| final update of the night...James is resting, but they have discovered an infection in his foot. Jodi and I discussed the possibility that they did the surgery on the wrong extremity, but we decided the infection and the surgery are probably unrelated. They have antibiotics on his foot and he is getting more antibiotics through an IV. Let's pray this thing away quick as a flash! Carol has taken a picture of a bald James and she's going to try to get it to me tomorrow to post on this site. Thanks for all of your prayers.
Praise God! James�s surgery is complete and he is resting and relaxed. He even told Carol that it was not painful, which is impressive to me since he just had surgery while he was wide awake! As Carol posted earlier, he will have to lay on his back for about three hours now, so let�s pray that he is comfortable and even full of joy for this successful procedure! Let�s be reminded that just yesterday James was weak and there was a question as to whether or not he could even have the surgery today. What an awesome opportunity to bear witness to God�s never-ending answer to our prayers. Carol asked that we pray and I know that all of you have �prayed without ceasing� as you went about your day. Our God is faithful! Let�s continue to pray for and give God the praise for James�s recovery and continued healing! I�ll post more as soon as I know. ~Stormy A note about the guestbook: It was full! Ididn't know that would happen, but apparently James and Carol have more support than Geocities was prepared for! I've copied all of the messages for James and Carol to keep (at their request) and I've cleared out the Guestbook so that you can continue adding. Carol also told me to add Tucker's prayer. He said "Dear God, Please help James to get better soon and help Carol to not worry." It was so very sweet! It's just a great reminder that God hears all of our prayers. As of now (8:48pm) James is in surgery. I'll post an update as soon as I have one. ~Stormy December 30, 2004 It is 8:00a.m. in China. James' head is shaved; and may I add how cute he looks. He is very apprehensive. I guess someone drilling holes in your head under a local would do that to a guy. He will be in surgery for 1 hour. He then will lay flat on his back an additional 3 hours. I really think that is what he is most concernes him. He still seems week but his ready to go.I have been praying that it is actually God's hands that perform this surgery and that the angels will surround him to make the "flat on his back" easy. We truly and divinely feel the strength of all your prayers. I will call home as soon as he is out of surgery so Stormy can update you quickly. Love you guys!!! Carol December 29, 2004 James' mom took me to the hotel last night. It was like being back in civilization. The hotel is 25 minutes away and it is very difficult to get a taxi in the ghetto, so we can not go back and forth from the hospital often. When we arrived at the hospital, James had started theday with a party of doctors and nurses trying to figure out why he was struggling to breathe. They determined it was not pneumonia. Our biggest obstacle was the language barrier.They were desperately trying to understand the problem and we were desperately trying to tell them. None of the English speaking staff was on duty at the time. They tried to put James on a Bi-pap machine. But those who know James best know what his answer to that was...not no but NO! Does this surprise us? Honestly, the whole thing was very scary. As I was praying that God would help, I asked that He let all those who were praying for James to enter the room with us at that very moment. God knows no distance. I felt a real sense of calm and 15 minutes later James was much better. He was breathing easier and he was much calmer as well. The doctor couldn't quite figure that one out. Praise God!! James is still weak but they feel he will be ready for surgery tomorrow. He will begin at 9:30 a.m.Thurs. our time 7:30 p.m.Wed. your time. So, I guess technically he's having surgery today your time. How's that for confusing. The surgery will last about an hour. They did a cat scan and lung capacity test as well as video taped James so they could record his progress. Keep the prayers going. They are definitely working. The emails and web notes are wonderful. You are truly holding us up. I will try to update the website as soon as we know something. Love, Carol December 28: Okay, poeple! Here's the new story from Carol over the phone to Trey and written up by me (Stormy). James is sick. When James gets a cold he is sicker than most of us are, as you probably already know. Carol stayed at the hotel last night and James's dad stayed with him at the hospital. I think when she arrived this morning James looked pretty rough and she was a little scared. When we talked to her, it had been two hours since she got there and he was already looking much better. At this time it is really important that we pray for James to be over this nasty cold! Specifically, Carol would like us to pray that his breathing gets better. I think they are ready to do the surgery but will wait because he is weak - so he needs to recover and do so quickly! We know that God is capable of all kinds of miracle - including getting rid of