Hello Prayer Warriors,
Thanks for the prayers. We had an unscheduled trip to the clinic today for a fever. It was 101.2 and they asked us to come in for blood cultures. By the time we got there, her fever was down to 99.3. She doesn't have any other symptoms except a little nausea. Please pray the cultures come back negative. In the meantime they gave her an antibiotic to see how she does. The praise is we got another set of great labs. Her liver enzymes went down again and her AST is now normal and the others are getting there. When they say it takes 6 months for a liver to recover, they were right. It has been 6 months since her liver episode and we are so glad that is behind us. Please continue to pray for Erin's job situation. We are enjoying the spring weather and the promise of summer. Hope you are too! Blessings on you and yours, janet
"Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near." James 5:7-8
The update is that the clinic called and said the cultures were negative. Thank you Lord! Her fever is gone and we don't know what caused it but we are thankful to put another speed bump behind us! We appreciate your prayers. Obviously God is listening and acting before we even know our needs. Trusting Him is the only way through all the speed bumps we encounter! blessings, janet
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Happy St Patrick's Day
Happy St Patrick's Day Prayer Warriors,
Erin and I are still at the clinic. She just gave 50 tubes of blood instead of the leech therapy. ha! This was to reduce the amount of iron in her blood. She tolerated it well. She is now waiting on 3 more immunizations. Her labs came back great. They are cutting her steroids down to every other day and cut her magnesium down by half as well. WooHoo! Her liver enzymes came down again and one of them is only 2 points away from normal. God is Great!! Erin's NP brought her a t-shirt from the Olympics, so that made Erin's day!! Plus this is one of her favorite days of the year. "Erin" is the Irish name for Ireland, so even if we aren't exactly Irish, she considers this her day and happens to love green! All in all a great day!
Please continue to pray for Erin's job situation. Thanks as always for all your prayers support.
An Old Irish Blessing
Erin and I are still at the clinic. She just gave 50 tubes of blood instead of the leech therapy. ha! This was to reduce the amount of iron in her blood. She tolerated it well. She is now waiting on 3 more immunizations. Her labs came back great. They are cutting her steroids down to every other day and cut her magnesium down by half as well. WooHoo! Her liver enzymes came down again and one of them is only 2 points away from normal. God is Great!! Erin's NP brought her a t-shirt from the Olympics, so that made Erin's day!! Plus this is one of her favorite days of the year. "Erin" is the Irish name for Ireland, so even if we aren't exactly Irish, she considers this her day and happens to love green! All in all a great day!
Please continue to pray for Erin's job situation. Thanks as always for all your prayers support.
An Old Irish Blessing
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
blessings, janet
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
blessings, janet
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Day off
Blessings Prayer Warriors,
We are happy to say we have this week off from the clinic, so I don't have any medical news to impart. However, I can report that Erin is loving being off "Posi," her least favorite med and is feeling well. She is continuing to walk 2 miles every day with Grandmommy and her headaches have decreased. She is also experiencing less prickly sensations when she gets overheated. Her hair is getting thicker and she is ready for spring. She has already broken out the flip flops and is shopping for bathing suits. Yeah Spring! Praise God for signs of new life in the garden and in us! The Daffodils are blooming and Erin has a spring in her step! She has been talking to the school about getting her job back in the fall. So that is a prayer request. The schools are all making cuts related to the decreased economy and we understand that, but Erin needs her insurance coverage! She has asked to go back part time, but she will take whatever she can get these days. I would also covet prayers for my job. I am ready to get back to work also. Thank you all for your loving prayer support over the past 2+ years. God is and always has been, right there beside us every step of the way. We are blessed! Enjoy the rain. It will bring blossoms! love, janet
"Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." Galatians 5:25
We are happy to say we have this week off from the clinic, so I don't have any medical news to impart. However, I can report that Erin is loving being off "Posi," her least favorite med and is feeling well. She is continuing to walk 2 miles every day with Grandmommy and her headaches have decreased. She is also experiencing less prickly sensations when she gets overheated. Her hair is getting thicker and she is ready for spring. She has already broken out the flip flops and is shopping for bathing suits. Yeah Spring! Praise God for signs of new life in the garden and in us! The Daffodils are blooming and Erin has a spring in her step! She has been talking to the school about getting her job back in the fall. So that is a prayer request. The schools are all making cuts related to the decreased economy and we understand that, but Erin needs her insurance coverage! She has asked to go back part time, but she will take whatever she can get these days. I would also covet prayers for my job. I am ready to get back to work also. Thank you all for your loving prayer support over the past 2+ years. God is and always has been, right there beside us every step of the way. We are blessed! Enjoy the rain. It will bring blossoms! love, janet
"Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." Galatians 5:25
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
It's March!!
