Special Prayers - Story Of Morgan Hasty

Rickey Stokes

Viewed: 7796

Posted by: RStokes
Date: Jul 29 2012 2:25 PM

HOUSTON COUNTY:   This is a special prayer request for one of GOD’S special angels – Morgan Hasty.

Morgan, who is 9 years old, will undergo surgery on August 7, 2012 in Birmingham Alabama. This is a very intense surgery and the family of Morgan, the church family of Morgan, has requested a special day of prayer specifically for Morgan, the surgeons and all medical providers, for Morgan’s parents , David and Mitzi, her older brother Dylan, and all of her family.

While August 7 is the day of the surgery and the special dedicated day of prayer, beginning now through and after August 7 prayer is needed.

August 7, 2012

The Worship Center of Memphis Baptist Church will be open beginning at 5:30 AM on August 7 through 6:00 PM. The reason beginning at 5:30 AM is that is the time Morgan and her family is to be at the hospital. It is through 6:00 PM because that is when the surgery is to be completed by.

The church has asked for people to come to the Worship Center for a time of dedicated prayer for this little angel and her family. They have also asked those who can to sign up making sure someone is there hour by hour.

You can call the Church Office of Memphis Baptist Church, 334-677-5387, and schedule a specific time to make sure someone is there hour by hour. However, you can also just drop in the worship center and pray. Memphis Baptist Church is located at 4595 Eddins Road in Dothan Alabama.

You can also prayer from wherever you are at.

Morgan Hasty

Morgan Hasty, age 9,  is the daughter of David and Mitzi ( McClendon ) Hasty. She has an older brother, Dylan Hasty who is age 12. She is the granddaughter of Halcot Hasty and Betty Hasty, stepgrandmother Janet Hasty, and Quincy and Sandra McClendon.

Morgan attends Memphis Baptist Church and has so since birth. She attends Providence Christian School and lives in Webb. Morgan’s big brother Dylan attends Providence Christian School.

David Hasty was recently promoted to Batallion Chief with Dothan Fire Department. Mitzi worked at Providence Christian School but left to be fulltime caretaker of Morgan.

Morgan was diagnosed with sclerosing rhabdomyosarcoma in July 2010, completed treatments in May 2011, and was cancer-free up til April 2012, when another tumor was found.

Background Story

During the summer of 2010, Morgan started complaining of her tooth and cheek hurting. She was taken to the dentist, pediatrician, and ENT on different occasions, before going to Children’s Hospital in Birmingham the last week of July 2010. The doctors there determined that she had a mass at the base of her skull, extending to her jawbone. A cat scan and MRI revealed an aggressive baseball-sized tumor. Morgan had a biopsy the last week of July. Although preliminary pathology results were positive, the family received news on August 10th that the tumor was malignant. The surgeons had previously planned to do surgery on August 11th to remove the tumor through an extensive surgery, but plans changed once the tumor was determined to be cancer

 

Morgan’s Upcoming August 7,2012 Surgery

 

Written Jul 17, 2012 5:30pm by Mitzi Hasty

David, Morgan, and I were able to meet with 3 surgeons Monday in Birmingham. We met with a resection doctor (Dr. Carroll - he will remove the tumors), a plastic surgeon (Dr. Rosenthal), and a neurosurgeon (Dr. Markert). They had all seen Morgan’s scans prior to our meeting. They went over a lot of things with us about the plan for surgery. While they have a plan, they really will not know exactly what they are dealing with until after they start surgery. They told us that most likely, the surgery will take all day - not that they will be operating on her all day, but with all of the people involved, it will be a long process. The best scenario will be that the tumors will come out easily and that her jaw is in good condition to where they do not have to reconstruct it. If they have to fix her jaw, they will graph bone from the lower part of her leg to do the reconstruction. The neurosurgeon will come into play depending on how far the new tumor reaches. This will obviously be a very crucial area. Her cavernous sinus, which houses a carotid artery and very important eye and facial nerves, could be affected by the tumor. Depending on where the tumor is in this area, the surgeon may decide not to try to remove that part of the tumor. After surgery, if the surgeons are not comfortable with what is left, Morgan will have to have radiation done to that area.

