Diagnosis, but no time frame

We finally have reached a diagnosis.  And by "we," I mean the doctor has finally found something that will appease him.  Apparently I have a genetic disease (thanks mom and dad ;-)) called Celiac Disease.  This is actually quite ironic because I am a Wheat, but I can no longer eat wheat.  As best as I understand, I am not allergic to wheat, but rather my stomach does not have whatever it takes to properly digest the gluten in wheat.  As a result, the gluten kills the hair like villi in my stomach though which all the nutrition in the foods I eat is absorbed.  I don't think I have a bad case of this disease, since I do not have many symptoms (probably just the stress of moving made it flair up), but left untreated it could get worse.  The treatment is not really that much of a treatment either, I just have to cut out gluten from my diet.  I think this will actually be easier to do overseas than here in the U.S., because the foods are so much less processed overseas.  In all the processing that goes on in our foods here, you never know where they are hiding the gluten, but overseas it's much simpler.  Bread, don't eat.  Apple, okay.  With all that being said, they have a diagnosis, but they still want to watch me for a while once I get completely on this gluten free diet.  And I honestly have no clue what that means.  How long are they going to want to monitor me?  I can't just sit around here forever as they watch me eat :)

In the meantime I have gone through quite a few books.  Jane Eyre was the book I read this week.  Loved it!  I really like reading that time period.  It was a more difficult read because it was in old English, so it took me a little longer than usual, but I did love the style of writing.  Even the words she used, words that we would not use today, but I felt they painted a better picture of what was going on and used fewer words to do it.  I can't wait to start another book soon.  Maybe Pride and Prejudice?

Still Delayed

Well, everything went good with my tests yesterday.  The doctor didn't see anything that worried him.  One would think that if I feel perfectly fine and the doctor didn't see anything that bothered him that we would be good to go.  Not quite so though.  We have to wait to get more tests back, get more tests done, wait for those to get back.....and so goes the cycle of "there is not actually anything wrong with you we're just going to try to keep looking till we find something."  I'm trying hard not to get discouraged, but it's difficult with no end in sight.

I've waited for this moment to travel since I was such a little girl.  We've been though constant delays for one reason and another over the past year.  We held strong through all of those delays, trusting that He had a plan for everything.  We finally thought we were in the clear; made it though training, had our plane tickets in hand...only to be delayed once again by this and I see no end in sight.  Everything is going in such slow motion.  I feel like the answers are so easy, we just have to wait to get this test back and that test back.  If I had a goal or a light at the end of the tunnel to look forward to I think it would be easier.  But nothing, who knows when they'll decide it was all just a fluke and we can go....

Liquids

Tomorrow I have to go in for some more tests.  Not fun.  We are still here in the U.S., still delayed.  I am feeling better now, but the doctors still want to do some more tests to make sure nothing is wrong.  My sister is certain that it was all just stress.  It may have been, all I know is that I am ready to move overseas now.  In preparation for these tests tomorrow, I am on a liquid diet today and I cannot eat anything after midnight tonight.  So far so good, but I am a little nervous about this empty stomach thing.  I am not sure that I've ever really had an empty stomach since the day I was born.  Thankfully today is a rainy day...I am still in my pj's and just lounging around being lazy all day.  I go in for the tests tomorrow morning, so hopefully I can stay asleep till the last possible moment.  I'll let you know how it all turns out, but keep me in your thoughts!

A Few Pictures

I just wanted to put up a few family pictures that we've been taking over the past couple of weeks:

My whole family

We outnumber the boys

Andrew's family minus me (I'm taking the picture)

Delay...

Thursday has come and Thursday has gone we are still here in the great state of Georgia.  I have yet to post about this because I think I have just now accepted it as reality.  Since we left Virginia, I have unfortunately been having some stomach issues.  I didn't think much about it at first, I figured it would just clear up pretty quickly on its own.  It didn't.  Thinking it might be just a side-effect of my TB meds, I called the nurse.  After conferring with the doctor, they said they did not believe that to be the case and I needed to go see a doctor asap.  8:30 the next morning I was in the doctors office.  After almost three hours of sitting, answering questions and getting poked with needles, I came out with three new prescriptions and no answers.  I started taking the new medicine on Friday and by Monday there was absolutely no change.  I called my doctor here and they gave me a million run-arounds and a second prescription for the exact same thing she has already prescribed to me (the pharmacy wouldn't let me fill it again so soon).  We had to call the doctor in Va again to give them the update, which was basically no change.  That's when it all happened...she said that even if I got completely better by that evening (Tuesday) my stomach would not be in good enough condition to move overseas on Thursday.  We needed to see a specialist before we could get medical clearance to travel.

Wednesday morning we were sitting in a specialists office basically demanding they let us in.  They did :)  He too had no ideas, so after telling me to come off the TB meds and eleven vials of blood later, we went home to wait it out.  We should hear back from him tomorrow, but in the meantime, I do feel a good bit better.  Not 100% yet, but I can tell there has been some improvement.  Who knows...maybe this time next week we'll be overseas :)

The First of Many...

Well, the time for our departure is quickly approaching.  We will leave all that we know and love here and head off on the adventure of a lifetime, for a lifetime.  Today is Monday and our flight leaves Thursday evening.  For the most part, we have what few belongings we have left sorted into what is going, what is staying and what will probably not fit so hopefully someone will bring it out to us when they come visit.  We are filled with so many different emotions at the prospect of leaving.  Andrew's brother and sister-in-law have been in Georgia for the weekend spending time with us.  This afternoon we had the first of many hard good-byes.  We are so grateful for this time to spend with family before we leave.  It is so very difficult to say good-bye to loved ones, we have to constantly remind ourselves that it is all worth it in His name.  Andrew's parents have flown out to spend our last week here with us.  I am so grateful that they made the trip out.  It is an enormous encouragement to both me and Drew to have their love and support.  In the midst of this difficult time, it gives us such a peace and calm knowing that both sets of parents and families completely love us and support us.  Most importantly though, they know, love and desire Glory for the Name that is above all names.

We still have a lot of preparation ahead of us before we leave on Thursday.  While we have most of our things sorted, we have not even begun to put those things into bags yet.  I believe we will get to take a total of seven bags with us when we go.  It sounds like a lot, but I'm sure once we start actually putting our stuff in them they will quickly fill up.  I am a bad packer.  It's not that I am bad at getting things to fit (I think I'm actually quite good at Tetris), it's that the packing part is where I get the most stressed out.  There's just something about putting your things in a suitcase that makes it all so real.  You have to sit there and watch it all go in.  More and more of your stuff going into the suitcase and less and less of your stuff sitting on the floor in your house.  I am definitely going to need a lot of "morals" for this packing process.

Thanks for keeping up with us!  I will try to keep you updated with our process and travels as we go along.  I apologize that in my stress I often do not communicate as much as I should :)

"Saba"!!!

Just a quick update....An-do and I are baby sitting Zeke for a few hours this morning and he has finally figured out a name for me!!  He now calls me "Saba."  I like it, I think it's close to Sabre which is fun, like a Sabre Tooth Tiger.