Blessings Prayer Warriors,
Thanks for all the prayers. We just got back from the clinic and Erin got another good report. First, her labs were wonderful again. Her liver enzymes went down again by 21, 54, and 12. All great numbers for this week. Praise the Lord! We are hoping for totally normal very soon. Her iron is very high and they told her they were going to have to bring out the leaches next time. Actually, they just drain a pint or two, like giving blood. They said that it is common to have high iron after receiving so many transfusions. Apparently this is not a high tech procedure, but an ancient treatment which started in Egypt 3000 years ago. Of course I trust Emory a little more than an ancient witch doctor! ;)
Erin got 3 vaccines today; tetanus, meningitis, and pneumonia. Yeah for shots! The big surprise gift she got today was that the Dr said she doesn't have to take Posi anymore!! WooHoo! That is the med she hates the most, so she is ecstatic. Please pray that this medicine change won't cause any increase in her GVH. Now that her liver is getting better, we don't want any problems. But as we all know, God is in the details, so we are not worried. We are just praising Him that things are looking so good! Thanks for the prayers.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine..." Proverbs 17:22
That's the kind of medicine we can all administer. Go forth and use your cheerful heart to bring healing to everyone you meet!! hugs, janet
Thanks for all the prayers. We just got back from the clinic and Erin got another good report. First, her labs were wonderful again. Her liver enzymes went down again by 21, 54, and 12. All great numbers for this week. Praise the Lord! We are hoping for totally normal very soon. Her iron is very high and they told her they were going to have to bring out the leaches next time. Actually, they just drain a pint or two, like giving blood. They said that it is common to have high iron after receiving so many transfusions. Apparently this is not a high tech procedure, but an ancient treatment which started in Egypt 3000 years ago. Of course I trust Emory a little more than an ancient witch doctor! ;)
Erin got 3 vaccines today; tetanus, meningitis, and pneumonia. Yeah for shots! The big surprise gift she got today was that the Dr said she doesn't have to take Posi anymore!! WooHoo! That is the med she hates the most, so she is ecstatic. Please pray that this medicine change won't cause any increase in her GVH. Now that her liver is getting better, we don't want any problems. But as we all know, God is in the details, so we are not worried. We are just praising Him that things are looking so good! Thanks for the prayers.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine..." Proverbs 17:22
That's the kind of medicine we can all administer. Go forth and use your cheerful heart to bring healing to everyone you meet!! hugs, janet
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Good Report
Hello Prayer Warriors,
Thanks for your prayers. Erin got a good report today at the clinic. In addition to the big news that her biopsy was clean, she also got great labs back. Her liver enzymes came down nicely this week. For those of you in the know: Alk Phos was 241, now it's 191 (normal is 32-91), ALT was 273, now it's 233 (normal is <34), AST was 131, now it's 82 (normal is 15-41). Those are huge changes for this week and we are praising God big time. Of course they still have a ways to go to get to normal but we have been praying for something to move in the right direction and it finally is!! Woo Hoo. They did a nasal swab again today and we should find out tomorrow if she is still contagious with RSV. We have been enjoying the Olympics on TV and hope to be able to go to the 8E Olympics next week. They plan on starting her immunizations next week, so all signs point to freedom!! We are so appreciative of your love and support as we inch our way toward normal. You may ask how a Blonshine could ever be normal...you are right, we just want Erin to be healthy. Blessings on you and yours. love, janet
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:17-18
