Update

Rachael is on clear liquids. She is doing better. This is been a hard and torturous time for her. It has been pretty heavy on all of us. My fever went away late yesterday afternoon. So at least we've got one down and one to go!
Please continue to keep all of us in prayer she went through a lot of pain on this event. Level 10 pain that lasted upwards of 8 hours or more. Today she should start on regular liquids and move to soft solids soon. If everything works then she can come home in the next day or so. So please just pray that all works out so we can get great rest and Hanna can have joy and security and that Rachael will be healed up from all these recent events.

Rachael At SMH

Please keep the prayers coming, Rachael is on her way to SMH for admittance.

Rachael is Sick

Rachel is sick and has not been able to keep anything down since Wednesday. We thought it might have been the flu but it continues to worsen. We are contacting the doctor this morning and we believe that she might have to go back SMH. Please be in prayer for Rachel and quick healing for her and also for Nancy as she has been without sleep for most of the night night and myself as I am spiking a fever from a flu.

Thank You!
Burt

A ministry note on our last visit to the hospital:
We ended up finding someone who is in desperate need of prayer for a family member. we have since remained in contact with them. We never know what God has planned so even though things look bad not all things are bad and in the end God will get the glory!

Home Again!

Rachel is home this afternoon. She is doing great and resting comfortably. All things are looking good and we are very glad to have her back. Thank you for the prayers! They worked wonders.

ICU Again

Being that Rachael's breathing was only about 4 breaths
per minute when she was resting, they have decided to place her in ICU until the sedatives have run themselves out. She will be here until sometime tomorrow at which time she will get a regular room, most likely on the orthopedic floor. She will be in a lot of pain so please pray for her to rest comfortably and to have a much better tomorrow.

Prayer Needed For Pain/Respiratory

Rachael took a long time to come out of the anesthesia.  Her breathing went down to a critical 4 breaths a minute.  The nurse wisely called in the rapid response team and they administered a drug to counteract sedatives given post-op. The plan is to find a balance between pain Med and breathing rate.
Please pray for that balance and that her pain is manageable.  Also for Nancy and I as this is difficult.

Burt

Out And Doing Well

Just spoke to Dr Dingle.  All went well!  She has flexibility on her right leg now and the hip was in a very bad place at the siatic nerve so the pain was extreme and should be alleviated. We are waiting to go see her in recovery.

Rachael In Surgery

Rachael is in surgery. We expect to see her in an hour.

Rachael Prepping

Rachael is prepping for surgery and "feeling no pain"

Surgery Today

Hello Friends,

Rachael is having surgery today to correct a very painful condition involving her hip and aductmuscles.  Though not nearly the impact on her as the previous surgery was, this is still traumatic for her. The surgery lasts about 45 minutes.  We ask you for prayer as she goes through another visit to SMH.
Surgery is set for 1 PM

Please pray for:
Caring hands
No complications
  No infections
Quick discharge from Hospital

As for the ':
Peace and witness opportunities.

Blessings,
Burt

5 Prayer Points - Things Are Getting Strange

Tonight we are in Rachael's room, attired in our vestments for 'Enhanced Contact Precautions'.  A paper thin, but highly suffocating gown and latex gloves are worn if you are to come close to or touch Rachael. Attached to the exterior side of Racheal's door is a collection of plastic pockets that contain the gowns, gloves and other items that should only come in contact with her once and then with nothing else.
The problem is with spores, we recently learned of them in the 3rd Grade.  They are tiny cells of a microorganism.  You can't see them without the aid of a microscope.  Little tiny devils kept in check in your gut by a multitude of probiotics - the good guys.  Let the little buggers out number the good guys and you have a highly uncomfortable and dangerous infection.  Touch even one of the microscopic spores and let it sit and dry on a door handle, bed rail or other common surface and you have been used to propagate an infection.  Folks at risk are those of compromised health and those that have been on a regine of "broad spectrum" antibiotics.  Broad Spectrum Antibiotics pretty much destroy all the bacteria, good and bad.  That is the best opportunity for this little devil to grow.  It is known as C. Diff. which is short of  Clostridium difficile  It is messy and painful.  That is the first problem and opportunity for prayer.

Earlier this evening, while being tended to by a care giver, Rachael's Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG Tube) popped out of her belly.  She dispises having ot be fed through it so you can well imagine her joy at hearing it popped out.  She was laughing quite a bit about it.  There is no pain associated with it popping out and it will be replaced in the morning but it is an added day in the hospital timeline.
It is also an interruption to her food intake but she is going into this procedure much stronger than she has been in the past 6 weeks of her dealing with her illness.  This is another opportunity for prayer.   

