Happy Birthday Joshua!

Last Friday, we celebrated Josh's 18th birthday!  He was born on June 27, 1996 on Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi.  If you had asked me at that time what I thought Joshua would grow up to be, I would never have said, "A preacher who loves the Lord."  (As a baby Christian myself at that time, being a preacher would never have crossed my mind!)

But here he is today, 2 months away from leaving home to attend Golden State Baptist College.  He has many dreams and has always had a heart for children and teenagers.  He has even talked about the idea of opening a boys' home/ranch to help troubled youth and also of being a youth pastor.  He is excited about this next step for the Lord!

We left on Thursday for Kami's doctor appointment which is 3-hours away.  We left the 3 younger ones with grandparents and took Joshua, Elisabeth, and Brenna with us.  We stopped by Disney Quest in Orlando to celebrate Joshua's birthday and spent the night in Brooksville.  Then on Friday, after Kami's appointment, we drove back and then celebrated with family and friends!

We decided to open up his presents from us before the "party" actually began.  Do you notice Kami on the right?

 

She celebrated while getting her antibiotic treatments via the hanging IV in the picture!

 

We are not sure where the Lord is taking our family in the near future, especially with Kami's treatment.  However, we fully understand that where ever the Lord leads us, we will be working with one less family member as Joshua attends college.  It will be different as he has been a strength and worker in every ministry we have served in, but we know that God will bless him and the next ministry in which Joshua will be serving.

Treatment Update...

Every day for the past 2 weeks, I have had to give Kami her antibiotics via her PICC line.  I found that a coat hanger hanging from the A/C vent in the ceiling makes a great place to hang the IV bags of antibiotics!

(Kami getting her antibiotics each day via I.V. drip)

 

After our 3-hour journey to the doctor's office yesterday, we returned with more medications and yet another twist in Kami's treatment:

 

 - 2 more medications were prescribed.  The doctor explained that the Lyme disease bacteria will resist the antibiotics and form protective cysts around themselves to make it so that the antibiotics contact reach the bacteria.  These two new medications are to break apart the cysts so that the Lyme disease bacteria can be killed by the antibiotics.

 

- Kami's antibiotic treatment will be extended for at least another 6 weeks, which seems to be the protocol for patients who have been infected with Lyme disease over a greater period of time. 

 

- Every week, Kami has her blood drawn to check her liver & kidney functions to make sure that the antibiotics are not affecting these organs.  So far, everything has been exactly where they need to be and we believe that this is a direct result of your prayers for our family!  Thank you!

As a side note:

Joshua, Elisabeth and Brenna were able to work the VBS program last week.  They had a great week and Joshua was able to lead 3 boys from his class to the Lord!  Amen! 

It still seems unbelievable that Joshua will be turning 18 next Friday...Where does the time go?  Please be in prayer for him as he prepares for Bible College this fall and that he will continue to grow in Christ...

Until next time...

What a difference 24 hours makes!

We were warned, "Kami will probably get worse before she gets better."

Yes, she did....much worse.  But I truly believe that God answers faithfulness!  Even in her pain and weakness, she declared that she was going to go to Tuesday Nights of Great Preaching. (Our home church moves their Wednesday night service to Tuesdays through the summer.)  She was so weak, pale and in so much pain, but she got dressed and ready to go. 

At church, she sat down and greeted everyone who came to her with a smile.  She had to sit through some of the singing and squeezed my hand when her pain became strong during the preaching.

But today is Wednesday!  She woke up and made the coffee, offered to make me some eggs, received her daily bags of antibiotics, and then began to clean our bathroom.  Sweeping, mopping, wiping... Her face shone with an alertness that she has not had in 2 years.  Her eyes were not glossy and distant.  Her breathing was not deep and on purpose.  There was no cough to catch her breathe.  And in her own words, "I feel as if I'm turning a corner.  My mind is not in a fog.  Whatever had a strangle hold on my throat has let loose and the pain in my chest has lightened just a bit."

We praise the Lord for a few signs of progress!  Please keep praying for us as we travel back to Brooksville to see the doctor again.  We will leave tomorrow and come back on Friday.  We are not "out of the woods" just yet, but we are grateful to see improvements!

Update on Kami's Treatment...

Kami and I traveled to Brooksville last Friday to see a 'new' doctor.  The doctor wanted to start treatment at that very appointment and not wait.  She agreed that Kami does have Lyme disease and that we needed to start treatment as soon as possible.

Across the hallway, another doctor placed the PICC line which is 17 inches in length and runs from this spot in her arm to the ventricular artery at her heart.  They took an x-ray to confirm that the 'catheter' was in the right place.  Kami was very nervous about this whole process!

 

The nurse then trained me to flush the PICC line each day, before & after I administer the two bags of different antibiotics.  She is taking Rocephin and Merrim antibiotics and will have to take these antibiotics each day for 21 days.  After this is completed, the doctor will decide what Phase II of the treatment will be depending on how she responds to this treatment. 

 

We were warned that she may get worse before she gets better.  This past weekend was really difficult for her and she has been in a lot of pain.  It is difficult to see her hurt so much, but we are trusting that after these next 21 days, we will see a huge improvement!