Answered Prayer

Mahalo to everyone for praying for us. Want to hear some praises?

* Sunday's worship service went well. We were able to be there and share the final testimony live. They said a special prayer for us at the end of the service, and many came by to tell us they were blessed. Such a solid confirmation that our circumstances are not about us but for others. We were also thrilled to see a few surprise guests (Don and Lola Penfield and Calvin, Karen, and Kyle Slaan). Pastor Keith, the worship leader, graciously made a video of the service for us so when we get it, we will upload it to God Tube and link it to this blog for all to see. Pastor Derrick at Mililani said he'd like to show the video for a Sunday night service, we'd be honored!

* No infection! Dan's labs came back showing no infection, so he's still on the list. The doctor wants him to finish out the antibiotics though, and the sores have stopped draining finally so we can start airing them out in hopes of finally healing over, and they are painful to treat.

* A good friend asked me recently how we are doing financially. We want to praise God that He has been providing for us through LTD payments from our church and from the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention. Fellow pastors, this is a great blessing so if your church is not helping you with insurance support from Guidestone, talk to your finance committee. Hawaii pastors can also get more information from Jerry Sulliban at HPBC.

Another update:

* Dan's red cell count is down again, today it is 7.5 (normal is 13-15 I think). So he needs another transfusion, we go tomorrow morning, and it usually takes 3-4 hours for 1 unit, so if he needs more than that, we'll be there a while, hopefully not overnight. Then we go back Thursday morning for more labs.

Well, it's time for Dan and I to take our evening 10 minute walk around the house. Love and aloha to everyone,

Debbie and Dan

Prayer Request

We saw the doctor today, looks like Dan may have another leg infection. The front of his lower left leg looks sunburned and feels very hot, and he has more "weeping" blisters on both calves. The "sunburn"-looking area is a sign of possible infection, so the Dr. gave Dan 2 strong antibiotics. They are also testing the fluid from the blisters in case there is infection, we should get a call this weekend with the results.

We ask for your prayers again that if there is infection that it will go away very soon, so he won't have to go on Status 7 again, meaning he's off the transplant list until the infection is gone. The Dr. thinks there will be a significant improvement by Monday, if so they can put him right back on the transplant list.

We were pretty down about all this, but leave it to God to bring peace. We decided to go listen to the choir rehearsal this evening (preparing for Sunday's service with out testimonies). The worship leader said he added a song he thought about today which we didn't know about, I forget the title but the words said the Lord says Come, I will sing over you. Reminded us immediately of the scripture in Zephaniah 3:17 - The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." The choir songs are very beautiful, haunting harmonies, delicate orchestrations, soloists with amazing voices, and we really felt quieted with God's love, and moved at the thought of God wanting to sing over us. So, we are still a little grumpy, but we are living and soaring in the Truth.

Aloha,
Debbie and Dan

A Long Week

It's been a very long week. After Tuesday morning labs, Mayo called us at dinner time saying Dan's red cell count was very low again and we needed to come in right away for another transfusion. We headed for ER around 7pm Tuesday evening and did not return to the house until Thursday evening 6pm. Because Dan has those antibodies in his blood, it would take 8+ hours to get the blood for transfusion, so he was admitted to a room back on the 3rd floor around 12:30am. The blood arrived and transfusion began around 6am Wednesday morning. He was given 2 more units throughout the day and they did an GI scope to check for bleeding, they found no bleeding but saw the many swollen vessels and veins in the abdomen area. The liver doctors and hemotologists conferred and determined that his sick liver is causing his blood to eat up his red cells, that's why the count dropped again. He was still weak so they kept us Wednesday night and gave him a 4th unit of blood Thursday morning. Labs showed the red cell count was better so they discharged Dan Thursday evening. Before we left, we were told that Mayo has requested 8-10 units of blood for Dan and has it saved in the blood bank "refrigerator" with his name on it, this is saved for the transplant surgery should he need transfusions at that time, which is very likely. And Dan is still #1 on the hospital waiting list.

Dan had IVs in both arms while in the hospital, and Friday morning we woke up to his right arm swollen and red at the IV site. Friday mornings are his regular labs, so it was back to Mayo. That afternoon his arm did not look any better, so we headed back to Mayo and went right back to the 3rd floor to look for one of his nurses or a doctor. Thankfully, we saw Kelly, one of the PAs. After looking at Dan's arm, she ordered antibiotics to ward off any infection that might be starting. She also said we needed to come in for more labs on Sunday morning to check the red cell count, in case it was low again and another transfusion might be needed, she said to have her paged when we got there and she'd check Dan's arm again. So we picked up the prescription and headed home.

We woke up Saturday morning to find a huge fluid filled blister on Dan's right calf. He's had other blisters we've treated but nothing like this, so you guessed it...we headed back to Mayo ER around 7am. The ER doctor drained it, took a sample of the fluid to test for infection, bandaged it up, and off we went. The ER doctor had contacted Kelly also.

