Tropical Updates...

Here are a few highlights from the past 2 weeks:

- Josh, my mother, and I traveled to St. Barths for 12 days.  We were able to clean out our house and pack up our belongings.  A family of 8 reduced to 28 boxes...8 of which are small boxes filled with books!  We turned over the house and it was a sad "Goodbye" as we drove away not knowing what the future holds.

- We were able to sell our Suzuki 4x4 on the last day possible!  With this money, we were able to purchase a larger vehicle here to fit our family of 8.   We were actually able to sell our Suzuki for just slightly more than we purchased our "new-to-us" 2001 Expedition.  The Lord is Great! 

- While there, we were able to visit with Maria who had attended our Sunday Bible Studies from the very beginning.  We had prayed for her 86 year-old mother to be saved for a long time.  I tried to witness to her on several occasions but she always turned away our efforts to talk about Christ.  Maria asked me one day, "But if you leave, who will witness to my mother?"  I replied, "Maria, God has chosen you to accomplish this task.  It is you that needs to be a witness to your mother, for she will not listen to me."  With a great big smile while there this past week, Maria said to me, "I led my mother to Christ!  She accepted Christ as her Saviour!"   Amen!  We praise the Lord for this!

- Kami had to call 911 this past Friday for our little Callie Grace.  While at Grandma's house, Kami heard Callie scream.  As Kami ran into the living room, she found Callie unconscious on the floor, eyes rolled back but yet wide open, not breathing, and curled up into a ball.  Kami's first thought was that Callie had broken her neck falling and was in the arms of our Saviour.  As Callie began to turn blue/grayish around her lips and nose, Kami called 911.  After what seemed like eternity, Callie began to breathe again but kept losing consciousness.  The doctor said that she had the signs of having a seizure and she will be undergoing several tests in the next week to see if the cause can be identified.  We appreciate your prayers for our little Callie.  She is doing fine and back to normal but the doctors have said to keep a very close eye on her.  She hasn't been out of momma's sight yet!

- Kami has been on her antibiotic treatments for 2 weeks now.  Although the doctor doesn't think that the antibiotic treatments for the Latent TB will do any good for the real illness, we have noticed a difference!  Kami is now laughing again, has a sparkle in her eye, and is sleeping laying down w/ 1 pillow instead of sleeping sitting up w/ 3!   Over the past 10 months, when asked about pain, Kami has said that her pain level has never been under a 6.  Last night she said that her pain was a 1!  Thank you all for praying so diligently for my sweet wife.  We praise the Lord for some positive changes!

Until next time....

2 pills-a-day...

Kami's appointment with her "new" doctor went extremely well today...

Here are some things that we learned:

- Kami will be taking 2 pills per day for the next 9 months.  He said that many people quit after 6 months due to the side effects but is really adamant that Kami keep up with treatments for the full 9 months. 

- Kami will be having regular check-ups and blood work to make sure that there are no harmful side effects from the antibiotics.  Her first blood work will be done in 2 weeks.  The doctor believes that Kami's side effects will be minimal due to her young age.

- This new doctor was amazed that the Mayo Clinic has closed Kami's case and he feels that they have "given up" and he wants to take up where they left off.  He will be reviewing all of Kami's records, CT scans and x-rays and he has scheduled Kami to see one of his associates who is a rheumatologist.   Her appointment is for tomorrow (Tuesday).  He is concerned about her extreme joint pain.

- If the rheumatologist can't find a diagnosis, he has a plan to continue Kami's care.  There are different avenues he wants to search, different natural remedies he wants to explore, and certain medications he will prescribe in the future.  He seems to be the first doctor to actually have a back-up plan and a reason for each of his decisions.

- He wants to review the nodules in Kami's lungs.  He said that different diseases form nodules in different ways and with different elements in different areas of the lungs.  (ie: such as calcium nodules located in the upper or lower lobe, etc.).  He wants to further investigate the nodules to see if they give any clue as to the type of disease attacking Kami.

We feel as if we once again have an advocate in a doctor who is deeply concerned for Kami.  We praise the Lord for today's news and look forward to what the future holds...

Kami's Bloodwork...

Many of you have been praying along with us as we have patiently waited for the results of Kami's TB blood work.  Our hope was for a positive result to be able to have a name of Kami's illness.  However, the results all came back negative.  Kami has been diagnosed with Latent TB...the kind that is in her body, in non-contagious, and not active...thus not the reason for her symptoms.

The good news is that Kami has an appointment with a "new" doctor to discuss the treatment schedule that she must begin to rid her body of the TB bacteria in her blood.  This appointment is local here in Ft. Myers so we do not have to leave town to drive to Jacksonville.  The antibiotic treatment that she must undergo is pretty rough and we ask that you please pray along with us that there will be no damage to her liver (which must be checked regularly).

We also have another full TB blood work-up that was done about a month ago.  These results will be finalized on November 18th.  This is a duplicate test of the first but ordered by a second doctor at the Mayo Clinic.  We are not sure why the 2nd set of tests was ordered, but we trust that the Lord ordered these tests with Kami's best interest at heart.

Kami had a good week last week.  She had some strength back and was even laughing at times.  But this week is a different story.  She lacks strength, has difficulty catching her breath, and the pain in her chest & throughout her body is stronger.  It is to the point that she cannot sleep at night due to the pain in her joints and bones.  She wants to do so much, but her body just won't let her. 

I will be leaving with Joshua next Tuesday to pack up our rental house on St. Barths.  With the recommendation of our Pastor and Field Director, we thought it best to not pay rent for a house we will not be using over the next 9 months as we go through the antibiotic treatments for Kami.  Please pray along with us that this "new" doctor will be able to find the root of Kami's illness.

Until next time...

Kami update...and our plans for the near future...

Many of you have asked about an update on Kami.  So here goes....

We really don't have any new information to share as of right now.  We are waiting for the Infectious Disease department's final blood test to be finished by October 21st.  This test will show us whether Kami has an active TB infection in her bones which would be the reason for all of her symptoms.  If the test comes back negative, then the TB is latent and not the reason for her symptoms.  (Our hope is that the test comes back positive for an active TB infection so that we can have a name for her illness and get it treated.)

Either way, she will have to undergo 6-9 months of antibiotic treatments and repeated tests to evaluate the condition of her liver throughout the treatments.  The test will also tell us whether or not she needs 4 antibiotics or just 1 during the treatment.

So for now, Kami has good days and bad days, but none without pain.  She doesn't ever complain but there are times when I see the tears in her eyes from the pain and discomfort that she has been trying to live with. 

I will be going back to St. Barths at the end of the month to pack up our belongings and move out of our rental house.  With the advice of our Pastor and our Field Director, we decided that it just didn't make any sense paying $2,000/month in rent for a house that is just sitting empty on the mission field.  So we will pack-up our belongings, move out, and then see what the Lord has in store for our family once Kami finishes her antibiotic treatments.  So for now, we are taking a medical furlough to be able to get wife & momma back to a place that we can return to the mission field.

Our home church bought a 4-bedroom house about a year ago that needs a lot of fixing-up and tender love.  With our Pastor's permission, Josh & I have been remodeling the house and in return, we will be able to live in it for the duration of Kami's treatments.  After living in the 1-bedroom prophet's chamber here at the church for the past 2 months, the house will feel like a mansion when we get it finished!  This is a win-win situation as the church is getting a renovated house and we will be getting a place to call "home" while we are away from our home in the West Indies.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support for our family!

Until next time...