Rachael has had a fever for the past several days and it has not been pinpointed as to what may be causing it.  At first we thought it to be a regulatory issue manifested from her brain damage and stirred by the surgery.  Since peeking over 101.2, they have decided to investigate further.  She has had blood drawn tonight for an extensive search as to the cause. 
It is not believed that the C. Diff. is the cause.  The doctors and the lab need prayer for the resolve to this hidden dilemma.  Thus you have a third opportunity for prayer.  

Due to the results of her colocntomy she has been eliminating acids while on her back side.  Combined with the pressure of being on her back most of the time, a serious bed sore has developed.  Wound care has been stepped up to take care of this but the breakdown is worsening.  Getting her home on her own circulating  bed will help to get rid of this sore.  We need to get her home.  The bedsore is one of the biggest problems that people that are not mobile have.  They can kill.  So, this is opportunity four to pray on.

So Nancy and I are camped here at SMH to see this through.
We had hoped to get Rachael back home on Monday but that never panned out.  It has been a stresser.  We have been dealing with this eveny for 6 weeks while maintaining ministry at Calvary Chapel School.  All is good and the family has no problem with God's sovereignty of this.  Do we desire greatly and pray regularly for it to end, YES!  However, this is where we are at this time and willing to stay the course that God has laid out for us.  Rachael is above all the real trooper here.  She has been through so much more than anyone.  She is fit to be tied yet held by the reigns of the Holy Spirit.  She does get  very frustrated, yet, once we talk and pray, she is ok.  Due to the trial we are under, we have not been able to make it to church.  We need church!  If anyone wants to come by and do church, please do!  Call to make sure we are not on an errand at 941-Five Four Five-0713.  Nancy was able to pop into a nearby church this evening and was blessed with prayer extraordinaire!  Thanks Ladies!  I hunger for the gathering of belivers.  We did visit my friends church here in SRQ, but missed worship.  We did get to hear a great sermon.  We miss Grace Community Bible Church in  Venice.  Praise God that Tony's messages are online!  Thanks John for the effort to get it on.  So this is prayer number 5. For the family.  We REALLY need it.  This week tempers flew a bit unchecked with the stress hitting hard.  All is ok now.  Just those moments that seem innocuous, stir anger and take our eyes off the Lord.  So Prayer Opportunity #5, for the Family.  Through all of this, Hanna got a 100 on a History Test while sick with a bad cold!  Thanks to her brother Daniel for studying with her in our absence.  

We remember that we need to treat this as discipline and training up.  We are so thankful for a God that can make things better quick but wants us to learn as we go through these things to rely upon him.  There is much to be gained through trial.  Wisdom, peaceful fruit of rightousness and most importantly in sharing in God's holiness!  Wow!  Yes, it is for discipline that we endure the hardships that face us.

We can endurre but we need your prayer.  Please pray now for the 5 ponits above.

Blessings,
The  Wizeman-Hinkle gang.

48 hours + without incident.  Rachael ate a great lunch and is showing more strength. This is the first day in the chair since 10 days past.  

This is at the Casey Garden at the SMH gardens. 

Doing Better But A Long Way To Go

Last night in the middle of the night Rachael began to bleed again.  She was given 2 more units of blood and I believe that throughout the day she has been given even more.  Her blood levels were dangerously low.  It was decided, after imaging, that she should be still and see if the work done last night continues to heal, thus stopping the bleeding.  So far there has been minor bleeding up until this evening as I type.

I feel like Burtie Bad News each time someone asks "How is Rachael?  How are you guys holding up?"  It has been since the week of August 11th that Rachael has been dealing with this problem.  Since that date, she has only been home for a total of about 2 weeks. She is so frustrated and sad to still be in the hospital.  It has been quite a weight on all the family.  The gang here at CCS have been fantastic as they offer support in many ways.

Today Rachael is resting comfortably.  She is currently not taking anything by mouth (NPO for the medically inclined) and we hope to get her on clear liquids sometime tonight.  She is very pale, and tired.  This has certainly been a setback.  

Nancy and I got to sleep at home last night.  That has been the exception since the surgery.  It is not at all easy on any of us but as crazy as we are down inside, much more is the peace of the Lord washing over us.  

So instead of Burtie Bad News, here is some good news:

1.  Many folks have been praying and all that prayer amounts to much.  We have been able to walk through this with strength in spirit and peace in our hearts.  I have stumbled a few times in frustration with staff which was totally uncalled for. We got to see God work a few nights back in a miraculous way when Rachael was not responding.  She awoke in the ICU as if nothing had happened.  There is the inexplicable peace that we are holding in our hearts that is directly due to all the prayer.  We both agree that if not for Christ we would be devastated. Rachael and Hanna too.  