Also, an important date change: Morgan’s surgery has been moved to Tuesday, August 7th.

While this can be very overwhelming, we continue to trust in God and His plan. On this earth, this will never make sense, but we know the God who made this entire universe made Morgan as well. He has never made a mistake and while we don’t understand His ways, He is in control and we will hold on to that.

Thank you so much for your prayers for Morgan and our family! Thank you also for lifting up the surgeons and everyone that will be involved in the surgery and recovery.

Trusting Him,
Mitzi

The Hasty Family

As I wrote this article I had tears streaming down my cheek. Reading the CaringBridge posts which Mitzi has written detailing the road since 2010. Seeing them at Church and knowing the love they have for GOD and how their faith has remainded strong and true. Let me encourage you to read the CaringBridge journal of their travel since 2010.

Having known this family since before David and Mitzi married, it has been a pleasure to know them and watch them over the years. To see them before and since they had children, watching as their children have grown up, and watching them through this part of their life and the faith they have shown.

David and Mitzi are for real. And Dylan has been and is being a wonderful big brother to Morgan and for his parents. This little man loves his sister and she loves him.

Not long after Morgan was diagnosed I saw David on the Dothan Fire Truck at a wreck in North Oates Street and Troy Street. We talked briefly on the scene and he related to me the message Mitzi got from GOD. The following is how Mitzi described it in the CaringBridge Journal:

July 26, 2010 CaringBridge Journal From Mitzi Hasty

July 26, 2010 was the day we went to Birmingham and they told us that there was a mass in Morgan’s face. What a day that was! But that was also a day that God had a message for me. The doctor told us to stay in Birmingham that night because Morgan would have to have some more tests done. We stopped at the first hotel that we came to. David and Morgan went inside to get a room and I stayed outside calling people and letting them know the news. While I was in the parking lot, a car drove in front of me and the license plate on the car was FEAR NOT. I just about jumped out of my skin! At my weakest point, God reminded me that He was there with me. He sent that car to me that day knowing what I needed and giving me a peace that can never be described. I, and my family, have been able to endure this past year because we have the assurance that God will never leave us and we have nothing to fear. I am not saying that this has been easy, but so many times, I have taken comfort in the words He spoke to me that day through a license plate - FEAR NOT.

We serve an AWESOME God and we pray He continues to receive glory from this situation!

We love you all and thank you so much for your prayers!

Mitzi

Continued - The Hasty Family

And I can tell you that has been true since the beginning in 2010 through today of the faith and assurance GOD has given each of them.

This faith and walk flows from David and Mitzi in and through their children, Dylan and Morgan.

In the journal of CaringBridge, Mitzi wrote about Dylan’s comments at Thanksgiving 2010:

November 23, 2011 CaringBridge Journal From Mitzi Hasty

November 23, 2011

I am also reminded this Thanksgiving season about something that Dylan said last Thanksgiving. As we were driving to my parent’s house for Thanksgiving lunch, we were all talking about what we were thankful for. We had the usual - food, clothes, friends, family. But it was what Dylan said that made a lasting impression on me. Dylan said, "Mom, I am thankful for Morgan’s cancer". I said, "Really, why?". And he said, "So God can show His power." WOW! I think all I could get out of my mouth at that point was "You’re right buddy".

We serve a powerful God! This Thanksgiving, I hope you all take the time to thank Him for what He has given us, especially for the ultimate gift - His Son Jesus!

Thanking Him,
Mitzi

Continued – The Hasty Family

David, Mitzi, Dylan and Morgan are faithful to GOD and faithful to Church. Not just since 2010, but all of their married life, GOD and Church have been priorities.

This past Sunday I watched as Morgan crawled up into the arms of her daddy David as he held her curled up during the church service. As the church members wore hats to church in support of Morgan wearing hats when she lost her hair. How this struggle has brought people to a closer walk with GOD.

