Dear friends,
Just to let you know, Shawn, Ben and Olivia managed to get on the plane and are now on their way to Maputo. Thanks for your prayers regarding this travel issue. Things were looking slim for a while - the plane was packed out! I'm so thankful our God can do the impossible!
Another praise - Olivia is doing some better; she responded well to a heavy steroid treatment. Upon arrival in Maputo (3 hrs) they will check her in to the private clinic/hospital there.
I don't know how or when they will complete the trip to Jo'burg to join Sarah and Caleb. Guess that depends somewhat on Olivia but will keep you informed. No new news on Caleb but again will pass along information as I receive it.
Just as a note: it has been amazing to see how God's people have helped out. Local christian business men got involved with calling people in high places to get plane tickets tonight. Missionaries and Mozambican brothers and sister in Christ did everything they could to help bring about Caleb's evacuation, Olivia's care, and to help care for a thousand other things. God's people around the world are praying and helping. THANK YOU!!! And most of all God has worked in many ways; ways that show how mighty He is. It is a wonderful thing to be a child of The King, He and His family are the best.
Blessings and thanks so much for standing in the gap!!!! Please remain there.
Robin and Dan
PS. For those interested, I've attached the letter Shawn mailed out recalling the events leading up to Caleb's evacuation and through lunch today. It is long and does not reflect the time after which Olivia became so sick, however it might help you understand more and/or relate to this family you've "met" only through us.
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Dear brothers and sisters,
It is the morning after a rather traumatic 40 hours of confused scrambling and I still haven't slept much, so stick with me as I try to recount the events for which we are soliciting your prayers.
Beginning last Wednesday night Caleb started to have a bit of a weird deep cough and some small raspy sounds in his throat. On Thursday we started to kind of look through our medical books at that time and prepare for some sort of analysis, but he was generally well and the coughs didn't occur much. Here one has to do a good bit of his own homework before going to either the Nigerian pediatrician who meets people in his home, the Cuban doctors at the hospital that speak Spanish mixed with Portuguese, or talk to someone from the missionary community that works in the medical field. Most families, this time of year, have sore throats, coughs and congestion, so we sort of thought it was just a cold and would take action on Friday if got worse. We let another night pass, but at night the coughs were more frequent and his breathing got raspy. So, on Friday we took him to a pediatrician who proposed that he had croup and prescribed medicines for that. However, by the late afternoon the situation had progressed rapidly and Caleb was noticeably struggling to breath.
We contacted some people with a Nebulizer that could help him inhale a steroid that would open his passageways. Being a one year old and having trouble breathing, he didn't much like having a mask around his face. But we forced him to breath it in. It did him a little good for a while and so we got an inhaler from a Dutch couple with a child with asthma and took the nebulizer home to give him treatments throughout the night. But when we got home he was again struggling and by now we were seized with some fear about the situation. So, we brought him back to the house of the American pediatric nurse that works with the Baptists, who gave us the nebulizer to help us with treatments. But the intensity of his breathing was indicating to her that the steroids weren't having the effect that they should have had. So, we tried to acquire some other medicines from the hospital pharmacy, since then all the other pharmacies were closed. I got some and went back to her place. By that time Caleb was even worse. (This really did get worse very quickly.) So, we decided to try the ICU in the hospital. There we ran into some conflicts of views and understandings about analysis and treatment. All the while we were frantically trying to get advice from missionary doctors in other parts of Mozambique and the world by phone. Finally we settled on a steroidal IV treatment and oxygen tubes, but that wasn't exactly what we all thought was needed. What we thought was needed though was not available... can't really remember the drugs the American consensus was telling us to try, but I think it was epinephrin and some other.
Anyway, from that moment on Caleb labored with great heavings to breathe for about 24hrs.- the absolute worst 24hrs. of my life thus-far. Sarah took the first nightshift for about 6 hours and then I got the rest. There were a few moments that things were a bit better after some steroidal treatment, but I think it was from Caleb's exhaustion too now. A Cuban pediatrician came in on Saturday and compassionately intervened and did some additional analysis and treatments. I thought they were a bit helpful and he thought this route of treatment was going to work. By Saturday afternoon we were with a stressful dilemma. I didn't know if we should stay and follow the course or go about the complex task of contacting a medi-vac (medical evacuation) team from South Africa. Sarah had already been investigating those options however, and had already had some contacts and some information. We did have to weigh for a second the growing severity of the situation with the $23,000 cost to evacuate him and an ICU airplane. That didn't take long though, because the situation just snowballed on Saturday, and the Cuban pediatrician (Dr. Jesus) even recommended that we contact the plane.
So, I sent Sarah home to work on the arrangements with the plane and I stayed with Caleb. That was grueling. I'm almost crying just remembering it. I just held him and tried to calm him for what seemed like forever as he struggled for air. I can't go into the details of the care from the Mozambicans there, but it is way below acceptable-- pathetic! The Cuban pediatricians on the other hand, saved Caleb's life. They began an intense program of intervention. They set up a terrific bunch of IVs sedated him and began oxygenating him manually. I was so thankful for that intervention. By that time I was completely undone. I was crying in desperation with my suffocating child in my arms. Right before their intervention a Portuguese lady and her husband came in and asked to pray for him. She laid her hands on him and began praying fervently. I just wept. I was so tense and I just broke. She took up Caleb who was totally struggling... man, I'm crying again... She asked me to get some water on a cotton ball and squeeze it into his mouth, for he was so dry. I was so relieved for a second to have someone compassionate there. The Cubans were busy preparing for the intervention. The apathetic (pathetic) Mozambican nurses just kind of stood around.
