We fly out tomorrow for Quito out of O’Hare at 12:45 p.m. Your prayers for safe travel are very much appreciated!
Update and Travel Plans
We thank God for a successful minor surgery yesterday for Ruthie of having a feeding tube inserted into her stomach. The surgery was quick and fairly easy and over within 45 minutes or so. She has had some pain and exhaustion after the surgery but seems to be recovering well.
She needed to have the feeding tube to her stomach placed because she still is not able to swallow at all and, unfortunately, the doctors and nurses aren’t able to tell her when that will start again. The swelling has gone down significantly in her neck but there still is quite a bit. In addition to this, her muscles in her neck will need to be retrained as how to swallow. They are saying that it can be weeks or even months.
The nasal feeding tube that she has been using (as you can see in the picture) is not a good long term solution as it is uncomfortable, does not help with the neck swelling, and would make it difficult for Ruthie to go out. If she were able to start swallowing in a week, then she would just keep it it in but since they don’t know when she will be able to swallow again, it’s better to go with the stomach feeding tube.
The complication of not swallowing has caused additional tests and time in the hospital and so her release has been delayed. She is now hoping to get out by Friday or Saturday. Because of this and because one of the primary reasons for coming back from Ecuador was to help with Ruthie’s transition home from the hospital, we have moved our return trip back four more days until June 2nd. This way we will have enough time to help with the transition.
We just want to thank you all so very, very much for your prayers!!! Ruthie has mentioned just about once every day that it has been the prayers from everyone (and God’s response to the those prayers of course!) that has been getting her through all of this. She has had some discouraging days but she has been very strong and resilient through this whole process.
Update on Ruthie and Immediate Prayer Request
We ask for your prayers again for Ruthie. Today they did a Barium swallow test (using dye and an x-ray) and determined that she is not swallowing at all and it may be a very long time until she is able to. They have decided to give her a gastric feeding tube that goes directly into her stomach from her side and she can then have the NG feeding tube that is going in her nose removed. The surgery is supposed to be sometime tomorrow (Wednesday) and then she hopes to come home possibly as early as Friday.
She was pretty upset when first learning this news which is easily understood. As the day went along, her attitude seemed to pick up a little. I’m sure this won’t be the last time that she is down about this recent development.
Your prayers for strength, comfort, peace and hope are very much appreciated!
Update and Prayer Requests for Ruthie
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.
In Goshen, IN
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!!
Update on Ruthie and More Information
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.
Visit from the Carter’s
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!)
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A future preacher in the works - he's starting with the pigeons - they make for a good audience when you have seed.
Update on Ruthie-May 14
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.
Update on Ruthie
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!
Update on Ruthie
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!