May Health Update...

Its time for the may update, and I everything has been such a whirlwind I'm not sure where to start, but here goes...

First of all we want to say "thank you"! Everyone who has helped out has been such a major blessing and help and we are so grateful for all you have done! We are still so humbled by how much you have surrounded us and are helping us through this difficult time. We have been so blessed by all the people who have come over to bring meals, clean, help with the kids, yard work, and just stop by to visit. 

Carla has progressed much further in the pregnancy and is 34 weeks along. The doctor has established a delivery date at 38 weeks. This means that we only have 4 weeks to go before Isaac Benjamin James is here to greet the world! Carla's health is fair. She is having severe contractions daily and with activity they form a rhythm. Last week we thought we were going to have to go to the hospital several different times. One day Carla fell, while trying to clean, and was certain that her water broke shortly after. We thought for sure we would be going in, but nothing happened. Then the next evening she started having hard contractions 5 minutes apart. That lasted for about 3 hours and we were preparing to go in when they stopped. However, one hour later, they started up again... 5 minutes apart. Thankfully they stopped after another two hours, or so. Carla is in tremendous pain each day and is really ready to have the baby, but wants to carry full-term if at all possible. Please pray that God would help her with the pain and her endurance through this process And that she would be able to carry to the end. There is a slight chance that her water may have broke last night and the doctor has requested us to come to the hospital today, so pray that God's will would be done!

My health has definitely amplified the issues. Carla is still having to care for me for just about every need. She is still giving me treatments every two hours, even through the night! This obviously doesn't allow her to rest. As you can imagine rest is one of the biggest things she needs, so please pray for Grace! Also the dinamic of having a newborn, and my care at the same time is something we have not quite figured out how to navigate.

Last week I was having a tremendous amount of pain in my left ankle. More than what was expected by the doctor. So the doctor called and had me go to the emergency room on Wednesday. He met us there, examined my foot and found that I had a hematoma on the bottom of my foot where the screws are located in the heal. He said that unfortunately this could take two months or more to absorb into the ankle. This is unfortunate for me because I can't walk on it until this is completely healed. Although the wound itself is healing well from surgery this hematoma is a source of constant ongoing pain. Unfortunately, it hurts often through the pain meds as well. 

We met with him again yesterday and we were supposed to start the process for being released to go back to work. However due to this hematoma, my foot must be elevated above my heart around the clock. If I lower it for more than 15 minutes or so, it simply starts to bleed even more and become much worse. As a result he will not release me to return to work at this time and is unlikely to release me before the hematoma is completely healed. 

This is VERY difficult because it makes things more and more complicated being away my job and my office. If I don't return by next week, they have the right to replace my position! I will technically still be employed for another three months, however, I may return to a situation where I have to start all over (if they have a position open). Many of my clients have been VERY loyal and gracious and are mostly willing to follow me anywhere, however I feel bad that they are having to wait for me during this time, AND that they are in such limbo as well! Please pray for the protection over them as well as the favor and grace with my employer. We simply need more time...

We NEED your urgent prayers on this issue. Please pray for favor with my supervisors! Please pray that God will not allow them to take my office and clients from me! Please pray that God will provide for us financially during this time as we are not receiving any income! And most of all, Please pray that His Will, will be done! Our dependence is COMPLETELY on God!

We definitely need to try everything we can to keep my employment! Even though I am not receiving an income right now, my medical insurance alone is of the most vital importance! My medical bills alone right now are running OVER $200,000 PER MONTH right now. This is just for me to survive! Without this treatment, this process would be fatal! 

"When if rains it pours"!
When we met with the doctor recently he informed me that my right elbow has ramped up its rate of deterioration significantly. I have had problems and surgeries on my right elbow in the past, however this has become such a problem that it is now hurting on a daily basis. Keep in mind that I am still taking a significant amount of pain medication related to my ankle recovery. After reviewing the x-ray's he established that I have less than 1/8" left of bone in my elbow. The doctor said that it is still deteriorating and he is very concerned that it will just break at ANY moment. Yesterday I got a brace for it and hopefully that will help hold it together so it won't just randomly break.

The answer to this is that I can have a "Total elbow replacement" done. However I have to FULLY recover from this surgery AND have surgery on my Right ankle and fully recover from that FIRST. Then I can have the total elbow replacement done. 

This was news that I definitely did not want to hear! We were hoping that day would be far away and that we would not need to have more surgeries for a while. However, according to the doctors we need to proceed with this as soon as possible in order to keep my right arm. Obviously, I want to keep my right arm if at all possible, therefore we want to do everything possible to keep that hope alive. 

PLEASE pray that God will stop this process of deterioration? Please pray that God will help me with the pain? Please pray that God will completely heal me of this situation all together? 

We still need help in almost EVERY area! Wendi Tuminello has been so gracious to volunteer to help schedule help with meals, cleaning, yard work, and child care. If you are interested in helping in any of these areas please email her at doctorwendi@hotmail.com.

We are in desperate need for God to do something amazing! Please stand with us, believe with us, pray with us, that God will do something amazing!

Thank you for your faithfulness to standing with us! Your prayers and support are keeping us during this very difficult time!

We love you all!
Headed to the hospital...

The James'