Spinal Tap & Pneumonia

I was hoping for my next post to give you more of a ministry update on how our presentations and church visits have been going. But, I guess that will have to wait. As you can see from the title we have had a busy and unexpected weekend of ER visits for our family. Thank goodness we have stopped counting the number of ER visits this winter, because it truly would be even more depressing!

Friday: Jonathan goes to the ER
For the past week and a half he had been having some weird sensations of burning, tingling and having pain in his hands and feet. The nerve pain in various areas would come and go so he scheduled a Dr. appointment for this coming Wednesday. However, when he woke up on Friday morning he felt weak and he was having uncontrolled tremors in his fingers and arm, but only when he moved them. The concern was whether or not he could have Guillain-barre Syndrome. Guillain-Barre syndrome is aserious disorder that occurs when the body's defense (immune) system mistakenly attacks part of the nervous system. This leads to nerve inflammation that causes muscle weakness, which continues to get worse. He had a CT scan, blood work and a spinal tap done. All the results came back normal, much to our relief. His symptoms have lessened and improved over the weekend but he is still having some spinal headaches from the spinal tap procedure which is normal. He will visit his doctor this week and see if he recommends more neurological testing.

Sunday: Samuel goes to the ER
Since our arrival Samuel has already made one visit to the Urgent Care for ear pain. He has had a really bad cough for over a month and sometimes I really wonder whether I'll see a lung come out. He had his wellness check-up this past Thursday and the Dr. seems to think he has some allergies and maybe asthma. It does run in both our families. He has been on Allegra since his visit and he had 3 immunizations also. On Sunday we were at a supporting church (Jamestown Baptist Church) which is just about 10 minutes away. Samuel was acting just fine in the morning and then after Sunday School he curled up next to Grandma on a couch and his head felt warm. The Life Group that has adopted our family had a really nice potluck for us after the service. When we sat down with our food I looked at Samuel and was very shocked to see that his lips and finger nails were blue and he was pale as a ghost. Grandma quickly took some vitals and recommended we get him to the ER as soon as possible. He was becoming lethargic and wouldn't say what was hurting him. Jonathan, Grandma and Samuel left immediately. To make a long story short...Samuel had a fever upon arrival to the ER but with some Tylenol and a nap he seemed to perk up a bit by the time the Doctor arrived. Apparently it is not uncommon for there to be a perifial shutting down while the fever spikes in the body. Thus explaining his blueness. He had a chest x-ray which revealed he has pneumonia. The doctor thought that an inhaler would also benefit him with his cough. So he is on antibiotics, inhaler, allergy medicine and taking it easy. He had a fever during the night but seems to be better today.

Please pray for us and for complete healing. We believe it is no coincidence that these things always hit us on the weekend. We know the enemy is trying to discourage us. Pray for our strength to press on, resting in His perfect peace and strength. Needless to say it has been a roller coaster of emotions this weekend.

A huge thanks to Grandma for her medical knowledge and physical support at the ER, Munga for holding down the fort with the 2 other kids, JBC for their understanding and prayers during a frenetic Sunday visit...we were so touched by the welcome home gifts...we truly are blessed by your support! And most of all, Thank you Jesus for protecting our family!