Update and Prayer Requests for Ruthie

Posted on May 21, 2011 by Joel & Kim

Sorry for delays in posting since we arrived in Indiana.  We have been pretty busy, although that is not an excuse.

Yesterday (Friday), Ruthie was moved to the rehab unit at Elkhart hospital.  Here she will be receiving intense therapy with physical, occupational and speech.  The primary therapy that she needs is SPEECH therapy.  This therapy will teach her muscles in her throat how to swallow.  The speech therapists will help with this.  At this point, she is swallowing minimally and continues to have the feeding tube in her nose where she receives continuous feeding.

She seems in better spirits these last 2 days.  Of course she wishes and wants so bad to be home.  However, she knows she has to work hard to help her get home.  Today (Saturday), Joel, Simeon and myself were able to take her outside to enjoy a beautiful day.  We were out for about 20 minutes.  I think this helped some since she LOVES outside so much.  I (Kim), have been able to try and keep up with feeding her bluebirds here at her house as well as checking all of the nests to see if there are baby birds in them.  Of course I am updating her which she loves!  I have been enjoying Spring in Indiana with the lilacs and lilies of the valley as well as all kinds of nesting birds around the Delp house.  It is has been a blessing.  Simeon has enjoyed getting to know his cousins better!  He is having a lot of fun with them!

Please continue to pray for rapid healing.  Pray that the bone graft that they did to her spinal cord will “take” so there is no residual damage.  Also please pray for rehab starting Monday.  That she will not be discouraged, but will continue to press on.  She is scared that not being able to swallow well is permanent.  There is not evidence of this, but please continue to pray for healing of her swallowing.

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In Goshen, IN

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Joel & Kim

Grandma Delp and Simeon

We made it to Goshen, IN late last night (around 10:45 p.m.) after leaving around 4:00 a.m. in the morning from Quito. Safe to say it was a long day. Thankfully, the hospital staff was nice enough to allow us to have a short visit with Ruthie after visiting hours had ended.

Ruthie is still experiencing quite a bit of pain and discomfort but in all of reality she is doing as well as could be expected at this point. We are taking it a day at a time as we see a little bit of progress every day. It is really good to be here for both Ruth and Earl at this time to be able to support and help them. Your continued prayers are very, very much appreciated!!

 

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Update on Ruthie and More Information

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Joel & Kim

First to all, to update you on Ruthie for today: things seem to be going better.  She is still undergoing a significant amount of pain and discomfort but that is to be expected still.  The big thing for today was they were able to insert a feeding tube through her nose so she can now receive a better quantity and qualtity of nutrients.  Before she was just receiving nutrients through an iv which doesn’t provide a high quality of nutrients and calories.  The feeding tube will help her in regaining her strength and quicker healing.  They had tried to insert it last night but were not able.  Thankfully they were able to today.  Unfortunately, all of this was very painful for Ruthie.  Your prayers for her continued quick recovery and minimal pain and discomfort are greatly, greatly appreciated.

We also wanted to explain a little about Ruthie’s situation.  We have received some questions and realized that we never spoke much about these.  First of all, Ruthie’s tumor that was removed was malignant, but it’s not a form of cancer that is very agressive, nor does it matastasize.  For these reasons, radiation or chemotherapy are not necessary.  This type of tumor is called a chordoma and you can read more about it here: http://www.chordomafoundation.org/chordoma/.  Unfortunately, the likelihood that it will come back is very high.  Fortunately, since she had it removed through surgery, this is the best way to prevent is recurrence.

We will be flying out for Chicago early tomorrow morning and we’ll be getting a ride from Chicago to Goshen, IN to be with Joel’s family.  Your prayers for safety in travel are also very much appreciated.

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Visit from the Carter’s

Posted on May 14, 2011 by Joel & Kim

Kim’s parents visited us last week and we were able to go and see some of the sites around Ecuador.  We went to the Center of Quito to learn more history, Mindo, Santo Domingo and then just hung out in our neighborhood.  It was a fun time to be able to share a little piece of our home with family.  Hopefully then enjoyed it too!  Enjoy the pics! (Sorry they are so spaced out!)

A future preacher in the works - he's starting with the pigeons - they make for a good audience when you have seed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All of us at at a great restaurant with an appropriate name "Vista Hermosa" ("Beautiful View")

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simeon climbing up the Basilica (with maybe a little help from daddy)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kim and her dad at the top of the Basilica

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grandpa and Simeon after coffee at the Basilica

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simeon at the butterfly park in Mindo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simeon 'relaxing' in the hammock in Santo Domingo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grandma and Grandpa Carter in Santo Domingo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grandma and Simeon

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Update on Ruthie-May 14

Posted on May 14, 2011 by Joel & Kim

Updates today from the hospital seem very positive.  Ruthie had the ventilator and breathing tube removed this morning.  It was pretty painful and she feels like she has a lot to cough up, but it’s OUT!  PRAISE THE LORD!

Joel was able to talk to her on the phone.  She didn’t talk, but he was able to say we and MANY people are praying for her and that we are looking forward to seeing her soon.

She will probably be transferred to a step-down unit tomorrow, but today and tonight she will remain in Intensive Care.

At this point, please pray that the pain can be minimal and that she will be comfortable, she seems pretty uncomfortable at this time.

