Memorials

I have had a request to post the church's address for sending memorials. The church address is

2954 W. Ash Ave.
Decatur, IL 62526

Thanks again to everyone for all your support of Matt, Kari, and Jeff.

Julie

Celebrating Will

Today was a long day but friends and family have rallied around Matt, Kari, and Jeff in support; this is what God meant when He referred to "the church" in the Bible. Thank you again for your love and support.

We will celebrate Will this coming weekend with a visitation on Friday night from 4-7 at Life Foursquare Church and a private graveside service Saturday morning. If you would like to send a memorial, please do so to Life Foursquare Church.

We pray rich blessings over all of you. God bless!

Julie

Baby Will

Will Tucker was born this morning at 3:33am and passed away shortly after at 7:07am. He was beautiful. Our family is thankful that we were blessed with Will's life, even as short as it was. Matt and Kari would like everyone to know how grateful they are to all the friends and family who have pulled together in faithful prayer and fasting over the past several months for Will. Your support and your love mean so much and we are all so thankful.

As I become aware of ways to show Matt, Kari, and Jeff your support, I'll update the blog, until then, please be praying for healing and strength for Matt, Kari, Jeff, and the rest of the family. While we are at a loss right now, we do know that God is here more than ever and someday, when the time is right... He'll reveal the bigger picture.

Thank you again for your continued prayer and support.

Julie

We claim healing in the name of Jesus Christ for our son Will. We believe.

We packed a suitcase for St. Louis today anticipating the need to stay overnight with the possibility of delivery. We're pleased to report that the doctors believe it is not quite time yet for Will to be born. It was an uplifting doctor's visit knowing we would be able to spend another weekend at home and that Will has more time to grow. Kari will continue to be checked every few days in Decatur. If there are signs that the baby needs to be delivered, we will head over to St. Louis. The next official appointment is on October 3, but the date for the baby's arrival could be sooner than that. Again, we are praying for God's perfect timing in all of this. Will's heartbeat continues to be strong, and he is moving about quite a bit. Thank you for your continued prayers for our son. God bless you all!

We've hit week 34! God has been so good to get us to this point. The road so far has had its ups and downs, but we are happy to report that our faith is strong. We owe so much to those who have carried us in prayer.

The doctors are closely monitoring things to decide the right time to deliver the baby. The ideal is still to try for 37 weeks (full term), but we are believing in God's perfect timing.

We are especially thankful to Kristin for taking time from her busy days of patients to provide Kari with medical care. Kristin has always been selfless in providing our entire family with help whenever needed.

Will's nursery is coming along quite nicely. Pictures to follow soon!

Mark 9:23
Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."

John 14:27
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Isaiah 43:2
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.

We are back from another appointment in St. Louis. Will's heart rate continues to be strong, and he is growing quite a bit. There is no amniotic fluid, but the doctors believe it is still reasonable to aim for delivery at 37 weeks. That is less than five weeks away!

Because of the nature of her job, the doctors have instructed Kari to be on bed rest until the baby is born.

Please specifically pray for Will's lungs to develop and for the kidneys to function. Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

The nursery is filling up nicely with scriptures specifically declaring healing and faith. We plan on possibly starting our painting next weekend, so please let us know if you want us to add any verses. It has been uplifting to walk into the room and be surrounded by Truth written on the walls. We have especially needed those words this past week. We both have felt down about the situation, allowing doubts to creep in. Please pray for us for renewed strength and faith. Although school is now back in full swing for both of us and things can be busy, we are going to start our mornings together believing on the scriptures and praying.

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 91

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you make the Most High your dwelling—even the LORD, who is my refuge- then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."

Thank you all for your prayers for today's appointment in St. Louis. We left today maintaining our strong faith in a healing from the Lord. A few details-- first the not-as-good news: amniotic fluid is pretty much not evident at this point. There was a little measured for the last appointment, but the trend has continued of there not being fluid. We pray that this trend will be reversed. On the positive side, the doctors believe the best option is to give the baby time to grow before delivery. That means it is looking more like the baby can get to full term (37 weeks). The baby's heart rate is good too. Although it can be a challenge for a baby's lungs to develop without amniotic fluid, we believe that Will is strong and a fighter. We also feel this gives more time for prayer and healing! Lastly, we have developed a habit of stopping by a Culver's outside of St. Louis after appointments. We must report that today's flavor of the day, Brownies and Cream, is fantastic. In a couple of months, a new Culver's will be opened about two minutes away from our home. We are in big trouble.

