Health

JULY 29 UPDATE: There is an edit at the bottom.

Thank you for all the prayers and love. I can't tell you how much the prayers have touched my heart. As of 2pm today (Monday the 25th) I'm out of North Shore Hospital in Auckland. I will be leaving campus shortly to live with my host family once more before returning to America.

On Monday the 18th I started having a strange fever without any flu symptoms. By Wednesday, I arrived home from a trip with friends to Whangamata and then slept for 14 hours. The next day I told Laidlaws nurse about a previous blood condition and how I was feverish etc. I went into the Doctor Thursday and then took the lab tests on Friday morning.

I had only told a few people before this week that I have a blood condition called http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hereditary_spherocytosis . My mom told me 8 months ago that I had it, after it was suspected that I was only a carrier. I didn't tell anyone about this because I figured there was no reason to as I have had it for 25 years without issue. What happens when I get sick is that I get real sick, like my summers at Firwood in the infirmary. Over the last year, my urine had been smelling funny and when I sweat it smelled like toilet cleaner, even my eyes and skin could be yellowish at times. This week changes everything and now Im sharing about the condition.

On Friday night, I received a distressed call from the Doctor telling me to come in, I wasn't expecting a call from them until Monday or Tuesday so I knew this was bad. As he read the list to me of what was in my blood and the possibility of having leukemia etc, I had to fight off tears. He told me to go right to the hospital immediately as my blood count was dangerously low. I was admitted into the the emergency room at 9pm Friday evening, to receive blood as my bone marrow decided to stop producing blood as a result of the parvo-virus/ anaplastic crisis / anemia / and a bunch of other big words that I have. They monitered me all night, scanning, poking prodding etc. The next morning they had me sign a waiver to receive blood. At 12pm saturday I had a "vasovagal collapse" after attempting to talk with my mother on the phone. When I woke up, I had 6-8 (4 doctors)  staff hooking me up to every conceivable machine, pumping blood into me for 8 hours and fluid etc. After that episode everything settled down. Sunday was uneventful but they wanted to keep me to watch me, I had so many visitors it was a great time. They let me out today and I'm abit week as well as having the understanding that I could drop again. I go in for more blood testing Thursday to make sure I have enough blood to fly sometime after.

On Friday night ALL the funding came in for school via a phone call from the school principle in the emergency room. AMAZING, praise God, but now I feel that it's wise to go back and have my spleen and gall bladder removed, the source of my problems. My mom, uncle, cousin etc (all having the disease) have all had these two things removed and then there blood problems went away. My mom has live some 30 years without these things and still has been healthy. My previous plan before this week was to finish the year at school then come home in November to have those things removed. Everything has change now and this needs to happen sooner than later. I thank you for your prayers (I got to share Jesus in the hospital) and please continue to pray that I'm kept safe as I fly back to America for a unexpected visit. Life is changing so rapidly. Pray that I make it through this week and that the infection/virus(s?) on top of my hereditary condition subside some. God is with me, He is good.

-----------------------------July 29 Update-------------------------


Thank you for the prayers and love, it has been truly overwhelming the love poured out. I arrive in Seatac on Saturday. If you would like to pray for my journey across the ocean my flight times are:


 ‎(All times are listed in American time zones) I fly Friday 7:30 pm to Fiji, with a 4.5hour layover until 3am, arriving in LA at 1:20pm then flying to Seattle at 4:15pm arriving at 6:55pm Saturday.


 Those times might sound bad, but from the Kiwi time zone  they are quite pleasant (flying out of Auckland at 2:30pm on Saturday in my actual time zone. I leave Auckland on Saturday and arrive in America on Saturday because the flight crosses the international date line), matching my sleep cycle well, so the journey shouldn't be so bad. I had another blood test on Thursday and it was discovered that my blood (in certain aspects) is getting increasingly better. I feel the strongest I have in a week today (Friday). Thank you for all the prayers, prayer does change things. This is a bittersweet time, I'm excited to come home, but feel I will miss home in NZ.