Nathan Lawrenson's Twitter

[flyawaystray]

Maybe the state think the kid is better off in foster care than anything else, even though Nate and Trish are having major problems right now because of Trish's health. It's the only conclusion I can come up with.

I have nothing against foster care. I don't want any children of my own but may do fostering down the line. It's just that he kid may not be getting the care or attention he deserves because Nate and Trish are too busy with other stuff, and they can't even take care of their own child, how can they take care of another one?

ETA Nate's most recent tweet:

Duke spent who knows how many hundreds of thousands in this system a few years ago, and I've yet to see a single person use it. And we wonder why health care costs are so high.

It's a picture of some kind of electronic id system.

[chaotic life]

Federal laws states that if you have a fosterchild for a certain amount of time, you have some legal rights to that child, including first right to adopt. Even if just a straight fosterchild, it's supposed to be 10 out of 12 months in your custody affords you legal rights. In many states, if the birthparents parental rights are already terminated at six months you actually have defacto parental rights and the child can ONLY be removed from your custody under the same circumstances as a child who is legally fully your child.

Nate has been very close about any information on the fosterchild anywhere online. I do know there was some question with the agency on whether they were going to remove the child last fall when Tricia's health started it's current deterioration. I also know Nate said at one point that they were on the verge of finalizing an adoption when all of this occurred.

I don't have inside information on the fosterchild. However it might be that they've had the child long enough to have legal rights to keep the child. It might be that they are pre-adoptive placement, which is handled far differently than straight fostercare. It might be that the agency has decided that the extended family is fully capable of caring for this little one along with Gwen and that it would be wrong to force this child to lose father, sister, and extended family as the child loses mom. It could also be that the relative caring for the kids got foster approval and is technically the fosterparent to the child now. There are a lot of ways that they still have the fosterchild. I do know that they have had the child quite awhile and that they were headed to adoption. I would hate for a child to lose their entire WORLD and not must their mother simply because Tricia is dying. The child's bond to all of them is no less legitimate nor everyone's to the child simply because Tricia is dying.

I do often wonder how Nate can simply leave his children and never leave Tricia's side. I also wonder how even Daddy's church continues to pay him salary AND benefits so he can do this.

[Pearl]

I went to a family run church and found out the daughter was getting paid full time wages (and good wages at that) while working part time. There are quite a few family run churches I know of that use the offering as their own money to spend how they please.

I see that Duke is now the focus of Nate's ire now that Tricia hasn't been listed. I feel for her-it must suck-but he has been so hateful and filled with his own righteousness that the empathy doesn't run as deep as deep as it could.

[lilwriter85]

Nate's dad Rick probably runs that church however he wants to. His other son also works for the church. When Nate isn't around, the dad or brother probably cover his duties.

[flyawaystray]

I went to a family run church and found out the daughter was getting paid full time wages (and good wages at that) while working part time. There are quite a few family run churches I know of that use the offering as their own money to spend how they please.

I see that Duke is now the focus of Nate's ire now that Tricia hasn't been listed. I feel for her-it must suck-but he has been so hateful and filled with his own righteousness that the empathy doesn't run as deep as deep as it could.

I quite agree. And if he were smart, he wouldn't say anything. It'll just piss the people at Duke off.

[lilwriter85]

I quite agree. And if he were smart, he wouldn't say anything. It'll just piss the people at Duke off.

He has probably pissed someone off at Duke. Several of his instagram pics are photo mapped to Duke University Medical Center. It is easy for an employee to stumble onto Nate's pics about bashing Duke. I also think someone at Duke who has worked with Tricia and Nate over the years knows about his blog and twitter. I also find it hard empthatize with Nate at times.

[Emme]

I don't know. Eva Markvoort sure as hell deserved another pair of lungs. It wasn't her fault her lungs rejected. Tricia might be a different story with the pregnancy and everything.

I was just asking because the way Nate talks, it seems like she had a good chance of getting reactivated once her feeding tube was fixed. It seems like everything has come to bite him in the butt.

Bolding is mine. YES. I loved following Eva. What a gorgeous, articulate, artistic girl!

[flyawaystray]

I read her blog over and over again, and I never get tired of it. I am an organ donor because of her. She was inspirational and a real force in the world.

[chaotic life]

The standards to get listed for organ transplant are exceedingly high. We have a CF friend who got delisted for three months because she tested positive for nicotine, even though she insisted it was second hand smoke. Requirements for a second transplant are even higher than a first one. It's not aboutseeing someone as having had their chance. It has everything to do with the reality that a body that has been through transplant once is rarely in the physical condition to survive a second one. Lung transplant is one of the HARDEST transplant to endure.

