Hello world,
Hope everyone back home has had a happy thanksgiving. I have a great story of my Thanksgiving day to add to the list of why we should give thanks in all circumstances, and how God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him, and for His purpose. Many of our friends and supporters are aware of the difficulties we have experienced with our daughter Rebecca’s allergies (4 reactions in 3 weeks). I have been able to recognize her reactions quickly now, and we have some prednisone (even IV) on hand for emergencies. Wednesday night I received a phone call that a friend and collegue of ours was having an allergic reaction, and was out in the bush (No car, no cell phone signal, no medical help). A friend of hers had climed a nearby mountain to get a signal and make the call. As the mission team knows of my nursing background, they asked if I would come along to offer any assistance. The problem was that our friend was 4-5 hours into the bush, and we had to cross a large river by tow-barge to get there. The tow-barge only opens at 7:00 am, and so our collegue would have to wait while we made our way across. So we left our home at 3:30 am, and arrived at the river at 6:30 am. Would you believe that the tow-barge workers were already there, but would not let us cross early, even though we told them we had a friend with a medical emergency! After waiting until 7:00 am (that 1/2 hour wait was maddening), we were the 1st to cross and finally arrived at the hut of our collegue at 8:45 am. She was weak, but able to tell us that her heart rate had been up to 180 for 4 hours during the night. As we arrived, her heart rate was still in the 130’s, she had a rash, and was exhausted. I gave a dose of IV prednisone and some oral benadryl, we placed her in the truck, and headed home. After 15-20 minutes her heart rate was in the 80’s and the rash was less severe. As we arrived home we stopped at some local pharmacies to replace the meds, and none had the IV prednisone. In fact, they hadn’t had it for more than a week. Rebecca last had an allergic reaction about 10 days ago, and that is when we bought the IV meds. If we had waited a few more days, we would not have been able to purchase them at all. We never wish to see our daughter sick, but we are glad that through her reactions, we were prepared to help others. We are very thankful for God’s provision in many different ways, even if we sometimes don’t like or want it. May you have a blessed Thanksgiving holiday.