It has been a long time since I have written an update for the Aid for Haiti blog! I am going to attempt to write at least a brief update concerning the past few months of our lives.
Mid December 2014, Michael came home to TN to help prepare for our wedding! We were very happily married January 17, 2015. 🙂
We had a wonderful honeymoon in FL following our wedding! We did quite a bit of traveling (TN, MO, IA) after our honeymoon, but we really enjoyed just being together. 🙂
Michael, Virginia and I arrived in Haiti on February 12. We spent almost a week at home in Grand Fond unpacking, planting garden, and various other projects. On February 18 we went to Port au Prince to do a variety of things that needed done since Michael’s long trip to the States. One of the things we did was put away a shipping container of books for LIFE Literature. We spent a full day moving many tons of literature and organizing the warehouse. We also did shopping, bookwork and were able to weld the window bars and security door for our apartment.
February 25 we headed back home to the mountains planning to install the window bars, move into our apartment, and prepare for the 2 week medical team coming on March 10. But God had other plans and we weren’t able to accomplish it all. On the way up the trail I began to have a fever and body aches. Over the next couple of days I battled a fever off and on, it seemed like I had a virus. Gradually it won over and I was in a bed not moving much. The sickness turned into a constant fever, nausea and vomiting. I hadn’t been eating and was getting dehydrated. Michael gave me an IV and was able to get the vomiting to discontinue with some meds. But for days after that I still wasn’t getting better, and when my eyes and skin started turning yellow and my whole body became severely itchy, we knew something was quite wrong. We had done malaria and typhoid tests, both were negative.
Late Sunday Morning (March 8) we left the mountains and headed to Port au Prince to make arrangements for the medical team that would arrive in 2 days. We also were thinking we’d get some lab work done for me while we were in town. After arriving in PAP, I was doing worse. Michael was in contact with his brother-in-law Dr. Philip Sutherland over the phone. As more symptoms became apparent, Michael decided we would skip doing testing in Haiti and go back to the States as they were narrowing the problem down it it probably being my gallbladder in which case surgery most likely would be required. Thankfully, Michael was able to find tickets for both of us to fly out the next day.
To make a long story short, in less than 24 hours after purchasing tickets, we arrived in Chattanooga, TN at the Erlanger Hospital where I was able to have an ERCP and gallbladder surgery done less than two days after arrival and I am now recovering quite well. We had a follow up visit with the gastroenterologist and surgeon a few days ago. The gastroenterologist said based on what the blood work showed, he believes I had Epstein Barr Virus, and the surgeon said my gallbladder was inflamed and definitely needed to be removed, so between the two that all made sense to us given the various symptoms.
The medical team came to Haiti as planned while Michael and I were in the States. We had so many friends pitch in and help make that work out. It would have been a big deal to cancel all of the plane tickets and leave the patients hanging in Potino! Virginia went along with the team and did a wonderful job helping them out as she knows the system; she was able to do a lot of translating and run the pharmacy. We are so grateful to the Lord for what we believe was a miracle in making that team possible despite so many changes in our plans.
We are back in Haiti as of yesterday! The medical team went home the day before we got here and Virginia was waiting for us at a mission here in Port au Prince. We are in PAP for a few days before heading home to Grand Fond. Over the next two weeks we have quite a bit of work to do on our house while we prepare for the medical team arriving April 17, Lord willing. Today Michael made a brief trip to the mountains to do exams on hernia patients in preparation for the surgical team coming in July.
Thank you all SO MUCH for your continued prayers and support! We love hearing from you. We will try to keep this blog current with information and reports about the medical team, surgical team and pastors conferences coming up over the next few months.
We also recently started sending out personal updates by email. If you would like to receive them, please email us at rudolphsinhaiti@gmail.com so we can add you to our list.
Breanna for us both
wonderful to hear from you all!