Update

Wednesday I heard from my doctor about the blood tests I had done the week before. She said my liver enzyme levels were much improved in the 2 weeks since I left the hospital (I am now 3 weeks and 4 days out of the hospital). She said my tests in the hospital were truly impressive! The normal bilirubin count should be below 1. Before I left the hospital (the count went up while I was in the hospital) it was 8.8! Now it is down to 2.4 (I think) so I still have a ways to go. My other numbers have fallen considerably since I left the hospital, but again, have a ways to go. One of the numbers has kind of plateaued.

She said my energy will probably not improve much until the liver numbers are back to normal. And she said that there is no way to tell how soon that will be -- she said that Hepatitis A should be considered more like Mono and it could be another couple months before I was back to normal. She was talking about me still being here in State College in October or November. She also thought it was ok to ignore my gallstones as long as they are not bothering me. I also now have some numbers to go by to monitor my low fat diet, which I need to stay on till the liver numbers are better. That would be harder to monitor in Haiti!!!!! She said there was not anything I could do to speed up the recovery time -- just avoid fat and other things that adversely effect the liver like Tylenol and alcohol. She also said that even once the liver numbers are normal, it might take a while to get the yellow stain out of my skin -- and that the 2.4 bilirubin number is accounting for the continued yellow around my eyes (see the photo).

Dr Cherry also recommended I see a new doctor in their group -- he is in infectious diseases as well as internal medicine. She thought he would be better able to guide me through my recovery and maybe have better answers to my questions. He would also be able to let me know when and if I should get more blood work. I have an appointment with him August 30th. So that is where things stand at the moment.

Thanks for your prayers and encouraging communications.

Belated Update

It has been altogether too long since I have posted anything -- and that kind of makes it hard to post now! There is so much to condense.

Back in Haiti in May and June, the rains finally came, but they were too little too late. Please pray for the people to find a way to sustain themselves since there will not be much of a harvest this year. Most of my time in May and June was spent working with my Haitian and American colleagues to establish a mixed Haitian and American Executive Team (ET) to manage all the ministries at HAFF. I was able to attend 2 meetings of the ET before I returned to the US at the end of June. The rest of the ET continues to work well together as they meet at least twice a week on Monday and Friday afternoons. Please pray for us all that the Lord would bless us with oneness of heart and mind and mutual encouragement and support as He gives us the wisdom we need to grapple with the weighty issues of keeping HAFF focused on providing Christ centered education to the people of the Central Plateau.

In June, I once again had the fun of taking Amtrak's Auto Train from Sanford, FL to Lorton, VA. The savings in time (cuts 17 hours off the drive to PA from FL), wear and tear on my 18 year old car, my personal energy and the ability to work on things while still traveling make the cost of the trip well worth while.


Once back in Central Pennsylvania, I was just in time to go on a guided tour of Millbrook Marsh, a local wetlands. It is a special small gem preserved in the midst of the outskirts of State College. It was a wonderful afternoon of walking through 3 different types of wetlands, seeing northern wild flowers in bloom and enjoying the songs and flights of many kinds of birds.

Each July since 1967 my family has enjoyed the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts here in State College. This year was no exception. My cousin came from Orangeville the first day of the festival and we walked the sidewalk sale, checked out the beginning of the sand sculpture and had lunch together. That was my last day feeling fairly well. That Sunday I started to feel feverish and by Monday morning I had a fever of 102. The doctor thought it was malaria, so I started on chloroquine. By Wednesday I was yellow, so the doctor suggested I go to the ER. I was admitted and given about every test known to man. Finally about Friday, it was determined that I had Hepatitis A! Most likely I picked it up in Haiti. There is nothing to be done except ride it out. I was home from the hospital Monday July 25th.

I am feeling much better now, though I still tire very quickly and have a slight yellow tinge that comes and goes! I go back to the doctor Monday for blood tests to see how my liver is recovering. I hope to get some sort of recovery prognosis then. I have heard and read that Hep A can take from 6 weeks to 6 months for recovery! I am hoping for the shorter time period. So, until I have a better idea of when I'll be back to full strength, I don't know when I'll be able to get back to Haiti. Please pray for my fast and complete recovery. Also, please pray for the rest of the ET as they continue to work without me. Thank the Lord for email, cell phones and Skype (computer based phone service) that permits me to keep up on what the ET is doing and allows met to offer my two cents and vote on issues. Thank the Lord too for the wonderful neighbors and friends here in State College who have rallied around to take care of me while I've been sick. I have been in excellent hands. And thanks to all of you for your prayers and gifts and support.