There will be a full ultrasound done for our next appointment which will be on Friday, September 7. They will check the baby's growth at that time.

Today would have been our daughter Natalie's 9th birthday. Although her life was short, we are thankful for every day we had with her. We love her and miss her dearly.

As our family was being prayed for in church on Sunday, Kari could really feel the presence of God wash over her and the baby. We fully believe God's hands are on this situation, and we continue to look to Him for healing.

We are in the middle of transforming our old home office into a nursery for the baby. We've been refinishing furniture for the room and will soon paint the ceiling and walls. Because it is going to be Will's room, we felt especially led pray and claim God's word there. We decided to write scriptures on the walls of the room, claiming healing and faith. We are inviting family and friends to contribute. Of course, the words will be painted over soon with the redecorating, but we we will continue to believe in them.

Our appointment today in St. Louis went well. Although it was only a check-up, we did find out that the baby's heart rate is very good. Additionally, the medical staff there agreed that the baby's movement is a positive sign. As mentioned in the last post, we are hopeful that the amniotic fluid levels have risen greatly. Our next appointment will now be on Friday, August 24. An ultrasound will be done on that day. Thanks for your prayers!

Today marks the baby being 29 weeks gestation. We are praying that he will be full-term (at least 37 weeks) before needing to be born. Of course, we also believe God can heal Will and that he could be delivered even later.

On Wednesday we make another trip to St. Louis. This time the schedule looks like this:

10 a.m. - Meet with urologist
11:40 a.m. - Meet with Maternal-Fetal Medicine

The urologist will likely be giving us scenarios based on his team's approach to this disease and means for intervention. We anticipate that some of the scenarios will paint a dark picture, but we believe we will have positive results in the end. Maternal-Fetal Medicine will do a check-up on Kari to see how things are progressing.

No ultrasound is scheduled for this visit, but we do have a report of our own: Will has been moving around a lot the last couple of days. We are praying and believing that this is partly due to a significant increase in the amniotic fluid levels.

Thank you all for your continued support, encouraging verses, and prayers.

We've had many people tell us that they've tried to post comments at this site but were unable to. Unfortunately, there must be some sort of technical glitch with the site. Please know that your efforts to leave encouraging comments are appreciated so very much. If you're having trouble posting comments, please feel free to e-mail us those words at prayforwill07@yahoo.com. If it is something you'd like to share for everyone to see, we can even copy your words and paste them in the text of our blogs. Thanks!

Proverbs 4:20-23 My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body.

We were so blessed upon our return to find that two major home projects had been completed for us! Special thanks to the Eric, Julie, Dave, Lori, Karli, Kayli and Bruce for all of their efforts. We couldn't think of a better surprise. Check out the pics of our brand new office and the work on our kitchen. We are so very encouraged by the prayers and actions of our friends and family.
Thank you all!

Greetings from St. Louis! The doctors here confirmed the previous diagnosis of the polycystic kidneys. Although the amniotic fluid is still low, it measured a bit greater than the previous week. The doctors believe the best route is to allow the baby to continue to grow and develop rather than inducing at this point. That news was certainly encouraging. Will needs his lungs to develop which can be a challenge with low amniotic fluid. We believe this gives us more time to pray! Our next appointment will be back here in St. Louis on August 15. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support.

This morning we went to the church and were prayed for by the elders. It was an encouraging and uplifting time. We continue to be touched by the dedicated people who are praying for our situation. We are believing in a complete healing of Will.

We leave Sunday afternoon for St. Louis. The appointments are early on Monday, and the reports will be good.

James 5:14-15 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

JEHOVAH-JIREN
Provider
Genesis 22:14

JEHOVAH-NISSI
Battle Fighter
Exodus 17:15

JEHOVAH-SHALOM
Giver of Peace
Judges 6:24

JEHOVAH-ROPHE
Healer
Exodus 15:26

JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU
Our Righteousness
Jeremiah 23:6

JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH
Ever Present One
Ezekiel 48:35

JEHOVAH-ROHI
Good Shepherd
Psalm 23:1

Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.

