Alexandre

This is a layout I did with one of my favourite photos of Alexandre. He had heard me when I was walking towards the kitchen and turned to see me and had this HUGE smile on his face. I happened to have my camera with me and quickly took this photo. I have a copy of this photo printed and in a frame on my bedroom wall.

Alexandre will always be my little bug and I miss him every day!
(click on photo to see a larger image)

Ronel's update

So I talked to Ronel and he said that the doctor thought that he was coming so that he could do the operation today! Well, Ronel was a little shocked by that and said, No, I'm not getting the operation today!

So, from what he understood ~ operating is his only option at this point, but Ronel has had a lot less pain lately so he is really hoping and praying that the gallstone is gone, either by the meds or by our prayers!! I don't know what he is going to do, but I believe he is supposed to go back to Dr. Vic either in May or early June. I know that he is NOT looking forward to any type of surgery and I am praying that surgery won't be needed, but I do feel better about Dr. Vic doing the surgery, if it is needed.

Please continue to pray for Ronel. For the passing of this gallstone, for completion of his immigration paperwork, that we can find a quick & relatively easy way to get his papers to me here and then the quick process of the paperwork once I get it mailed in.

what a great day!

Today, I got an email saying that someone had added me as a friend on Facebook and so I went and looked and it was an old friend that I had lost touch with. I am totally happy that this website has allowed us to reconnect and we can know catch up on what has gone on in our lives and stay in touch so that we will be a part of each other's lives for a long time!!!

Off to call Ronel and see how his doctor's appointment went today!

a review of the past few days....

ok, so a lot has happened since I last posted on the 19th.

Thursday after finding out the results of my biopsy, I called Ronel and found out that he had been in HAS (hospital in Haiti) since Wednesday morning and had returned not long before I called, after spending almost 36 hours in the hospital. I talked to Ronel again today and he said that he has an appointment on Tuesday with a doctor in Pierre Payen which is about 45mins - 1hr away from Borel, where Ronel lives. He will be meeting with Dr. Vic Binkley who is an American doctor who works at a medical clinic run by Project Help which is a Church of God ministry in Haiti. The church Ronel attends (and we were married in) is of the Church of God denomination and the house where we lived is on the Project Help - Borel campus. I am praying and hoping that Dr. Binkley can really help Ronel figure out what is going on with his gallbladder and this gallstone he has. I am also praying that there would be a solution that doesn't include surgery!

This week Stacey and I have started going to Curves again. We have been very bad in going and we haven't been in months! : ( We went three times this week and met a wonderful gal there on Thursday who retrained us on Saturday and got us quite pumped to be doing this again, but more diligently! Our workout on Saturday was amazing! Having Arlene walk us through all the machines again and really push us to do our best was quite beneficial. It was also quite painful! I have never felt a workout so much as I did on Saturday and I know that what I felt was what we should have felt every time. I was sore when we were done but it was a good sore! We are going back on Monday and I think we will be more committed this time around - especially since Arlene will be on our case if we aren't in 3 times a week! And the nice thing is that she works all 6 days that they are open and in the afternoon/evenings when we will be there! I really think that this is what we need to be committed to going three times a week, every week ~ someone who will be keeping an eye on us - to make sure we are doing each machine correctly, helping us figure out our nutrition needs, keeping us on track with getting weighed & measured so that we can track our progress and if there is no progress, she will help us figure out why.

This weekend has flown by! Friday I went and hung out with Terri who has been on vacation the past week and we went shopping for food for the barbecue party she was throwing today for Pam & Shealyn who have both just graduated from post secondary education. We both then did some packing in her kitchen and moved some items & the food items we had just bought over to the house they are moving into, Saturday I went to Curves in the morning, then came home and did some paperwork I needed to do for church today, then I was off to a Stampin' UP! party that a friend was having, then dinner at Swiss Chalet with friends before heading off to a Parenting Matters conference hosted by Focus on the Family Canada & Family Matters. It was a really great night! I had originally wanted to go just to get a head start for when Ronel & I have kids but then someone else had mentioned that it would also be beneficial for dealing with kids at work(and people in general). The night was all about parenting with grace/grace based parenting (same thing - just different wording!) I really enjoyed listening to Dr. Tim Kimmel who was our speaker and was able to just really engage the audience. There was a group of us that attended this conference from my church and I wasn't the only non parent in the group! (Though I do work with all the non parents there - except one, whose spouse I work with!!)

