Busy Day

Let me begin with the bad. (it gets better)

• Daniel has had a fever, up to 39 Celcius (too tired to convert that)
• His blood oxygen saturation is 93% instead of 100%
• His body is swelling (edema)
• He is thirsty all the time

The fever was becoming increasingly worrisome as I said before. Dr. Sabando (the surgeon who is AWESOME and I want to be like him, plus Jesus) called an intensivist (I don´t know what they do either) to consult on the case because he was worried about simultaneous infection of some kind, like malaria or dengue or something. Daniel´s blood test showed that he does not have a blood infection, which is the type of infection that would result if it was related to the trauma or surgery.

The intensivist wanted an X-ray of his lungs and to start him on stronger antibiotics. Meanwhile, I picked up the CT scan at 6pm today and brought it back to the clinic. The radiologist said that all the internal organs are unaffected, the colon/intestines are healing very well, but are swollen. BUT Daniel has fluid in the same space as his lungs occupy (not actually in his lungs, but compressing them). Problems solved. That was really good news. This is what that means:

• Daniel´s blood protein is low (the blood test confirms this)
• The protein holds the water in his blood normally
• Not enough protein means water leaks out into the surrounding tissue
• Thus he gets thirsty not because he doesn´t have enough water, but because it´s in the wrong places in his body (i.e. not in his blood)
• Thus everything in his body swells and he gets fluid in his chest cavity
• Thus he gets a fever because of the irritation in his chest cavity
• Thus he can´t breathe properly because of the fluid and he doesn´t get enough oxygen into his blood
• Thus: Booya!! (translation: this explains everything and we feel awesome about Daniel and ourselves)

His blood proteins are low because he isn´t getting enough protein DIRECTLY to his liver, so they´re giving him substitute proteins so his liver doesn´t have to make them. He should improve overnight.

They also found the remnants of the bullet, which *almost* made it all the way through his body, but got stuck before going out his back. It´s in a safe place and can be removed at his leisure after he recovers (unless he thinks having a bullet in his back is cool).

How am I doing? Thanks for asking. Love ya. It was a long day and I was running around for a lot of it. Stuff was expensive today and I couldn´t get enough money out of the bank because I reached my limit. I prayed about this and approached the pharmacy that I visit on a daily basis. They loaned me 90 bucks so I could pay for the CT and haven´t made me pay for any medicine for the rest of the day. They just give it to me. The X-ray people didn´t make me pay yet either. So yeah, I´m tired, but thankful. Daniel is walking a lot more, and actually waking ME up to go walking, which is great.

More good news: Daniel farted today. Ha. I get to be crude because it made me really excited that gas is finally moving in the right direction (he´s only been burping and says it tastes horrible). Dr. Sabando was really excited about that too, so I feel justified that it wasn´t just me being a gross guy with an adolescent mind (but secretly, I am).

The body of Christ continues to provide. I completely ran out of money today and didn´t know how I was going to pay for dinner. So Carmen (Eduardo´s mom) shows up with a liter of chocolate milk and some bready-carmelly roll things. Perfect. She also brought a copy of the newspaper article about us, which is hilarious in its inaccuracy.

Daniel & I moved out of our house in Anchorage and Anthony (we haven´t met) moved in. Anthony has a really close friend named Ernesto who showed up today with a couple church friends (one gringo). They gave me some money to buy food and some flip-flops so Daniel doesn´t have to walk around barefoot and a cell phone so I can call them locally if I need anything.

Whew. I´m sure I forgot a lot, but there´s my mental splatter of today´s events. Keep praying, especially that they have the diagnosis right and there are no further complications. But I´d say at this point, there is DEFINITELY some praise in order. So get together with some other Christians and whoop it up for God and His goodness. Feel free to jump up and down and shout for joy if you feel like it. Personally, that´s on my schedule right after sleeping for 30 hours straight. =)

May the love of God that is in Christ Jesus dwell in you and shine to the dark world.

Pray for the man that shot Daniel, that God would bless him and that he would find true life.

Time for a CT

We have a lot to be thankful for. Daniel is more alert and walking and talking more and more. He got me up at 5 this morning to go walking because he feels better after he walks. I was pretty happy about that actually, despite having to get up so early =).

However, a few concerns to be prayerful about.

• We´re going for a CT scan at a radiographic clinic. Their schedule is full, so we need prayers that they will bump some one so Daniel can get in quicker.
• Daniel has had a fever that comes and goes. At first it wasn´t a concern, but the further from the trauma we are, the more worrisome a fever is.

Daniel is getting a CT to see how things are healing and if there are any residual fragments of bullet in him. Pray that his intestines healed correctly and that he doesn´t have any hematomas (blood masses). Pray that the bullet is totally gone. Pray that he doesn´t have an infection. I will keep this updated as I know more. So far, there is nothing to be concerned about, but these next couple of days are critical. Rest in the peace of the Lord!