The Morgan Hasty Fund

The Morgan Hasty Fund has been set up at ServisFirst Bank in Dothan, to help the family with various expenses that will occur during Morgan’s illness. Donations can be mailed to the bank at ServisFirst Bank, c/o the Morgan Hasty Fund, P.O. Box 6456, Dothan, AL 36302. Checks should be made out to The Morgan Hasty Fund. You may also drop off donations at the bank, located at 4801 West Main Street, Dothan, Al 36305.

Please do not feel like anyone must give. This is simply an account set up for the family for those who would like to help in some way and who have asked us about helping them.

Special thanks to the families who set this up for the Hasty family.

Aunt Wendy

You can keep up with Morgan via www.caringbridge.org/visit/morganhasty

Click link

Some Journal Entries in CaringBridge as the Hasty Family has traveled since 2010 that demonstrates their faith and a big brother’s love for his sister and her love for him

So many people have replied about prayers, and we know that God hears those prayers. We do not doubt our God -- he is all-knowing, all-loving, and all-caring. We do not understand why Morgan must go through this, and we may not ever understand in this lifetime. God loves Morgan, as he does all of us, and He does have a plan.

Thanks to each of you for your love and concern.

It was great being with Dylan today! He has done great with all of this and we are so very proud of him. Morgan was glad to see him too and they gave each other a great big hug! It was wonderful to have our family together. A big thank you to Aunt Amber and Uncle Ken for bringing Dylan up here, and for making Morgan smile today (that has not happened much lately).

Praise Him from whom all blessings flow!

David, Mitzi, Dylan, and Morgan

 

Thank you to our Providence family for the 24-hour prayer chain! You are truly amazing and we are so blessed to be a part of a wonderful school family!
Thank you to everyone for the comments that you write on a daily basis. You will never know what that means to me and David as it lifts our spirits and we are reminded of how GREAT our God is. Our God is at work and we are just tools that He uses to accomplish His will.

Love you all!

David, Mitzi, Dylan, and Morgan

 

Thank you for your continued prayers - David and I feel them and we pray that whatever God has in store for us during and after this season of our lives, that He be lifted up.

Love you all!
Mitzi

I was a little caught off guard. We knew that was a possible side effect, but had not been officially told. I was initially upset about this as this is just something else Morgan will have to deal with. As I was driving home Friday, through my tears, I told God that this radiation was strong, but He was stronger and He could protect her little ear from this. He may choose otherwise, but I have faith that if He wants to, He will save her hearing. If not, He has a plan.

I have to tell you all what a blessing the CD has been when Morgan listens to it during radiation. One of Morgan’s favorite songs on the CD is "You Are My All in All". Some of the lyrics go like this:
You are my strength when I am weak
You are the treasure that I seek
You are my all in all.
I’m seeking you as a precious jewel
Lord, to give up I’d be a fool
You are my all in all.
Taking my sin, my cross, my shame
Rising again, I bless your name
You are my all in all.
When I fall down, You pick me up.
When I am dry, You fill my cup.
You are my all in all.
Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name.
Jesus, Lamb of God.
Worthy is Your name.

I’m sure some of you sang that as you read it. While the CD is being played during radiation, you can hear it outside in the hall and I pray that God uses that song (and the other songs) to touch someone that hears it. I feel as if that CD was picked for a reason and only God knows who needs to hear that message on a particular day. One day, one of the radiologist technicians came out of the room singing it out loud with the music and what a blessing that was! Music has always been a way for me to share the love of Jesus with others and Morgan is doing that as well. She just thinks she is listening to her favorite music, but I know God will use that CD for bigger things.

She was especially excited this morning when she woke up because we were going to have a chance to see Dylan but Morgan was so excited to get to see him. Dylan was excited too. Even though it was only for a few minutes, it gave us something to look forward to.

P.S. David was able to go with me and Morgan today and I know God worked that one out - I am thankful that he was here with me!