Today I went to church and then went to help Terri prepare for the party this afternoon. We held the party in their new place, which they just moved into yesterday! Yesterday a group of friends moved all of their belongings from their old place to their new place and then today, they had 18 people over for a grad party! Amazingly, Terri had gotten the kitchen set up quite well as well as her bedroom (where they had to sleep last night!) plus they have a lovely large deck off the kitchen where many of the people sat and hung out. This new place is bigger than the basement suite they have been living in and will be a great hang out this summer for the many people they have over so often (they also host our small group/bible study so it will be great for that as well!)

Tomorrow is back to work and then after work, Stacey & I will be heading to Curves, and I am looking forward to it!!

Well, I am off to bed!!

finally......

my results are in and I have gluten-sensitive enteropathy or celiac disease. I finally called my doctor's office this morning and asked if there was any results yet (from my March 22nd gastroscopy & biopsy) which I had been told I would get in 10-14 days and it has been exactly 4 weeks from today! I now plan to call my gastrointestinal specialist and find out what my next step should be. I think that I will probably have to see a nutritionist or something to help me figure out what I can and can't eat and how to still get everything I need. I was advised to also go see a naturopath.

After all this time without any results I had really begun to hope that the results were negative and that I didn't have celiac disease. This would have meant that I would have had to continue testing to find out what was wrong but... an answer where I didn't have to undergo a complete lifestyle and dietary change would have been much easier to swallow!

So I got home and started doing some more research online about celiac disease and living gluten free. There are MANY gluten free blogs and websites out there with recipes, help and info on living life gluten free. One site had a list of restaurants and their menus showing what was and wasn't gluten free. It was helpful - and a little sad.... the potato bites from Arby's are not gluten or wheat free which means no more for me : (
And for my next trip south of the border... I found out that the Outback Steakhouse has a good GF menu which includes a crab dip appie, meals and some desserts! So while I will have to make many adjustments, apparently I will still be able to enjoy some of the things I have always loved! And the great news is that the tortilla chips that I LOVE are made with corn and are totally gluten free so I will still be able to enjoy eating nachos!! YEAH!!!

I was a bit emotional today after finding out my results and called Ronel when I got home tonight and told him - he was upset that I had to find out alone and that he wasn't here and then I found out that he was back in the hospital yesterday morning and was just released this evening. He was back in because of his gallstone and the accompanying pain. So this just added to the emotional load I was carrying and added to the frustration I was feeling. Days like today aren't supposed to happen! (sorry, just had to rant a little - I really don't like knowing that Ronel is sick enough to be hospitalized and I'm not there!)

one down...

I was just talking to Ronel and he has his police report in his hands!!!
This is one piece of paperwork done and finished!
If he could just get the medical exam done and any of the other papers we need in our hands that we don't currently have!
This was a good way to start a Monday though!

the end....

I just received an email from the couple that I have been working for and found out that this morning was the last time that I will be sleeping at their house. They gave their notice last Monday but it was 30 days and so we weren't sure how long it would take for the company to find a replacement but apparently they found one yesterday and he will take over the route as of Sunday morning so Sunday night/Monday morning I can stay at home and sleep in my own bed the whole night through! It is good news but with a bit of sadness - God has really taken care of me through this all and I have felt GREAT with the crazy schedule I have kept for the last 5 weeks. I have had tons of energy (most days) and have been getting a great night's sleep on the futon at their home. Other than the few times the kids have woken up in the night, I have never felt really tired because of taking on this job.

While I am happy that I don't have to drive anywhere in the middle of the night, I will miss the extra income and will have to try and get myself into the same sort of schedule here where I can still feel as rested and not rushed in the morning.

This also means that I may again have to look at weekend/evening job opportunities! And I was just getting used to getting paid to sleep!!

ready to go...

This is one of my favorite photos of my time in Haiti. I was in the office and kept hearing my name and came out and saw these three sitting in the back of the truck. They had figured out on their own how to get into the back of the truck ~ they used the tricycle seat to get them up on to the bumper and then climbed over the tailgate. I had to take a photo and every time I see this photo, I smile...

emotional....

