Checking In

It's been quite a while since I've posted any news - the reason being that there really wasn't much to report.  I do want to let you all know that things are still in motion.

For the month of December, we had a lot going on - what's new, right?  We got back from Pennsylvania on the 1st.  Jamie and Eric got back from Pennsylvania the 3rd.  Andy took a new job and moved back to Atlanta.  Our agency Christmas party was the 18th. We had a theater presentation fundraiser for Jamie and Eric's ministry the 20th.  The home office year end was the 22nd and then it was Christmas! Andy had been back to work for one week, then he drove home.  I hated that he had to drive 18 hours, but it was sure great seeing him!  We had a blast all Christmas weekend.  We bowled (I won!), we played games, we had a wonderful catered secret recipe Italian dinner with great friends and live music (one of the auction items at Jamie & Eric's golf fundraiser last summer - it was fantastic!) Then lots of presents, and great food.  I think the winning Christmas treat was Holly's caramels - Jamie wrestled us for ours and hid hers!  Somehow, we all stayed sane, laughed, prayed a lot and enjoyed our time together immensely:  Daryl, myself, Jamie, Eric, Rob, Andy, 8 cats, 2 dogs and 2 birds.  It's was great!

Continuing our December schedule report, Andy took off for Atlanta Sunday the 26th - and I went with him!  I love road trips - we road hard; it was an 18 hour drive.  I felt like I'd been run over. Then Jamie and Daryl flew down to Atlanta on Monday and they had appointments at the Mold Treatment Center.  I was able to go to the appointments with them, and ended up having an appointment of my own.  More info on the Mold Treatment Center later.  On Wednesday, Daryl, Jamie and I flew back to Des Moines, drove home to Cherokee, only to go back to Des Moines on Friday, New Year's Eve for the famous Bunch family Christmas, bringing in 2011.  It's always a great time of family, games, reconnecting.  On Wednesday  the 5th, Jamie and Eric went to Omaha to a fertility specialist and got some very interesting information - you'll have to check her blog for the lowdown on it.  From there they drove to Des Moines where we met them at Rob's house with their zoo of animals and we had one more fun night with them before they left for Pennsylvania early the next morning.  We are empty nesters once again. 

We're waiting for Daryl's final blood tests - from Dr. Shoemaker in Maryland.  Some of the results are back and one of the biomarkers that controls your immune system is double what it should be.   Once all blood tests are in, we'll have a phone consult with him - we're really anxious to hear what his plan is. We're praying like crazy it gets Daryl on the road to recovery. 

In the meantime, our trip to Atlanta.  The Mold Treatment Center is an interesting place.  It consists of doctors, scientists, lab techs, immunologists and the CDC.  After a physical, giving them our blood and taking a mold allergy test, we found out that Daryl has 34 molds in his system!  Unbelievably high.  Jamie has 16 in her system and I have 9.  We have to wait a couple of weeks for the blood test results, but we came back with an immunotherapy program of shots we take every other day.  We are injecting the molds that are in our systems in miniscule amounts, increasing the amount slowly with each shot.  This builds our immune systems to fight the mold toxicity.  We also have a therapy that "electrocutes our blood:", cleansing it.  We do that everyday for a month.  It sounds a little frightening, but it's not bad.  We will go to Atlanta every two months to monitor our progress.  I guess it's a good thing Andy moved down there after all!

What we are hoping is that the protocal Dr. Shoemaker is going to put Daryl on will be complemented by the program the Mold Treatment Center has us on.  Dr. Shoemaker will treat Daryl's condition, and the Mold Treatment Center builds up our immune systems.  Throw a consult with Dr. Sandy and an appointment with an ENT in there, it's been a very busy month of health activity.

Wow - I was going to keep this short.  Sorry!  I get to talking and just can't stop!.

Daryl feels okay - never as good as we want, but okay.  His speech still stinks and he needs to gain weight, so I'd like to ask for prayer for those two things specifically. We're traveling to Mexico later this month for a company trip - I pray the warm sun will be healing.

With the new year comes new hopes and possibilities.  I pray for hope, healing and miracles.  I wake up every morning wondering how we got to where we are and realize how very precious life is - and that it really is a gift.  Cherish every moment you have with loved ones.  Be thankful and grateful.  Forgive and forget.  And love - that's what's it all about.  Happy New Year to you all.