Update on Beth

Beth loves butterflies so I thought I would put some on display here. Many of you have asked what her status is so I will attempt to update you thoroughly. I have waited a little bit so that I could have some remarks from her most recent appointment. She met with the neurosurgeon. He does not feel that all of her symptoms can be attributed to Arnold-Chairi Type One. He ordered 2 MRIs. The first she has already had done & the second will take place on the 30th. It will show if there is obstruction of the cerebral spinal fluid. The only way she would be a candidate for surgery is if there is obstruction of some kind. If there is no obstruction, there will be no surgery & she will just have to manage her symptoms (say it with me people, complete misery!). This week she saw a neurologist at IU. He seemed to be very interested in her because her symptoms read like the complaints of a 70 year old person who has had diabetes for decades not a presumably healthy 32 year old. He performed the regular in-office tests for reflexes & strength which she passed easily. He also does not think that the Arnold-Chairi is responsible for all of her symptoms. All of her complaints involve peripheral nerves (except for the tongue weakness) rather than central nerves. So he ordered lab work. Beth has had lots of blood draws since this all started but this dude ordered much different tests - from the order sheet it looked like he ordered some way out of the ordinary stuff. He wants to test for autoimmune disorders that attack the nerves (both my mom & her sister have Lupus, an autoimmune disease) & who knows what all else. He was very reassuring in letting Beth know that he does not think she will have any dramatic loss of function or onset of pain. This booger is a progressive thing & shouldn't land her in any kind of emergency situation. However, he did tell her if certain things happened that we should bring her to the E.R. at I.U. & contact him so that he could come evaluate the situation. This is a relief because no other doctor would offer that assurance. She has a follow-up appointment with him in six weeks - once again, nobody is in a hurry but us. *sigh*

So, how is Beth today? I spoke to her on the phone a little while ago & she is really feeling weak. Even though the doctors have not restricted any activities, she hasn't driven in several weeks because of this persistent weakness. Their home is out in the country, about 15 miles from my parents home, & she doesn't feel capable of making the distance. She is sad, in pain, fighting anxiety, & feeling like a burden. Please pray for her spirit & soul as much as you pray for her body. She is making a valiant effort to trust the Lord in all of this. She has dug deep into His Word & posted promises that are a blessing to us all throughout her home. Please also pray that we can all rally around her family & help her husband as well. My parents are all trying to juggle full-time jobs with many responsibilities as well as do what we can to be there for them.

That's the status of things in a nutshell. God has been very good to us this far. We're just waiting, praying, & praising Him for all He has taught up to this point about His grace, His peace, & His sustaining strength. We also are so grateful for the people who love Him, who have helped so much. Our church family & friends have really gathered round & been so warm & loving to our family - God bless you all! Thank you so much for your continued prayers on Beth's behalf.

Praying For Beth

This is my lovely sister, Beth with her daughter Madison. Just over a month ago my family & I were enjoying home made ice cream after Sunday night church. Now we are spending much of our waking hours caring for Beth & praying for her. They suspect that she has Arnold-Chairi Type I. It's a condition where the lower tonsilular lobes of the cerebellum descend from the skull into the spinal space. It can pinch off the circulation of cerebral spinal fluid. Beth had a terrible episode of sickness 15 months ago that they diagnosed as a viral neuropathy. It's uncommon in a woman her age & who enjoys good health but the burning pain in her arms & legs could not be explained any other way at that point. She got better but has struggled off & on since then with terrible pain & numbness. They have explored fibromyalgia, lupus (prevalent in our family), and even Lyme's Disease. Last week our family doctor did some review of MRI results, etc. & discovered what he feels is an overlooked case of the Arnold-Chairi. In the meantime, Beth has suffered a terrible flare up of numbness, pain, & muscle weakness. She has lost some of her ability to swallow so she is barely eating soft foods. She was successfully referred to a well-known neurosurgeon in Indianapolis (one of my co-workers has has been his patient 3 times). That appointment is early Wednesday morning. It's been a tremendously long wait for this appointment (7 days down 2 to go!). Please pray for Beth. Pray for her peace of mind. Pray for the Lord's continued direction in testing & treatment. Pray for us as her family to be the right kind of support for her. Pray for her children (8 year old son & 5 year old daughter). There has been a network of tremendously loving people from our church who have really "circled the wagons" & we're so grateful. I personally am praying for a miracle. Each night before I go to sleep I ask our powerful God to erase the whole problem before Beth awakes the next morning. If He chooses to do it, I will praise Him; if He chooses not to do it, I will praise Him.

And so we wait on the Lord. He never disappoints.

Wait on the LORD: be of good courage,

and he shall strengthen thine heart:

wait, I say, on the LORD.

Psalm 27:14

Of All Things...

Mike has been working a crazy evening shift & the last couple of Friday nights I have gone to meet him for his "lunch" hour at 9:30. Tonight on my way home I was stopped at a busy intersection waiting to right turn on red. There was a lady crossing the street in front of me & as I was checking traffic an older gentleman in a burgundy sedan turned left & hit the pedestrian. It was a horrible sight to see her go up in the air, her sandals flew off, & then she hit the ground. I was completely stunned. I hollered out my window to her to ask her if she was OK & she insisted she was. She got up & limped over to sit on the curb of a Starbucks parking lot. Several teenagers in a pick up truck in the lane next to me heckled her, yelling at her to get out of the way. The old man drove away & not a single other person paused to see if she was all right or call the police or anything. I dialed 911 & spoke to the dispatcher. He was completely unimpressed with my lack of information. No, I did not have the license number of the man - I never saw the back of his car. No, I don't know if she was drunk - I don't drink; I've never been around a drunk person so how do I know how they act? I was trying to get my car over to where she was & talk to the dispatcher at the same time. Remember this is on a really busy corner. The lady was back out in the intersection, slowly limping around trying to gather her sandals. I just simply could not believe that no one else was concerned about what had happened. Not only had she been hit by a car, but the driver left the accident! Am I the only person who thinks that is a big deal? By the time I got my car over to her side of the street she had gotten up & was walking down the road. I told the dispatcher & he said he would send a car out to look for her. I'm still stunned & sickened. God forgive me if I can ever witness a scene like that & just keep going on my own way without any regard for other people. Maybe I'm being dramatic; maybe she was just fine. I don't see how that would be possible, but maybe. I feel like maybe I should have done something else like follow her down the street. I pray she is OK & that the old man doesn't EVER get behind the wheel again.

