Thankful.

Every single day.  We are thankful. We have made some amazing friends here in Chennai. We are blessed with terrific friends in Houston and all over the globe. We have a loving family anxiously waiting on us to come home next month. We have an awesome church and church family here. I have a fun job and terrific coworkers here and in the US that I get to work with. We have been exposed to a new culture and have had the opportunity to travel this side of the world. There's been a visit to the Taj Mahal, Delhi and Jaipur with my sweet girl, which made memories to last a lifetime. We got to experience Malaysia, Singapore & Chennai with my love and my parents.  These are the big things.  Of course there are little things, too.  We have our celebri-dog, Dynamo, with us to complete our little family here.  We have a dependable driver and in-home helper to make our lives easier here in this crazy world.  We have Gideon (who really falls in the "big" things category).  We have food (some of it American! in our cabinet LOL) and shelter.  We have technology to keep us in touch with friends and family around the world.  We are blessed.  We have much to be thankful for.

 

Usually I would have health on that list. And for me and most of those close to me, I am so thankful for health. Unfortunately, we've had a lack of it with Savannah this month. And often since we've been here, actually.  More than we've ever had, which is unnerving and stressful. We are both impatiently waiting for last week's antibiotics to kick in and get her back to her normal, feisty self.  We've also sat countless hours with a sweet four-year old fighting cancer this month. We are praying for a big miracle from God to heal her completely, but preparing our hearts for her to walk into Jesus' arms and out of pain. But how do we do that?  How do we prepare our heart to say goodbye to such a sweet girl, little Princess Prasansha, who brings smiles and laughs and love to everyone she meets?  I'm in awe of her parents, Shawn and Sheralyn, and their grace during these very hard weeks. Amazing faith. I don't know that I could be so understanding in the same situation. Selfishly, I hope I never have to find out. We will keep praying for them to have the strength they need and the answers for their older two children. 

 

We are winding down this year and getting in the "countdown to home" mode.  As long as everyone is healthy, we are looking forwrd to a fancy Thanksgiving dinner with some friends, including a few Americans and a New Zealander.  We will be thankful for each other and for some delicious food and wine. I am hoping for some turkey but not holding my breath.  I might indulge in a massage and pedicure if time allows, for which I will be thankful.  We will visit Prasansha and be thankful for her and her loving family.  We will attend a wedding of a dear friend and be thankful for the opportunity.  We will simply be thankful.

 

I am ticking off the "shopping weekends left until we leave" mentally and realizing I won't get much shopping done between Savannah not feeling well and wanting to spend time with and help the Acheson family.  And that's OK, because the meaning of Christmas is not the presents for us.  It's the love.  We are immeasurably thankful that God loved us so much that He sent His Son in the form of a small baby over 2,000 years ago.  We are blessed daily with His mercy, grace and forgiveness.  These things come in handy with us being imperfect humans.  We are happy to celebrate this special holiday with our loved ones in the US.

We are going back to the doctor tomorrow and hoping for some next steps to get Savannah well.  I had a meeting with her school yesterday and we aren't much further along with graduation plans than we were a month ago.  We will continue to ask for your prayers and thoughts for these obstacles.  Please also keep Prasansha in your prayers.  Scans yesterday showed tumor growth again.  We love you all and wish our American friends a very Happy Thanksgiving!  We hope everyone takes some time to reflect on the wonderful things (and people) that have happened to them in 2014 and to be thankful.  We are thankful for all of you and are blessed by your thoughts, prayers and encouragement all the time!  Gobble, gobble!

November Rain

The last time I blogged I was feeling pretty frustrated and helpless.  I haven't posted anything in the past couple weeks because not a lot has changed and I figure you don't need to hear my whining.  My kiddo has now missed three weeks of school.  We went to a new doctor when the initial blood work came back and was not conclusive but the symptoms stayed.  The original doc said he thinks she is depressed, missing home.  Well, of course she's missing home.  I am, too.  But missing home doesn't give you a pretty steady fever for more than three days and a monthly recurrence of the same fever, usually coupled with vomiting or nausea.  We went to the big international hospital here, Apollo, and met with a senior doc in the Infectious Disease department.  Savannah was repulsed by the department name.  "Oh my gosh, what do they think I have???" 

