Tomorrow (THURSDAY) is an important day for Trent. We will be retesting his gall bladder. Dr Rob is still a slight bit suspicious of it and wants to check it out one more time. Bad news for Trent is that it means another IV, the good news is that after the prep for the colonoscopy, that seems like no big deal!! Trent looked a little better today, but no huge change so far from the irritable bowel drugs we are trying.

I am trying so hard not to put all my hope in the outcome of this test. I feel like it is the last time that we could have the chance for this to be “cut and dry.” After this, we will enter into no man’s land of unclear, or difficult to obtain diagnosis.

Our desire and prayer has been for clarity. The Lord is good and is in this whatever His answer is, but we have a little more time left to ask for our desire! Please pray for Trent’s test at 7:30 AM. Pray that the results would be clear and not in the questionable zone. Pray for wisdom for Dr Rob as he helps us think through all this. He has gone above and beyond by leaving no rock unturned! He has been a blessing to us! (And he is funny, too!)

We will let you know when we know more. Thanks for praying.

Valerie

P.S. from Tom – Please pray also as we have to make some travel decisions based upon the result of today’s test. Valerie has to return next Monday (arriving Tuesday) because of the need to renew her residence permit. We realized that Trent doesn’t have to return, but his passport does. Therefore, it looks like I will leave here after Valerie returns to go and join Trent. This is good timing as after 4 weeks, Valerie & I are definitely missing the kids that we are away from and we both need a change of scenery. We miss each other too, but I guess that will have to wait a little while longer.

It is Saturday night and I am typing this from Little Rock, Arkansas. I decided Friday at 11am to come and got here at 11Pm last night! We are taking the weekend to see Tom’s sister’s family, and some dear friends that we have from living here for 6 years.

I heard from Dr Higgins on Friday morning. ALL OF TRENT’S BIOPSIES WERE NORMAL! That is GREAT news, except when you were hoping for a nice bacteria or hidden parasite that could be killed with a pill! So, that leaves us doing a little fishing. This weekend, Trent is taking a medicine that would help him if it is irritable bowel syndrome. So far, he still feels lousy. I call the Dr. on Monday and he may then try a new medicine. Eventually, he will try a medicine that would be for treating Crohn’s even though there is no signs of it in his GI system that are visible yet!

I am reminded again that while God is NEVER late, he is seldom early. Please ask Him to give us clarity in His perfect timing…but before we get on the plane on MAY 29th if he would!

Our wonderful new friend and Texas pediatrician is in contact with an infectious disease specialist, as well. He has been so helpful and is not giving up yet! Pray for wisdom for him (Dr Wiley) and Dr Higgins, the gastro specialist.

I don’t feel desperate yet, but I can here the clock ticking. It is hard because I so badly want to go home with Trent feeling much better.

Meanwhile, we will enjoy our time with friends and family this weekend and then head back to Abilene on Monday or Tuesday for the next step….pray that we have one!

Thank you again for your prayers.

AND PLEASE PRAY BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS FOR MY DAUGHTER, KENDALL WHO IS TURNING 13!!!! ON THE DAY YOU RECIEVE THIS!!!!!

Thank you,

Valerie

Trent survived a difficult day on Tuesday. He had a camera look through all his intestines and upper digestive system today, but that was nothing compared to yesterday’ prep for the procedures. I didn’t mention that he did an upper GI test yesterday, as well! His Tuesday’s diet consisted of three glasses of barium, two glasses of phospho something or the other to clean him out, two dulcolax laxatives, and some sprite and Gatorade thrown in for grins. 34 hours of no food! He did it! He did it bravely…ok, when he threw up at 9pm, he lost it a little, but all in all, he did great!

Today’s test showed no abnormalities. This is good news because all out Crohn’s Disease should have had ulcers and thickening of the intestinal lining. The dr. took 8 biopsies at random just for investigative purposes…no cancer suspected or anything. He said that if nothing shows up, the only red flag remaining was the Crohn’s antibodies, so they may try treating it with a prescription anti inflammatory in case it is an early caught case. We will know more on Friday. Pray for answers. Nebulous is difficult at this point. He has ruled out gallbladder and said that no huge parasite grabbed his scope!

