Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord! Susette is getting out of the hospital today! God is great! She did great last night, requiring no pain killers at all, and has been eating well (through her stomach tube) since yesterday.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers! We have heard from many of you who are praying big time for Susette and we can't thank you enough. i even got an email yesterday from Haiti that said the kids at the orphanage are praying and fasting nonstop for Susette. It looks like we stormed the gates of heaven on this one! Praise our mighty awesome God!

We are still going to postpone our flight to Haiti for tomorrow. We don't know for how long. Her health is our main priority.

We'll keep you informed as we learn more.

Please DON'T STOP praying! We are not completely out of the woods yet. Thanks.

God bless.

bill

Set-Back

It looked like Susette would be released from the hospital yesterday until she had trouble with one of her feedings. She had been receiving food through her stomach tube without any problems but on the "last feeding" before she checked out she had a major reaction and threw-up everything. This inflamed her throat and sent her into a fever. They stopped additional feedings. Her blood results also indicated low red blood cell counts and she had to have a blood transfusion. Therefore, they held her overnight for more tests (CT scan, blood, etc.). We're not sure at this point what the next move will be.

i was scheduled to fly to Haiti this Sunday with my children. That will not happen at this time.

Please keep praying.

Susette Still in Hospital

Susette's feeding tube was installed but is not adapting well with her body. She was only fed once through the tube. Every night she has had very high fevers and abdominal pains so the doctor said to stop feeding through the tube. One night, the pain was so bad she could barely talk. The doctors are holding her at the hospital to try to figure out what is wrong. They have had CT scans, x-rays, and have even released excess air from her stomach area, but they are still puzzled as to the cause. The good news is that her esophagus seems to be healing well and she has not spit up blood or had major pain in a while. She is even able to swallow small sips of water.

Please keep praying.

The Tube is Back

A quick update: Susette tried drinking Ensure but it still hurt. We even tried water and it hurt. After nine days without food Susette is now going to get the stomach feeding tube. It was not an easy decision but, after more discussions with the doctor, she felt the feeding tube would be the overall best route and allow her more flexibility. She's not excited about it but feels it is still the best choice for now. Please keep praying that her throat will heal well and rapidly and that she gets the proper nutrition to strengthen her body and help her quickly recover.

Good News and Bad News

When someone says they have good and bad news, i always ask for the bad news first, so here it goes. The bad news is that Susette has to have a PICC line installed again. This was definitely not good news. The good news, however, is that the doctor determined that she will not be getting the feeding tube in her stomach and food will be administered through the PICC line. And... more good news... Susette ate Jello and ice cream yesterday -- not exactly health food but she was able to EAT -- Alleluia! both items without pain. She tried Ensure but it hurt too much. Keep praying that she can swallow more nutritious items. Today, she will likely have the PICC line installed.

No Food Tube

Yesterday, Dr. Lee at Hoag Memorial in Newport Beach took Susette in to the procedure room to install a food tube. The first part of the procedure is to send a probe that goes all the way to her stomach to look for the best possible area inside of her stomach to do the incision. As the probe was descending her throat the monitor revealed a part of her throat/esophagus that was bleeding. He took photos of this area that he showed me later. This concerned him a great deal because the food tube procedure would seriously aggravate the inflamed area. He decided to inject the bleeding area with something that would make it stop bleeding and hopefully accelerate the healing. He also decided not to install the food tube at this time. His plan: to wait until Sunday, carefully monitor Susette and her throat and see if enough healing occurs to attempt food on Sunday. If this goes well, he will not install a food tube. If it doesn't go well, he will wait a week and a half, install the stomach feeding tube and she'll have to wait 6-8 weeks before it can be removed.

Please pray for miraculous healing of her throat so that she does not have to have the stomach tube. She has been so pumped full of stuff, poked, shot, prodded and put through such misery in the last 7 months i am just praying that she can finally get on with recovery and healing. Please join me in this prayer. God bless you.

Hospital

Just a quick note: Susette was spitting up blood today so she was taken to Hoag Memorial Emergency. The doctor took tests and said he wants her to be admitted to better follow and treat the problem. She is on pain killers and is feeling much better. PraiseGod! She will meet with a GI doctor tomorrow to determine if they will put a tube in her stomach for food.

i am blessed to be able to stay with her tonight at the hospital. i am leaving right now. We don't know how many days she will stay. Needless to say, please keep praying. Thank you.