The worship leader from the church we attend with Dan's folks, First Southern Baptist Church of Scottsdale, called us asking to meet with us so while Dan was resting Saturday afternoon, I met with Keith and his wife Kathy. Keith is planning a choir concert for next Sunday morning, Aug. 17, and after reading our blog he felt led to plan the theme of the concert around how God sustains us in the storms of life, and he asked us to share our testimony. Dan and I are blown away by this incredible honor. If all goes as planned, Keith and his techies from church will come to the house this Wednesday morning to videotape our testimony, broken down into five 3-minute videos that will be played in between the choir songs. Our hope is to be able to be at church Sunday morning and be able to give the last testimony live, if not, all will be shown by video. We are grateful that Keith offered to videotape the entire service and give us a copy, in case we can't be there. What a confirmation that our circumstances really aren't about us, but are for others, to lead all to worship the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anyway, we did do labs this morning (Sunday) and met briefly with Kelly who examined Dan's arm and leg and determined they look much better. We will be back at Mayo on Tuesday morning for his regular labs, then see Kelly again at 11am to follow on the red cell count.

After such a crazy week, and hoping we don't have to go back to Mayo on Monday, we hope to finally go out to see a movie, not sure which one, possibly Kung Fu Panda if it's still in the theatre.

To God be the Glory,
Debbie and Dan

August 4 updates

Can't believe it's August already. Dan's MELD is 29 and he's still #1 on the hospital waiting list. He's been weaker the past several days, walking and talking a little "hamajang" (not quite right) so Mayo will start checking his red cell count tomorrow, if it's low again he'll get another transfusion. He's also having more bouts of stomach pain after eating, complications from the cirrhosis. We're thankful his legs, still swollen, are not leaking anymore, though we continue to watch a few blisters developing. Per Mayo, on the days he sleeps most of the time (another complication of the encephalopathy from the high ammonia levels), he needs to walk at least 2 times a day for at least 10 minutes each. We've done this, walking laps in the house. Dan is pretty tired these days, so we only get out on Tuesdays and Fridays to Mayo for labs, then breakfast at the cafeteria. When Dan's folks are home, I can run out to Walmart or the mall for a few hours, and when Dan's sister Debbie and the kids come over to swim, I'm out there with them - love it! Praise God for Wally and Lorrie and our Mililani Baptist ohana that continue to love on my Mom in Hawaii.

I've been thinking about this long wait, how I don't get God's timing. God reminded me of an important verse describing an important part of His character: "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:8-9 NIV. A good friend reminded us that God is surely continuing His work in and through us, these verses confirmed that. In fact, we've been praying for the donor and family to be Christians, these verses made me think that what seems like God's slowness may actually be His patience and plan to bring the donor and family to Himself before the transplant. At least I pray this is true. So we continue to wait, rejoicing in God's amazing grace and love and His perfect plan for our lives.

Aloha from the desert,
Debbie and Dan

Doctor's Appointment this morning

We met with Dr. Douglas this morning at Mayo. Pretty uneventful - he confirmed Dan's MELD is 31 and no changes to his meds. So it's labs tomorrow and Friday as usual and they will keep us posted on his MELD and if any med changes are needed. Dan's next CT scan will be in August, but as Dr. Douglas said, "we hope you'll get your transplant before then", so Dan is still #1 in the hospital and we continue to wait for God's provision for a liver and pray for the donor and family.

And God is still providing. Just when I was wondering about our finances now that I am on temporary leave of absence from my job, unexpected checks arrived in our mail this weekend. God is good!

Aloha from the desert,
Debbie and Dan

Monday, July 21 doctor appointment is on!

We got a call from Mayo after Dan's morning labs - we DO have a Monday doctors appointment, this time to meet with Dr. Douglas, the director of the liver transplant department. Dan's MELD today is 31, ammonia is around 145 which is high but average for Dan. He also has a few more blisters on his leg that opened up this afternoon, so it's back with the medicated bandages and trying to elevate his legs more often.

For my birthday today, we had portraits taken, since last month was our 30th anniversary and we haven't had portraits made since our wedding. Here is our favorite.

Aloha from the desert - Dan and Deb

MELD score now 30, no doctor appt. on Monday

We spoke to Susan at Mayo today, she's the liver transplant coordinator's assistant. She told us as of yesterday's labs (July 15) Dan's MELD is 30 and she expects it to be even higher by Friday's labs, we're not sure why. For a sick guy, she said his other labs look good and the doctors have decided NOT to schedule the appointment on Monday July 21. She said they discuss Dan at their Wednesday team meetings, he's the first one they talk about, he is #1 on the hospital waiting list, and they don't expect to need to see him for an appointment for 3 months unless something extreme happens like a high fever, bleeding, stuff like that. As Susan told Dan, they don't expect to see him again until (not if, but until) transplant. They still talk like it could be any time now. And they may add one more day a week to come in for labs, we'll find out on Friday, that would make 3 days a week for labs.

So we keep waiting, hopefully not much longer. Thanks, Tracy Turner, for your last comment on Debbie's blog that reminded us to "keep looking up." What a wonderful reminder for all of us.

"I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1-2 NIV

Debbie and Dan