Update on Michelle

Hi everyone,

Since I last wrote, Michelle has had another day with no improvement at all to note. The vision and tingling on her left side have certainly not gotten any better, and it actually seems like the tingling is making Michelle more uncomfortable more often. Her balance is still poor, so while she has the strength to get up more, having a tingling left foot and leg, not being able to see well on her left side, and the imbalance have still made it difficult for her to move around much on her own. With this trend continuing of days stringing together with no real change in these symptoms long after the headache itself is gone, our conversations with our doctor here have made it evident we should go. Having the definitive answers that can only be provided by an MRI will be a great help in sorting out what medications would be of help to Michelle in her recovery. Our doctor here has indicated there is a chance that Michelle did even experience a stroke in the course of her migraine episode, and the MRI will be conclusive about that.

We have flights scheduled to fly out from Goroka tomorrow morning at about 9:30 AM and then leaving the capital of Port Moresby for Brisbane, Australia at 2 PM. I am a little nervous about my flight reservations, especially the first one, as it was made on the phone with a less-than-professional airlines representative. Plus, there is always concern about the national airlines just canceling some of their flights. As it is scheduled, we will avoid having to spend a night in Port Moresby. After our day of travel tomorrow, we are scheduled for an MRI first thing Tuesday morning in Brisbane. We are then to see the neurologist there on Tuesday afternoon to go over the results. Lord-willing, we will have some answers by the end of the day Tuesday. If that all goes well and nothing of concern is found, we will see if we can move up our tickets to come home. Otherwise, we are scheduled to fly back on Friday, August 21st.

This is certainly an unexpected trip and expense, but we feel confident this is the right thing to do after much prayer, consultations with others, and hearing from our doctor here that he would be doing the same thing if he was in our position. As you all have been so faithful to do these last few days, we would appreciate your continued prayers for our trip, the neurological testing, wisdom for the doctors, and for our sweet little kids we will have to be away from for a few days. Our kids will be staying in our house, as some friends of ours (the Hughes) have agreed to come up and stay in our house to take care of the kids. That will allow them to sleep in their own beds and have a little less disruption to their schedules. We have so many other friends here on the center already stepping in bringing treats, bringing meals, offering to watch the kids, bringing us to the airport, and on and on. It is great to be a part of the body both here and worldwide. We cherish your prayers and thank you all for the prayers you have all been offering up on our behalf!

Love, Lyle for the family