SO, we wait. Trent is having so much fun with his cousins. He has been playing some! That is so great to see. They are playing airsoft gun war, and he sits in the “tower” as a sniper because he is too tired to run around! BUT HE PLAYS< AND SMILES!!! 4 boy cousins are good medicine.

Our plan is to return May 29. That means 10 more days for Mr Mom Tom and also means that we miss the arrival of my first TEENAGER! Kendall turns 13 on Sunday! Pray for clarity and more clarity on this illness! Pray for stamina for Trent as he has now had 3 IV’s in a week! (and two blown veins!). Pray for Tom and the children in Budapest…and for patience for me.

Thank you so much. Valerie

P.S.
First, the time at Immigration went well on Tuesday. I was able to apply for the 4 of us that are still in Budapest and it appears that these will go through with no problem. We took a letter describing Valerie’s situation and they seemed to be sympathetic to our situation. We think that if Valerie & Trent can return before the end of May, then they should have no problem renewing their resident permits!!

In light of this, we scheduled their flights to arrive in Budapest on May 30th. It looks like they will need to return then whether we have found the problem with Trent or not due to the need to renew the residence permit.

I want to give you and update on the latest with Trent so that you pray more specifically. This is Tom writing this time so this email will probably not be as entertaining as Valerie’s, but as least you’ll get the information.

When Valerie finally heard from the Gastro-pediatric doctor’s office in Lubbock to schedule the tests, things changed a little bit. They weren’t able to schedule the tests for Tuesday in Lubbock so they opted to schedule a few tests in Abilene on Tuesday and then do the other tests in Lubbock on Wednesday.

Therefore, today (Tuesday), Trent will have an Upper GI as well as another test that I don’t remember the name of in Abilene. This is the one where he has to drink the bad chalky stuff so he is not too excited about it (needless to say). Then, Valerie & Trent will drive to Lubbock (about 2 hours away) and spend the night (in a hotel) in preparation for more tests on Wednesday. The big downside of the whole thing is that Trent cannot have anything but clear liquids all day Tuesday and Wednesday until after the tests. NO FUN!!! This is the point where Valerie and I so want to just jump in there and take the tests for him.

Another complication that arose yesterday is that there was some confusion with the date that our Hungarian residence permit needs to be renewed. Up until yesterday, we thought that it was July 1st, but we found out that it was really June 3rd. While June 3rd isn’t here yet, the renewal is a 30-45 day process so needless to say we are way behind. I’m going to the immigration office this afternoon to apply for myself and the three kids that are here with me. We aren’t sure what is going to happen with Valerie and Trent. We are going to explain the situation to them and ask that they give Trent and Valerie some type of extension so that they can wait and renew it when they get home.

The final thing that we could use prayer for is the rescheduling of Valerie & Trent’s flights. They are scheduled to leave on Thursday, but that clearly isn’t going to happen due to the fact that we probably won’t know anything by then. We have to pick a date for their return, but at this point it is only a guess. We have to pay the change fee and then if it changes again, we’ll have to pay again. The immigration process, Trent’s diagnosis & necessary treatment, and our family sanity all factor into the decision so pray that we’ll have wisdom about which dates to pick.

Thanks so much for your prayers. Valerie & I are both certain that we couldn’t make it without them. They are sustaining us daily.

This afternoon, Trent and I met with Dr. Higgins, the pediatric gastroenterologist, who “happened” to be passing through Abilene (which by the way is not an easy thing to do). He was very thorough and seems very knowledgeable. The bummer is that he was not at all impressed by Trent’s weird experience with the gall bladder test. He was, however, interested in one of Trent’s blood work results.

Let me interject here with the fact that, whereas the internet and technology are great tools, and have been my husbands career choice, they are definitely not “mother-friendly.” If a mother googles so much as “small scratch from falling off a swing set,” the internet would give a mother warnings about how this could lead to an amputation! All that said, Trent might (I repeat MIGHT) have Crohn’s Disease. This is as the internet puts it “Cronic, debilitating, and relapsing disorder characterized by inflammatory destruction of the gastrointestinal tract.” Isn’t that horrible sounding! They have much calmer sights that sound less horrific.

All that to say, sweet, sweet Trent will be heading to Lubbock, Tx on Tuesday with his momma. The blood work only showed the “chance” of Crohn’s, not a confirmation. He is thrilled to drink more Barium for an upper GI and to have a scope of both ends of his gastrointestinal track. Bless his sweet heart. He has been brave….whiney but brave….I told him that I would whine a lot with all this, as well!

