Prayer, prayer, everywhere

I find myself with not a lot of news tonight, but rather prayer requests.  I preface this list with the fact that while I anticipate that most readers know me well enough to know where I teach, I am forbidden by The District to mention The District by name, the school I teach, and of course the names of any students (that last bit I consider a "duh").  So, in this case, while I won't name the students, I'll give you initials to guide your prayers.

1. I have a former student who is very near and dear to my heart, a sweet girl who was in 9th grade this year.  When in my program, this girl was a frequent soloist, an active member of my top groups, pop choir, etc. and even served as my student assistant as an 8th grader.  She's gorgeous and recently turned 15.  In April she was diagnosed with bone cancer in her knee.  She was been in chemo for three months now and is due for limb salvage surgery to remove any remaining cancer, give her a titanium knee, and replace the affected tendons, ligaments, etc.  After the surgery, she'll have another 9-12 months of chemo.  The problem now is that the necessary tendons and ligaments must come from donors and must match certain exact measurements, and the doctors are having a more difficult time than expected finding the right donors.  The surgery is tentatively scheduled for the 28th while we all keep our fingers crossed than when the date rolls around the donors will be in place.  So please keep B.A.S. and her family in your prayers.
2. I have another former student, also very near and dear to my heart, the same age and grade as the girl listed above.  This student made me her confidant, often told me she considered me her best friend (whether that's a good or bad thing for a teacher to hear, I still haven't figured out for sure), and excelled in my program.  All that being said, this student did not exactly have a reputation for making incredibly smart and mature decisions.  Today, I learned that this talented girl made another "sad choice".  On her way home from lunch at Wendy's with friends, this child decided that it would be fun to ride home in the back of her friend's pickup truck.  Did I mention that her friend had a cover on the bed of the truck at the time?  So, yes... this child decided to ride home, sitting on the cover on the bed of the pickup truck.  When her friend made a turn, this child was thrown from the truck and broke her chin and jaw.  Surgery is scheduled for Thursday.  I spoke with her today (and chastised her a little, ok a lot, let's be honest) but she's in good spirits and seemed to realize the error of her ways, at least a little.  Please pray for the surgery and the future choices of T.C.