Helping Hands Ministries

HELPING HANDS MINISTRIES

We are very excited Ben was accepted into the Helping Hands Ministries!
Helping Hands is a nonprofit organization
dedicated to serving others through financial support.
Through this organization, people can give a
tax-deductable donation
of which 92% goes directly to help pay for
Ben's current and future medical expenses.
The other 8% goes to help others who have medical needs in the ministry.

Please visit www.hhmin.org

To make a donation
Go to the Make a Donation tab on the left side of the Home page
then
go to the Donate to Helping Hands Ministries Approved Projects tab
then
in the Project Category select Medical Projects
then
in the Project select Benjamin Ferguson.

Thank you!

Chicago Field Muesum

Looking at the large T-Rex named Sue.

Snack break

They were so excited to have Cousins Zion and Selah and Aunt Missy and Uncle Hakeem join them at the Field Muesum! It was fun running around together!

Ben and Caleb digging for dinosaur bones at the Family Playlab.

Ben and Caleb couldn't get enough of the dinosaur exhibit.
They are inside a dinosaur nest playing with baby dinosaurs.

Enjoying outside

A game of soccer that quickly turned into . . .

a wrestling match.

Ben's on the bottom

but finds his way to the top!

Benjamin turns 4!

Ben is 4 years old!

Ben received a few dinosaur books on his birthday and all he wanted to do was read them.

Papa got Ben some golf clubs and is looking forward to teaching Ben the game of golf.

The Saturday before Ben's birthday, we had a party at Wheaton Academy gym. We played shark & minnows, red light/green light, and a relay race. Then we had a scavenger hunt which included Ben's favorite thing - candy.

Enjoying a cupcake.

Cough

Ben caught a cold about 3 weeks ago and couldn't get over it so he went on an antibiotic for 2 weeks. That ended this past weekend but his cough has not. So Dr. McColley has Ben on another 2 weeks of antibiotics. Its hard having him on an antibiotic for a whole month. Please pray for Ben to get back to his baseline of no coughing. Please also pray against progression of the disease in his lungs. Thank you for your prayers.

Sledding

The boys are ready for sledding.

The boys got bunk beds this past weekend. They love them!

Basketball Games and Dinosaurs

The family at a Wheaton Academy Basketball Game.

The boys love going to the gym!

The dinosaurs always come with the boys to the gym.

A favorite pastime of walking the "sharpteeth" dinosaurs along the bleachers.

Ben is obsessed with dinosaurs!

Cold Winter Days

Silly boys

Playtime with some favorites: trains, dinosaurs and trucks.

Ben and Caleb have become really good friends.
They are a dynamic duo and love to wreck havoc wherever they go.

Ben always seem to have things happen to him. The latest is slipping on the ice and getting a nice goose egg on his forehead. He is a tough little kid.

A Good Clinic Visit

Ben had his routine CF clinic at Children's Memorials office in Westchester, IL.

He is doing really well and hasn't had an exacerbation since July 29th!

Thank you for your prayers! Please continue to pray for Ben.

He has been doing a lot of growing this winter. In the past 2.5 months, Ben grew 1 inch.

Ben needs to keep working on getting high calorie, high fat meals to keep up with his growing.

His weight was fine but is not increasing at the same rate as his height, so his BMI went down. It is a little above 50% so they want to keep a close eye on his weight.

Please pray that Ben will start taking more ownership of his eating and would have a good appetite. It is a burden on Michelle and Paul to make sure he is getting enough to eat.

Lego Land

Michelle took Ben, Ty, Hailey and Luke (their cousins) to Legoland.

Ty and Ben enjoying the ride.

Ben and Hailey on the dragon ride.

Ben building a car to race down the ramp.

Christmas in Indiana

Uncles, Aunts and Cousins at Bollier Christmas

Jonathon Bollier organizing the troops.

Ben is chilling with Cash, Aunt Toni & Uncle Rob's dog.

Grandma and Grandpa Rowe

The whole family went to Indiana over Christmas. It was a blessed time with family! There was a flu bug going around in Indiana that the Ferguson's got. The Lord was gracious -- Ben got it but it didn't exacerbate his CF. We are so grateful!

Enjoying the Dirt

Ben playing hard

Ty, Ben and Caleb enjoying the mild weather.

Thank you for your prayers!

Thank you for your prayers!

Ben came down with a fever last week which only lasted 24 hrs. Praise the Lord!

Then a couple days later he caught Caleb's cold.

He was heading down the route of needing antibiotics. . .

Paul and Michelle increased airway clearance and

prayed for him to get over this on his own.

And for the first time since Ben has been diagnosed, he got over the cough/cold without it causing an exacerbation. This is huge for the Ferguson!

Our faith and trust in our Heavenly Father is growing and growing.

Thanks you again for your prayers!

"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16

Logged over 300 hours on the Vest!

Halloween with friends (Ben is the Spiderman).

Ben just crossed the 300 hour mark on his Vest. He has spent a lot of time being shaken up by the Vest :) We are thankful for tools to help Ben live a healthy life.

Praise God for a Healthy Fall

The three amigos! They are the best of friends!

Ben loves to paint!

It has been such a blessing to have Ben healthy the past 3 months!