Thomas W. Bailey
Thomas W. Bailey, 88, of Terre Haute died at 2:15 a.m. Tuesday, May 20, 2008, at Meadows Manor North. He was born in Arkansas on Aug. 7, 1919, to Henry F. Bailey and Mary E. Sluder Bailey. He retired from the former Quaker Maid where he worked in the shipping department. His wife, Rosalie Johnson Bailey, preceded him in death on May 8, 2005. He is survived by two sons, Thomas L. Bailey and wife Becky of Rosedale, and Steven R. Bailey and wife Kathy of Texas; a brother, Earl S. Bailey of Arkansas; his grandchildren, Robin Rice and husband Scott, Birch Bailey, Betsy Leslie and husband Dan, Ryan Bailey, Brian Bailey, and Michael Bailey; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by brothers, Charles, Emery, Elmer and Lester Bailey; and sisters, Gladys Johnson and Zelphy Foster. He was a Navy veteran of World War II, serving in the Southwest Pacific Theatre with the Seabees. His memberships included Terre Haute First Church of the Nazarene, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 972, and he was a former member of Southside Evening Optimist Club. Funeral services are 11 a.m. Saturday at DeBaun Springhill Chapel, 85 E. Springhill Drive, with the Rev. Ryan Bailey, a grandson, officiating. Burial will be at Westlawn Cemetery in Farmersburg, with VFW Post 972 conducting military rites. Visitation is 4 to 8 p.m. Friday.

This is my darling great Uncle Wayne. He went to be with the Lord this week. Although it makes me sad to know that I won't hear his happy voice call me Baby Doll anymore, I am rejoicing in the fact that his days spent in the misery of ill health are over. Uncle Wayne always told the most hilarious stories from his childhood. He hated going to school in the one room schoolhouse in Arkansas, so he would get up very early & go skunk hunting. Once he got himself a fat skunk, he would generously apply skunk fat to the steam radiators in the building. You can imagine the odiferousness of the school building once those radiators started heating up. Yep, school would get called off & he couldn't have been a happier boy! He was married to my Aunt Rosalie for more years than I even know. Even though she passed away several years ago, he still referred to her as his 'Sweetheart.' They used to have a great house in the country with a huge garden & a deep, skinny finger of a lake behind their home. That's where I took my first swim in natural water rather than pool water. I was about three years old & I just jumped right off the dock. I think I about gave my parents a heart attack, but I (vaguely) remember enjoying myself, splashing around in that green, slimy water. I spent the rest of the afternoon wrapped up in a bath towel while Aunt Rosalie washed my clothes.

Since last Memorial Day I have lost two uncles. As we go about our holiday activities they won't be there. That reality makes me sad, but knowing that they are in heaven in the presence of our Lord more than soothes my soul. Thank God they are no longer suffering. Thank God they are forgiven through Christ & enjoying the benefits of being joint heirs with Him. Thank God for my wonderful family.

Like A Good Neighbor...

I have had State Farm insurance ever since I became a driver. It has been a fairly friendly relationship & they also cover several other policies for me. Recently I received a statement that let me know what my car insurance premium would be for the next six months. They had incorporated all of the changes to my policy from moving and adding homeowner's insurance, etc. The very next day I received a check from State Farm for over $400! I was a little confused. So today I called & asked my super nice agent to check it out for me. I was worried that my homeowner's payment had gotten applied to the wrong policy or something crazy like that. He did some digging around & discovered that the corporate people are doing a huge audit to determine that all policyholders have received the discounts they are eligible for. It appears that I was gypped the multi-car discount for two years while I was living with my parents. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT??? What a blessing - to get a whopping check like that out of the blue & then to find out that I get to keep it!!! Jehovah Jireh. Sometimes I feel like the Lord is just loving on me more than I can stand. And I'm so convicted because I don't deserve one bit of it.

My Momma

This is my Momma. She is a very smart lady & she has accomplished many wonderful things in her lifetime - raising 3 kids, grandmothering 4 grandkids, taking care of my dad, reaching high goals with her career & education...you get the idea. Very intelligent, my mom (& I think she's really pretty, too!). So I just had to tell you about a blonde moment she had last night on the way home from church. We have to cross a river to get from there to here so it's kind of like countryside, river-y bottoms type of area that we drive through. Last night we're driving along & I commented that I could see a deer. My intelligent Momma's response, "A real one?" Ummm...yeah.
Love you, Mom!

I know, I know...

the promised updates are slow in coming, aren't they? I have now gotten all the pics loaded onto the computer so maybe I can make a little more progress now. Just to keep you baited, I plan to fill you in on my house progress, I have some great pics from Easter & the kid's egg hunt at Great Pa & Great Ma's house, Madison's birthday, & Aidan's birthday. The fun is just beginning! Oh, & one thing I forgot to tell you about the Race - I'm an official die hard runner because I lost a toe nail! I know that's gross but it's a rite of passage for runners (or so I'm told; really I'm just kinda worried about sandal season!). But as the t-shirt says, "toe nails are for wimps!"