yucky colds! Continue to pray for strength and faith for Carol, Ray, and Pat, too. Remember there is a language barrier to contend with and sometimes they just have to have faith that they are communicating well. On a side note, Carol was able to go into what she called "civilization" and get some good food and a good night's sleep at the hotel. I think she was really happy to know she hadn't seen all of China! Tuesday, December 27 James had a few more tests but mainly we waited to hear when we would go to the other hospital for the MRI. By noon we realized it would not be today. We did meet Dr Huang, the doctor who will perform the surgery. He was a man of few words. He told us the surgery would be soon. We are so encouraged by other patients. I met a lady tonight from Russia who has not been able to talk for a year. While her voice was weak I understood everything she said. The patient support system is very good. We are meeting people from all over the world looking for the same miracle we seek. Ray and I went to SAM'S today. It said SAM'S Wholesale on the outside, but I didn't recognize anything on the inside. I did find a package of OREO cookies. I recognized the blue package not the writing. Totally disappointed, I asked the driver if he knew where the Pizza Hut was. Yes! He tells me. An hour later we arrived at the Pizza Hut. It looked like a Pizza Hut on the outside, but I had a hard time figuring out the menu. I went through two pages and found the American special. When it came out it was a pepperoni pizza. I don't think pizza ever tasted so good. James has a nagging cough. He's worried it's a cold. Please pray it away!! Carol December 25-26 we were so surprised by the group that gathered at the airport at 5:15 a.m. to tell us goodbye and pray with us. It was the perfect Christmas morning; one I will never forget. It was also awesome to answer one of the airport workers when she asked, "Is that your family?" I said, "Yes, it's my church family." She was amazed. As most of you know I am very afraid to fly. I did really well and I did not even use any drugs! I am sure it was all the prayer. I will also have to say, having never flown first class in my life, that all the attention shown by the flight attendant certainly didn't hurt anything. James was comfortable for the most part. I had a difficult time hearing him over the engine noise. The frustration level of not being able to communicate was high. When we arrived in China everyone was very helpful. Sometimes they were a bit too helpful. I was afraid they would hurt James. It was about 20 degrees when we arrived. The hospital looks like something right out of an old WWII movie; long dark hallways, small very stark rooms. I could use some Tiffany art.The bathroom is...hmmm...well I guess I am glad it's not outside.The toilet paper thing is an issue. I am glad I brought my own for all those who gave me a hard time about packing toilet paper.The food is...hmmm...not what I am used to. We did find a Diet Coke and Ray is here so there are plenty of snacks he brought from home. I think he dedicated one whole suitcase to snacks and water.Thank God!! James had a lot of tests the first day. The language barrier is an issue. Giving a medical history was interesting to say the least. I pointed a lot and demonstrated his condition. I think they understood for the most part.We are really have to rely on faith because they come and get him and we aren't always sure what they are going to do until we would get there. Everything is very clean and they are desperately trying to make James as comfortable as possible so we are not afraid.They did have an interpreter tell us we were going to another hospital for a sophisticated MRI.It will take about 4 hours to get there, do the test, and come back.It will be nice to get out and see things. That's all for now except...I NEED FREEBIRDS! |
| Old Updates - December 25th thru Jan 1st |
Jan 1,2005 2:00 p.m James is feeling some better. He is still congested. It makes him very anxious at times. He says his neck feels better, maybe not quite so heavy. He wants to sit up more and they won't let him. He still has oxygen, the monitors and an IV. They took the IV out last night and he thought he was done but they just wanted to change the site. Can you see his face when they came back in with the needle? No needless system here. For those who know me well, I am very proud. I rode in a cab by myself for the first time. It was scary but I survived. I also ate in a restaurant alone for the first time. I have never even eaten alone at Taco Bell . Is that sad or what? But I always think the joy of eating is to be shared. That and when I used to wait tables, I always felt sorry for those who ate alone. It never occurred to me that some people like to eat alone until much later in life. I think I am going to gather people to pray tomorrow. I think it would help everyone. I saw a scripture today that really hit home. Jesus said, Truly I tell you, there is no one who has given up and left their house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for My sake and for the Gospel's who will not receive a hundred times as much now in this time(Mark 10 29,30). I figure I better get busy and plant some seeds. I am all about being blessed a