Answered Prayer Leads to More Prayer Requests (Part One)

This week I will be sharing several answers to prayer that we have experienced lately….and the new prayer requests to which these answered prayers have led.

Daniel

Daniel and I in our first picture together - July 2009 - mother and son!

As many of you know, Daniel joined our family in July 2009. At that point he was a one and a half year toddler desperately in need of a family. We knew when Daniel came that he had a serious congenital heart defect. His arrival began our journey of seeking how to not only heal his spiritual and emotional wounds, but his physical body as well. We began the journey by visiting a pediatric cardiologist at the military hospital here in Mexico City. After the ecosonogram, the cardiologist informed us that Daniel definitely needed open heart surgery, most likely a three surgery procedure that does not repair his heart, but creates, basically, a new way for his blood to circulate and oxygenate. However, he needed a heart catherization in order to determine if he was even eligible for surgery.

Daniel's first ecosonogram at the military hospital here in Mexico City in August 2009.

With that information we began the process of first getting the necessary paperwork signed by his biological mother in the state of Veracruz in order to allow us to proceed with medical care and get a Daniel a passport in order to make travel outside of Mexico possible.

Daniel (back row on right with the tall Canadian missionary) with the his birth mother (in blue), her new husband (white t-shirt) and the missionaries who took him in before he joined our family. This picture was taken last August when we went to get his passport.

With those steps accomplished, we have spent the last six months sending Daniel’s medical records to hospitals and doctors in the United States, searching with the hope of finding a hospital willing to do Daniel’s operation pro-bono. As we were turned down by hospital after hospital, due to the severity of Daniel’s defects, we began to search only for a pediatric cardiologist in the U.S. willing to see Daniel personally and give us a more specific diagnosis and discuss possible treatment options with us.

Praise the Lord that He has provided such a doctor! A pediatric cardiologist in Toledo, OH has offered to see Daniel, do the necessary noninvasive procedures, as well as the heart catherization!

So, we have now begun the process to apply for a medical visa for Daniel so that he can travel to the U.S. Hence, the answer to one prayer request, needing a doctor willing to see Daniel, has led to another request, that Daniel’s medical visa be granted.

Then, if Daniel is a candidate for surgery, we are still in need of a hospital willing to provide the operation. The same week that we received news about the Toledo doctor, a surgeon from a children’s hospital in Texas called, after having reviewed Daniel’s records, and shared about a program at their hospital that provides surgery for underprivileged children! He is personally willing to take Daniel’s application to the CEO!

The overriding prayer request here is for the Lord to clearly show us His will for Daniel and our family. We visited the pediatric cardiologist here in Mexico City once again today for another ecosonogram requested by a hospital in Pennsylvania (a door that has not yet shut). Daniel’s health situation remains the same as at his last ecosonogram. However, we discussed the possibility with the doctor of Daniel being operated on at the military hospital here in Mexico. The cost for his operation and hospitalization would probably run more like $10,000 U.S. dollars here, rather than $300,000 dollars for the surgery, no hospitalization costs included, in the U.S.! Of course, the quality of care, level of expertise and compassion is not the same, hence our desire to take Daniel to the U.S.

So, here is the summary of the plan and options:

1) 1) Apply for Daniel’s medical visa to take him to the U.S., see the doctor in the U.S., have the heart catherization and send the results to Texas to apply to the surgery program there. (This option also requires Victor’s green card to be renewed, which expires this month – another prayer request!)

2) 2) Send the requested medical records to a hospital in Pennsylvania, although they have already said they cannot provide the surgery pro-bono, so this appears to be a door that is closing.

3) 3) Have Daniel see, or be operated on, by a team of volunteer U.S. doctors with a volunteer medical organization that is scheduled to be in Merida, Mexico this summer. They are currently going over Daniel’s medical records in order to explore the possibility of this option.

IUIf options 1-3 do not work, then....

4) 4) Raise the money needed for Daniel to be operated on at the military hospital here in Mexico City.

One of my favorite pictures of Daniel and I!

We have been seeking out and praying for the doors to open to Daniel’s care in the U.S. for so long, but now that they are opening the decision still does not seem so black and white. U.S. care is so much superior to medical care and expertise in Mexico that we would prefer Daniel to be treated in the U.S., but the finances in order to make that happen are a HUGE consideration. His care would have to be free of charge, and that still leaves travel costs and means a lot of time for Daniel and I to be away from the family here in Mexico. Surgery in Mexico is a possibility. This surgery is performed here and would be MUCH cheaper and would keep Daniel and I closer to home, but the level of expertise and care is not he same.

So, our final conclusion? We do what is next! God gives us enough light for the next step we must take. Each day has enough worries of its own without trying to think of all the different possibilities for the future. So, what is next? We will continue the visa application process, pray without ceasing and trust the Lord to show us, step by step, what is His best for Daniel and our family! Thank you for your diligent prayers in this area, and don’t forget to praise Him for the prayers He has answered thus far: Daniel’s continued strength and a U.S. doctor willing to see Daniel and do the heart cath, as well as the doctor in Texas willing to go to bat for Daniel.

Last minute update: Victor and I will be going to the U.S. Embassy tomorrow (Thursday) in order to renew his green card. I talked to them this morning and they said all we had to do was to go to the U.S. Embassy with his green card and they can renew it there - pray it is that simple!

Here is a bonus picture for you!

Pick a title of your own choosing:

Lilac Ladies

Purple Princesses

Mujeres Moradas (Purple women in Spanish)

Since we hadn't been to church in 4 weeks due to Hepatitis A, our older girls got excited about getting all dressed up again and, on Saturday night, decided to all where purple outfits the next day. I caught wind of their plan and was even invited to join in! So, of course, we dressed Ana and Ruth in purple too! When I saw this picture on my computer today, I was overwhelmed at the beauty of my 8 precious young ladies and the incredible privilege and responsibility of raising them up to be women of God!