What a hectic month since our last letter! We arrived in the States on April 19th. On the 26th Sherry was admitted to the to the ICU of St. Joseph’s hospital in Kansas City with acute Malaria! Her fever had reached 106 by that morning causing us to realize that she must have malaria rather than just the virus which was going around.
It took me over 2 hours on the telephone trying to find a doctor who had any knowledge of malaria. Finally, the Lord led me to a doctor from South America who was somewhat familiar with Malaria: MIRACLE NUMBER ONE!
In the following tension-filled days, God performed a series of true miracles! Without going into detail, I’ll just list a few of the miracles which the Lord performed in response to prayer: Finding a lab in Kansas City which could do a Malaria blood test immediately. Locating enough intravenous Quinadine to start the treatment immediately, and then coming up with the follow-up dose of Quinadine, which couldn’t be found anywhere in the USA (even at the manufacturer). It suddenly “appeared” at just the moment it was needed!
Things were happening so quickly that I didn’t have opportunity to get the word out to all of you, but I did send out a few hurried Emails along the way. Perhaps some of you heard the details of the astounding miracles which followed. (If you would like me to send a more comprehensive report by Email, just drop me an Email)
Sherry did fantastically well for about 5 days after she was released from the hospital. But, the Adversary never quits! The headaches and fever revived and she became weaker over the next 10 days. Several doctors have examined her – but nothing shows up in the tests except a radical drop in hemoglobin (7.2, which is dangerously low! — in fact, the doctor insists that she needs a transfusion. We are resisting that idea, and are praying that God intervene so that it won’t be necessary!)
In consulting with our Malaria specialist in Nairobi, we have all come to the conclusion that she has probably had a relapse of the malaria, even though it is not showing up in the blood tests. Sherry has just started taking another course of malaria medicine (pills this time), and we are praying that this will bring a turnaround. Please continue praying! — Especially that she won’t need a transfusion!
I’m embarrassed to have to mention finances at a time like this. Our BBF Medical Fund will cover all but about $1,500 of the actual medical costs. But, right now, even $1,500 is difficult for us to handle, not counting the non-medical expenses. Thanks for standing with us in prayer during this crisis. I will update you right away as soon as we see the next miracle which we are trusting God for!