Isabel 3

Wednesday 29 June:

It has been an amazing week. And through it all runs the thread of God's faithfulness. I wrote about the surgery and how the medical insurance refused to pay, since the problem was congenital, and that was an exclusion on our plan. I went to check, and there it was, in black and white. Three times I wrote, and received replies to say that it would not be covered.

I wrote an email, to you (friends and family). Then sat and watched God do a complete miracle- it was like the multiplication of the bread, completely. Everyone just reached out and I so knew exactly why God asked us to be a body- because together we can do the impossible. Moved by the Power of the Holy Spirit. I can not thank everyone enough! It is extremely humbling to be so dependent- but I guess humble is a good place to be. In our weakness lies His strength. As I want I testified to everyone who was able to listen, just how great God is.

And then this morning another continent moved. The medical aid wrote back: and said that they have changed their policy after reviewing my (very passionate) letters of Monday. They are willing to change their policy, to from now on, include congenital conditions. Imagine! Every knee shall bow! They consider also to help with the surgery- though what exactly this means we are not currently sure.

There are so many other parts to this story: Carl and the boys joined me this evening. We made the decision on Saturday, not keeping into account the number of working days. Tim's passport was with me in South Africa. I tried sending it by courier. This morning, at the time they were suppose to fly to South Africa, the passport was still in South Africa (held by customs). And yes, they are here tonight. The passport made it, and they were able to come.

So, tomorrow is the big day. Surgery is scheduled for just after 2pm. She is suppose to spend the first nights in High Care, and then some more days in the normal ward. We will let you know how things progress. Please pray with us. We are a body, and one part of the body is nothing alone.

Friday morning, 1 July:

So, they finally operated on Isabel last night after six. We spend a slightly tense time waiting. The doctor came out with a smile, which is always nice. It was indeed as they had thought (but was not 100% sure), that her intestines were loose and hence would not function properly. Her appendix was apparently just under her heart- they took it out, because they said if she was to ever have appendicitis, no one would be able to find it :) So, they took the whole bowel out, recoiled it and fixed it- sounds like she is a car hey? Anyway, she was taken to ICU last night, and spend the night there, tubes everywhere and under lots of pain medication. The worst part is that she will not be able to eat for the next few days, since her bowels will be completely quiet now.

If all goes well, then this should fix her constant vomiting, so she will keep food in, and start to grow. We are so very thankful, to God, to every one of you. May we one day be able to bless you in the same way.