When you get new lungs you wake up with approximately 40 chest tubes coming out from your chest afterward. You have to do extensive physical therapy to teach the new lungs to breath independently again. Most recipients spent approximately 12 weeks in intensive, all day physical therapy recovering from lung transplant, with those chest tubes coming out one by one. You will drop a TON of weight and will be in excruciating pain.

Tricia's lungs developed cancer very shortly after her transplant. She's been in rejection twice at this point. She's also recultured old bacteria. Her body and her lungs do NOT scream successful for transplant, especially not for lungs.

In a situation when someone is borderline for acceptance, their historical compliance IS going to play a factor in the decision to list them with that program.

[flyawaystray]

Knowing all that, why do Nate and Trish still think there's a good chance she'll be re-listed? Is it delusion/their sense of entitlement?

[Pearl]

I think it is their belief that God is going to do a miracle. Also, they're desperate, Tricia probably really wants to live and Nathan loves her more than anything in this life. In a way, their story is tragic. I don't know how I would be in the same situation ....

[GeoBQn]

Nathan's thoughts on the State of the Union:

NathanLawrenson â€@NathanLawrenson

See the PBS special just now about the state of our union? You know it's bad when PBS casts a shadow on a liberal President....

NathanLawrenson â€@NathanLawrenson

Kool Aid. That's all I'm saying... #SOTU

NathanLawrenson â€@NathanLawrenson

True Fact: Kool Aid expires after about four years...just sayin'. #SOTU

It's been my experience that the only people who add "just sayin'" to the ends of their sentences are assholes right after they say intentionally jerky things. And is the Kool Aid comment really sooooo clever that you have to use it twice in one hour?

[lilwriter85]

Tonight is the UNC-Duke game. I hope UNC wins that way Nate's ass will get chapped.

[Katiebug]

Knowing all that, why do Nate and Trish still think there's a good chance she'll be re-listed? Is it delusion/their sense of entitlement?

On her part it's likely sheer desperation. Tricia's a bit younger than I am, but I'm a mother too - and if I was told I had weeks/months to live without a potentially lifesaving surgery, I'd be clutching on to any hope of seeing my kid(s) grow up a little more. It's easy to be neutral and say, "Someone else really has a better chance of long term survival/quality of life" when you're not the one who's dying.

Nate seems to have a serious sense of entitlement, not just about the re-transplant but everything. In part it probably stems from the fact that he's never had to work at a "real" job - daddy's church keeps him on staff and pays him (probably provides their insurance too). Also, they view the first transplant as a miracle that they were quite deserving of - after they rolled the dice and Tricia got pregnant when she definitely wasn't supposed to, somehow both she and their child survived, then she managed to get the transplant anyways.

Medically, Tricia dealt with the post-transplant lymphoma (which was quite resistant to treatment for a while if I recall correctly), multiple re-infections/re-colonization of bacteria, weight loss, etc. and now rejection. She needs a feeding tube just to keep weight on, and yet they seem to think Duke should just jump at the chance to give her a second set of lungs even with her fragile medical condition. The typical 5 year survival post-transplant for a set of lungs is only around 50% as it is and most will show signs of rejection in 3-5 years. This is not an unexpected situation for them to be in, but the fact that her medical situation since transplant has been pretty rocky wouldn't bode too well for the longevity of the next set of lungs. Duke likely feels that it would be better to give a patient with a better chance of long-term survival a precious set of donor lungs.

I admit it's judgy of me, but I would feel more for the Lawrensons if they were in the more typical situation of most Americans their age dealing with major health issues - one spouse is having treatment/medical care while the other is busting his/her hump to work 40+ hours a week at a job to keep them financially afloat and with all-important medical insurance. There are almost certainly financial stresses related to insurance, possible loss of an income, costs of treatment, etc. If there are children, the healthy/working spouse probably bears the burdens of much of the day-to-day parenting because the ill spouse cannot. If the ill spouse has relocated to be close to the hospital, the family/healthy spouse might only be able to visit on weekends. It is extremely difficult to handle a situation such as the one the Lawrensons are going through and many families/marriages fall apart under the stress.

Because of Nate's daddy, whenever Tricia needs to be close to Duke both of them relocate for the duration. He doesn't seem to work much to begin with and especially not when they're at Duke. They leave their kid(s) with grandparents/other relatives for long periods of time and he's able to put his entire life on hold to be with her. They have the finances from somewhere to stay in a nice extended-stay hotel while still keeping the mortgage paid back at home. And yet Nate seems to have absolutely no appreciation for how fortunate they are or how atypical their situation is.

[lilwriter85]

Good post katiebug. I agree Nate does come off as entitled and unappreciative. Their situation is atypical like you mentioned. In addition to working for daddy's church, I bet Nate has been supported partially by love offerings from the members.

