Please God, not Africa!

Last week we were all over the map with Kylie's blood work.  We were at the hospital on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week and Monday and Tuesday of this week. On Friday we had an appointment with our Infectious Disease doc to see if we could figure out her blood work issues and  get the MRI results. The blood work fiasco was a bit of mystery but turns out that it's been solved.  You'll never believe this but the whole issue with her blood levels had to do with the time change.  Strange, but true.  So at least it's not something weird and wild going on in her foot. The MRI results were good news and we are so thankful for that!  Kylie's area of infection inside the bone has certainly shrunk, meaning that there is bone regeneration happening in there.  Praise the Lord. However, it's not solid bone.  There's still a little patch of infection livin' it up in there, so the plan is what the plan has always been.  She stays on the IV med

Last week Kylie had another round of blood work done and while we were on our way to pick up Nate from the hospital we got a call from the doc that said the results weren't so good.  Too low. The whole point of all this blood work is to measure three things:  the level of meds in her system, and two tests called a CRP and an ESR that measure inflammation in her body.  For the most part, her CRP and ESR have been great - it's the med levels that have been all over the map. And like I've mentionted before, the goal is 11.  That's what we're aiming for. If the meds are too low, there's not enough antibiotic in her system to kill the bad bugs.  If there's too much, there's a change we'll fry her kidneys and cause damage. So on Monday, Nate took her in to the hospital to have the repeat blood work done.  When Kylie came home from having it done, she told me that she thought that we had messed up on the timing of the blood work.  To get an accurate r

On Friday night the kids and I went to the airport to pick up Nate.  His flight was a little delayed so we had to wait for a while. Here's some boys with their sign. And after a while, he arrived!!  He's in this bundle of hugs and squeezes somewhere. And here's the gang, together again (Except for me. I'm holding the camera.) THE TRIP The two weeks in Mango was great.  The weather was ridiculously hot.  Picture yourself standing on top of a building, no shade for miles, 110 degrees Fahrenheit, wearing a welding helmet and putting trusses together.  Doesn't it sound like so much fun?? Here's the view from where Nate was standing. And here's the view from the bottom. They got all the trusses up except for two.  Nate said that if he'd had one more day, they would've been all up.   He had a great reunion with the missionaries and with the Togolese guys.  It was a sweet time.  There's still lots of

I've been told I HAVE to update my blog and let you know how things are going.  So this is for YOU, Diane!! Things are going just fine.  Nate has been in Mango for the last 2 weeks and we're looking forward to his return this Friday.  It's been a cold and busy two weeks for us and a hot and busy two weeks for him. When he is away, we don't actually communicate that much.  It just seems easier not to, actually.  He's not really that tech-y, and since he didn't take a computer with him and using his cell phone will cost a pretty penny, we kept our communication to a few little text messages. So all I really know is that he made it safely, that the trusses were going up pretty quickly and he hoped they'd have them all set before he starts the trip south tomorrow, and (I'm quoting directly from one of his texts) "its so hot it's not funny..." The purpose of his trip was to go over and help set the trusses on Phase 3 of the hospital bui

Today we actually have some news! So exciting. 1.  Kylie just got her latest blood work results back and we are on a roll.  That's three good ones in a row which means that she can start going for blood work every month rather than every other week.  And since it's been so stable, she can have an MRI - yay! 2.  Ethan's leg has been feeling much better since he had a flare up of nasty pain a few weeks ago.  We were able to see the surgeon shortly after that and she ordered an MRI for him as well.  It's a family affair in a skinny, noisy tube! 3. Today we got the call about the MRI's.  Ethan's is on October 19th and Kylie's is October 29th - which is NOT far away, so we were able to get in pretty quickly. 4.  Nate is going back to Togo!  He's booked a two week trip in mid-October so he'll miss both MRI's but will be home in time to get all the results.  The construction of the hospital will be ready for Phase 3 trusses so he's going to

Eleven it is!  Kylie's blood work today was bang-on!  We are so thankful for this.  This morning after she had the blood drawn, we got a call that the vile had gone to the lab unlabelled and weren't sure they could use it.  But then later we got another call that they found it.  Never a dull moment. Thank you so much for praying!!

Remember when I assumed that no news was good news with K's blood work?? I was wrong. The doc's office called this week to let us know that her numbers were even lower than before - so that's 3 bad blood work results in a row.  Which stinks. They've upped her dose of meds once more and we go for blood work again tomorrow morning. Pray for ELEVEN!