Nov, 24, 2010

• David and I will never be able to thank all the people that have helped us through this time. Your prayers, kind words, donations, fundraisers, gifts, etc. have been humbling and we appreciate it very much. There are some special people though that we do need to thank. I recently read an article and I kept it so I could refer to it when I wrote this. The article was on hospitality and when I read it, I immediately thought about Mr. James and Mrs. Linda DeVane and their families in Birmingham. We stayed with them during the 6-week radiation phase and they let us drop in anytime that we need a place to sleep while we are in B’ham. The article that I read stated that "long before the church had pulpits and baptisteries, she had kitchens and dinner tables." I will quote this next paragraph from the article. "Not everyone can serve in a foreign land, lead a relief effort, or volunteer at a soup kitchen. But who can’t be hospitable? Do you have a front door? A table? Chairs? Bread and meat for sandwiches? Congratulations! You just qualified to serve in the most ancient of ministries: hospitality. Would you like to be the one who opened his home for Jesus? You can be." The article then quoted Matthew 25:40. "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me". I can’t begin to tell you all the things these precious people did for us and they didn’t do any of it to bring attention to themselves or want anything in return. They have simply been living out what God has asked His children to do. God blesses us each day and we are to take what God has blessed us with and be a blessing to others - we are to be His hands and feet. I needed to share this with all of you because I see this as an opportunity that God has given me and what I do with it should point others to Jesus. Thank you Mr. James, Mrs. Linda, and your family for your shining example!
  
  I hope you and your families have a blessed Thanksgiving and that your hugs are just a little tighter this year!
  
  Praising Him,
  Mitzi

December 22, 2010

As we have learned these past months, life is so very precious and I hope that you all take the time this busy Christmas season to hug your kids and your families and remember just how blessed we are. I also hope that you take the time to remember what this Christmas season is all about. God gave us the most important gift many years ago in His Son Jesus and that is the real reason we should celebrate. Happy Birthday Jesus!!

May God bless you!

Mitzi

December 31, 2010

Wow - December 31! Another year... I can say it’s been a different one for us. I’ve learned new words this year (one being rhabdomyosarcoma - I didn’t know that word even existed). I’ve met new friends this year which I would have never met under normal circumstances. But I can honestly say, the most important thing about this year is that I have seen God! I have seen Him work and He is AMAZING!! I have seen Him through so many people and you will never know how much you have all been a blessing to me and my family.

My prayer for you for this new year is that you see God and you see just how awesome He is. We are not in this world to just exist!! God knows all of us by name and He has a plan for us. Although we may not understand His plan, we have to know that He loves us so much and He created us to have a relationship with Him and share His love with everyone!

I am looking forward to this new year and to what God is going to do. GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!!!

As always, thank you for your prayers!

Mitzi

March 16, 2011

I have to share this story with you. Monday night, I was sitting in the hospital bed with Morgan and I was checking our email. We had gotten an email from school about there being a case of head lice at school. I kinda giggled on the inside at first and Morgan asked what head lice was. After I explained it to her, she just had the most precious look on her face. She looked at me and said, "I don’t have hair!". We all laughed and we thanked God for the fact that she doesn’t have to worry about that. I keep thinking about that moment and I know that she found the rainbow even though of where she is in her life. I can’t help but smile and thank God that even when there are storms in our lives, doesn’t He provide the most beautiful rainbows to go along with those storms? He WILL carry us through the storm - we must choose not to focus on the storm, but on Him and His love.

Thank you God for rainbows, and thank you all for your prayer support - we feel it each and every day!

• Written Apr 25, 2011 10:33am by Wendy Jones

Today is a very special day for our family - today is Dylan’s birthday!! He is 11 years old today and we are so extremely proud of him. He has had to endure a lot these past 9 months and he has dealt with things in life that a 10-year old really shouldn’t have to deal with. We tried our best to keep his life as normal as we could and we kept the communication lines open. He has amazed me throughout this process - he has been an awesome big brother! Just as God has protected Morgan, He has protected Dylan as well and has given him what he has needed to deal with this. Thank you God for Dylan and for making him so special!

Happy Birthday Dylan!!