SOOOO….more prayers. Please pray for Trent above all else. He is scared. I don’t blame him. PRAY THAT THIS WILL NOT BE CROHN”S DISEASE! Pray that they would discover the problem, without question, no matter what it is. We need an answer!

Also, this means that we must change our plans to travel home on Thursday and delay our return home for at least another week. PLEASE PRAY FOR MR. MOM TOM while he is having crazy weeks at work and caring for the other three Seely kids. Pray for stamina, peace, and good health. Pray for my other sweeties….I hope they aren’t missing me as much as I miss them!!

(While you are at it, will you throw in a prayer for my younger sister, Bonnie, who has been to the doctor and the emergency room with a racing heart this week?)

Thank you thank you thank you for interceding for all my people to our loving, merciful, powerful, and healing God.

Valerie

The Latest from Valerie . . .

We had another trying day at the hospital. We got there at 7AM to run a gall bladder ejection something or the other. I think it is a bad idea to arrive during a shift change! The new shift didn’t realize that we weren’t family members waiting in the waiting room that we had been directed toward by the night shift. When they did figure us out, the hospital itself was confused and had us scheduled for tomorrow although they had told our doctor today!

Long story short, Trent got the IV without a hitch, waited until 1pm to have the test run. He did not complain at all about being starving…..more than 100 times, anyway! The test was to inject some radioactive substance into his IV that would fill his gall bladder, then to inject a second substance and measure how much passes through in a certain amount of time. He ended up laying still on a table for 87 minutes….pretty much 11 year old torture!

I think it is weird that I went into this test wanting something to be wrong. Sorta demented, but gall bladder would be a quick fix to his problems.( albeit more than the little tablet fix we were hoping for! ) Things were looking pretty good (which means strange) when it took over an hour for the first stuff to go into his gall bladder. The nurse had just come in with a dose of morphine to help it along when it finally opened up. Apparently this was very uncommon. Then they measured the output. I am not a dr, I just play one on TV, but here is the scoop in layman’s terms…… 10 or below would have meant take it out tomorrow, above 35-40 means perfectly healthy. He scored a 26. That just means confusing.

For a little while, I was hopeful (Trent was miserable) thinking surgery was still a good option. Next came the ultrasound that showed a good looking gall bladder. More confusion, less hope for an easy decision.

WELL, wonderful Dr Rob Wiley called and said that the pediatric gastroenterologist he has been consulting with from Lubbock just “happens” to be passing through here on Friday. He graciously wants to meet with us on Friday at 4pm. He will look over all our mess of tests, and from his vast experience will help us make the call as to whether or not it is his gall bladder. Interestingly enough, Tom had his out 9 years ago, and it didn’t present at all on an ultrasound. Who knows??? I know the Lord does! We just need him to make it good and clear to us before we are willing to have our boy cut on.

So that is where we are at. Trent is happy that he didn’t have surgery today, that he finally got to eat at 4pm, and that his mom let him watch “Lord of the Rings” for the first time. (I know what you are thinking Kendall and Reed…Remember “Life isn’t always fair!”)

Pray for my sweet hubby. It isn’t looking too good for us to leave next Thursday at all. He is doing great so far, but I know it is hard to do it all for a long amount of time. I miss my other kiddos. Pray for them, as well, to feel safe and secure and comforted.

Pray, most of all, for wisdom and CLARITY!!! Thank you so much. We are desperate for each prayer you pray on our behalf.

Valerie

From Valerie:

Tom has asked me to write a little update to let you know how things went today. I took Trent to the hospital this morning to have a CT scan of his head an abdomen. All came back normal in the testing. It was a pretty long day and uncomfortable for Trent. He had a rolling vein on their first attempt at the IV, so they not only poked around a lot, they also had to poke him a second time. Next came three 12 oz cups of chalky stuff that he had to drink, which is loads of fun when you are dealing with stomach pain anyway! Dr. Rob said that today’s test rules out any of the big scary things. We are grateful for that, but still no farther along in finding the answer. We will have to wait for some other test results to rule out other things. Tomorrow, Dr Rob will call a pediatric gastroenterologist with whom he has already been consulting to see what comes next.

