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!
