Hey everybody. I thought I should write an update for those of you who were praying for my doctor visit. It went really well! Thanks for praying. The doctor (Chris calls him GI Jeff!) was good about listening to our ideas and trying to understand our situation, and he is willing to continue to communicate with us and our doctor when we go back to PNG. So there is a plan in place to get us back to PNG in January! But our plan still takes a backseat to God’s plan, and our plan hinges on the effectiveness of the medicine being prescribed, so we are praising God for provision while still continuing to pray for direction.
The medicine that I was taking at the time of the appointment is no longer an option for me, so right now I am in week 2 of a 3-week trial period for Plan B. If this new drug doesn’t work or causes bad side effects, we will have to go to Plan C. As we move through the alphabet we will be trying harsher drugs with the potential for more scary side effects, plus we will be navigating the logistics of ordering, shipping, storing, and administering drugs that are not commonly found or used in PNG. On the bright side, the next few drugs to try wouldn’t require the frequent blood tests that the no-good drug required, so that is something! And we are blessed to have a great doctor in PNG who has been helping us to track down pharmaceutical possibilities and to develop a care plan for living with Crohn’s in the tribe.
So we have a lot to be thankful for as we start to commit more of our time to preparing to return to PNG. We will keep you posted, and be sure to let us know what is going on in your lives, too!