News from Connecticut

Hello family and friends. Five weeks ago we travelled with Matthew to Connecticut to spend some time with Dr. Charles Ray Jones. For different reasons we came to believe that Matthew's struggle with rheumatoid arthritis might be connected to something else going on in his body, namely Lyme disease. There were tests, symptoms, history factors and other things that suggested it could be the case, but Lyme can be extremely difficult to diagnose. That's why we wanted to see Dr. Jones.

On December 22nd we met for 2 hours with Dr. Jones in his office in New Haven, CT thanks to the support, both financially and through prayer, of many of you. He ordered blood tests from several labs, completed an extensive physical exam, looked over comprehensive health records, and asked us many questions. With his experience of over 30 years of treating only children with Lyme disease we wanted his opinion to help put to rest in our minds whether Lyme could be a culprit.

We found out that he does not believe that it is Lyme. This news is for us both good and bad. Lyme is not a good thing to have so in many ways we are thankful that Dr. Jones does not think it is Lyme. It can lead to serious cognitive and physical complications besides just arthritis. On the other hand it does not leave us feeling closer to answers that might help Matthew get better. We are frustrated that many of the treatments that help so many with arthritis are not helping Matthew the way that his rheumatologist would hope.

On the flip side we are so thankful for the many positives and give God thanks for taking such good care of us and our boy. We are continually reminded that many, many people are dealing with sickness that is much harder and debilitating than what Matthew is dealing with. When he goes for his monthly IV treatment he goes to the same unit that kids go to for cancer treatments and bone marrow transplants. Although Matthew has been on prednisone for over two years he has not been severely affected by some of the side affects like rapid weight gain. Although his IV treatments cost around $2,500 to $3,000 per month, God has given us provision to make all of our insurance payments with deductables covered by grants and other aid.

As we move forward we will continue to look for ways to help Matthew. Most importantly we will continue to pray that God would grant him immediate phyisical relief. In terms of medical treatment we are trying to find ways to get Matthew off of prednisone if possible. Treatments may also include things like cortisone shot treatments in some of his joints. Whatever the case we thank you all for your support and prayers and hope that you will continue to go before the Throne of God on Matthew's and our behalf. We are so thankful to all of you for your care, demonstrated by your comments and notes, cards and calls.

Matthew is a tough kid and he is looking forward to playing Little League baseball this spring. Pray that he would be able to overcome the pain and stiffness to be able to have fun with this. Pray that the arthritis would not cause permanent damage to his joints and bones, and that it would go into remission- that he would soon "outgrow" his arthritis- that God will heal him.

In the meantime we continue under God's Mercy.