Category: Personal

Posted on

The Ups and Downs of Dealing with Medical Issues

 

Dear friends,

HumeLake1
Jacob and Joshua prepare to head up to Hume Lake with their youth group!

Jacob and Joshua are at Hume Lake this week with their church youth group so Jen and I are spending the week alone! We are praying that they would have a great time in a great environment and that this week will be pivotal for them in their own spiritual growth and development!

It’s been two weeks since I sent out any significant update on Jen’s health status. We want you to know how grateful we are for you during this time in our family and we wanted to give you an update so you can continue praying for us.

The last two weeks have been filled with more doctors visits, more lab work and even a trek to UC San Diego for consultation with another rheumatologist.

What we know for sure is that Jen has a lung disease known as Non Specific Interstitial Pneumonia (NSIP). In layman’s terms, it means that her lungs are really inflamed. The doctors have been working for months to isolate the source of the inflammation. We know for certain that it’s not viral or bacterial. She doesn’t have an infection that can be treated with antibiotics.

ScrippsSign
The “new” Rheumatology offices at Scripps are located in the basement. Ugghhh!

Instead, it’s been determined that Jen has a vascular disease known as Vasculitis. This is a rheumatological condition, meaning that it is being caused by her own immune system, which is not functioning properly.

A few weeks ago, Jen’s rheumatologist prescribed a steroid for Jen to begin taking in order to deal with the inflammation in her lungs. Though it has really helped Jen to feel a bit more back to normal, there are side effects. For one, the steroid makes it more difficult to maintain your blood sugar level, which is very critical for a diabetic. Jen is working very hard to manage her diabetes. We are really thankful that she has an insulin pump, which has helped tremendously.

The other noticeable side effect is that the steroid has made it more difficult to go to sleep and to get good rest.

So one prayer request is that Jen would continue to maintain her blood sugars while on the Prednisone and also that her sleep would be minimally affected.

The goal is to treat the vasculitis and to get it into remission. To do that, Jen’s doctor wants to prescribe a chemo-therapy grade drug (Rituxan) that has proven to be very effective. We don’t know when Jen will begin treatment because the doctor needs to get approval from our insurance company before administering the drug since it’s quite expensive.

Scripps1
Jen checks in for her appointment with the Rheumatologist at Scripps. Her diagnosis and proposed treatment plan were confirmed.

The good news is that this drug has shown to have minimal side effects compared to other chemo-therapy drugs. We’re told that most people adjust rather well to the drug, allowing for a more normal lifestyle during treatments.

Please pray that we would get approval from our insurance to cover the drug and that by taking this drug, the vasculitis would be put into remission.

The drug is given intravenously at an infusion center, so no hospitalization will be required. That’s good news for us as we’ve encountered a number of problems with our insurance covering the two different hospital visits that Jen has had over the past few months.

Honestly, one of the biggest prayer requests right now for us is that we would be able to get some of the insurance stuff straightened out. I can honestly say that dealing with insurance and some of the medical bills that they don’t seem to want to cover has been far more stressful than the medical issues themselves.

Pray for us to continue to trust the Lord during this time. Pray for healing and please pray that our insurance would cover the hospital visits for which they are currently denying coverage. I probably don’t have to tell you that the amount for those two hospital bills is quite obscene.

We are so grateful for your prayers, cards and notes of encouragement. It has been so comforting to know that we are not walking through this alone.

God Bless!

Dave & Jen

For the PDF version of the newsletter, click here.

 

Posted on

The Results are in … Sort of

Hello friends,

Thanks so much for your continued prayers for Jen and our family as we’ve been on this medical journey for the past few months.

Jen is mostly recovered from the lung biopsy that she had on July 3rd. The soreness has mostly subsided, making it easier to sleep at night and providing a lot less discomfort through the day. We are thankful for that.

Last week, we met with a bunch of different specialists who are involved in Jen’s health treatment. We found out from Jen’s rheumatologist that she had received results from Jen’s biopsy. These results were from a sample that was analyzed by the local hospital. There is another sample that was sent out by the surgeon to either the Mayo Clinic or Stanford. We have not heard back about those results.

Jen’s rheumatologist felt she had enough information from the local biopsy results to move forward with an initial diagnosis and treatment. We expect the other biopsy to only confirm what we already know but if something changes, we’ll be sure to update you.

The biopsy results were not a surprise, as they indicated extreme inflammation in the lungs. The doctor has diagnosed Jen with something called P-Anca Vasculitis which is not too common but can be treated. Basically, it’s an inflammation of the blood vessels that can attack and present itself in different organs or systems. In Jen’s case, it presented itself in the lungs. Essentially, it’s an auto-immune issue where the immune system doesn’t shut off properly.

