We are going home!!!! Tomorrow, Trent & I get on a plane and return to Budapest. We are so excited to have our family back together. We haven’t been all in the same place since May 2nd. That is just way too long.

There still isn’t anything to report on Trent. The doctors haven’t found anything and are pretty much baffled by the situation. We are confident that they have considered all the possibilities and consulted with experts all around the country. Trent is on a couple of medications that they hope will make a difference over time.

The great thing is that as we look at how Trent is doing today versus when they left on May 2nd, the difference is dramatic. While he still has the stomach cramps, his spirits are much much better. When we left Budapest, he didn’t want to do anything but lay down. He didn’t feel like going anywhere or doing anything. Even in the first few weeks here in Texas, he would choose to stay home instead of going out. The time when we knew he was sick was when he chose to go home in the 4th inning of a Minor League Baseball game. Trent is a huge baseball fan and wouldn’t choose this unless he felt awful.

Today, he is pretty active and the pains really don’t restrict his activity. He went swimming today for 3 hours and had a great time. His stomach hurt while he was swimming, but he was able to endure it.

Please continue to pray that the Lord would heal him fully and that the transition back to Budapest would go well. We probably won’t send anymore updates unless something dramatic happens.

Valerie & I are so thankful for your prayers and notes of concern. They truly sustained us. We know that the Lord has been carrying us through this difficult time and we have felt his presence.

I wanted to give you a quick update on the situation. Not much has changed, but I wanted to let you know the latest.

Valerie is in the Zurich airport as I type on her way home. She arrives this afternoon (Tuesday). It has been 4 weeks since she left and we are all excited about the reunion. The difficult part for all of us is that Trent isn’t with her. I will pick her up at the airport and we will go straight to the immigration office. Please pray that the clerks there would have compassion for our situation and make allowances. We expect everything to go smoothly. Valerie is bringing Trent’s passport with her as it is all we need to make application for him.

On Friday, I will head to Texas to take Valerie’s place with Trent. Our first appointment is Monday with a psychologist. He is going to help us determine if there could be a psychological element to this. It is the logical next step as most of the obvious medical things have been ruled out. There is still the possibility of more medical tests, but we have to take the week off because of Valerie & I trading places. My current tickets are to return with Trent on June 22nd. I also have a couple of meetings that I need to have in the US while I’m there. This is secondary to caring for Trent, but if I can work it out to have them I will.

Please pray for our reunion here in Budapest and that Valerie and I will make the most of our 2 ½ days together. We’ve already scheduled a getaway without the kids in order to maximize our time.

Also, continue to pray that we will have clarity on the problems with Trent. We know that the Lord knows the problem and that He will reveal it to us as soon as He is ready. He is a good God who desires our best. Valerie & I have to continually remind ourselves that the goal is to know Him more and not necessarily to get on the other side of this trial. Our flesh hopes that it ends soon, but our spirits have faith and hope that He is at work. Pray that we would be willing to seek Him in the journey and not just wait for the destination. I pray that Trent and our other kids would have a deeper faith as a result of all of this.

Thanks for all the prayers, encouragements, meals, childcare, etc . . . that have sustained me. I couldn’t have made it without them.

Valerie just boarded the plane to come home!!!! If I can get the kids to school in the morning and work for a few hours, then this leg of the journey will be over. I feel like I’m stumbling to the finish line, but it looks like I will make it.

I can’t wait to see my bride. Four Weeks is way to long to be apart. I leave on Friday. I pray that we won’t have to do another 4 weeks.

Valerie said it was very hard to leave Trent, but she is ready to be home and see me and the other kids. We are all ready and waiting!!

Trent, I’ll be there on Friday night!! I love you buddy! I’m sorry that you are having to go through this.

Just a very quick update….Trent has a very healthy gall bladder according to the latest test. He is thrilled that he will have no surgery, I am so sad to not have an answer. Dr. Higgins (the gastro specialist) just called and said that one of the meds Trent is taking is slower to take effect and that he thinks it is a good idea for him to remain in the states. It is looking like Tom and I will be switching places this week. This is very hard on my mommie heart, however, being apart from my other three for so long is so difficult as well! It will have been a month since I left when I return….that is so hard to believe. I have had God’s grace through it all but can tell that it is time to return (tearing up a lot like a big baby when I talk to them, etc! ) I will speak to Dr Rob today and see what is in store for tomorrow, but right now, I am going to go lay by the pool and drink a diet coke and not think for a little while.

Valerie

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