Let me tell you a little about this visit...  This hospital is big, like one of the bigger hospitals in our Houston medical center, to help my Texas friends relate.  And it's filled with different desks and sub-departments because we're in India and that's how we do it over here.  We like to make things as confusing as possible.  I had a hunch this was going to be pretty complicated for my American-self and asked Gideon if he could join us in advance.  Savannah wasn't feeling better.  She was closing out the second full week of being sick, and I was sick at this point, too.  I just had congestion and sinus issues, but enough that I was feeling pretty lousy and thought it best to have an "Indian representative" to help with language barriers and cranky American issues.  Sometimes I make pretty good decisions and this was one of them.  Thank GOD Gideon was with us.  Although Apollo is an internationally recognized hospital, and even has a department JUST FOR foreigners, there was lots of Tamil going on and lots of "go here, fill this, do that, not this, pay here, see him, go there."  Had Gideon not been with us at the start, I can assure you I would have started crying (or gone to Indian jail for assault and battery) about 10 minutes in and he would have wound up there in the end.  Anyway, Saint Gideon helped us through the myriad of desks and departments to finally meet the good doctor.  We were too late, after all the desk hopping, to meet the one he wanted to see, but we were meeting second in charge.  I'll take it.  But first we met with a doctor's assistant.  Super nice guy, listened to everything we had to say about Savannah's symptoms and asked quite a few questions we didn't already cover.  He told us it sounds like Typhoid based on her pattern of fever and vomiting and could be easily treated, not to worry.  To properly diagnose we will get a culture and watch it grow for about a week.  Savannah was on high alert at that point: What kind of culture??  He answered simply, "A blood test.  A prick.  Nothing to worry."  My poor kid.  She really did get a lot of my better qualities, but the anxiety over blood tests and needles is not one of them.  I told her relax, we were still going to talk to the main doctor and maybe he could tell something from the other tests.  There was no calming her down.  Sigh.  So the assistant laughed a bit, ok, a lot, and sent us to see the main guy with his set of notes.  What was the first thing out of Savannah's mouth?  "I am not getting a blood test."  Nice.  Deep Mom sigh.  I smile, tell him I'm sorry, and he smiles.  Nice man.  He reads through the notes and has another discussion, similar to the one we just had.  He's thorough and it's good.  He suspects maybe mononucleosis or even something thyroid-related. There's more talk of blood test.  He knows she is not wanting it, and says to avoid it for now, we can check her temperature at several times a day for four days and then come back to have it done if there's a pattern.  She was shaking her head through the entire conversation, "No, no blood test."  I had to be the mean mom.  I had to be the mom who is looking out for her best interests, and in this case, looking out for her health.  I put on the "don't mess with me" voice and face, and told her we are NOT waiting four more days to get this done.  I reminded her she had already missed two full weeks of school, I had missed several nights of work, we needed to be able to go home with her healthy in a month, and that we have Gideon with us and we are already here, in the city, and we are getting it done. TODAY.  She was not happy.  She argued.  She yelled.  She acted like a toddler.  She embarrassed me utterly and completely. I had a wave of regret when I remembered doing something similar when I needed a tooth-filling when I was about 12 years old.  (I called Mom later the same day and apologized.  She laughed and said, "That's why your dad took you in!") But I stood my ground.  She wanted a friend from church to come give her some moral support.  I told her she had Gideon and me.  She yelled a little more, refused a little more, and then gave up.  She knew it was happening and then went into survival mode.  She was cranky and angry and giving me teen-eyes.  It didn't matter.  She got it done.  And I was thankful.  I refilled her tank and thanked Gideon for his time and support with Costa coffee.  She survived.  And so did I.

