What to Do

Life has been a blur these past two seasons. It’s almost November?! What happened to summer?!...

Well, we are at a point that we hoped would never come to with Michael’s Crohn’s Disease: surgery.

After having two successful Remicade infusions between September and now, Michael and I felt relief that something was finally working in treating his flare-ups. About a week and a half ago he began having a flare-up- this time the worst pain he’d ever had. Six days later was his scheduled Remicade infusion. Michael came home feeling much better, but by evening he was already sick again. The flare-up resulted in a trip to the ER, where Michael was given a LOT of steroids {to stop the spasms}, pain meds {equivalent to morphine} and fluids. An x-ray was done to make sure that there were no perforations. Michael’s Doc bumped his prednisone back up again in order to stabilize him and spoke frankly about what to expect if the Remicade stopped working. He hoped that the heavy dose of steroid along with another Remicade treatment would kick the disease into remission, but if it didn’t, we were going to be facing surgery.

Yesterday, 4 days following last week’s treatment, Michael had another Remicade treatment. His GI Doctor spent quite a bit of time talking with Michael about his concerns and Michael was able to ask questions. Lots of them. Again, Michael felt some relief from his symptoms for a few hours, but was sick by evening. Today he has been feeling ok {although not symptom free}, which is an encouraging step for us.

Next Monday Michael has another appointment with his GI specialist. If he continues to have a flare-up through this week, most likely the dr. will be recommending surgery to be performed. And sooner rather than later, seeing that his health continues to decline and his weight is steadily dropping.
So this week is crucial. We need your prayers more than ever before. Surgery would be difficult, to say the least. We have talked about many, many issues concerning the risk of surgery since we have to, but for now I’d rather not get into the details of it. There are too many probabilities and unknowns.

Over the course of Michael’s diagnosis, both of us have spent significant time researching every aspect of this disease. Whether on the computer, reading books & articles, speaking to others who have Crohn’s, seeking nutritional guidance and professional medical opinions…and we’ve always said that if it came to the point of needing surgery that we would seek a second opinion {as the surgery that Michael’s doctor wants to perform would be life-altering and irreversible}. So this week we have been searching out other options. We want to know if there is a medical center or a GI Specialist that specifically is really well known for his expertise {and we do trust our dr., but with the type of surgery that is being discussed, it is really important for us to know that we are making an informed decision and not rushing into something that could possibly be avoided}. We would be willing to fly to the moon if need be.

So that is where we are right now. A lot hinges on how Michael does this week. Pray that he improves.

Our family has been through significant life-threatening trials over the past few months. God knew all of this would happen, and He has given grace. Both of us have learned more about our own hearts in light of who God is, and what we’ve seen in ourselves hasn’t been pretty. In that way, we have been brought to a place that we have never been brought to before. He has broken us. And we do not want to resist. We may never know WHY these things happened, but we will be able to look back and remember what God taught us through it and how God showed Himself mightily in countless ways. We are in “survival mode”- just hanging on and trusting God. Michael and I have had to talk about things that I never thought we’d have to talk about until we were old and gray headed. We’ve been tested on all fronts. There have been many tears and hugs, and hurts and pains…all while caring for three precious little ones that cannot comprehend what is happening around them. Many times, those three little boogers have kept me going…there is not much time to sit around and sulk when you have two active toddlers, an infant and a sick husband to care for. But I can honestly say that we have had the sweetest times amidst this storm…and that our love for each other and for our Savior has grown so much sweeter and deeper. For that we are thankful.

And we have so much more to be thankful for. Our praying friends and family- phone calls, emails,visits & notes. Our church family- who has shown sacrificial love and compassion to us with such a joyful & willing spirit. Our pastor and our counselors- who have sat with us and listened, prayed, cried with us and reminded us about our loving God. We’ve been overwhelmed with blessings we’ve received from others and have difficulty expressing our sincere gratitude. Our hearts are full.

Keep praying, friends. Pray.