2.  Either by example or by sharing of the word, we have been able to bring Christ to many in the hospital.  I have found that just treating the hospital employee as a believer and asking them if they know Christ is a great way to share with them all the neat things we have seen God do through Rachael.

3.   Trials, hardships, tests, we have a whole new outlook on these things.  Quite simply, as Isaiah 45:7, "I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things"  and in Deuteronomy 8:3 where Moses was guided to write "And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord"  Now I don't want to get into the agencies or a deep theological study but I know that God is sovereign over all things and to think that all things bad that happen to us are an attack of the enemy is simply not true.  Hebrews 12 is rich with the view on hardship and discipline.  If things are going well all the time and you do not feel like God is training you up via some kind of hardship....well, let Hebrews 12 give you the lowdown on that.

There is more and this is a glimpse.  There is much good news from all of this craziness.  

Pray for our marriage.  It is so hard to focus and invest in our marriage when something like this is going on.  Pray for Hanna, she has already lost her dad back in '05 and this has been a heavy load on her as well.  You would not know it talking with her.  Nancy needs to be lifted up continually as she is at the hospital more than I.  Pray for me for wisdom in handling my family, discerning where needs are to be met and doing so in a way that is love to my family. Also to be a better witness to those we deal with in the medical community.

Thank you all for your continued prayer IT AVAILS MUCH.

Blessings,

Burt

Rachael Needs Urgent Prayer

Yesterday Rachael began to bleed heavily. Though at first assumed to be a natural occurrence, Nancy was convinced otherwise.  She pressed on and today it turned out to be bleeding that has caused the order of a colonoscopy. That will be at 5.  Rachael has lost several units of blood and is getting blood in a few minutes.  Her blood pressure is low, heart rate in the high 140's. She will need to be sedated fir the procedure.  Please continue to pray

Burt and Nancy 

The Morning

Yes it has been a confusing day.  Yesterday we planned to have Rachael admitted to SMH.  That happened today at the direction of her doctor. The surgery from the 16th of August appears to have provided the desired results.  Something else is troubling her now.  She is not able to eat more than a few small bites of mechanical soft; or food of the consistency of oatmeal.  She is suffering from extreme abdominal pain and has lost a considerable amount of weight  She is able to drink but only a few ounces at a time.  Before any more testing can be done she needs to have an eating tube inserted to restore her strength.  This procedure has been set for 8:30 in the morning (9/12). 
Nancy will be spending the night and prep begins at 6 AM. 
Rachael is very weak.  She has not had a typical meal for herself since before the week of August 16.  To quote W, it has been a "long hard slog" for her. 
She needs your prayers as does Nancy.  Yesterday, with the activity and agony that surrounded Rachael, Nancy said she felt lifted up!  Prayer works.
Please lift up a prayer for them and as you go about your day, keep them in prayer as the Lord calls them to remembrance.  
We will update you as we have solid info to share.

Blessings,
Burt

Returning To SMH

Rachael came home last Thursday but has since worsened. She is not eating much more than a very small amount of food and drinking little fluids. We were hoping that as she healed her appetite would increase.  Nausea and cramps have kept her from increasing intake  and she complains of persistent pain.  We will be readmitting her today.  Please pray for Rachael and lift Nancy up as she works to get  Rachael's ability to swallow and intake foods and liquids resolved. 
Pleas remember to pray for the whole family as well.

Burt

Back At SMH The Dam Broke

We had to readmit Rachael after she refused to eat for 2 days and eventually became sick. We rushed her back to SMH on Sunday after speaking to her doctor. All is well after a long night.  About 2:00 AM prayers were answered and her bowels woke up. She is very tired but moving in the right direction, so to speak.
She will remain on a clear liquid diet today as she progresses.
Keep up the prayers!

More Woods

Rachael is still nauseated most of the time and has taken in just very small amounts of liquid and foods. Unless she turns the corner today, we will probably have to re-admit her to SMH. She is not out of the woods yet.  Please pray for her to able to eat and drink without nausea.
No blockage is being detected via stethoscope and visible result, yet she is not able to ingest.

Home!!!

Rachael is home!  We want to thank all the folks from the body that prayed for us and especially for Rachael. Incredible thanks to Doctor Jack Rodman and his team at First Physicians Group  and the greatest hands in America, Dr. Novack. A heartfelt thanks to the skilled in loving staff at the 6th and 7th Floors at SMH for taking care of Rachael and us. 