Fast forward a week to wait on results...............  Was there anything fast about the past week?  Not really.  It has been exhausting.  She hasn't felt better and I am stressed.  We did get some results on the same day.  Hey! Did I tell you India does pretty much ROCK on getting lab results back super fast?  I should brag about it, because I don't think I brag about much over here. So, yep, some results came same day, AND, bonus! they are available online.  Not that I can read them, other than what's in the "normal range" as provided (again, pretty fancy stuff going on over here providing this detail online!) and what was not in the norm.  So she was on the border with thyroid.  She was negative for blood parasites (sounds gross, glad it was negative).  She was normal for some other stuff.  Then we got back a borderline positive for some monocytes something or other and a borderline positive for Typhus.  OK so we are making progress.  She has SOMETHING.  Is it wrong for me to feel a little relieved that she does HAVE something and look forward to having her treated??  I was relieved, honestly.  So we went to see the head of the Infectious Disease department, another new doctor, at his clinic Tuesday evening, armed with results and hope.  Oh, and Gideon.  This guy was awesome.  Even better than the last assistant and doctor we saw.  Great questions, thorough, great bedside manner.  One small issue...  One lab result was missing.  A major one.  What??  How so?  I printed everything!! Turned out the printout was there, but the results were blank.  My Google diploma of medicine didn't cover what to look for if it came back and was blank.  I just thought the dash meant nothing came back.  Sigh.  Sooooo the doctor said based on everything was able to review at the time, still inconclusive.  But he would get those other results Wednesday morning and call Gideon. Hopefully with a prescription and a plan.  He also suggested we will get a scan of her belly to see if there is an enlarged spleen or kidney that might be causing the issue. 

As of last night we have a prescription and a diagnosis.  We have a strong antibiotic to treat a "light case of Typhoid" and a plan to have her scan done in the next day or two as a precaution.  She has taken one full round of meds since yesterday evening. I have done REALLY WELL since my last blog and stayed off the Googler and have not looked up all the suggestions and possibilities of illnesses.  But I did mention the typhoid possibility to a couple coworkers and they filled me with fear of the dietary restrictions and possible hospital admission for IV fluids and meds that would follow if the diagnois came back as such.  Fortunately, we aren’t quite there.  My daughter would have to NOT eat all the "good American food" she has been craving if she has a full-blown case of Typhoid, according to these guys... who, by the way, have all had Typhoid at some time or another.  Apparently (again, I haven't checked myself!) this is caused only by a bacteria in the water here - go figure - and although we got a vaccine before we left, there are four or five strains and we were only about 70% protected and only against one strain.  Anyway, the doctor said we will see how antibiotics help and talk about dietary restrictions later, only if necessary.  WHEW!  I can make her get her blood drawn, but I can't make her NOT eat when we go home next month.  That is a battle I know I would lose.  My girl likes to eat.  Wonder where she gets that from?  haha 

So that's the latest health update.  I am still praying (and appreciate your prayers!) that she gets better quickly.  We need to get her back to school and caught up on her school-work.  We need to get her feeling better because she is tired of being sick and I am tired of her being sick and we are tired of each other.  She has had a few days that she felt OK, with no fever or vomiting, and we did venture out.  But for the most part, she's been home bound and going stir crazy.

So I know this has been long... But I have more to tell you.  Do I keep going?  I will.  You go take a break.  Stretch your legs or whatever you need to do and come back later.  I'll still be here. 