May 21, 2011

When Morgan finished her last Chemo Treatments

We didn’t tell her about the limo before she saw it. We were walking through the lobby and the limo drove up. She still didn’t know it was for her until Dylan popped his head through the sun roof! She still felt really bad but she managed to get out a tiny smile. The limo ride home was nice, but Morgan got sick several times on the way home. When we got home, our driveway was lined with family members with signs and they were screaming for Morgan! Morgan still didn’t feel well, but it was awesome to have our family there waiting on us. Morgan has been feeling a little bit better every day. Today (Saturday) is the first day since Wednesday that she hasn’t been sick, so that’s been extremely nice. She has that spark back in her eye and she’s back to playing again. Praise the LORD - He is so good!!

June 7, 2011

·         I really can’t describe the feeling that I had today as I was walking out of the hospital. God has blessed us so much - I wanted to say so much, but words just felt inadequate. All I could say is "Thank you God!".

Thank you all for your prayers! We will never be able to thank you enough for lifting our baby girl up to our Heavenly Father!

He is a big, huge God - all the time God is good!

Praising Him,

Mitzi

·         HAPPY BIRTHDAY MORGAN!

Written Jun 23, 2011 7:15am by Wendy Jones

Well, today is a very special day - today is Morgan’s birthday!!! She turns the big 8 years old today!

I have always thought of birthdays as being special days, and boy does this day fall into that category! We are so blessed to be where we are right now. Today, we are celebrating life and giving glory to the One who is worthy of all our praise, honor, and worship - THANK YOU GOD!!

We have a birthday party planned for this afternoon and we are all looking forward to Morgan being able to play with her friends and cousins, and of course, her big brother. As soon as Dylan woke up this morning, he wanted to give Morgan her birthday present. And don’t worry, her party is indoors, so the party will go on even with the rain God is blessing us with! I will post some pictures in a few days from the party.

When I heard Morgan waking up this morning, I was overcome with thankfulness. When I saw her, I just hugged her so much! God has done a miracle in that little girl’s life and we have witnessed His power over this past year. Not just His power over this cancer, but His power to open doors that only He could open, giving strength and peace that cannot be described, and changing people’s lives for His good. Even before Morgan was born into this world on June 23, 2003, God had a plan. In Jeremiah 1:5, God’s word says, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you...". He knows every detail of her life and has created her for a reason. Thank you God for Morgan!

Thank you all for your continued prayer support!

Praising and thanking Him,
Mitzi

I want to thank each of you that have lifted up a prayer for our family. Thank you for all the precious messages on CaringBridge and text messages that you have sent to me and David. Even though I haven’t responded until now, we appreciate every one of them and you all mean so much to our family.

Thank you for your continued prayer support through this next week! God is good all the time and He is still on His throne!

Love,
Mitzi

·         Prayer much needed!

Written Apr 9, 2012 3:53pm by Wendy Jones

This is a post that I never wanted to type. Mitzi asked me to update everyone, and CaringBridge and facebook seem to be the best way to get news out quickly. As you know, Morgan had her cat scan today, and later this afternoon an MRI. The MRI showed a new spot, behind the old tumor and close to her brain. Because this did not show up on the last scans and appears to be growing rapidly, the tentative plans are to start chemo back on Wednesday.

Morgan will be having a spinal tap and a bone marrow biopsy tomorrow. She will be put to sleep for those tests, and while she asleep, they plan to put the chemo port back in at the same time. The treatment plan for the cancer will be similar in length (40 plus weeks) as the last one, but with more aggressive chemo, as I understand.

Mitzi will update later with more details, but please lift them up to Our Healer. While the family is devastated and this certainly caught us off guard, Our Father already knew, and he is holding Morgan and the family. We do not understand. We are upset, we are angry, and we hate cancer. But we do know our God loves Morgan. And he will be with her each step of the way.

