Good morning! Today is Gracyn’s big day. Yesterday we met the doctors and therapists. Dr. Park did not disappoint. He was very patient and kind and answered all of our questions. They think Gracyn is surprisingly strong and looks great for a 28 week preemie. He thinks she will benefit greatly from the surgery. I understand so much more about CP after meeting with them.

We went to the zoo and had a great day yesterday. the St. Louis zoo is amazing. Gracyn is loving all of this undivided attention! She is having a good time and being a sweet girl. She seems to understand what is going on today.

She checks in at 10 and the surgery is at 12pm. Today will be a long day of waiting and praying. Tonight they will move her to PICU. We will post when we know something today.

The time has finally arrived! We are ready to go and take hold of the miracle before us. I am excited to see what God has in store for Gracyn and how this operation will change her life.

We would not be here without all of your help. Can you believe what God has done through your generous and willing hearts? This is a testimony that God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than we can ask for or imagine!

This project has blessed our lives in countless ways. It is about so much more than raising money. Operation Gracyn is about family, friendship, community, and God’s provision. It is about asking for help when you need it and following the tug on your heart to give or to help, even to someone you don’t know. It is about boldly stepping out in faith to seize what God has promised. I have learned that if God asks you to do something, no matter how impossible it seems, go for it! If it is truly God’s will, He will make it happen.

Once again, we say thank you. Every gift, prayer, and service is greatly appreciated. It has taken hundreds of people to raise this money. Jeff and I have tried to thank each person, but I know we have failed. There are just so many. Please know we are grateful even if we did not personally thank you.

Operation Gracyn is another chapter in the miraculous story of Gracyn Summer Rhodes. You are a part of that miracle. I am confident that each of you will be blessed for all you have done to help her.

Please check the site next week to stay updated on Gracyn’s progress. Love and blessings to all!

Some of you have asked for details about Gracyn’s surgery. We leave on Oct. 18 for St. Louis. Her surgery is scheduled for Oct. 20 at 10am. We will return the following Sunday on Oct. 25. I will try my best to post daily on the website, so please check for updates. Gracyn will be in ICU for 48 hours and will not have a room until Thursday.

Hospital address:

Gracyn Rhodes

St.Louis Children’s Hospital

One Children’s Place

St. Louis, MO 63110

The softball tournament was a great success. We raised $1800 for Operation Gracyn. Thanks so much to Jonathan Brooks for organizing and running the event, to Wild West Bbq for providing delicious food, and to all the guys who came out to play and support our cause. We appreciate all of your kind words of encouragement. It was such a blessing to be among so many who cared enough to help Gracyn. God bless each of you.

They may not be Hollywood movie stars, but this group of third grade heroes has become the latest sponsor of Operation Gracyn by purchasing the Princess Package for $1000. You heard right, a group of motivated third graders! They call themselves the S.T.A.R.S. Group which stands for “Students Teaching Awareness, Reaching Society” with an ambitious mission statement:

“We are a group of third grade children who strive to connect people through awareness of society’s needs. With the help of God, family and friends we can improve the quality of life. We are strong and dedicated to making the world a better place.”

This group of superSTARS raised the $1000 by hosting a number of bake sales in their community with the sole purpose of supporting Operation Gracyn. We would like to thank the S.T.A.R.S. group for their hard work and support. We are truly thankful for their participation!

For more information on S.T.A.R.S. or how you can help, please contact Christine at stars1@earthlink.net

This Saturday, October 10, there will be a softball tournament for Operation Gracyn at Coker Field in Monroe. The first game is at 8am and they will play throughout the day. There is still time to sign up your team. Call Jonathan Brooks for details at 678-859-0018.Even if you are not playing, please feel free to come, hang out, and watch the tournament.

We have ended up with about 50 extra Operation Gracyn t-shirts. We had plans to sell them at Meridian Park but the rain kept many people away. We are now selling them for $5. These are the white shirts with blue print. You may have a blue shirt, but you don’t have a white one! We only have adult sizes: medium, large, and extra large. If you would like one, please email me at brandirhodes2001@yahoo.com.

Sadly, it’s Wednesday afternoon and I am planning dinner! My sympathy to all of you doing the same. We had our last Operation Gracyn night at Chick Fil A last week. Over the 8 weeks, we raised nearly $2000! We have had such a great time meeting there each week. It really became the heart of our project. I loved seeing everyone, hanging out, and updating everyone on Operation Gracyn. Thank you to everyone who came and “ate more chicken”, especially the friends and family who were there with us every week. Gracyn will so miss playing with her friends and eating with everyone (my apologies to all who’s food she ate!). Thanks to Cherie for heading up the Chick Fil A nights, food for our golf tournament, and the cheesecake fundraiser. And of course, thanks to the crew at Chick Fil A for putting up with us so graciously and always being so hospitable. As they always say, “It was our pleasure,” and it truly was our pleasure to be there.

Last night we spent a few glorious hours praising God and enjoying beautiful music. It was so wonderful to take time out and give God the glory for all He has done for our family. This is all because of Him, and ultimately, it is God who will heal Gracyn. Last night really brought that into focus. Thanks so much to Bryan Hammock for organizing the event! He is an awesome man of God. If you don’t know him, you should! I also want to thank the O Band, the Porch Band, and the Walton Career Academy Chorus for a night of great music, and to Joe Primm for an inspiring message. Thanks to Heather Faulkner for being Bryan’s right hand woman, and to all of the people who helped to run the concert, the door, and the refreshments. We were blessed once again by the kindness and generosity of so many people. All together, we raised $6,600 last night! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Operation Gracyn would like to give a big thank you to our latest Corporate Sponsor, Padgett Group, for supporting the cause with the purchase of a Princess package!

Padgett Group is North Georgia’s leading Commercial, Industrial and Institutional Heating and Air Conditioning Company. Padgett Group employs highly qualified technicians and has served hundreds of companies for 3 decades. They partner with their Customers to help increase productivity, reduce owning and operating costs, boost profitability and demonstrate measurable improvement in your facilities overall performance.

Padgett Group allows you to focus on your business performance, delivering better results with lower operating cost to achieve more with less. Their business strategy is simply “to do what we say we are going to do.” To see if they can help your business, please call them at 770-345-6100 Option #2.