Two Thursdays ago we got some very sad news.  Savannah is very close with our friends from church, Pastor Shawn and his wife, Sheralyn and their kids, Mcartney (11), Leroy (6) and Prasansha (4).  This is where she spends most of her weekends and she LOVES LOVES LOVES those babies. And they adore her as much as she loves them.  Shawn and Sher adopted all three kiddos - Mcartney in the US when she was a baby, Leroy here in India when he was a baby, and Pransansha just shortly after Savannah & I began attending Word of Life.  Pransansha's biological father attends the Word of Life Nepali church (they are from Nepal) at our same building and was a single dad.  His family had not been supportive and helpful with him working and trying to provide for her.  He met the Acheson family and after a while asked them to adopt her.  They had been praying for another child and know this was God's answer, especially because Shawn joked he didn't want another one in diapers.  Win/Win.  But Pransansha was battling cancer, which is part of the reason her Nepali family was not supportive and helpful - she was too much work.  She had been rejected over and over, so the Acheson family took her in and became her family just seven months ago.  She spoke no English when she joined them, but within about three months of living with them, she was really good.  And now she's terrific.  Her biological father is still part of her life, but he is Papa and Shawn is Daddy.  She lives, of course, with Shawn and Sher and they are finalizing paperwork, but everything in India is slow.  A couple months ago she had her last chemo and was cleared - cancer free.  Her hair has grown back and she's just a doll.  Joyful, sweet, hilarious and loving.  Savannah was there the weekend before (as usual) and Pransansha was coughing a lot and vomited a time or two.  Sav took care of her so Sher could get some rest...  Pransansha was OK most of Sunday, just laid down during dinner and was low energy.  Sher said that Monday they went to the mall and she was fine, played at the play land and full of spirit.  Tuesday night she was not feeling well and Sher noticed her belly swelling.  She made an appointment for a scan at the cancer hospital for Wednesday.  Shawn left for Nepal on Wednesday late morning with our Nepali pastor to go help plant churches up there.  The scan results came back to Sheralyn and they were not good.  Pransansha's cancer is back.  And it's aggressive.  She's been through several rounds of chemo and a surgery one which took a kidney just one year ago.  The doctor told Sher the fact that it came back within a year, and so aggressively, gives her only a 10% chance of beating it.  And chemo would be very, very hard on her little body and organs.  The tumors in her tummy are pressing on her left lung, which has already collapsed under the pressure.  She is in a lot of pain.  Sher and Shawn have decided they will not treat it and put her through further pain for such slim chances.  The doctors gave her only a few days.  They put her in the care of a hospital owned and run by a Christian family, one of a doctor from our church. They took care of her, made her as comfortable as possible. Shawn came back from Nepal and made it in late that first Friday night.  Savannah and I have spent a lot of time with them in the last two weeks.  I know Savannah's heart and I knew as soon as I spoke to Sher that we would be going, regardless of how she was feeling (yes, she was sick some of the times).  Last Wednesday they did a scan of Pransansha's tummy and it showed the tumors had stopped growing.  It was amazing news!  Pransansha has left the hospital to be comfortable at home.  They were able to give her pain patches to help with that transition, but Tuesday and Wednesday it seems the pain is coming back.  The doctor is looking into what else can be done for her pain.  Poor baby girl.  We will ask your help to please pray for the Acheson family.  They are SUCH a huge blessing for Savannah and me.  We would not be surviving here without them.  Savannah is their "foster kid" and even Dynamo has made his way over there for a weekend visit.  We love them and pray for Pransansha's comfort and peace.  We pray for no more pain.  We pray for a miracle from God to completely eradicate the tumors – cancer be gone!  And we know it can happen.  Should God's will be to take her to His Kingdom, we pray for strength and comfort and love for the family.  We pray for her brother and sister who love her so much.  We pray for her biological father, who loved her enough to want her to have a family who could and would love her and give her the life he could not.  We pray for Shawn and Sheralyn, who opened their hearts and their home, bringing love and joy to Princess Pransansha.  We pray for the kids in our church who love her smile and laugh and for understanding for them.  I pray for Savannah who also opened her heart and made a great connection with this sweet little girl.  So many prayers, but mostly God's love and comfort to all in this very sad situation.

And with that, I'll be done.  Sorry for the long stories, but know we appreciate your warm thoughts, prayers and love shown to us.  When times are hard, as they have been during the second half of this year, I am so thankful for your kind words and notes that keep me motivated and feeling loved.  We are will be home about this time next month to spend the holidays with our family and loved ones.  We are looking forward to it, and I am hoping the next four weeks will be a healthy four weeks!  Love to you all!

Enough, Already!

It's been a rough couple weeks over here in Chennai on the mom-front.  Between the school and the sickness issues, I am not feeling like much of a success these days.  You'd think after 18 plus years and the guiding role of a mom, I might have this down by now.  Unfortunately, or fortunately, arguing with a school (or two, on two different continents) and dealing with a recurring illness haven't made it into my repertoire.  Until now. 

I have called and e mailed the Florida school at least a dozen times in the past two months.  We are at a stale mate with the Indian school, waiting on Florida's feedback and confirmation regarding Savannah’s graduation path and possibilities.  They haven't returned phone calls (it goes straight to voice mail...) and only one acknowledgement in two weeks, but no real answers or feedback, doesn't help us out.  My mom has offered to fly to Tampa and go there in person if necessary.  Why in the world would this be necessary?  It is so completely frustrating.  We are a week into November and I do not know if my child will graduate in six months as she should. 