Jen is now on a steroid medicine that is designed to reduce the inflammation. She already is starting to feel better. The down-side to steroids is that it raises your blood sugars, and that is not good for someone like Jen who is diabetic. So please pray that Jen will be able to manage her blood sugars while she is on this medication and that she will not have to be on this steroid medication for too long.

My understanding is that the steroid is really only to help with the symptoms Jen has been experiencing since April. To treat the vasculitis, Jen will more than likely have to go on some kind of chemo-therapy medication to turn off the immune system and reset it.

Please continue to pray with us and for us as Jen has many doctor’s appointments this week. We are hoping that she is finally at the beginning stages of a road to recovery. We are grateful that Jen doesn’t have cancer or any of a number of other very serious diseases, but we also know that what she has is not a simple bacterial infection that can be treated with a few days of anti-biotics.

We are very grateful for your continued prayers and your notes of encouragement. We will continue to keep you updated as we learn more!

God Bless!
Dave & Jen
Posted on

An Update on Jen’s Health

Thanks to all of our friends who have been praying for Jen and her health. If you are unfamiliar with what’s been happening with Jen, please check out our latest newsletter, which explains more of the history of her condition.

Last Thursday, Jen was admitted into the hospital for a lung biopsy. The doctors felt this was necessary to try to diagnose what is really happening with her lungs. The procedure was not long or incredibly complicated, but it did require a short stay in the hospital for recovery.

Jen spent two nights in the hospital and came home Saturday afternoon. She is home recovering and though she is very sore from the incision, she is showing improvement every day.

She has several follow-up doctor visits this week but we don’t expect results from the pathology report really until early next week.

hospital2
Saddleback Hospital has become very familiar to us in the last 2 months.

Please pray specifically for two things – first, that Jen would recover quickly from the procedure she had. The incision was near the rib cage and I guess there are a lot of nerve endings in that area so it can be quite sensitive to pain.

Secondly, pray that the biopsy would enable the doctors to make an accurate diagnosis and corresponding treatment. Up until now, the doctors have been eliminating things that they know are not part of the problem. Our hope is that the biopsy would show clearly what the issue is and that it can be treated simply and quickly. We hope that Jen’s body will return to normal as soon as possible.

Thanks again for your love and support during this time of uncertainty. Your notes of encouragement, your prayers and concern have meant a lot.

Posted on

The Best Laid Plans…

Click here to view the pdf version of The Lowedown.

“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” 

This oft-quoted line comes from a poem written by Robert Burns in 1785 after he inadvertently plowed through a field mouse nest. The words, penned with sadness, communicate the universal truth that one cannot plan for the unexpected. This line aptly describes our week in Nashville.

For months, Jen and I had been preparing for a week in Nashville, where we would have the opportunity to meet up with fellow Cru City Millennial workers for the first time. In addition, we were looking forward to challenging our thinking on Christianity and Culture by attending the Q Conference later in the week.

We thought we had worked out all the details. We were blessed by Jen’s parents, who visited for Easter and stayed through the week to watch our boys.

I even worked feverishly through Spring Break to renovate our guest bathroom in preparation for my in-laws’ arrival. That whole process in itself is probably illustrated by the above quote given the number of unexpected situations encountered that threatened to keep me from completing the project on time. I’m happy to report though that the renovation was officially completed in the afternoon on Easter Sunday mere hours before our departure.

We arrived in Nashville as scheduled on Monday where we had the opportunity to meet our new colleagues for dinner for the first time.

We were treated to some great live music from a few Nashville Millennials
We were treated to some great live music from a few Nashville Millennials

The next day was a full day of meetings and connecting. For me, it was invigorating to increase my vision for what we will be doing here in Orange County to reach Millennials. That night, we were treated to some live music at the home of one of our Cru colleagues who lives in Nashville.

Q-quoteThe next day was the start of the Q conference. The Q conference was started 8 years ago by Gabe Lyons as an opportunity for Christians to hear from numerous leaders and experts who share thoughts and insights on 7 major segments of culture: Media, Business, Government, Social Sector, Education, Arts & Entertainment, and Church.

The first day was packed with speakers who talked on a wide range of topics. We were even treated by a surprise appearance from Carrie Underwood and her husband Mike Fisher who shared about the challenges and their commitment to marriage. Though a little like drinking from a firehose, we were eating up all of the great content.