Thanks for your prayers. Erin got a good report today at the clinic. In addition to the big news that her biopsy was clean, she also got great labs back. Her liver enzymes came down nicely this week. For those of you in the know: Alk Phos was 241, now it's 191 (normal is 32-91), ALT was 273, now it's 233 (normal is <34), AST was 131, now it's 82 (normal is 15-41). Those are huge changes for this week and we are praising God big time. Of course they still have a ways to go to get to normal but we have been praying for something to move in the right direction and it finally is!! Woo Hoo. They did a nasal swab again today and we should find out tomorrow if she is still contagious with RSV. We have been enjoying the Olympics on TV and hope to be able to go to the 8E Olympics next week. They plan on starting her immunizations next week, so all signs point to freedom!! We are so appreciative of your love and support as we inch our way toward normal. You may ask how a Blonshine could ever be normal...you are right, we just want Erin to be healthy. Blessings on you and yours. love, janet
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:17-18
Monday, February 22, 2010
Woo Hoo
Blessings Prayer Warriors,
Thanks for the prayers. God is amazing and has blessed us yet again with a negative biopsy. We are thrilled. We wanted to share the news with you as soon as possible. We actually have our appt on Wed to get the full detail, but they e-mailed us to say it looks good. So we thank God and bless you for your faithfulness in prayer as we have gone through another time of testing. Erin is still congested but feels pretty good, just tired. She is hoping to get another nasal swab on Wed so she can find out if she is still contagious. We read on the internet that it takes a normal healthy person 1-2 weeks to get over it, so I am guessing she will take 2+ weeks to get over it. Unfortunately, we found out that 2 other patients we know of have also gotten RSV and are now undergoing the "tent" treatment. Thank God there is a treatment for it. Have a great week. love, janet
"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." Hebrews 11:23-24
Thanks for the prayers. God is amazing and has blessed us yet again with a negative biopsy. We are thrilled. We wanted to share the news with you as soon as possible. We actually have our appt on Wed to get the full detail, but they e-mailed us to say it looks good. So we thank God and bless you for your faithfulness in prayer as we have gone through another time of testing. Erin is still congested but feels pretty good, just tired. She is hoping to get another nasal swab on Wed so she can find out if she is still contagious. We read on the internet that it takes a normal healthy person 1-2 weeks to get over it, so I am guessing she will take 2+ weeks to get over it. Unfortunately, we found out that 2 other patients we know of have also gotten RSV and are now undergoing the "tent" treatment. Thank God there is a treatment for it. Have a great week. love, janet
"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." Hebrews 11:23-24
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
6 month biopsy
Blessings Prayer Warriors,
Thank you for your prayers! Erin did fine for her biopsy today. I am late posting this because she was one of the last ones of the day. Erin also had to have a respiratory treatment and a nasal swab to see if she still has RSV. We hope to get results on the swab by Friday and the biopsy next week. We didn't even get lab results today, but that is my fault, I forgot to ask. Hopefully they will e-mail us if anything is very different from last week. They are always very prompt at answering e-mails. Lots of praises today. Not to say it gets any easier on Erin but we have developed a certain level of comfort with the nurses and procedures. Erin is feeling a little better today regarding her cough and congestion. She is itching to get back out in the world, but until we know she is not contagious anymore, we are staying home. Happy Ash Wednesday everyone. We love you for your support! janet
"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire." Hebrews 12:28
Thank you for your prayers! Erin did fine for her biopsy today. I am late posting this because she was one of the last ones of the day. Erin also had to have a respiratory treatment and a nasal swab to see if she still has RSV. We hope to get results on the swab by Friday and the biopsy next week. We didn't even get lab results today, but that is my fault, I forgot to ask. Hopefully they will e-mail us if anything is very different from last week. They are always very prompt at answering e-mails. Lots of praises today. Not to say it gets any easier on Erin but we have developed a certain level of comfort with the nurses and procedures. Erin is feeling a little better today regarding her cough and congestion. She is itching to get back out in the world, but until we know she is not contagious anymore, we are staying home. Happy Ash Wednesday everyone. We love you for your support! janet
"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire." Hebrews 12:28