   On top of it, poor Savannah can't shake her most recent bout with whatever the heck is attacking her immune system.  I have given her Tylenol, Advil, the Indian equivalent of both of those fever reducers and pain relievers, along with other medicines for nausea, vomiting, upset stomach, along with force feeding her toast and making her drink clear liquids, much to her dismay, at least a dozen times since we’ve been here.  She has been sick with this same type of problem at least once a month, and sometimes more, since we’ve arrived in India.  I have decided there are plusses and minuses to having the World Wide Web at my fingertips… Google is great when I need to find out who sang that song that’s been stuck in my head all day or prove Savannah wrong about the insane lyrics she is singing at a moment's notice.  It also helps when I need to find the ingredients of a recipe that I can want to know if the ingredients are available locally or not... Or search the next holiday spot when I have had enough and just want to get away (hellloooo, like now!)  But Google is NOT great when someone is sick.  Google gives entirely too much information and the symptoms always lead to the worst possible diagnosis.  And yet, I still use it.  Here in India, there are quite a few worst case diagnoses…  one being Dengue Fever.  Another being Malaria.  These are the two that hop in my mind every time Savannah is sick and where the Googler leads me to with her symptoms.  Every. Single. Time.  It’s maddening.  And yet I continue to search.  Sigh.  So last week she was sick with a pretty high fever for her norm, breaking 101 F / 38 C.  And she was vomiting.  So I was convinced she had Dengue Fever.  Her joints and muscles didn’t ache any of the 25 times I asked her, but she probably just didn’t know what I meant (per Dr. Nikki, Google School of Medicine class of 2014). The next day I took her to the doctor, ready for him to admit her and treat the Dengue.  Contrary to my Google search results, the doctor said she's just fighting a virus and to give her some juices for energy and have her rest up.  Another day or two passed, Friday evening resulted in her fever breaking and she was feeling better Saturday and Sunday.  Fast forward to Sunday night, less than an hour after we got home she was sick again.  And now we are breaking dawn Thursday morning and she's still sick.  I took her back to the doctor Tuesday and he sent us for some lab work Wednesday.  Savannah was so stressed and anxious about having her blood drawn, so I enlisted some help from the girls at church and we had a friend join us today to help ease her mind.  I am a wimp and always pass out when I get my blood drawn, and probably would if I had to be in the same room with Savannah, which she knew, so it was a good idea to have someone else with her. After the lab work, she was perked up a bit and I was thankful.  I thought we were turning the corner and we went for lunch and coffee.  Mind you this is all in the middle of the day when I would normally be sleeping.  We got home and I needed a nap before work and she started feeling puny again.  Fever came back.  She was resting.  Then she started vomiting again.  I am really hoping and praying for some definitive results for these tests.  Something identified and treatable.  I would appreciate your prayers for the same.  And I am feeling a bit at the end of my rope, so maybe some prayers for strength, patience, and my own health wouldn't be a bad idea.  I am praying for my girl's quick recovery so she is back to her joyful, smiling self.  I am praying for the school issues to come to a quick close, and with the outcome being Savannah is a high school graduate by the time we leave Chennai.  We appreciate your good vibes, warm thoughts and prayers as we muddle through the not-so-great-times like these.  Hugs from Chennai!

It's a Holly-Jolly... Diwali?