Aunt Wendy

·         Written Apr 10, 2012 9:20am by Mitzi Hasty

Here is an update of where we are with Morgan:

After talking a lot with our doctor, here is where we are. The doctors are a little concerned about her heart rate, so they will do an Echo today on her heart. They also have to do an ultrasound on her neck to check the veins for port placement. As far as I know, that’s it for today. They will do a PET scan tomorrow to determine the activity and stage of the tumor. Surgery (bone marrow biopsy, spinal tap, port placement and G-tube) is scheduled for Thursday. Chemo will start on Friday. There are a lot of people involved in this process and we want to make sure all the bases are covered before we start.

They are able to control Morgan’s pain now and she is resting.

Thank you so much for your prayers and sweet messages! I know our Heavenly Father hears our prayers and sees every tear that is cried. While we do not understand, we WILL hold on to HIM with everything we have. He loves Morgan so much more than we do!!

Love you all!

Mitzi

·       HAPPY BIRTHDAY DYLAN! 

Written Apr 25, 2012 6:22am by Mitzi Hasty

Today’s post will be a little different in that most of it won’t be about Morgan. Today is a very special day for us - it is Dylan’s birthday!! He is 12 years old today.

I continue to be amazed at him and how he handles what he is faced with. When we came home from the hospital this past trip, one of the first things he asked about before Morgan got out of the car, was her hair. What a great big brother! He asks lots of questions and we answer them honestly, always reminding him that even though we don’t understand why, we will trust in God’s plan because He loves us and Morgan.

I have people tell me that when they pray for Morgan, they pray just as hard for Dylan and we appreciate that so much! He continues to learn life lessons a lot earlier than most 12 year olds and he does so with the strength from the One who created him.

Just as we trust in God’s plan for Morgan, we also trust that for whatever reason Dylan has been given this journey in life, God will be glorified through it.

By the way, thank you so much for your prayers for Morgan! She is doing so much better and I look forward to having bloodwork done tomorrow and seeing those counts jump back up.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DYLAN!! We are so proud of you and we love you very much!

Thanking Him,
Mitzi

·         Happy Birthday Morgan!

Written Jun 23, 2012 1:00pm by Mitzi Hasty

Just wanted to post a quick birthday note! Today is Morgan’s birthday and she is 9 years old!

We got home from Birmingham Friday night around 10:30. Morgan slept all the way home and she slept all night! At home, nobody tries to take her blood pressure or temperature during the night, so we all rest better! Knowing Morgan’s birthday party was this morning, I was praying Morgan would wake up and not be sick. I was getting ready and I heard her moving around. I walked out of the bathroom and I saw the most amazing smile on her face! That pretty much made my day - what a blessing! I said "Thank you God" and then gave her a big birthday hug!!

Her party was great! Although Morgan couldn’t run around and play too much (she got tired really easy), it was still wonderful to have her friends and family together to celebrate!

Morgan’s cake was incredible! A big thank you to Gwen Jordan from Ashford! (www.embellishmentscreations.com) She made an awesome cake for Morgan’s party! If you click on the picture of Morgan with her cake, you can see it better. I wanted a bright cake (perfect colors!) and I told Gwen what I wanted on it and she did it perfectly! On the top of the cake, there is a boot with Morgan’s initials on it. The boot is kicking cancer, which is bent over, representing a butt. At the bottom of the cake, it says "Kickin’ Cancer’s Butt". I’m sure she doesn’t normally get a request like this one, but she definitely did a GREAT job! Thank you Gwen for making our birthday an extra exciting one!

We thank God for every breath we take and for every birthday party that we get to celebrate!

Happy Birthday Morgan! We love you SO much!!

Thanking Him,
Mitzi

July 17, 2012

While this can be very overwhelming, we continue to trust in God and His plan. On this earth, this will never make sense, but we know the God who made this entire universe made Morgan as well. He has never made a mistake and while we don’t understand His ways, He is in control and we will hold on to that.

Thank you so much for your prayers for Morgan and our family! Thank you also for lifting up the surgeons and everyone that will be involved in the surgery and recovery.

Trusting Him,
Mitzi

Please Mark August 7, 2012 as a Special Day of Prayer for Morgan, the surgeons and family.

 

 

 

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