Burt

Almost Home

We have been way to occupied by Rachael's illness and work to blog. Here is an update:

 Home is only 10 minutes away but it has been a 19 day trip for Rachael. Following her locally unprecedented sub total coloctomy, Rachael has been battling several issues. One being her blood sugar, another function leading to nausea.  Once weaned from the breathing machine and out of ICU, following several days of recovery, she was given the ok for return to home. That was squelched when suddenly her blood sugar dropped. It took several says of feeding and IV's to get her body back to producing the sugar she needed. As that has appeared to stabilize, she became nauseated and was sick the night before leaving. This caused a 2nd delay in her discharge from the hospital.  Her bowels did not return to full function and we think because of that she was ill from the encouraged feedings we gave her to raise the sugar level.  Normal bowel function returned on Thursday and we hope to have her home today.

  This has really stretched our whole family.  Daniel juggled time between his busy schedule, Hanna went from school to hospital then home on many nights.  Nancy and I worked splits watching Rachael and still did our ministry at Calvary Chaple School. It is frustrating, it makes us mad this litany of dashed departures to home. Yet through it all, we have a living God in charge of it all.   We accept what he has for Rachael and us.

I am at SMH tonight, Nancy at home.  Please pray for a return to normalcy for all of us. Thank you for your prayers!!

Chili Is Good Medicine!

Now please understand when I write that Rachael is eating, she is only eating a very small amount. It is not enough food to sustain her, but it is enough to get things working again and to move her forward.

The video I put up yesterday was the first food she has eaten in 2 weeks but she only ate a few spoons of it. I did not want to raise the impression that she was scarfing down cheeseburgers!

Today she is resting in more comfort as she heals. She is still on some 'rock star' style meds for pain but she is wanting to take less of them. Rachael had a good day with her friend John who is a great asset to us. John met Rachael and the rest of the family back in her days in rehab recovery at Heartland following the accident. He was with Rachael today so that Nancy and I could get some rest and some chores accomplished.

The first order of business for us was to take a nap. Following that, I spent the day 'fighting Florida'; mowing the lawn, digging up saw grass or whatever that tall thick leafed grass is and hosing down the sills and crooks where bugs collect. Nancy got in a solid walk with Hanna, went shopping with her sister Mary for some needed household items and had the time to spend with a friend over tea I spent the evening here with Rachael as John left at 6:30.

Rachael had been asleep most of the evening and awoke at about 10:45, first she tried some apple sauce, then some chocolate pudding. She wanted something else and it was Chili! Being that she was on Full Liquids only, she is not allowed Chili. I explained this to her but she would not accept that restriction. I found that she wanted to talk to the nurse. When the nurse told Rachael that she could not have Chili without speaking first with the doctor, Rachael responded with a clear NO! Her loving Nurse Dawn contacted the doctor at 11:00 pm and got the ok for Rachael to have Chili. Nancy arrived with Wendy's Chili (Rachael's favorite) in tow and Rachael heartily ate a good portion of it.

Nancy and I are spending the night together with Rachael as opposed to the split shifts we have been doing. Last night, Carol, Rachael's aunt, spent the night here with Rachael so that we could be at home for a night. It is tough on the marriage to be doing the 'shift' thing and like Nancy has said, "it is like we are co-workers". We have been in crisis mode for a few weeks and been either at the hospital, at school or at rest in separate places. I just want to talk to my wife about something aside from medicine!

Rachael's Aunt Mary and Hanna cleaned through our house today like the EPA on a toxic spill, so the house is in order. All is well and moving along in a forward direction. Rachael is in pretty rough pain still and is being medicated for it.

Please keep up the prayers! They have truly helped a in a big way.

 

 

 

 

    

Check It Out! First Food In 2 Weeks. The Prayers of the Righteous Avail Much...

Rachael Is Getting a New Room

Sorry about the delay.  School started this week and we have either been at school or the hospital with visits to home.
Rachael started breathing on her own yesterday.  Last night, as the picture shows, she was in much better spirits.

She was only complaining of pain and being hungry.  Her nature of joy has returned.  She was laughing at things said during conversations and understands what she has been through for surgery.
Today we found out that she will be moved out of ICU either this evening or in the morning.  The tube that is currently in her nostril, the NG tube, is planned to be removed on Thursday.  Prior to removing it the doctors will want to check to be sure that her body will perform without it.

Nancy is doing great and relieved that Rachael is healing quick.  Please keep in mind we are far from safe harbor yet.  Please pray for no infections and for Rachael's digestive system to kick into gear.
According to the doctors from what we were last told; following her departure from ICU, Rachael will still need to be in the hospital for 5-7 Days.

Thank you and I pray that  Lord's blessings are upon anyone reading this.

