Beyond Bringing Up Boys

Tonight we are cautiously optimistic about Amy's right eye. Some of the earlier fears appear to be laid to rest, at least for a short nap. Although last night was very difficult for Amy, today her blood pressure and body temp have been within acceptable parameters. This afternoon the doc told her that if her temp stays down for the next 24 hours, she will be discharged from the hospital. So, please pray tonight for a continuation of the good trends that we are seeing. Hopefully, Amy will be able to write her own blog tomorrow. I am sure that she will address the issue more fully, but please know that your prayers and posts were an immeasurable blessing to her. Gratefully, David Psalm 139:5 "You hem me in -- behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me."

This morning Amy is experiencing additional changes in her "good" eye, changes that are not positive. Thank you for your continued prayer. So good to hear from some OLD friends. I will get back to you as soon as I can. David

It is now 11:00pm and Amy's neurologist has just ordered an MRI of her pituitary gland to be done immediately as well as more blood cultures. Amy again developed another fever this PM and the doctors seem truly perplexed as to what the underlying cause is. David and/or I have read to Amy all of your comments and they are so encouraging and comforting to her. Thank you for all of your prayers on her behalf and please continue to pray for her. Carole

Amy was sleeping when I left her tonight – I have that effect on people. In this case, she really needs sleep. She was awake most of last night. I left around 10:30, shortly after the neurologist told her that nothing else has gone wrong with her eyes today. Wonderful news! Earlier this afternoon the infectious disease doctor told her that the infection has subsided to the point where she no longer needs IV infusions of antibiotics: now she can take them by mouth. Her temp has fluctuated between 99 and 100 most of the day. The docs aren’t too concerned until she hits 100.5. God is clearly helping her physically. May I give you three specific prayer requests? Amy’s blood pressure has been edging up again. One reason the docs want to check her heart is to see if she has developed a clotting abnormality, especially to make sure that she won’t be sending any clots out of her heart. She is being given blood thinner. A second request is that God would give us wisdom about choosing a...

I just called to see if Amy wanted to blog anything today, but at the moment she is talking on the phone to her wonderful friend, Deb Rose. Deb and her husband, Brian, used to live in Louisville several years ago. They were our very best friends. If I were talking to the Roses this evening, I would tell them that Amy is desperately scared. The docs have given her a very stiff dose of antibiotics, but as of this moment, her body temp is climbing once again. Her primary doctor told her he fears that this infection may be fungal in nature. I don’t completely understand all of the implications, except that we are shooting at this infection with our biggest guns, but it just keeps on coming. In her introspective manner, she shared with me today that if she had known she would lose her sight, she would have invested it more wisely in the things she read and watched: “What if I go completely blind and can’t read the Bible? I have to get more serious about memorizing.” This morning a do...

I’ve always tried to be honest here, and this post is no different. I am scared; the news from the retinal specialist today was not good. It appears to him that I have had strokes in both my eyes; however, the strokes in my right eye are outside of my field of vision, so I can still see. But my left eye has very little vision, a loss that my doctors fear will be permanent. The cause of the stroke is unclear. Because my doc is concerned that I could have stokes in other locations of my body, tonight finds me in Southern Regional Medical center in Atlanta, GA, being evaluated from head to toe. I should have a CT scan of my brain sometime tonight, and neurology (along with every other known specialist) will visit in the morning. I wish I could say that I am totally at peace, but the mom and wife in me fear that the things that I have so easily taken for granted could possibly be lost forever: seeing my boys play ball, watching their faces change as they grow older, seeing David’s eye...

Amy began having trouble with the vision in her left eye yesterday. We thought that it may be due to either a migraine (which she occasionally gets) or a side effect of one of the many medicines she has received in the last several days. By this AM she had very little sight in her left eye and went to see an ophthalmologist. He determined that Amy is having macular hemorrhages behind both eyes. He feels this is due to either the fact that Amy's fever has been so high or that during surgery to place the stent, her blood pressure became elevated. He told Amy that this a treatable condition, as far as being able to keep the situation from worsening. However, he could not guarantee that her sight would return. Amy is currently on her way to see a retinal specialist. She is very discouraged today and really needs everybody to pray that God will touch her and be so close to her today. Thank you so much. Carole

Amy's situation started last Tuesday when she had a kidney stone attack (during a visit to her doctor). Fortunately, she was merely across the street from Emory Hospital in Atlanta, so somebody wheeled her across to the ER. She was admitted rather quickly, but the department was so full of patients that Amy was never even given a room. The nurses injected pain meds while Amy enjoyed the privacy of hallway accomodations -- for NINE hours. The doctor determined that a kidney stone was located in or near the opening of a ureter. He gave Amy three choices: go home and hope the stone would pass (50-50 chance), go to the OR and have a stent passed through to the kidney, or have a nephrostomy tube inserted through her back and into the kidney. She came home. 48 hours later (Friday noon) Amy's temperature began rising (102.8). The doc recommended surgery ASAP -- in this case, 90 minutes later. Amy's stent surgery was successful in that the stent went into the kidney and re-...