Back to the bush
Since our last letter we returned to the bush. We were pleased at our progress as we got back into language study. In the first week after returning Esther broke out with chicken pox. We kind of expected it because a number of children in Goroka had recently had chicken pox.
Dizzy?
Esther was doing fine and after about 4-5 days the sores were beginning to dry up when she seemed to start talking rather slow and drawn out, we thought she was just being whiny. That night we woke her up to help her to the toilet and she was extremely dizzy. The next morning the dizziness was just as bad or worse and she was also not talking anymore and was very slow in responding to us at all. Over the weekend she seemed to get worse, she lay around most of the day and crawled from room to room. We became quite concerned because she had changed so drastically and had become like an empty shell of what she used to be. We had consulted our medical books and thought that she had something called labyrinthitis that is a fairly minor complication to some viruses.
Encephalitis! – Evacuate!
On Monday we talked to Dr. Kevin Ludwig a doctor who has recently arrived here in PNG to work with New Tribes Mission. We arranged for him to fly out to our home in Simbariland and examine Esther. On Tuesday he landed on our 600 meter bush airstrip in our mission’s Cessna 206. After examining Esther, Dr. Ludwig diagnosed her condition as varicella (Chicken Pox) encephalitis which is a very serious condition. He recommended getting her out to town so he could keep an eye on her and begin medication (He thoughtfully invited our family to live with his family while out – 11 people in an 1100 sq.ft. house!) So Shari packed up quickly and they all went out to town on the plane immediately, leaving me behind in the bush. The doctor began to research this very rare condition. The books and specialists seemed to be saying one of two things: This condition almost always fully clears up on it own or there is as much as a 25% mortality rate with this kind of encephalitis often with some permanent brain damage in survivors. I immediately came out to join the family.
The Prayers Of The Saints.
Around the world God’s people flooded His throne with prayers for Esther. What a comfort and a blessing to know that God would not ignore even one of those prayers! It has been very difficult seeing our beautiful little girl crawling around the floor and void of personality. But after being out a couple of days we began to see little improvements. A slurred word spoken here or there. A step attempted. Now we have seen around a 50% improvement in her balance and about 20% improvement in her motor skills. Her smile returned and she has been trying to play as much as her mind will allow. We praise the Lord for each little improvement. We would ask you to continue to pray for a FULL recovery.
Now What?
We aren’t sure. At this time the doctor has not released us to return to the bush, we are waiting to see if there are any signs of permanent brain damage. The doctor has been in contact with specialists in the USA for opinions on treatment of this very rare condition and also on possible therapies that may be necessary. Pray that we will have God’s wisdom in the decisions we make.