Burt

In ICU Recovering

Well, Rachael still has a few humps and bumps to get over before she is in the clear.  Currently she is critical but stable, as can be expected given the traumatic surgery she has had.  She is not yet breathing on her own which is due to the heavy meds she is on. Every once in a while with stimulus and coaching she does "breath over" the machine.   That is when she is breathing more than the machine is set for.  They placed a PIC line in her to give a wider port for administering drugs and nutrients. 

She will remain here for a few days and then be moved to a regular room.  

Nancy is very nervous and has left for a few hours to go see Daniel and Hanna and to shake off the nerves.  I am here at ICU until getting this post out and finding out when I can get in the school to setup for class on Monday. Both Nancy and I plan on being at the school on Monday

I am tired and apprehensive in regards to possible over medication and other items routine for others but requiring vigilance with Rachael. Nancy is doing a great job of advocating for Rachael. We are blessed with the incredibly skilled team the Lord has pulled together for Rachael.  

She is in very rough shape right now. Her vitals are good with a faster heartbeat than we would like to see.

Please continue to pray for her with a special focus on protection from infection and for breathing on her own.

Blessings,

Burt

Praise God - All Went Well

Check this out. First off, Dr. Novac is considered by anyone we spoke with, including family members and nurses whom have benefited from his skills, to be the best surgeon in the area.  He JUST happened to be on call this weekend.  His schedule was full but he ended up with a break that Rachael was able to get. 

1. Rachael had most of her colon removed.  The doctor stated that it would have been about day or two and it would have perforated which is fatal.  As her Aunt Carol says "Ya dodged another bullet, Rachael"

2. It was almost a given that this would result in a colostomy. Fortunately, just prior to her digestive system jutting down, she had a minor bug causing diarrhea.  Due to a lack of water following that bout, we had to give her Nitrate of Citrus to help her.  This all worked to clean her out prior to the failure which probably helped to stave off the need for colostomy. 

3. Her bowel was pretty much useless. The doctor stated that it is now the largest and most twisted one he has seen.  Almost 5 feet were removed. 

4. She has been suffering with bowel issues for a long time and should be fine now. 

5. She is recovering in ICU and will remain in the Hospital for 5 to 7 days.

The prayers of the rightousnes avail much and we knew many of you were lifting her up today. THANK YOU!!  

Praise be to God for all that he put together to make this happen!  We want to thank Doctor Rodman and the group at First Physicians. They are a great team. Dr. Novac is as good as you can get.  

Please continue to pray for healing

Thank You Friends,

Burt 

Rachael In Surgery

Rachael is in surgery as of 5:30 PM. Thank you all for your continued prayers. Dr. Novac, Rachael's surgeon was not sure how long the surgery will take.  She will be moved to ICU when she is done

Burt

Surgery postponed 2 Hours

Rachael's surgery has been put back by 2 hours 

Rachael Having Surgery at 4:00

The Doctors have tried everything to avoid surgery but they have decided that this is the only course.  She has a twist in several locations in her large intestine and the problem section will be removed. Given her physically compromising condition and that she is very weak from the inability to hold food down for the past week, the risk is higher than it would be for an ambulatory, normally active person.  She goes into surgery at 4:00 PM today. We are not sure how long the surgery will take. 

Please continue to pray

Burt

Rachael at SMH

Hello Friends,

Rachael went into Sarasota Memorial Hospital on Monday with severe abdominal distress. She went home Wednesday as we had anticipated office visits with two other doctors on Friday.  Her condition worsened overnight and she returned to SMH. 
After several tests and doctors it has been found that she has a partial or complete obstruction of her large intestine, most likely a twist that has caused her digestive system to shutdown. 

Today,  Saturday, she will undergo a non-surgical procedure. If successful she will be home in a few days. If not she will be moved to surgery to remove or repair the problem section.  
If the latter, it will be a long road of recovery for her and the risks are higher.   
Please be in prayer for Rachael and our family.  We have been running on a few hours sleep a night over the past 7 days.  Hanna starts school on Monday and Nancy and I return to school to minster in our respective rollers as well on Monday. 
Rachael is a brave girl but she admitted to being afraid today.   I have never heard her say that before. 

Bad things happen in this fallen world. Being children of God through faith in the hope and promise of Jesus Christ our Lord and our Savior, we know that we all, Rachael, Daniel, Hanna, Nancy and myself are  presented with the opportunity to learn Godly wisdom from this trial.  We know that by focusing on Christ, we will have things better than gold. The peaceful fruit of righteousness is waiting for us and any believer faced with trials. 

We sound the trumpet for your prayer,

Thank you!