Grandma Delp and Simeon
We wanted to provide a quick update on the health of Earl and Ruthie, Joel’s parents. Earl is doing very well post-hip replacement surgery. He is back to doing the things he loves: exercise and playing tennis. His hip is still not quite a 100% as he still has discomfort at times and doesn’t have full mobility when playing tennis, but all things considered, he’s doing very well.
Unfortunately, the report for Ruthie isn’t quite as positive. She had been doing quite well in her progress on swallowing. But of recent, she seems to have hit a plateau where she really hasn’t seen any progress for a while. And for the swallowing that she is able to do, it is quite forced and with much concentration. Basically, she is having to think through the process of swallowing as opposed to just be able to swallow normally. They have determined that some of her muscles in her throat just have not begun working and at this point they have given up on the electrical stimulation treatment.
In under a week she will be going to see a Ear, Nose and Throat specialist who will hopefully be able to give her some more information, but also hopefully he can give a recommendation to a center/clinic that specializes in this exact area of swallowing. She has been able to swallow quite a bit through her process of concentrating on each swallow and she is hoping that she can do enough so that she doesn’ t need to be on the feeding tube anymore. But at the same time, they say that they are not seeing any progress in her swallowing so they are not sure what to do just yet. There may be need for some kind of surgery or procedure to help get the muscles going again.
Please pray that God will be with her through this whole process as it has been very discouraging at times. Please also pray that she can get her feeding tub out as she would be very encouraged by that. Finally, please pray that as she goes to see the doctors and such that she would get a good diagnosis and treatment for the problem that currently exists.
The Santiago Partnership