Saying inspired T-shirt

Purcell, OK -- God has the power, so pray is so true especially in the lives of a Lexington family whose daughter continues to face one challenge after another in her young life.

In 1989, Brittanee LeeAnn Baade graced this life with her presence. A few hours after her birth, she began her heroic fight for life and continues to do so at age 15.

The eighth grade student at Lexington School was born with a bilateral cleft palate, lip and an omphalocele. An omphalocele is a congenital malformation in which variable amounts of abdominal contents protrude into the base of the umbilical cord.

More than one-half of all infants born with this may have other birth defects as Brittanee’s parents, Scott and Koye, have learned through the years.

At this time of her life, a liver and kidney transplant was in the picture. More news of another possible birth defect came last week and has once again kept her from getting the transplant.

Over the last 15 years, Brittanee has had 30-plus surgeries, her mother said. Last year, she began turning yellow and had a tremendous loss of energy. The family learned after some time that their girl’s liver was failing.

Koye said that last week a doctor detected a possible defect in Brittanee’s heart. Now, until this problem is dealt with, the cheerleader won’t be put on the transplant list.

“We think she is ready for the transplant, then the doctors find something else,” Koye said. To be eligible for a transplant the kidneys have to fail to a certain point. Up until recently, Brittanee’s kidneys haven’t been bad enough, her mother said. The youth has the kidneys of a 90-year-old man.

With all of these developing problems, Brittanee’s spirit and drive haven’t failed. She had been active in cross country and track in her school activities, but had to back out of athletics this past year due to health reasons.

A never-failing spirit and drive keeps the youth going and going. An example of her terrific spirit is one day when she and her mom were returning from a doctor’s visit, Brittanee had gotten a good report that day, her mother said.

“As we were driving, she reached over to me and patted my arm,” Koye remembered. “After patting my arm, she said ‘See mom, God has the power.’”

This saying is what transpired the family to have T-shirts made with this saying. The T-shirts sell for $15 and the proceeds go toward helping the strong-spirited girl for her transplant.

T-shirts can be obtained at One Way Print & Stitch in Purcell. Donations are also being accepted at First American Bank. By purchasing a T-shirt, it not only will feature Brittanee’s saying that God has the power, but it will also help a fearless child to possibly get the transplant she needs.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.