hundred times more. Hope everyone has a great NEW YEAR' DAY!!! Jan 1 2005 2:00 a.m. HAPPY NEW YEAR from China!!!! James is heart rate is down to between 96 and 102. It is much better. And from the movie Pretty Woman "He sleeps." We didn't go to the party because he still wasn't up to it. Pat and Ray brought back some pizza. He finally ate. I guess he's missing western civilization too. We are so loving the email and the messages.I had this wonderful feeling of being hugged just now as I read them. Just for the record, James hasn't sung Elvira at the top of his lungs for years. He added new songs to sing at the top of his lungs like "Just a Swingin' " and "Don't Worry Be Happy". Ha! Thanks Slavins for the memory! I will try to post more as the day progresses. Happy New Year's Eve It is about 2:35 in the afternoon December 31st here. The patients and doctors have put together a New Year's Eve party for tonight. Pizza and Champagne, possibly some cheese and crackers to eat. What a deal, my stomach will celebrate. I hope James is up to going. James' day has been rough at times paricularly this morning. He was having a tough time with congestion and they were having to suction him a lot; not fun! His heart rate is not where they want it and he labors to breathe. Unbelievably though, his eyes are just bright as they can be,the twinkle is just as strong as ever. His feet look the best they have looked in monthes. The doctor is perplexed he said his blood work was very bad yesterday and very very good today. He's going to take another test tomorrow because he doesn't believe it. I believe it, the prayer warriors are strong.They also sent all the interns in to see how much better James' feet were today. They are having a hard time with believing that one too. My family sent a care package today that should arrive in few days with food especially for James to eat. I heard there were pop tarts and Tiffany art work to brighten the room. I think if James would eat more that would help him tremendously. For now though, they have him an amino acid IV,a Vit C IV and some IV antibiotics.They had to but the IV line in his ankle. It has made him somewhat immobile hense the anxiety.We did communicate better with the doctors today so I know more. The other patients and their families are extremely supportive.There are 15 patients in our wing 12 are strickened with ALS. They are from all over the world. All of them can speak English. In fact, most of them speak 3 or 4 languages. I feel a little stuck up only knowing English. My little bit of French and Spanish don't go far.Send a prayer up for all of them too. I hope you all have a safe and fun evening!! Let 2005 be the year of hopes, dreams and miracles for us all. To all those I have traditionally spent NEW YEAR"S EVE with here's my Hug and Kiss for you. O X I will miss you. Have some black eyed peas for me, I kinda doubt we will have some here. It is truly great hearing from all of you!! Love, Carol |
| January 1st, 9:45pm: I�ll let you know before you read on that this one is from Stormy. Tonight many of us in the family had a chance to talk to Carol on the phone and wish her and James a Happy New Year. She said she is going to try to get an update done sometime, but I told her I would post something until she could get to it. What she doesn�t know is what I�m going to say (insert evil laughter here � HA!).
Stoic. That�s how I describe Carol and James over the last week. Hard to believe it�s only been a week, right? In the last week James has traveled to China (HELLO!) fought a cold, managed a racing heart, fended off a foot infection, and�something else�hmmm�oh, yeah � had surgery on his head! WOW! When I list it all out it is overwhelming. Now I ask you to think about all of those things and how trying and tiring they sound. It�s only been a week. The reason I bring this to your attention is because I want you to know that James is physically weak. Not sick, not �not doing well� � just weak. I�d be weak, too, and so would you. The problem is that Carol and James did not plan on most of these little �events� for their trip. They have bigger plans. I am asking you to remember to pray for their physical strength. Most of all, I ask you to pray that the ghost of weariness does not sneak up on them. Pray that their souls feel rested. Pray that their spirits are renewed not only every morning, but every minute. Stoic, remember? For those of you that like to read between the lines there are no messages here. Carol sounds fine. She sounds hopeful and full of faith and it is genuine. Carol and James knew that they were taking a message of God�s power and healing across the world, that they had an incredible witness to deliver. God took that and he made it more. Look back at the list of what�s gone on the last week. How amazing it must be for every doctor and nurse and patient to see God�s unfailing power and faithfulness through James and Carol. Okay, that�s all of my (somewhat ranting) update. I guess this is what English teachers do when they don�t have students for a couple of weeks! Hopefully Carol will have time to add another update soon. In the interim, pray specifically for James to feel physically stronger and continue to praise God for giving us people like James and Carol! |