November 06, 2011

a note from Daniel


Daniel emailed this note to our friends in our city, and I thought it was such GOOD news and so much more level-headed and first-hand than what I've been reporting, that I wanted to post it on the blog.

Hey Guys,

I’m just now getting to email so I wanted to update you on what’s happening and to say thanks to each one of you for helping out my family – really, I’m not sure if we could do this without the support you guys have given.

I’ll try to make it short – 2 things can happen when you’ve got a swollen lymph node on your intestine, the first is what happened last year, the second is what’s happening now.  I don’t know the name of the condition but it sounds like a city in Lord of the Rings.  Basically, he’s been really uncomfortable, and barely able to poop.  So uncomfortable that his appetite has been very low, which means he’s been getting almost no liquids from foods and has gotten dehydrated.  That’s why he’s had pain during urination and very little actual fluid – something which had initially concerned us a great deal. 

Now, he’s been on fluids since we’ve gotten here and he’s peeing a lot, he’s pooped twice and each one has happened with less pain.  The docs say from his stool samples and blood work that he probably got a viral infection in his intestine from something (i.e. China) and that’s what caused the node to swell up.  If the node will go down on his own as his body fights the infection, then he’ll get more comfortable and will not need surgery.  If they do not continue to go down, then they will re-evaluate.  This morning was a real low point in his overall state, but from about 11am until bedtime tonight he continually improved though still having some pain.

Hopefully tomorrow he will be even better – if that’s the case, then you could expect us back sometime in the middle of the week.  If he continues to have pain, and they re-run the ultrasound to find the node is still swollen, then I’m not sure what will happen.

Thanks again for your prayers!

Daniel