Pressing On

Daniel continues to improve. He walked a lot today and is now watering himself as opposed to me watering him. He still can´t eat or drink, just washes his mouth out with water to keep it from drying out. And he´s getting nutrients through the IV still.

He is talking more and joking around more and generally has more energy. I´ve been in touch with his mom and she got to speak with him briefly today which was another sign of improvement and something that HAS to warm your heart =). He had a fever today for a little while, but all of his blood count levels were normal. Tomorrow he will get another blood test and an X-ray to see if there are any bullet fragments left anywhere that they missed. He´s showing a desire to hasten the healing process and working through the distasteful process of getting out of bed to exercise.

The way things are going, it looks like he´ll be homeward-bound this weekend, flying Continental through Houston and back to Dallas. It looks like he will go to a hospital when he gets back and they will observe him for a day before releasing him to go home.

[the rest isn´t really about Daniel]

It´s a pretty great metaphor to see. Lying in bed is comfortable and getting up hurts, but the more he fights through the discomfort of getting up, the more healthy he will become. People too often get comfortable and refuse to do the things that are uncomfortable, even knowing that they will bring life and health to them. Come on church and get on up!! =)

I continue to have amazing opportunities to witness here. I think everyone should hang out at hospitals. Or maybe just people who want to be doctors and nurses and stuff. I got to buy dinner for a guy tonight who was working outside the hospital watching cars and helping people park. He was a really scruffy guy who confessed to me that he was addicted to drugs, but he had such a beautiful heart. He responded to my love with such joy and we´re practically best friends now. I want to put him in touch with Eduardo who used to be on drugs, but now shines with the joy of the Lord.

I also got to have lunch with my friend from the front desk. It turns out that she is another ex-Christian who is disenchanted with the modern church, but still believes in God and Jesus. I got to share with her what I have seen happening with our generation, basically a great desire to draw near to the heart of God and shed anything that detracts from fulfilling His desires in this world. When you speak Truth and Life, people respond and they want it SO bad you can see it in their eyes. If God has given you the gift of speaking, speak as if God Himself were speaking through you!!

It amazes me when I try to write down everything that´s happening. It amazes me that God is doing so much when it doesn´t feel like anything spectacular is happening. When you live moment by moment, you don´t realize the cumulative effect those moments have until you take time to reflect.

Up and At ´em

Daniel is walking now. Good news. We took a couple trips around the room this morning with no problems. Except he said he´s having a hard time focusing. His thoughts are scattered. I guess that´s a reasonable expectation seeing as how he was shot and in a 4-5 hour surgery. Personally, I think he´s just high, I mean, he´s been getting painkillers and stuff and surely that messes with your head. But I don´t know much about medications... yet.

We are slowly getting all of our stuff transferred from the house to the hospital. Eduardo brought both of our backpacks to the room yesterday. That guy is awesome and full of life in Christ. He´s always spouting off about Jesus and stuff. Good guy to have around. I think people are understanding that visitation is not exactly welcome for more than a few minutes. With the best intentions, they come to wish him well, and I entertain them for a little while, then tell them to leave (in a really nice way of course). Between chasing off guests, running down to the pharmacy to buy more medications & IV food, entertaining the various nurses that come in and keeping Daniel comfortable, the day actually goes by pretty fast. We´ve been watching movies too.

Oh yeah, another piece of good news. No more nasogastric tube (it was draining his stomach). The doctor gave the okay to remove it this morning, so Daniel doesn´t have a tube sticking out of his nose anymore. He´s actually looking a bit more normal now, or as close to normal as he normally is anyway. =)

I´ll post more as I know more. I´ve made a friend here who is letting me use the internet at the hospital, so I may be able to keep in better contact now. She also brought me some really good cheesy bread this morning.

I also heard a rumor that we made the newspaper yesterday. Eduardo´s sister came by this morning and said she would bring me a copy. I also gave her some ibuprofen for her wrist that she hurt a while ago. Little things that fill our days... I guess that´s all for now though. Peace!

A Good Day

Today had mixed results with Daniel feeling both better and worse. He actually had the energy to talk with me a little today and even joke around a little bit. He had a bit of a fever during mid-day which has since passed. Tonight he was totally wiped out when the doctor came during his rounds. The doctor wanted him to get moving and walking to help with the healing process, but Daniel was too tired. Tomorrow we´re going to try walking and hopefully get the tube out of his nose that is draining his stomach.

We had some powerful prayer today and I can literally feel the blanket of protection that is being woven around our room. Daniel has had a little blood in his urine the last couple days which isn´t a big deal, but had me a little worried. I prayed that it would clear and could feel the healing power of God moving both through and around me. Needless to say, the blood is gone. Please keep praying, it has real tangible results.

The surgeon described exactly how ¨lucky¨ Danie was to me today. In addition to the five holes in his intestines and colon, there was a hole behind the colon in the back wall of the abdomen in between the ureter and vena cava and just inferior to the renal artery. For those that don´t speak medicalese, if that fragment had been diverted a quarter inch to the left or right, Daniel would likely have died, lost a kidney or had other major complications.