Hebrews 10:35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

We found out today that the amount of amniotic fluid around the baby has gone down a great deal since the last ultrasound. Although this was tough news to take, we are still trusting in God. Kari was given steroid injections to help develop the baby's lungs. The next appointment will be the one in St. Louis on the 6th.

Psalm 103:3 Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits--who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.

Today was such an encouraging one at church. It is amazing to witness the love that others have shown for our situation. We prayed and dedicated Will's life to the Lord. Although he is yet to be born, Will is being cared for by a loving God and prayed for by some absolutely wonderful people.

It can certainly be a battle keeping faith from day to day. The following scripture is a great one to focus on when doubts try to creep in:

II Corinthians 10:4-5 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Here is another scripture passed on that really spoke to us regarding our situation:

Isaiah 43:18-19a Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

Thank you to everyone for your continued prayers and words of encouragement.

We love all of you.

Isaiah 53:4-5 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

It has been one week since we first received the diagnosis of our baby's illness. Since then, we have gone from a state of feeling hopeless to completely hopeful. We have been so encouraged by the words and prayers from our family and friends. Please continue to agree with us for God's healing touch.

Matthew 18:18-19 "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.

Because we have had experience with this disease before, it would be easy to become discouraged by the possible end results of the present situation with Will. When we first received the news of his diagnosis, the question of "how will we go through this again?" certainly weighed on our minds. But we believe the Lord is showing us this is not an "again" issue. We don't have to work to figure out how we'll get from point A to point B. He has the directions, and we will trust in Him.

Psalm 118:17 I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done

On July 19, we were dealt some devastating news: our unborn son was diagnosed with the same disease that had claimed our daughter's life several years ago. We felt helpless at first, but we have been growing stronger in faith every day. Our past experience and the track record of this disease would tell us that there is not much reason to have hope for Will. However, God is in charge here, and we are believing in a complete healing of the baby. We are so thankful to have family and friends who are believing along with us. Please continue to pray for Will.

Our next appointment is in St. Louis on August 6. Here is the schedule for that day:

8 a.m. - Ultrasound
10 a.m. - Maternal Fetal Medicine
11 a.m.- Neonatology

Matthew 21:21 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, `Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done.

Faith is not just believing God CAN do it, it's believing He WILL do it.

Ok, first, a little background: Matt and Kari are due to have a baby boy in October. They have a son in high school named Jeff and lots of family who are all very excited to welcome this little blessing into this world. Last week, Matt and Kari received a report from their physician that the baby has been diagnosed with Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease or ARPKD. This is the same disease that took the life of their five-month-old daughter Natalie almost nine years ago. With the disease, the baby's kidneys are forming fluid filled cysts that are taking up room in the kidneys and damaging the tissue in the kidneys, causing them not to function properly. Additionally, when the kidneys do not function properly, it causes a loss in amniotic fluid, which isn't good for the baby and causes Kari discomfort as well. The diagnosis is serious and needless to say, we are very concerned. Kari and Matt are headed to St. Louis for what will be the beginning of routine testing to take place throughout the remainder of Kari's pregnancy.

Ok, on to bigger and better. A diagnosis is just that....a diagnosis. We know that God is bigger and that He can do all things....things that defy everything we know to be medically true.....even a diagnosis like this. This said, we are praying and BELIEVING in a miracle. We know in our hearts that the Lord seeks to draw us closer to Him and that His plans for our lives are to prosper us, so we know we can trust in His will for our lives. Please join us in praying and believing in the miracle we know we will see. We are committing ourselves to prayer and fasting for this cause and invite you to do the same. We know your prayers will be heard along with ours and that we can expect to see great things happen. We are praying life to the kidneys and death to the cysts, for Kari's body to produce more amniotic fluid, and for peace for Matt, Kari, and Jeff. Matt and Kari and the family will update this site often with news on the baby's progress, updates on their progress as they deal in the situation, and specific ways that we can pray and support this family.

Thanks and God Bless!