When they finally had Caleb in position to get him oxygen they asked me to leave, which a I gratefully did, for I understood that to mean that someone with competence and some equipment was going to do the best they could. Meanwhile the plane was being arranged.
The plane arrangement was a complex task. Sarah did it and I still have no idea what was done. I think I know that the parents of our partners, the Been family, were able to secure the credit card approval for the evacuation. They demand payment confirmation through credit card before sending the plane. We couldn't get our credit cards to work, couldn't get a hold of family and other people (and again I'm not sure who all was contacted), but we got approval finally after many international phone calls and a lot of frantic appeals. We'll worry about paying it all back in the days to come.
The medivac plane arrived at 12:15 am and got to the hospital at 12:45am. They stabilized Caleb enough to get him on the portable respirator and they took off for the flight to S. Africa (2 to 3 hr flight). It was a pretty marvelous operation. The doctor and nurse working on flying hospital have been doing this for 22 years! The doctor on the plane, from first analysis thought it was Epiglottitis, which is a quick moving medical emergency. Whether she was right or not is yet to be determined. Only the sick person and one other can go on the plane, so Sarah went.
She is currently in South Africa at Sandton Medi-Clinic in the ICU. Caleb was and is still in critical shape. He is a lot more stable now, than in the hospital in Nampula and even on the plane. They worked hard for him in both places. Sarah called me from there and relayed to me his current condition before she headed off to room to crash into, hopefully, a deep sleep. She said he is sedated (as he has been from Nampula), breathing from a ventilator and relatively stabilized. He has some issues they are still working on to resolve in order to obtain full stability and to remediate his breathing problem. He is anemic (sp?). He had malaria a few weeks ago and that has probably hurt his hemoglobin count. So, he is getting a transfusion. He had blood in his stomach, maybe from trying to breath so hard (uh... I just ache thinking about it). And there is some weird thing about gas in his blood??? (didn't quite understand that one). But they have identified these problems and are taking care of them, as well as treating his constricted trachea.
The doctors working on him are positive and we believe that they will orchestrate his recovery with God's providential care. Right now I'm fielding calls and delegating a bunch of tasks in preparation to also leave with the kids. I would wait a little, but Olivia has begun to show some similar coughing. We all really think that is not like Caleb's case, but she and Ben are on a strong antibiotic treatment to counter Epiglottitus. This probably isn't necessary for Ben at all, and Olivia's case may not be anything like Caleb's, but at this point I would literally baptize them antibiotics or something if I thought it might prevent another drama like the current one. So, we were going to go down anyway, but now I think we'll just get going ASAP. Olivia is feeling a little not herself, but is generally well, playing and eating. But if she gets sick I just want to put her in competent hands and be done with it. I'm tired.
So, it looks like if you want to be in touch with us that the best way will be through email. We will try to post some phone numbers when we have them available from South Africa. I will be here in Nampula for the next 5 hours and then in transit for a day or two. I don't have any good contact info. for Sarah yet, just the ICU where Caleb is at, but I wouldn't advise a lot of people calling there to contact her... I'm doing that enough and I don't want to bother them. We'll keep everyone informed as best as possible.
I just want to conclude to relate some things that have been occurring to me throughout this massive intrusion into life as usual (if there exists such).
First, we have received an incredible wave of support from a network of Christian friends, acquaintances and organizations with the last two days. It has touched us deeply, and at times overwhelmed me. I've never been so at the center of so much spontaneous intercession. There was a point when I was doing much myself, but just reached the end of my strength and seriously couldn't even hardly pray anymore. The Body of Christ came on large and in charge at that precise moment, and even before. But I had several divine moments of incredible relief in the midst of incredible stress. I will never for my life ever forget Suzanne, that Portuguese lady, who caught me in the pit of despair and lifted my into hope for just a moment more. The hand of God was mightily upon us all at that moment. I cried in relief, in hope regained, in joy, in gratitude and in glory... and Caleb was still the same, gasping and flailing... but I saw God there finally and that made all the difference. Then there was a group of Brazilian women that were at a prayer meeting with some pastors when they heard of it and they dedicated themselves to a night of intercession and visitation. Then there were our teammates and fellow missionaries that were getting passports approved, ambulances arranged, the runway open, the information flowing, the food coming, the encouragement sustaining us and much, much more. They practically took us out of the situation and did it all for us at a certain point and we just sat back stunned and let them. The Mozambican brothers and sisters had their networks informing and praying and visiting too. We just got swept up by God's people and God glorified Himself to us in an overwhelming way. I love Jesus and His people!
Second, from crisis moment to crisis moment the hand of God bailed us out like the Israelites at the Red Sea. The threats bared down upon us with increasing intensity and God swept in and provides increased protection, provision and passageway. We are blessed beyond measure. The Cuban doctors, the experienced medivac team, the missionary nursing and doctor community of expatriates was in full flying brilliant networking. Doctor Dan kept calling, nurse Jenny kept consoling, informing and connecting, and many other doctors and nurses contributed along the complex navigation of decisions and assessments. God loved us so much through this. He just super-turned on peoples hearts and minds to our situation and need and they engaged with intense love and prayers. That was overwhelming.
Third, this is now the second time that God has saved Caleb's life from the threat of death. The first time was when Sarah was pregnant with him in the hospital with malaria. She was gravely ill and it was at a critical time in pregnancy. God delivered them through wonderful intervention. Now, this time. I'm developing a feeling that God must have a special purpose for Caleb. He has been quite noticeably protect now twice. We are still not out of the woods with this one however. He is still critical and I don't understand what God is doing in and with all of this. But from the evidences of His providential care thus-far, I am watching and waiting with anticipation albeit wishing we weren't in this situation.
Thank you for holding us up in prayer and for all of you whom I know love us.
Shawn Gardner