RobBushway.com

“It is said that in some countries trees will grow, but will bear no fruit because there is no winter there.” John Bunyan

(via Drew Lints)

Friends:

After two weeks in Rochester, we are finally coming home on Friday, December 2.

Thankfully, all of the tests the Mayo Clinic doctors have run have ruled out a life-threatening illness . We are extremely thankful for that news! The best the doctors are able to determine at this moment is that the major issues Kathi had over the summer and fall seemed to originate from an allergic reaction that went systemic, then got worse due to rebound effects from an increasing dosage of steroids to treat the original problem. The steroid treatments then caused their own set of problems and nasty side-effects.

Because Kathi is still weaning from steroids, the doctors are not able to determine the foundational root issues. They want her to continue to wean off the steroids and see if the original problems return once the steroids are gone. If they do return, then we’ll do more testing at that time.

The plan right now is to get Kathi back to full health and recover from the past six months. Her health has generally improved the past two weeks, but she still has a long ways to go.

I can’t thank our friends enough for your prayers, caring, support, and encouragement these past months. We have been loved in some immense ways. We are not sure where these next months will take us, but we do know that the Lord loves us deeply and He has used His people to care for us. A special thank you to Kathi’s friends that have loved and cared for her these past few months, and to Anna Counts for loving and caring for our children while we have been away. Many of our friends have come alongside our kids while we’ve been gone and we are so thankful for you.

Rob and Kathi

Friday culminated a long week of tests, juggling to fit in work-in appointments,  three straight days of fasting blood work, electromagnetic nerve tests, and more. Today we are enjoying a down day of just sitting around the hotel lobby, my catching up on some work, and enjoying football.

Next week will bring three MRI tests, an endocrinology consult, a hematology consult, a vasculitis consult, and hopefully some initial diagnosis consults on tuesday / Wednesday. So far, the doctors are keeping their initial thoughts close to their vest.

We are anticipating having to return sometime in January when Kathi is totally off her steroid load.

Today has been awesome. Kathi’s CardioVascual disease doctor has taken the reigns on Kathi’s health issues and has ordered a slew of more tests and consultations. It was the most in-sync appointment we’ve had yet. The doctor was able to see things happen during our visit that we’ve only been able to verbally explain before and she asked all the right questions to pull stuff out.

We do our Occupy Neurology movement on Wednesday at 7 am, and then do the same with Hematology, Vasculitis, and Endocrinology on Friday and into next week. As of right now, we probably will not be home until next weekend, Dec 3. We are so thankful for Anna Counts loving our kids and caring for them.

Thank you for praying.

We had a great day at Mayo today. Dermatology went extremely well, finally getting Kathi some help on all the allergic issues that have been at the foundation of this past summer. Lots of medicine changes to deal with what will likely be an on / off again set of challenges for the foreseeable future. Thankfully, the systemic mastocytosis has been completely ruled out. We have a CardioVasucular Disease appointment on Tuesday, then a very important Neurology appt on Wednesday. Pray for that Neurology appt – they have no openings until early December, but we’ve been told to camp out there anyway. So, Kathi and I are planning an Occupy Neurology movement beginning at 7 am on Wednesday for a non-violent demonstration

Today was a long but good day at the Mayo Clinic. Kathi had a busy day of consultations and tests; and the schedule is set for next week: Monday through Wednesday calls for some cardiovascular workups, blood tests, dermatology, and more. We’ll then regroup on Wednesday afternoon to see what has been learned from these tests, and then determine next steps.  The plan for the weekend is to rest, explore Rochester a bit and maybe catch a movie. Thank you for praying.

Over the past six months, my wife Kathi has been very ill.  Her doctors have a few clues as to the root problems, but they and we determined that she now needs to be seen by a team of specialists at the Mayo Clinic. We began that process over a month ago, and will be arriving in Rochester on Thursday, November 17th, for tests over the next four to seven business days.

This has been a very long six months for Kathi. She’s lost a lot of hair, weight, and has been on a boat-load of medicines to treat her symptoms. She is very tired and her body is weak.

Our church (Village Seven Presbyterian) and other friends have been amazing. Some of Kathi’s friends have been coming by every day for the past three to four weeks to sit with her, talk, read, and just serve us. Meals show up unexpectedly, as well as friends at midnight when an unexpected emergency found us in the ER. While Kathi and I are away, a dear soul is staying at our home and watching our children. My son’s principal and teachers seek him out to pray and encourage him. Friends dropped by this week to give us gift cards and money for our trip and expenses. Men email, call, and text me throughout the past weeks just to check on me. I dare say, I think we must be one of the most well-loved families around. Our church gets the Gospel. They live it out by loving others.

I’ll be posting here over the next five to ten days while we traverse the Mayo Clinic in hopes of finding Kathi some help. Please pray for wisdom as we navigate those waters and for the doctors and nurses we come into contact with. At this particular moment, my prayer for Kathi is that God heal her weak body – simply because she is a daughter of the King.

I’ll close with this thought from R.C. Sproul Jr.

“No place I’d rather be than beside my wife when she is frightened and in need. I suspect Jesus feels the same about His bride.”