CarrieQ
Q Founder Gabe Lyons interviews country star Carrie Underwood and her NHL Hockey player husband Mike Fisher.

That’s when our plans got derailed. Jen shared that she was experiencing some chest pain and wanted to go back to the hotel and rest. We were supposed to meet up for dinner with some friends from our University of Arizona days who were now living in Nashville. But Jen’s chest pain got worse, making it harder to breathe. We decided to go to the ER.

As many of you know from experience, the ER is rarely a brief experience. For Jen, she was subjected to just about every test imaginable to determine if there was something wrong with her heart. Thankfully, every test came back clear. It was determined that the source of the chest pain was likely caused from having a case of walking pneumonia.

Jen was eventually released with antibiotics and she’s doing much better. We weren’t able to make our dinner appointment, and we missed the rest of the Q conference. But we made our flight home, thankful that it wasn’t something more serious and also grateful for the time we were able to spend with our new co-workers.

Though the week didn’t go exactly according to plan, we still left Nashville with an increased vision and excitement to reach Millennials. It was great being with others like us who are venturing into this new arena.

We are grateful too for your partnership. Please pray for us as we continue to prepare for this new ministry to which the Lord has called us. Pray for our plans to be the Lord’s plans and that we would be able to trust Him when things don’t go “according to plan!”

Posted on

We want to be Baptized!

Jacob and Joshua - October 20, 2013
Jacob and Joshua – October 20, 2013

Recently, I came across a picture from 2006. Jacob and Joshua were holding up a Good News booklet after they both had made a decision to trust in Jesus.

Jacob and Joshua proudly hold up their Good News booklet after having received Christ.
Jacob and Joshua proudly hold up their Good News booklet after having received Christ.

Over the years, we’ve had a number of conversations about their decision and whenever our church had planned a baptism time at the beach, we talked to them about it. But they were always a bit hesitant to take that step to publicly identify themselves as followers of Jesus via baptism.

A few weeks ago, unexpectedly, they both came home from their Wednesday night youth group meeting and announced that they wanted to get baptized.

So that Sunday, after the service, they both took the plunge, literally, to identify to everyone their desire to follow Christ.

It was an exciting moment for us as parents to see our boys growing spiritually and desiring to live for Christ.

We wanted to share that moment with you and say thanks for your prayers for us and our family. It has meant a lot to us to have dear friends and partners in the gospel praying for our family and our boys and their spiritual development.

Please keep praying for us and our family. And don’t hesitate to share any prayer needs you might have with us!

Love,
Dave & Jen

Jacob baptism
Jacob being baptized!
Jacob baptized!
Jacob baptized!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joshua being baptized
Joshua preparing to go under!

 

 

 

 

 

Joshua baptized!
Joshua is baptized!

 

 

Posted on

19 Years and Counting!

Dave-Jen-Iris
On Mother’s Day, we celebrated by visiting Hollywood. On our anniversary, we celebrated by attending the Cirque du Soleil Iris show at the Kodak theater in downtown Los Angeles.
Dave-Dodgers-Hollywood
Dave finds the Hollywood Star on the Walk of Fame for the greatest baseball team of all-time, the Los Angeles Dodgers!

Last week was a week of celebration. On consecutive days, we celebrated Mother’s Day, Jacob and Joshua’s 11th birthday, and our 19th anniversary together.

While Jen and I were driving to downtown L.A. for dinner and an engagement with Cirque du Soleil, we spent time reminiscing and reflecting on our 19 years of marriage. Here are a few of our most vivid memories:

 

1993 – getting married in Fresno and honeymooning at DisneyWorld.

1994 – moving to Tucson. Our Ryder truck breaking down in the Mojave desert on Hwy 395.

1995 – driving from Fresno to Ocean City, New Jersey for our summer mission project. Staying in St. Louis to celebrate our anniversary.

1996 – Moving back to Fresno to be staff members at Fresno State.

1997 – spending the summer in Colorado taking Bible classes.

1998 – moving to Davis to become new campus leaders. Summer training in Myrtle Beach followed by vacation in New York and D.C.

1999 – beginning to explore the adoption process. Davis ministry continues to grow.

2000 – buying our first home in Davis – a real fixer upper! A summer in Ocean City, New Jersey.

