In Loving Support of Mrs. Peters and her Family

Alisa shared this on her FaceBook, reworded by Nary for understanding:

On Tuesday morning, Sept. 14, Mrs. Peters went into the hospital for muscle weakness (something she’s been battling for quite some time but has been getting progressively worse). While there, they discovered she has aspiration pneumonia, an infection in her lungs because of accidentally inhaling food & liquid during eating. They were able to give her antibiotics for the pneumonia, but they found the reason she is aspirating food. Her vocal cord muscles are too weak to close completely and block her airways, so things are passing through to her lungs. She has apparently been silently aspirating food & liquid for some time now, and most times, she can’t feel it going down the wrong pipe. We were totally blindsided with this news. With her weakened state, they didn’t recommend proceeding with any aggressive treatments (feeding tubes, etc.) because of the risk of complications. Even with feeding mechanisms, the risk of aspirating again is still there.
After some very hard discussions, the family made the decision to try to keep her as comfortable as possible, and to let her eat whatever she wants, whenever she wants. There is not much more they can do to remedy or strengthen her vocal cords so at this point it will be about quality of life for her. Mrs. Peters is transitioning to hospice care. The family is still trying to wrap our heads around this as it is all happening so quickly, too quickly. The family is so heartbroken. The family would be grateful for your prayers, especially for Mrs. Peters. Thank you. ♥️

From Nary *edited 09/24/21*

I visited Mrs. Peters on Saturday, Sept. 18 along with many others,  and I was so blessed to see her. I was reminded of her being a cornerstone in my life, and particularly, at PKBC. Her bright and warm smile reminded me of my own mother, and I am sure many have received her maternal love. I got to be in her presence for her to tell a joke, smile, sing praises, and claim prayer in Jesus with loud “AMEN’s.” She also shared some of her anxieties with us but would meet them fiercely with her faith. She showed me what it means to keep pressing on with Jesus. I cannot even begin to explain how special she is to me, what she’s done for me every Sunday and Friday growing up, and who she represents for me. I asked Diane and Alisa if we could create a gofundme for someone who has given SO much to me and many others. I was able to find out that while Mrs. Peters has had some funds for some basic needs, hospice comes a couple hours a day. She still needs 24/7 hour care, which is a separate private company and will be $2,700 per week. 

 

Any money that is raised and not used directly for Mrs. Peters’s medical and palliative care needs, it will be donated to a cause that is important to Mrs. Peters, in her name. Let’s pray for peace and comfort for the entire family in this extremely difficult time. If you would like to help financially, even a small amount, it would be a contribution to help the family focus on Mrs. Peters and other needs. We would appreciate if you would pray and share as you feel led. If you’d like to leave a comment, be sure to click “continue” after the share window appears. We’d love to hear from you. Alisa and Diane have expressed SO much thankfulness in this time and are blown away by the love for Mrs. Peters. I, Nary, and Sang, are focused on stewardship and appreciate your trust in our organization of this gofundme. If you have any questions about this specifically, please direct them to Nary. ([email redacted])

 

From Sang:

In 2003, I had the honor of going on a mission trip to Ghana in West Africa. I had the privilege of being on the team with Mrs. Peters. After an arduous 7 months of preparations prior to the mission trip, and a further 2 weeks for the trip itself, we had an 8 hour layover at Heathrow International Airport in London for the return leg of our trip. In the waiting area of our departure gate, the team waited for, what seemed like, forever to my teenage mind. I remember Mrs. Peters encouraged me to sleep and she stayed awake to watch the team as some of us rested. I woke up shortly after because I was chilly, and Mrs. Peters gave me her jacket. I still remember when she told me that your body gets cold when you sleep, so that's why you should always have something to cover you when you're going to sleep. At 37 years old, I still think back to that moment whenever I pull my blanket over my shoulder. The thing that was lost on me that day, was the fact that she gave me the jacket off her own back. We both sat under the same AC vent, but she wanted to make sure I was taken care of. She was always so loving, caring, self-sacrificial, and protective for as long as I can remember. In many ways, I thought of her as my "church mom" because she always made me feel safe. I will miss you dearly Mrs. Peters, but I hope you know the presence you had in my life and the lessons I will impart on Benjamin's life because of your impact in mine.

If you can, please donate to help ease her family's financial burden, during this difficult time, so they can focus on their time with her.  Also, please spare a moment to share your stories to celebrate her.