God. Micah loved to ask questions about life, love, and situations that didn’t even exist. He had so many “what if’s” about life. Micah had an observant set of eyes. As a baby, his eyes were so beautiful and large, he attracted people by catching a glimpse of them. As he grew up, he attracted people with his loving heart and infectious smile. People were drawn to Micah. He touched many lives.

All the kids are very special to us, Micah especially since we were there for his first surgery at birth. We hope we helped support Cheryl until Julian could get to her and give his love and support at that time.
It is something that we will never forget. Just like his birth, his death was an eye opener.
I have never in my entire life seen such a HUGE support system for this family. I do not even know 25 people – at any given time at the hospital there seemed to be at least 25 loving people there for Cheryl and Julian and I was so impressed with her support system, I knew they would get through this time of grief and come out stronger. It is amazing what faith can do. All my love and continued support.
Love you all

My prayers are with my Brother and his Wife Cheryl and their kids. Micah was a special little boy. My brother and his Family needs all of us right now! What can I say. It is a very hard! God be with them.

Thank you to all the Prantle family and friends who have stopped by to share. I so appreciate all your comments.

Cheryl, your comments from a Mom’s heart, especially touched my soul. Being a Mom myself and having a son, I can relate. Mom’s remember all the fine little details about their kids that everyone else misses. If we ever make it back to WI to visit John and Kristin, I hope to be able to meet you and give you a big, heartfelt hug. May God be especially near to you at this time in your life.

Love,
Karen

Cheryl and I have been “sisters” since 2nd grade. We met in Kindergarten, but it was in Miss Down’s class that God sealed our hearts. Living only 20 houses apart, we spent our school years riding the bus together, sharing sleep- overs, birthday parties, and even family vacations. We’ve seen each other through jr. high, puberty, driver’s ed, boys, jobs, college, marriage, babies, and everything inbetween. It was Cheryl’s family who took me to church and AWANA where I learned about my need for a Savior. Cheryl introduced me to my husand. We lived together in college. Cheryl knows more about me than anyone else in the world. And although life has separated us with miles, it has not separated our hearts.

Just the day before Micah became ill, Cheryl had driven from Pasco to Spokane to spend the day with me. It was a “perfect”day of just her and I at the Coeur d’Alene Resort. The weather was beautiful, we walked the marina and a street fair, sipped a Mocha, and had lunch. It was like we were teenagers again. We had so much fun.

The next day when Cheryl called, my first words were “How was the picnic?”. Fully expecting to hear fun stories about her reunion with friends and family. But no. She was at the hospital waiting to be airlifted to Seattle Children’s Hospital. I was in shock. It brougt me right back to the phone call I received 12 years ago when she was waiting to be airlifted to the same hospital when Micah was born. What? A problem? For Cheryl? How can it be?!

Even knowing Micah was going to the hospital, I still expected everything to be O.K. He was in a doctors care, we were all praying….surely he would be O.K.

But no. The next morning Julian told me they thought he was”brain dead”. I fell apart. (sorry Julian – it was in your ear.) I borrowed my in-laws car, left my family, and drove to Seattle.

It was the tougest week I’ve ever had. To see a family you love so much hurting so bad is heart wrenching. But it’s part of loving. Sharing the good and the bad. I know Cheryl would be there for me in an instant should I need her. (She has been there.)

But God is there too. He’s directed every detail and he continues to uphold. I am thankful to have been able to spend that week at the hospital with the Prantles and the others who love them. (Thank you Paul for taking care of everything at home and allowing me to stay as long as I wanted.) I am thankful that God used the situation to teach me better how to love others. I am thankful that I got to know Micah. To see him overcome challenges and excel in his strengths. I’m glad I was able to be there to say goodbye. And I am especially thankful that God gave me such a wonderful “sister” so many years ago. God knows his plan. He knows what we need and will need. He loves us. We can trust him….and I’m thankful.

I love you Prantle family.

Tammy