....that no news is good news.  Kylie did have blood work last Monday.  And I called on Monday afternoon for the results, and then on Tuesday I called, and then on Wednesday I called (leaving messages, of course).  And then on Thursday when I called, the answering machine message had changed at the office saying that they would re-open on September 10th. Bah. So I'm guessing that IF there had been a problem, we would've heard about it.  I'm happy with the "no news is good news" mentality so we're going with that. Kylie has blood work again next Tuesday, so we're praying that it comes back good, in fact, let's pray it comes back GREAT! Thanks so much for praying with us!

Today's "second chance" blood work was actually worse than yesterdays.  That wasn't very encouraging to hear.  Yet again there is a silver-ish lining.  They say the third time's a charm and we get to do it all again on Monday morning.  Thank you for your words of encouragement, hugs, emails, and prayers.  We are so grateful! And I'll let you know how it goes...

The blood test results weren't so great.  They weren't terrible but they weren't what we were hoping for.  It's a tad disappointing, but there is a silver lining!  We get a "re-do" tomorrow morning!  The doc thinks that the numbers were a little off for a specific reason that is too boring and too long to explain to you here. But the result is that we get a second chance - and that's good news! Thank you so much for praying for Kylie and thank you for sticking with us - it will be 9 months tomorrow that she came down with the infection and this whole thing started.  Crazy, isn't it? And there is hope and grace in all of this - for the waiting and the wondering and the asking.  God is still good despite the fact that we didn't get what we wanted.  He holds this whole situation firmly in His grasp and we trust Him.

I'm sorry (again) for my tardiness in writing.  Summer is totally flying by quickly and I haven't had too much to say on this blog, since it was kinda about Africa and we're not there.  Bummer. I suppose if I was talking to you in person, I'd tell you that the transition to life at home in Canada has been fairly smooth.  Fairly.  But not perfectly.  And, on top of that, I'd WANT to tell you that it's been most difficult for the children.  But that would be a lie.  The kids are great.  The truth is that it's been way more difficult for Nate and I than it has for the kids.  Obviously the kids are tougher than us, but I think that this blog has already proven that and could be used in a court of law as Peoples Exhibit A if a case for our kids NOT being tough ever came up.  But I'm pretty sure that we won't be going to court over that (perhaps that analogy was a little over the top....) Anyhow. Nate and I are doing MUCH better.  May be that's w

Yesterday was our "family appointment" with the Infectious Disease Doctor.  To be truthful, it is a tad chaotic when a family of seven has to sit in a treatment room made for two.  But we managed.  Each child was questioned, prodded, checked and double-checked and turns out they are all fairly healthy and somewhat normal.  (Although Jack was dying of embarrassment when the resident wanted to feel his stomach!) We started out with a round of blood work, then met with the resident and then waited for the ID Doc. About three weeks ago, Kylie had blood work done and one of her "numbers" (her CRP) was way too high.  Up until that point, her numbers had been normal so this jump to a higher number was a bit of a scare. We weren't sure what was going on inside her.  When we met with our ID doc yesterday, she told us that it could take up to four or five hours to get the results back and that she would call us later in the day. In the meantime, she took a look at K

I really hope you are ready for good long read.  It's time for a big ole blog post with scads of photos and lots of info on what happened in our last two weeks in Togo.   Ready, set, go!  I already told you about the long trip there with our church team and what a sweet  reunion I had with Nate and the boys.  It was awesome.  So let's pick it up after that. The Stoney Creek team was great -- they worked so hard and got a lot done.  But they did come to understand a little traditional saying we have here in Mango: WAWA. West Africa Wins Again. Despite their best efforts, their dedicated work ethic, their hopes, prayers and moments of frustration, sometimes you just can't win in West Africa. People's Exhibit A:  Ralph (a mechanic from our church team) and the Packer On Day One of work Ralph set out to fix the Wacker-Neuson tamper/packer thing.  (This machine is critical to the construction project and has been broken down for so

Sweet Reunion!! It was so awesome to see all the boys!! Yay!!  Together again... Poor Jack is going to miss his buddy, Bullet. This is me, in Phase 1.  Michelle was getting all artistic with her photos! The missionary women at Cindy's place on Thursday night. I love these women!! Me and Michelle -- having survived the hike to the cliffs.  Hot, sweaty and very much ready for our PB and J lunch. The week has gone so fast.  I packed for the first three days until I could pack no longer.  Then I joined the team in painting the perlins (the SCBC has rocked this place -- from painting hundreds of perlins to fixing the back-hoe and the tractor, it's been amazing.) It's been so great to have the team here with us, experiencing life in Mango, going to market, visiting the missionaries, eating fufu and so many other things.  The laughs and the stories are endless and I'm so very grateful that we will have these memories with the team.