Gracie Update

So the story over the weekend has changed a bit. We've gotten some opinions from orthopedic surgeons both in the US and Australia and there is less concern than there was initially. While they do see two fractures in the bones, they don't see displacement or separation in the soft tissue. They want to keep Gracie in the boot that she's currently wearing and monitor the pain. If things don't improve by the end of this week, then we may move on to the next plan.

In exciting news for her, Cheetah-Speed was returned!  A PNG kid who found the stuffed animal brought her by as soon as he saw the missing signs that Carrie had put up. He didn't want the reward either, but said we should use the money to help Gracie! She is so encouraged! Thank you as always for your prayers!

Pray for Gracie, please!

We are celebrating the fact that Carrie returned from Australia on Thursday last week. It's been great to have the family back together.

Unfortunately, the day Carrie left (May 13), Gracie had an accident on the playground. A heavy wooden seesaw with several kids on it fell onto the top of her left foot when the kids on the other end of the seesaw quickly got off. It was pinned under there for a while before the kids realized what happened and got off. Initially, the X rays didn't seem to show any problem and we expected the pain to reduce, but over a week later she is still on crutches and the pain is not subsiding. 

She’s in agony anytime her foot gets bumped or she falls. She put weight on it accidentally this morning when her crutches tripped on something, and she said it felt like a needle was coming up through the bottom of her foot. She has excruciating pain top and bottom, all the way through the thickness of her foot. Repeat x-rays comparing both feet were sent to a specialist radiologist friend of our doctor here, and he’s the one who saw the issue.

She's smiling, but that's Gracie! She's in a lot of pain.

He has determined that she has a Lisfranc fracture and it needs to be addressed immediately with surgery and likely pins/screws into the bones (the procedure is called an anatomical reduction). If it is not taken care of, she would likely be lame for the rest of her life. Even afterwards, it sounds like the recovery is long (six months to a year) and sometimes is even then never completely healed.

We hope to get an appointment set up ASAP in Australia and then Carrie will turn around again and go back to Australia with Gracie. We don't know at all at this point how long she will be there or really any other details with the timeline, so please pray that all falls into place quickly.

A secondary prayer request is about Cheetah-Speed, Gracie's beloved stuffed cheetah, to be with her. In the chaos when she was injured, the stuffed animal was left behind and then stolen. We've tried hard to find her and have her returned, but to no avail and Gracie is pretty heartbroken. We know the Lord is always with her, but a tangible and familiar comfort would be hugely appreciated - a replacement identical cheetah won’t be as loved and worn and known as Cheetah-Speed. As silly as it might sound, Cheetah Speed being returned would be a huge blessing to help Gracie through this. She gets quite nervous, although she’s a real trooper!

Marcie and Gracie together. Gracie with her ever-present Cheeta-Speed.

Thanks for praying for the rest of us kids left behind again. We are really sad to lose our wife/mom again so soon, and we are all are concerned for Gracie. I just can’t get away from work and with Carrie being the more "medical one” in our family it makes more sense for her to go. Plus, she will get to sleep at sea level! (her sleeping issue started again a few nights ago, but it wasn't an issue when at sea level in Cairns.)

Thanks for all the love and prayers and tangible help for our family!

Update from Carrie

 Thank you all so much for praying! My sleep study on Saturday showed terrible sleep (90 minutes total in lab conditions - those wires are awful!) but I have no apnea or heart, lung, brain, airway issues or anxiety during sleep. I mentioned today to the doctor that my “air hunger” awakening and resulting agitation has only been an issue at 5,000 feet altitude (where we live). He suspects this is a post COVID syndrome/symptom and should get better in 2-3 months from now (4-5 months from having COVID). He assures me it WILL go away. I just hope and pray that it happens SOON, and in fact, that it doesn’t come back at all. I’m relieved that I don’t need a machine for the rest of my life, although I was a bit disappointed that I can't go back with a “sure” fix. We really appreciate your prayers for grace and strength and sleep. I’m looking forward to getting home to my family!

Again, thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers. I should be back in PNG with my family on Thursday night.

In Christ,

Carrie

Time-sensitive prayer request for Carrie

Hi friends and family, 

 Ever since Carrie had COVID a couple of months ago she's had increasingly debilitating sleep issues, specifically not breathing during sleep and waking up desperately air hungry. It fits a number of different possible diagnoses, but after a couple of appointments and various unsuccessful treatments/medications, our missionary doctors here say the next step is to get a sleep study. We tried to book weeks ago through one hospital in Australia, but they were really backed up. Just this week, after a particularly scary night for Carrie, the Lord provided an alternate sleep clinic and specialist to see her in Cairns THIS COMING WEEKEND. Please pray for all of this to come together if it's the Lord's will. Traveling during COVID is complicated! Even though the borders have opened there are so many more boxes to tick and ducks to get in a row. We deeply appreciate prayer that the sleep study and follow up appointment with the sleep specialist doctor will yield answers and solutions. We also appreciate prayer for Gavin as he stays with the kids and is in one of the busiest seasons of heli flying he's ever had. Life is already fairly overwhelming (though we both LOVE our jobs/ministry/community here!) as the end of the school year approaches. Please pray for peace and joy for the kids, and patience with each other and their dad. :)

Isaac MC'ing the high school talent show. How is our baby now the Master of Ceremonies?!

Seth in real Civil War reenactment uniform thanks to "Uncle" Daniel

Sunrise service on Easter

Doing a line dance at school just to embarrass the kids!

Michael Harrar, a friend from way back in Colombia days and now again in PNG, drawing for the crowds while using the heli skids or a canoe as his bench. Gavin and he had a whirlwind trip all last week visiting many ongoing language, translation and Scripture use projects!

Traditional outrigger canoe at sunset

The only thing Gavin likes less than coffee: hot clam juice!

And just for fun - Isaac photo-bombing poor Marcie and Mom with a goofy face.