Trent was a trooper today…until they tried to make him wear a koala bear cartoon hospital gown!! He handled it all fine and says that all he wants is to feel good so that he can have a lot of fun with his seven cousins whom we are staying with! He has enjoyed a little Americana…e.g. Taco Bell (also good for kids with stomach issues) and Sonic!

Please pray for a breakthrough. Pray for wisdom for our new friend and awesome guy, Dr Rob Wiley. Also, pray blessings for my sister and bro in law and their family as they are being so gracious to care for Trent and I. Tom is hanging in there thanks to my pals who are keeping my family from starving! He is doing a great job…but please don’t stop praying for him and the other three Seely’s that are under his care! Also pray for Trent. He is still in pain and is getting weary of it all.

Valerie & Trent just got out of their first appointment with a pediatrician. It was mostly routine as he did a history, an exam, took an x-ray and ran a bunch of blood tests. This is basically what we expected as they have to get up to speed on the problem. We’ll wait for the results, but the mostly likely scenario is that they will see a Gastro specialist next week. That’s okay as Trent has 7 cousins to keep him busy between now and then. Also, we are waiting to hear if we can get some good medicine for his pain.

Thanks for praying for Valerie & Trent’s flights. They weren’t without some adventures. The flight from Dallas to Abilene was on a puddle-jumper that had about 10 passengers. They flew into a group of thunderstorms over Abilene. The plane started jumping around all over the place. They tried to land twice and had to pull up each time. Then, they circled for 30 minutes waiting for the storms to clear. Valerie was very scared. They finally landed safely. Another passenger that flies regularly said that it was the worst thing they had ever experienced.

In a related story, I was awakened by our house alarm in the middle of the night which rarely happens. My heart was racing and I looked at the clock and it was 3:51AM. I ran downstairs and checked which room triggered the alarm. I found out it was the office and yet I couldn’t find anything unusual. I’m guessing that something fell off the desk and tripped the motion detector. As I went back to bed, I thought of Valerie and prayed for her and Trent for a while until I fell asleep. The amazing thing is the time of Valerie’s scheduled arrival in Abilene was 8:51 CDT, which is 3:51AM here in Budapest. At the very time I was praying, Valerie was in the middle of the storm. Praise the Lord for hearing my prayers!!! He is a faithful God!!

More updates later. Thanks for your prayers!!

Valerie & Trent are in the air on their way to London. They have to change airports (from Heathrow to Gatwick) and then they go on to Dallas and then Abilene. When they touch down in Abilene it will be just before 4am here in Budapest, which is exactly the time that we woke up this morning. It’s going to be a long day for them.

I’m at work thanks to our great friend Laurel Rodd who is keeping Kirby Ann. She is not quite well enough to go to preschool, but she is doing pretty well. I’m also having dinner at the Rodd’s house tonight which is always great! That means I don’t have to cook tonight. My kids are thankful!!

He has been sick for a little over 2 months with stomach cramps and headaches. We have had many tests run here in Budapest, but up until this point we haven’t found anything. He really hasn’t gotten any better over time and we have even removed him from school because he was so far behind and doesn’t feel well enough to attend.

Over the last week, we have been praying about what the next step would be. Our doctor here in Budapest has been trying to find options for us here in Budapest or in Austria. Also, we have been talking to Valerie’s brother-in-law in Texas about possibly going to the US to get some help for him. As the week came to a close, the options in Budapest or Austria didn’t emerge so it became more and more clear that our only option was to return to the US.

Therefore, tomorrow (Tuesday), Valerie and Trent will fly to Abilene, Texas to Valerie’s sister and brother-in-law’s house. Trent will then have an appointment with a doctor there that will help us determine the next steps. Our biggest hope is that we can get him some medicine right away that would relieve some of his pain.

Here are some things that you can pray for:

* Safe Travel for Valerie & Trent and that Trent would be comfortable during the travel.
* That Trent would be able to get some pain medicine quickly that would relieve some of his pain
* That the doctors in Abilene would have wisdom and that we would be able to quickly navigate the medical system to get the right tests and see the right doctors
* For the kids and I that remain here in Budapest. Reed & Kirby Ann are also sick. Also, I need wisdom to find balance between work and home during this time.

Thanks for much for taking these things to the Lord. We are confident that the Lord will hear and answer!!

I’ll will keep you posted on the progress.