July has been filled with some power-packed adventures, no cap!Actually, it’s an iconic COKE CAP! So far, Manny’s heart is stable enough this summer that we got permission from Duke to travel to Atlanta where we enjoyed visiting the Coca-Cola museum and the Georgia Aquarium. 

Manny’s pose reminds Tracy of the old slogan, “Have a Coke and a smile!” Remember that one? 

In the earliest days, if you wanted this newfangled beverage, a drugstore clerk would carefully dispense 1 oz of the Coca-Cola syrup into a glass, add carbonated water and then serve it to you….WARM, since ice was an exorbitant add-on!

All 3 kids have historically consumed very little soda their entire lives and our family doesn’t even care for Coke, but the museum was one of those “one and done” things off our bucket list. So you can imagine the absolute BINGE-FEST we experienced once we arrived at the Tasting Room in which we had unlimited access to 200+ flavors of Coke products from around the world. Manny and Tracy were particularly fond of the Honey Tea from Indonesia and fruit-flavored Joy beverage from South Korea, and we were warned that the Sour Plum Coke from China tasted exactly like BBQ Sauce and yeah, it really did. Let’s just say we were on quite a powerful sugar high leaving the Coke Museum.

The Georgia Aquarium is the largest aquarium in the Western Hemisphere and we now think no other aquarium compares. Their Sea Lion and 4D Octopus movie were stellar, but Manny thought the Dolphin show topped everything. (Sorry, no pics since photography was prohibited, although we saw plenty of phones recording anyway which seemed rather fishy.)

Our trip to Atlanta would have been a complete wash were it not for a meal at one of the ORIGINAL Chick-fil-A DINERS that was first called The Dwarf House. Now THIS was truly the highlight for Manny; there was even a door sized just for him, kinda:

For Manny, no waffle ever packed as much flavor power as this one w/the CFA imprint:

Life-sized waffle fries, anyone?

While we were walking around downtown, we had the privilege to share the Gospel with two different men: Christopher claimed he needed a certain $ amount for a hotel room to keep him and his 2 young kids off the street for one more night, so we gave him some $ and the names of both a local shelter and a church that could follow up with him. Nathan drove 1 hour all the way from Alabama to meet up with a blind date on his birthday who had car trouble and couldn’t make it and was frantic to find out if she was okay. We prayed for and told Christopher and Nathan the key is to trust and follow Jesus Christ in spite of their trials:

Although not evident in these photos, Atlanta had a TON of torrential thunderstorms and lightning during nearly our entire week there, so much so that it knocked out power for thousands, including the host family’s home in which we were staying. We returned to their pitch black house as they were desperate to save their 3 fridges and freezers full of food and suddenly realized that we had to cut our vacation short since we needed to find a working electrical outlet to power Manny’s cardiac life vest battery overnight FAST.  We prayed for and bade a fond farewell to our hospitable hosts, used a flashlight and camping lantern to hurry and pack up our luggage and high-tailed it to Athens where kind Uncle D put us up at a hotel that had power for the night, THANK GOD! 

The next night upon our return, Manny did a boatload of laundry to get ready for….SUMMER CAMP!  This was the same exact church camp he would have attended last year with his brother but he was stuck in the PCICU fighting for his life, so it was with great anticipation that he joined his fellow Rooted teen Grayson to board the bus, PTL!  Even though Tracy felt a bit nervous knowing this is the first time Manny would need to advocate and manage his own cardiac care for the week, we thank God Manny finally had this opportunity. Please pray God continues to sustain his heart both physically and spiritually for times like these, especially as complications can arise and we haven’t been very good about keeping track of his blood pressure per doctors’ orders.

Next week, Manny begins Driver’s Ed (whhaat?) and although this is just the in-class learning portion, we’re not sure if he’ll be allowed behind the wheel in his current condition or at least until well after transplant since he could still suffer from SCA (Sudden Cardiac Arrest) or SCD (Sudden Cardiac Death) at any time. Nevertheless, we rest in God’s sovereign plan as always for those special rites of passage every teen like Manny hopes to experience. Although his EF (Ejection Fraction) number has NOT increased since his last appointment and Manny still tires easily after exertion, we are not dismayed. We know where Manny’s real energy comes from, according to Colossians 1:28-29, “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, strugging with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.”

Until next month, may you mightily know and proclaim Christ who provides you all the power you need! Thank you for keeping up with us and more importantly, for your sustaining prayers!

Much Love in Christ,

The Lees