Hmm there's something not quite right about that... Somehow I can't picture my Kenny or Harry singing songs about the Hindu festival of lights, but it's quite a celebration over here in India.  According to Wikipedia, The name "Diwali" or "Divali" is a contraction of deepavali which translates into "row of lamps".  Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. These lamps are kept on during the night and one's house is cleaned, both done in order to make the goddess Lakshmi feel welcome. Firecrackers are burst because it is believed that it drives away evil spirits. During Diwali, all the celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends. It's been a loud few days and poor Dynamo is pretty glad the cracker bursting (fireworks) have subsided.  These Indians aren't joking around with Black Cat firecrackers.  These guys are shooting of M-80 type stuff... loud and frequent.  We tried to have conversations Saturday night inside the apartment and just had to wait until all the popping was done, which took several minutes many of the times.  It was very difficult to sleep Friday and Saturday during the day, so I wasn't in a very cheerful mood for the celebrations.  Luckily, my celebration included a few margaritas and Mexican food with the Toms and their wives to lift my spirits, while Savannah spent time with her "foster" family, the Achesons.  
Friday was "ethnic wear" day at work, so I told the team if they would wear their traditional dress then I would wear a saree.  What was I thinking?  This is only the second time I have worn one, the first being that hotttttttt wedding I attended and I guess I was only focused on the heat and sweat of that day, so I was not quite prepared for all the work involved in sporting one to the office.  I go in early on Fridays, and Savannah's fever was breaking.  If I hadn't promised the team I'd be wearing it, I would have donned jeans.  Lakshmi was running late and I needed her help to wrap it.  I tried to watch a YouTube video, but was too frazzled with Savannah not feeling well, so I waited for her to arrive.  She was more than happy to help, but it took her three tries, about 15 minutes each, to feel satisfied with the end result.  I am quite a bit taller than her, so I had to sit on the couch while she adjusted the folds on the top and pinned it to my blouse on the third try.  Apparently the height was the issue.  In any event, she completed the challenge and the white girl was in the saree, all Indian'd up for the night.  She looked like a proud mom as I left for work.  It was pretty funny.  I passed a few of my neighbors and several people smiled widely and said hello... which is not the norm.  Then I got to the office and entered the lift with a few other ladies, a couple in sarees of their own, looking very pretty.  They all complimented me and wanted to know if I had folded it (dressed) myself.  I laughed, told them no, and we exchanged Diwali wishes as they exited to their floors.  I made it to my desk with approving nods from the security guards and the team was happy to see me Indianized for the night.  I had a couple conference calls and we had a photo session with the team.   It was dang hard to work in that thing, so it probably wasn't my most productive night at work since I've been in India...

The great One Team - NAM Imports

We are missing a few team members who took off for the holiday and Asif (my co-mng) who was out spending time with his wife and new baby girl. 
                                  
Outside of the Diwali celebrations, not a whole lot of excitement going on over here... still in a holding pattern for Savannah's school.  Waiting on the Florida director to e mail me back and confirm to me and her school that she can, indeed, graduate this year.  Anyone in the Tampa area want to drop by and ask them to please answer an e mail or a phone call?  And we've been dealing with her being sick.  Again.  I swear I think she is just too careless and doesn't pay attention enough, resulting in ingestion of this bad water.  We went to the doctor on Wednesday because of her fever... which followed headache and vomiting.  I was convinced she had Dengue Fever, which is really ugly and not infrequent over here these days.  While I appreciate having the world at my fingertips, sometimes Google is more of a hindrance than a help. Especially when I use it to confirm my worst suspicions... Yep.  She's got the Dengue.  Fortunately, after a visit to the doctor, Dengue (and my medical degree via the Googler) was ruled out.  Diagnosis was low BP, likely due to a virus.  Treat it with Tylenol (from the US, since that's what we had) and lots of juice and water. Thursday and Friday she was in bed all day.  Saturday she woke up feeling better and has been fine until tonight... We got home and less than an hour later, she's vomiting and has a fever.  Ugh.  Hopefully she will get well quickly and we will get a positive call from the school in Florida.
As we begin this month that Americans use to express our gratitude, we are reminded that the end of the year and our trip home is rapidly approaching (for which we are thankful).  My niece, Kameryn, turns five years old today.  Savannah was a little down that she isn't there to help celebrate, but it won't be long and we'll see her for Christmas.  And then it will be 2014... the year we go back to the US.  Not a lot of time left, so we need to make the most of it.  Travel, time with friends and decisions about "what's next?" to be pondered.  I know God led us here, although not exactly clear as to why yet... but we trust him enough to know whatever He has planned is more than enough.  
Wishing our local friends a Happy Diwali and sending thoughts of love and gratitude to all our friends and family around the world.  Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated, as always!

Happy Birthday, Kameryn!