NO MORE TUBES! THANK THE LORD!

Bethany did wonderfully! She is still in recovery, but the tubes are out!

The Dr said that there was good flow through her bile ducts and that everything looked good. We will be staying overnight to ensure that Bethany does not get an infection but hopefully we’ll be able to return home tomorrow.

Thank you everyone for your prayers! Our God is good! He has heard and answered. Tell someone today of how great our God is!

Blessings and power and strength and praise be to our God!

Taylor, Angela, Bethany, and Jonathan

TODAY’S THE DAY! PRAY! PRAY! PRAY!

Today is the day we all have been waiting for. Today we will see if Bethany can have her tubes removed or if they need to remain in for another 1-2 months. Today we find out whether Bethany’s bile ducts have remained opened. Please pray!

Bethany is very excited and has already voiced that she will be extremely upset if she wakes up with tubes. Pray for complete healing. Pray Bethany will accept whatever the outcome is. Pray she will not get an infection from the procedure. Pray!

Thank you! The joy of the Lord is my strength!

Liver & Bile Duct Evaluation Tomorrow!

Bethany is feeling much better. She has been able to eat again without throwing up, her temp is normal, and in general she is much improved. Thank you for your prayers!

Tomorrow Bethany will have her liver and bile ducts evaluated. If the liver continues to look healthy and the bile continues to drain well, the doctors will remove her drainage tubes. Please pray diligently for this. If the bile ducts are not draining well, then her tubes will need to be re-inserted for another 4-8 weeks.

Bethany’s procedure is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. eastern time. In the meantime, please continue praying for Bethany as she completes her ninth grade school work. We are hopeful she will be finished with one class today, and then her remaining 3 classes she’ll complete in the next 2 weeks.

Thank you for your faithfulness to pray for Bethany and our family.

In His grace,
Taylor, Angela, Bethany, and Jonathan

A Midnight Trip to Atlanta’s ER

Bethany woke up this morning a little before 3 a.m. feeling nauseous and hot. She threw up, checked her temp (103.8), and woke us up.

I immediately hooked up Bethany’s biliary drainage bags and called the transplant team. While I waited for the oncall doctor to return my call, I packed a bag and Angela packed Bethany’s bag. The doctor returned my call and wanted us to come in immediately.

Bethany and I are now in the er in Atlanta. We have been seen by a doctor and expect to be admitted to the transplant floor soon.

Please keep Bethany in your prayers. She has a very high fever and does not feel well at all. We were supposed to return to Atlanta tomorrow to have Bethany’s liver evaluated and to hopefully have her drainage tubes removed. Please pray we can get her to feeling better quickly and that nothing will hinder us from removing the drainage tubes tomorrow.

Thank you!
Taylor, Angela, Bethany, and Jonathan

Biliary Drain Update…We Now Have Anchors!

Yesterday Bethany and I returned to Atlanta to evaluate Bethany’s bile ducts and to see if the biliary drains/stints have opened up her bile ducts. Bethany did great with the procedure. Her liver looked good enough for her doctors to remove her biliary drains from the liver. Bethany still has what her doctor calls “anchors” which look the same as the drains but don’t go all the way through the liver. These are in place just in case the doctors need to gain access to Bethany’s liver in the next week.

The plan going forward is for Bethany to return next Tuesday. If Bethany’s liver numbers remain the same or improve, they will remove the anchors then. Yeah! We will continue to check Bethany’s liver enzymes every 2 weeks to monitor her progress. The next 6 months will be crucial in telling us whether Bethany’s liver troubles have been a recurrence of her disease (PSC) or if this issue has been a mechanical issue due to scar tissue. If the PSC is trying to recur, then Bethany will need to be re-listed for transplant. We are praying this is just a mechanical issue and not a recurrence of her disease.

Praises!

1. Bethany’s right half of her liver looks perfect and completely healed!
2. Bethany’s left half of her liver has healed well, but does show some signs of permanent damage to one area.
3. Bethany has had no fever after her procedure! This is a first!
4. Bethany has hurt less with this procedure!
5. We are going home today!

Prayers:

1. Pray Bethany’s liver issues have been mechanical and not a recurrence of Bethany’s disease (PSC).
2. Pray Bethany’s liver numbers improve this week so we can remove the anchors next Tuesday.
3. Pray Bethany will continue to be fever and infection free.
4. Pray once we remove the anchors that the wounds from the drains will heal quickly. Bethany really wants to go swimming, and she can’t go until the wounds completely heal.
5. Bethany has made good progress towards completion of her 9th grade school year. Please keep her in your prayers as she works toward finishing up all classes over the next few weeks.
6. Pray Bethany will be able to do her Make-A-Wish over the summer. She had to postpone it because of the biliary drains.
7. Pray Bethany will be completely healed and have no more complications with her liver.

Thank you for your prayers!

In God’s grace and mercy,
Taylor, Angela, Bethany, and Jonathan