2001 – Jacob and Joshua arrive. Crazy summer leading Lake Tahoe summer project

2002 – Jacob & Joshua’s one year birthday. Impact and Bridges start at Davis. First students begin to graduate and go to the world as missionaries

2003 – Epic launched at Davis

2004 – Destino starts at UC Davis

2005 – PreSchool for Jacob and Joshua. Summer leading the Newport Beach Summer Project

2006 – Driving to Seattle and British Columbia for a wedding and vacation. Re-starting the ministry at Sac State

2007 – Summer in Colorado. Family trips to Kansas and Hawaii. Remodeling and Renovating our house in Davis.

2008 – God’s call to Southern California. Selling our house and moving to Mission Viejo. Spending the summer overseas.

2009 – Season passes to Disneyland. Summer trips to Davis, Colorado and Zion National Park.

2010 – Summer trip to San Jose, Destino team started in Long Beach.

2011 – Summer in Colorado. Bathroom leak and bathroom remodel.

2012 – New ministries established in San Jose (Destino), Chico (Bridges), Santa Barbara (Impact), Fullerton (Epic) and San Luis Obispo (Destino).

 

Thanks for your prayers and partnership which has helped us experience 19 amazing years of life and ministry together!

For a pdf version of The Lowedown, click here!

Posted on

Bracing for the Future

Not long ago, we heard the words that no parent wants to hear from their dentist.

“Your kids need braces.”

When we broke the news to our kids, understandably, they were not very happy.

I can sympathize with them. I remember having braces when I was in junior high and high school and it was horrible. It was bad enough that I had all of this exposed metal in my mouth, but the orthodontist told me I had to wear these little rubber bands that went from my top teeth to my bottom teeth. I couldn’t figure out what they were supposed to accomplish other than getting me to keep my mouth shut! Maybe it was a directive from my parents!

Dave - freshmen year
Dave – freshmen year

The orthodontist also gave me this contraption that he called “head gear.” It was basically a big metal bar that connected to the braces in the back of my upper teeth and attached to a strap that wrapped around the back top of my head. It looked kind of like an old school football helmet, with that bar sticking out in front to protect the kicker’s face. (Some have referred to it as a Halo)!

The purpose of the “head gear” was to put tension on the upper jaw, pulling it back to correct an overbite. The orthodontist instructed me to wear this thing “at all times”, including when I was at school.

“No Way!” That’s where I drew the line. I remember one person from school who wore a “head gear” and it permanently ostracized her from the rest of society. It was like having leprosy or some nasty skin rash. If you’ve seen the movie “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”, wearing a “head gear” at school was equivalent to having the “Cheese Touch”. I wore it to bed and that was it.

During my freshman year of high school the inside of my mouth got so cut up from wearing braces during wrestling season that we referred to the inside of my lips as “meatloaf.”

Jacob with braces
Jacob in the 4th grade with braces

One day, my dad asked the orthodontist if he could finish what he needed to do without the braces. The dentist agreed to take the braces off if I would wear a retainer every night. It seemed like a good trade, so I enthusiastically agreed.

When the dentist took the braces off, I had nice straight teeth. Man I looked good! At that point, I was glad that I had invested over 2 years in braces. At some point though, I stopped wearing the retainer every night. It just didn’t seem completely necessary. I didn’t see the point.

One day, years later, I came across that retainer. When I put it in my mouth, I realized that it didn’t quite fit anymore. It turns out that my teeth had shifted. Slowly, they were drifting back to the state they were in before I had braces.

The concept of braces is simple: you put a wire around the teeth and slowly tighten the wire to straighten and align them. Once they’re aligned, you wear a retainer in order to keep the teeth from drifting back to their crooked state.

It seems to me that spiritual disciplines are a lot like braces. In my heart, I’m prone to sin and wander from what’s right and what’s true. I read God’s word, pray and practice other disciplines in order to stay on the right path.

God’s Word transforms me and helps align me to Him and His purposes. So spiritual disciplines are like braces in some ways.

Joshua - 4th grade with braces
Joshua in the 4th grade with braces

And it turns out, that once I stop applying these disciplines to my life, I’m prone to wander back to my sinful, selfish state, just as my teeth, without that retainer, will slowly drift back to being crooked and unaligned.

So when I question the purpose of reading my Bible, praying and meditating, I think about braces. The benefit may not be immediately apparent, but it’s the end goal that motivates me—to become more like Jesus.

Now if I could just think of a way to help my 9 year old boys to see the “benefit” of braces now. Because at this point, the motivation that “you’ll look good for the ladies” isn’t quite working. I’m guessing though that by the time they get their braces removed, they’ll have a much greater appreciation for “the ladies”!

Please pray for our kids and us to be constantly “aligned” to God’s purposes!

Click here to read the pdf version of The Lowedown!