[flyawaystray]

Well you can be both realistic and hopeful. I would certainly be hopeful if I were Trish in a way, because she'll probably die without a re-transplant. But if I had been through everything she has been through, then I would also think that there may be a good chance that I'd never be able to get a second pair of lungs, OR that those lungs might also reject.

There was a girl with a blog (cfkitty on Livejournal) who had two sets of lungs and still had rejection, and I don't think the hospital was going to do a third transplant. I'm 99.99% it's never, ever happened before.

[2xx1xy1JD]

I don't begrudge Nate and Trish the support that they've received. I'm quite prepared to acknowledge that dealing with Trish and Gwendolyn's medical needs was itself a full-time job, so I won't criticize the lack of 40 hour work weeks.

Katie does have a good point, though, that it is important to recognize that having that level of support is not something that is available to everyone. Does Nate support universal medicare? Does he make it 100% clear that Trisha was able to make her "choice" knowing that she had all of this support, and that he would take away the ability to make this choice from women so that they would be compelled to go through incredibly risky situations whether or not a support system was in place?

[lilwriter85]

Based on Nate's twitter, he probably doesn't support universal healthcare.

[flyawaystray]

Yeah, I don't see Nate supporting universal healthcare, which is just dumb, imo. Heaven forbid he doesn't have his job at the church anymore, what will he do?

[lilwriter85]

Yeah, I don't see Nate supporting universal healthcare, which is just dumb, imo. Heaven forbid he doesn't have his job at the church anymore, what will he do?

I think Nate will become the head pastor when his daddy can't do it anymore. But some churches do hit hard financial times and I think the Nags Head Church has probably felt that in the past few years. Does anyone know if Nate graduated from Liberty and he did, what is his degree in ?

[treemom]

I don't begrudge him the support, but I do completely judge him for his lack of humility and gracefulness. I think he missed when Christ gave the beatitudes, because Nathan shows none of that.

[lilwriter85]

Dammit Duke won last night. Nate flew his douche flag and mocked people going to state schools.

NathanLawrenson ‏@NathanLawrenson

UNC fans thankful for their state school education tonight...NIT tickets are way easier to find on that budget...

FUCK YOU NATE

Nate, not all people in state schools or fans of state schools are on a budget. People from well to do families do attend state colleges for different reasons. I'm pretty sure some UNC alumni are well to do and make much more than you do. Also students who aren't from wealthy families shouldn't be mocked for going to a state college. They are trying to better their lives through education. The people who may support UNC basketball probably appreciate that state schools exist to help educate people at a lower cost. So Nate, have you started saving up for Gwen to attend Duke?

[flyawaystray]

You know, I was thinking last night. Nate is a total homophobe and isn't shy about his thoughts on gay marriage. But what if Gwen was LGBT? Would he be as hateful to her as he is to other people? He should think before he speaks.

[lilwriter85]

You know, I was thinking last night. Nate is a total homophobe and isn't shy about his thoughts on gay marriage. But what if Gwen was LGBT? Would he be as hateful to her as he is to other people? He should think before he speaks.

I can see Nate sending her to a "retrain" camp or some other program pray the gay away. Another thing related to that, is Gwen is a high risk situation to be bullied because of her physical problems like her hearing loss. If she ends up being bullied by other kids now or in the future, Nate would be ranting about it is wrong to bully kids with physical problems. But he probably wouldn't give a shit about gay kids getting bullied. Nate is a homophobe and doesn't want additional civil rights for gay people, but at this point he might not realize that his daughter will face discrimination in the future.

Nate does need to think before he speaks, the state school comment is an example. After reading that tweet and thinking about, I think he knows deep down that if Gwen goes to college, it probably won't be at a private college. I have no idea what a worship pastor makes, but I don't think it is that much. I don't know if Nate or Tricia's parents are wealthy or would have resources to send Gwen to a private college. I think other factors will also keep her from going to a private college. Also Nate is stupid to mock stage college students and alumni. He doesn't realize that some of those people are providing services to him and his family. Some of Tricia's nurses and doctors attended state colleges.

It seems that someone on twitter might have responded to the state school education comment.

Nat

hanLawrenson ‏@NathanLawrenson

"Your tweets seem to be in direct contrast to who I thought you were. I'm so disillusioned....Bye to you" // got this from a UNC fan today.

[Pearl]

Nat

hanLawrenson â€@NathanLawrenson

"Your tweets seem to be in direct contrast to who I thought you were. I'm so disillusioned....Bye to you" // got this from a UNC fan today.

Why did he tweet the above? To rub it into a UNC fan, to try to shame that person? It just makes him look like a jerk.

On another note, if I were still a fundie - I would say he has put his wife up as an idol in his life.