A Turn for the Worse a.k.a. Don´t Stop Praying

I´m going to give two versions, the short and the long.

SHORT VERSION

The earliest Daniel can go home now is Friday. He can´t eat enough to travel without being fed through the IV and his infection from the abscess isn´t completely eliminated. He gets to start eating again tomorrow. There is a small hole in his colon that is draining out through the incision we made in surgery on Sunday. Rest assured, it will close on its own and be fine. Keep praying and send money.

LONG VERSION

All of the perforations were closed during the first surgery. Dr. Bello believes that there was likely an explosion in Daniel´s colon (explosive gas + firey-hot bullet) that killed the tissue around one hole toward the back. OR, a large mass of blood built up and killed that portion later.

Either way, the back of his colon developed a hole where the bullet went through. Rather than leaking out into his abdomen, it leaked into the hole where the bullet lodged in his back. Over the next few days, this created an abscess (bacteria + poop + dead tissue), which we drained on Sunday, effectively allowing Daniel´s colon to drain out his back. This probably sounds bad, but it could be much worse. The tunnel (fistula) from his colon to his back will eventually close on its own and does not require further treatment.

However, the doctor wants to more closely observe what happens when Daniel starts eating solid food tomorrow. He also wants to see the inflammation in Daniel´s back go down before releasing him. Your continued prayers are much appreciated. Daniel continues to feel better but is also racking up more expenses than expected.

On the bright side, I got to share Christ with one of Daniel´s vistors today. She had some pretty serious misconceptions about what being a Christian was all about and I got to share with her the joy and the freedom that we have in Christ. I hope this situation continues to stir your heart and push you toward deeper faith and persistent prayer! God is great!