So I just talked to Ronel, wanting to know how his doctor's appointment went yesterday. Apparently the doctor just gave him more medication and an undated appointment so he can come back if he is in a lot of pain (getting into the hospital without an appointment is very difficult - you need to go to a dispensary and see a nurse and get referred to the hospital and it is a hassle and a huge waste of time - especially since Ronel already has seen the doctor and knows what is wrong!) Ronel said his pain levels have been way down and he's feeling much better. Then he asked me if I had my results from my biopsy - which I still do not, and he asked how I was feeling and I decided to be honest (I know - a good idea, but I don't always like to tell him when I am having abdominal pain - there isn't much he can do about it!) and tell him that I was actually having a lot of pain tonight, which is quite frustrating since I once again ate a gluten free meal today for lunch but am still having pain!) and I could tell he was hurting for me. He wanted to know how many days this had been going on and I said that the pain came and went and on the other end of the line I could hear his voice break as he told me that he wished he could be here with me while I was in pain, so that he could comfort me and take care of me, and that it when I broke - I started crying (like I am doing just typing this!) and then he prayed for me. He asked God to comfort me because he wasn't able to be here, to take away my pain, to give us both peace as we are so far apart, to be my Great Physician and to heal my body, to help the doctors know what is wrong and to get my results quickly. As he prayed, I cried and thanked God for such a wonderful, caring husband. Days like today I miss Ronel 1000 times more than I normally do and just pray that God will help Ronel get all the paperwork together and then get it processed super quick. Ronel also told me to go lie down and talk to God and rest and so that is what I am going to go do! Since I can't curl up in my husband's arms, I am going to go curl up in my Heavenly Father's arms, pray and just rest.

Friends... (& other bits of info)

I have known this for a while but I have been reminded numerous times this past week that I have GREAT friends! I have had a hard week as for the first time in all the time Ronel & I have been apart I heard in his voice how much he misses me Monday night when we were talking and it just really was hard not to break down and cry. With Ronel also waiting to find out if he has to have surgery for his gallstone, it has just been really hard for me to be here and not there with him. Wednesday at minichurch, I was asked how they could pray for me and so I mentioned this and also how this was holding up getting Ronel’s medical exam done and that I was really scared about Ronel getting this surgery done in Haiti and so we prayed and Terri prayed that Ronel’s gallstone would just be gone and that during his follow up appointment (which was today) the stone would no longer be there. She also said that she really felt that this was an attack keeping Ronel from being able to use his time off from school to go and get his medical done. Ronel has had 2 weeks off school and this would have been a great time for him to be able to go into Port-au-Prince and get his medical exam done so that we could file his paperwork. But instead, he has spent the majority of his time off in great pain from this gallstone and many days & nights up at the hospital. My friends have been there for me through all of this - when I need a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, a hug or just an activity to keep me busy, I can count on my friends. As Terri put it - while they don’t know Ronel, they want to meet him as he is now a part of my life and they are also a part of my life. I can’t wait for Ronel to get here and meet them either!! If only we could get his paperwork filed!

Please be praying that Ronel can get his medical exam done in the near future, that we can get the paperwork filed very quickly and shortly after the exam is done and that it would be processed quickly! Please also continue to keep Ronel's health (& mine too) in your prayers. I heard this morning that Ronel also just burnt himself on his motorbike and was getting it checked out at the hospital while he was there for his follow up appointment for his gallstone. I on the other hand, am still waiting for my biopsy results - hopefully I will get them this week and will be able to know more about what is going on in my body! I have been trying my best to eat gluten free and for the most part I have been successful. It's funny how it's easier when I remember the pain I will be causing myself! There are times that there either isn't another option or I just am craving something with bread(gluten) but I'm trying to keep those to a minimum. Yesterday though, I did fantastic at Easter lunch for eating gluten free and I still was having abdominal pains and other internal issues and that was SO very frustrating. I had passed on food that wasn't gluten free that I love and still I was having "issues" and those are the days where I just want to scream and give up on the whole thing. I am praying that the biopsy results will give me more knowledge about why that is happening!