I´m running out of things to write about right now, but for those that don´t know, both of Daniel´s parents will be here on Friday. They would have come sooner, but his dad was in Tanzania, Africa and couldn´t get an earlier flight. They will take Daniel back to Texas possibly as soon as Saturday or Sunday. Continue to pray for his rapid recovery. I will be staying in Ecuador until I am scheduled to leave, but probably will not be camping in any more yards any time soon.

We have had many visitors today ranging from the sister of Eduardo to representatives of the American consulate in Ecuador. Eduardo told me that his sister had a vision of Daniel and I surrounded in and emanating light. God is both protecting us and working through us in this. I had lunch with a girl that works here and one of the doctors (who paid for my lunch) and was able to share a lot about God´s work in Daniel and I. The opportunities for sharing the joy of the Lord and His goodness abound. I was able to encourage Eduardo who is new to knowing Christ and incredibly passionate. He leaves this weekend to look for work because there is no work here and he cannot provide for his family. In the meantime he is lavishing love upon Daniel and I.

I realize my thoughts are disjointed, but I never have long to write because I feel the need to get back to Daniel. I have many more things I could say, but need to go. I am trying to respond to as many emails as I can, but if I miss you, know your words of encouragement are much appreciated and I will be excited to share them with Daniel. May God´s peace and love rest on you all.

Tuesday morning and all´s well

Just wanted to drop a quick note to let everyone know that things are fine here. We really won´t have more news for another 3-4 days according to the doctor. The surgery went fine and we just wait and pray that no complications arise. Things to stand against right now:

• pray that the sutures closed the perforations sufficiently and that they will close as they heal
• pray against infection
• pray for complete restoration of normal function
  
• pray for wisdom for the doctors and nurses
• pray for the thousands of Christians that the world doesn´t see that experience this kind of spiritual, emotional and physical attack with no one to notice
• pray for all of our own hearts that we would show the kind of love to our enemies that you have so richly showered on Daniel and I
• open up your lives to people... this happened because no one from the church here invited us into their home

As we question why this kind of thing happens, I can´t help but believe that Daniel and I are in a kind of spotlight with many people who love us watching. I do not believe that God caused Daniel to be shot in any way, shape or form, but I believe that God works for the good of those that love Him and are called according to His purpose. I believe that His work for the good in this situation is that all of our hearts may be softened to the Daniels being shot every day, whether physically - as Christians are in some countries - or emotionally - as the person sitting next to you in church may be with no one ever noticing.

Thank you for this chance to share my heart. This situation continues to humble me and make me want to reach out to others even more. We know the world hates us, but take heart, for God has overcome the world!

God is good

Yesterday Daniel and I were on our way to Bahia de Caraquez where my friend´s in-laws live. We met a Christian at the bus terminal who was helping us get through the routing to go to Bahia. We talked with him on the bus ride and decided to go to church with him that night.

Church was great and we loved hanging out with the brothers and sisters there and had a great time with the kids. One of the ladies said we could camp in her yard, so we went home with her and pitched our tent and went to sleep.

About 2-3 in the morning, I woke up to the tent shaking. Daniel was sitting up yelling at whoever was shaking the tent. I don´t remember what he was saying, but it was something like ¨hey, hey, go away!!¨ I heard a loud pop in front of me. The shaking stopped and Daniel said, ¨I just got shot.¨

We spent the next several hours trying to get an ambulance, waiting at a public hospital where there were only interns and no doctors, then waiting for another ambulance. We ended up putting Daniel in the back of a police truck and taking him to the best clinic in town where he finally received the proper medical care.

After 5 hours of surgery, the doctors informed me that ¨he is very lucky¨ and I told him it wasn´t luck, but God. The bullet fragmented after entering Daniel´s abdomen and perforated 5 different places in his intestines, in the ascending and transverse colon and in the jejunum. The surgeon was very professional and competent.

Daniel is now in a private room with cable, AC and a private bathroom being taken care of very well. He is stitched up and has a breathing tube [CORRECTION: it was a nasogastric tube that was draining his stomach] that he hates and a drain in his abdomen to help keep the wound clean. He isn´t saying much because his throat is dry and he can´t drink water yet. Finally, some peace and quiet on this trip. =)

There is an extra bed there that I am sleeping on. We have had many visitors from the churches here and the American consulate has contacted us as well. God is taking care of us. Your prayers are appreciated for rapid recovery and no complications to the initial injury. The body of Christ here is very loving.

Daniel´s parents will arrive here on Friday night. Email is the best way to send greetings or questions. doctorbaldwin@gmail.com

I need to get back to the clinic because I told Daniel I wouldn´t be more than an hour. Grace and peace to you all. One of the brothers down here got to share his testimony with a guy working in the ER last night... God is always working.