They had so much fun seeing Colleen

and visiting the Shedd Aquarium together!

Downtown Chicago

Since Ben cultured Psuedomonas at the end of July, he has been very healthy. He was on TOBI for the month of August and October which seemed to clean him out. He has been doing so well. We thank the LORD!

Please join us in prayer for God's supernatural protection over Ben through this winter season. We are really praying for an extended time of health for Ben.

Ben had his CF Clinic visit yesterday and it went well. Ben looks good and is growing great.

Successful Ride!

The Route

Halfway

T H A N K Y O U
to all who have already contributed
to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) for Ben!!
Your support is greatly appreciated!!
Ben, Michelle and Paul and our entire family are so thankful!!

Now that the ride is complete, if you wish, you can
* ** D O N A T E ***
online using the following link:

http://grillinois.cff.org/cruisinforthecure09

If you have been waiting
for the number of miles traveled
before making your contribution .... here are the stats ...
Ben's Grandpa completed
1,093 miles in 22 hours
Saturday September 26, 2009

Again, thank you!

2009 Cruisin' For The Cure

Raising Support for Cystic Fibrosis

in honor of Ben Ferguson

(Ben's Grandpa)

By supporting CFF, you are contributing to the research, care and education of Cystic Fibrosis, which will benefit Ben. I am impressed that approximately 90% of every dollar raised by

CFF is spend on research.

The 2009 Cruisin For The Cure

will be a group of motorcycle riders taking the challenge

to ride around Lake Michigan -- 1000 miles in 24 hours for the benefit of CFF.

You can support by donating an amount per mile ie . . .
penny per mile - $10

dime per mile - $100

dollar per mile - $1000

or any donation you wish … $ _____

Please visit
http://grillinois.cff.org/cruisinforthecure09

to make a donation online

or … send your check made out to CFF …

to Michelle Ferguson 0N556 Herrick Drive Wheaton IL 60187

Thank you so much!!

Allergies

Michelle talked with Ben's Doctor early this week and the Doctor thinks Ben's symptoms are from allergies and not an infection at this point. He is still congested with sneezing and some coughing. They started him on Kid's Claritin and that seems to be helping. Ben will start TOBI this coming Wednesday, so if there is anything deep in his lungs, the TOBI should take care of it. Please pray for strength and patience for Ben and Paul & Michelle as they start TOBI. It is difficult to add the twice a day treatment on top of his other therapy and nebs.

Continued Prayer. . .

Thank you for your prayers. Ben is such a sweet boy! He is always full of questions, very mischievous, loves to be with Ty and Ben, and is so into dinosaurs. We thank the Lord for making Ben "fearfully and wonderfully made". "My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139:15-16

We thank the Lord for being a big and powerful God who loves Ben more than we can fathom.

Ben has had an increase of cough the past couple days which is an indication that he may have another lung infection. He is not due to go back on TOBI for another 2 weeks, so we are really hoping that Ben doesn't have to go on another antibiotic right now. Please pray for health in Ben's lungs. We trust in the one true God who is able to do all things. We ask of Him to do a mighty work in Ben's body and to give Ben complete health.

Insurance issues

The Fergusons are dealing with some insurance issues right now. Please pray for resolution and full coverage of the claims. Thanks!

New House and Bad News

The boys in the moving truck as they leave their old home.

They are really enjoying their new home.
Their address is 0N556 Herrick Drive Wheaton, IL 60187.

It has been an intense 2 weeks for the Fergusons. They arrived home from New Hampshire with one week to pack up their house. Then they closed on both homes on the same day which was crazy to say the least. The day they were moving, they received a call saying Ben had cultured Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This is the "bad" bacteria in the CF world due to being the most common cause of lung infections. Eventually it may colonize in Ben's lungs and be responsible for damage to lung tissue as the disease progresses. There was a drug created in 1997 called TOBI, the first aerosolized antibiotic designed for CF, that is a great weapon against Pseudomonas. Ben has been on TOBI for the past 2 weeks and will continue for another 2 weeks. On top of Ben's regular chest therapy and pulmonzyme, TOBI is a twice a day inhaled antibiotic that takes about 20 min each time. Its hard for a 3 year old to sit with stuff strapped to his face and body for 45 mins twice a day. . . everyday. So far Ben has been responding positively to TOBI and his symptoms are improving. So the plan is for Ben to be off TOBI for a month then back on for another month. If his symptoms worsen then he may have to be admitted to Children's Memorial Hospital for IV antibiotics.

Please pray for Ben to be rid of all Pseudomonas in his lungs and that God would protect him from it in the future. Thank you for your prayer support of Ben and our family! We are very grateful!

Summer vacation to NH!

The whole family had such a fun time in visiting Poppie and Lannie in New Hampshire. They spend two weeks fishing, playing with cousins Cole/Olive/Asher/Claire/Siena, riding in Poppie's boat, going to StoryLand Amusement Park, and going to town for Bailey's Bubble ice cream cone with sprinkles! Ben had to go on a two week round of antibiotics while NH but that didn't slow him down. He managed to get stung multiple time by bees causing his lip to swell and fell out of the boat head first while fishing. He is just curious enough to find trouble wherever he goes. God is good and Ben is full of life, laughter and mischief!