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Update on Ruthie

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Joel & Kim

Just got a call from Earl (Joel’s dad) who said he just went to see her.  They were able to go in for a brief time last night which was very difficult for everyone.  She appeared to be uncomfortable and was very swollen.  However, Earl said today that she appeared very comfortable!  She is sedated, but is able to respond appropriately.  The doctor was in to see her this AM and said that the risks of residual effects we were worried about are pretty much not a problem.  Earl said she was moving all her extremities and responded appropriately. She also was evaluated and they thought the breathing tube would be able to come out in possibly 8 hours!   PRAISE THE LORD! We are so thankful for these developments.  Please continue to pray for peace and rest for Ruthie and for no pain.

We will continue to keep you updated, thanks for your prayers!

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Update on Ruthie

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Joel & Kim

We just got a call from Shana again at a little after 7:30PM our time that said Ruthie was out of surgery.  They talked with the surgeon and he said that the tumor had grown deep into the vertebrae which he knew, but it was also wrapped around the spinal cord, which he did not expect.  He felt confident he got all of the tumor!  He did a bone graft because he took a lot of the vertebrae which the tumor had grown into.  Because of this, he had to take some bone from her hip, which will also be a recovery in itself.  At this point, she is wearing a ‘cage’.  It is basically a metal contraption to keep her head from moving since so much bone was removed.  The family was waiting to see her and will call if they are able to.  Not sure at this point if there is any damage done as far as speech, mentation etc…this we will not know until she wakes up a bit.  We are hoping they keep her heavily sedated so she does not feel any pain at this point.  Please continue to pray for safety and protection from injury during these next couple of days.  Pray for rest, peace and limited pain if she does wake up in the next couple of days.  The doctor’s will probably try to wake her up to check her mental status.  Pray for strength for Earl and the rest of the family.

We will continue to keep you updated.  Thank you for your prayers!

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Update on Ruthie

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Joel & Kim

We just got an update from Shana (Joel’s sister).  First of all, they didn’t get her in to surgery until about 11:45 our time (12:45 Goshen time).  This is about 2 hours late.  Please pray for the surgeon that he will have strength and continued stamina through the long surgery.

The most recent update is that they just now got to her vertebrae.  It took almost 2 hours to get to this area and haven’t even started with the tumor yet.  Please pray for wisdom and direction of the surgeon’s hands as he starts removing the tumor.

 

We will update you when we know more.

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Immediate Prayer Request and Travel Plans

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Joel & Kim
We are writing to let you all know of an immediate prayer request. Ruthie, Joel’s mom, will be having surgery tomorrow at 10:15 a.m. EST to remove a malignant tumor that is on her third vertebrae of her spinal cord. The tumor is called a chordoma and is a rather rare form that has more than likely been growing in the back of her neck since she was an infant. Recently, for some reason, it has been growing much more rapidly and has been causing problems for her and thus why she started getting checked out by doctors. A recent MRI and subsequent biopsy revealed the findings and the surgery was scheduled immediately.
The biggest prayer request is for the surgery. It is a very dangerous and complicated surgery mainly because of the location of the tumor which is in the back of her neck in between many nerves and blood vessels. The surgery can last anywhere from 5 – 8 hours. There are small possibilities that the surgery could result in paralyzation, mutism (inability to talk), and other less tragic side effects. Please pray for strength, wisdom and precision of hand of the surgeon and those attending to Ruthie.
But in addition to this prayer request, please pray for the recovery. After a very complicated surgery like this, the recovery is quite difficult. It will be even more difficult than what it was for Earl’s open heart surgery. Ruthie will probably be on a ventilator for 2-3 days and a feeding tube for 2-2.5 weeks. She’ll more than likely be in the hospital for a couple of weeks.
Because of the difficulty of the surgery and the recovery process, we have decided to travel to help my parents with everything. We’ll be flying out this coming Monday, the 16th, and returning Sunday, May 29th. We decided to wait until Monday for a couple of reasons. I (Joel) have a very important meeting on Friday for the Camp that I really can’t miss. And it is the way it worked out with our tickets. We were blessed to basically have all of our tickets paid for completely through vouchers we acquired through American Airlines by “volunteering” to stay an extra night in Miami on our original trip down here. We haven’t been sure what exactly we were going to use these tickets for, but now we know what God had in store for them. We wouldn’t be making the trip without them.
We learned that with everything that was going on with Earl that it proves invaluable to have a medical professional in the family to help with the care and understanding of everything that is going on so we are very much blessed that Kim will be able to be there for this recovery process. We both are looking forward to help take care of mom and dad in the hospital and as they transition home. We want to help Ruthie recover from this as quickly as possible as they are waiting for all this to occur before scheduling Earl’s hip replacement that he is needing very badly.
Below is a picture of Ruthie with Simeon. Your prayers are very much cherished in this time.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6

Grandma Delp and Simeon

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Covenant Camp Report

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Joel & Kim

IPEE_CAMPAMENTO_INFORME_ESPANOL

You can click this link above to view a copy of the report that I (Joel) am presenting this Friday at a meeting of the comittee that governs the camp.  Basically, this report is the compilation of my work at the camp over the last serveral months.  It is Spanish, so let us know if you would like a copy in English.  It’s been a lot of hard work getting to this point but I feel good about the findings and about taking the next step in implementing a plan to make changes to the camp.  Your prayers are very much appreciated for the meeting that I have this Friday at 10:00 a.m. CST.

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