We wanted to give everyone a health update. We are so thankful for all the prayers for our health as we have been struggling with sickness on and off the whole time we were in Honduras.
Let me take you back a little …
After we both got the Roto Virus, we continued to have issues with our stomachs and my morning/all-day sickness began to intensify. While returning the group from Pella, Iowa Jason began having intense pain in his abdomen and around to his back. After much guidance from the team, we ended up at a private hospital in Tegucigalpa for some tests.
Let me take you back a little …
After we both got the Roto Virus, we continued to have issues with our stomachs and my morning/all-day sickness began to intensify. While returning the group from Pella, Iowa Jason began having intense pain in his abdomen and around to his back. After much guidance from the team, we ended up at a private hospital in Tegucigalpa for some tests.
They ran some tests and found he had a precursor to a fungus that needed to be treated. They also scheduled him for an ultrasound for the next Tuesday. I post this picture of him smiling because by the time we were ready to leave, he was so drugged up that he was singing songs and giggling. I tried reasoning with him, not even to stop singing, but just to sing more quietly because we were just behind curtains, but this did not help. I would say I was embarrassed, but it was really more funny than anything else.
Prior to Jason’s visit to the hospital, I continued to struggle with vomiting and diarrhea. That intensified on Saturday night and by Monday I was on another IV and unable to eat or drink anything. By Monday afternoon I was very weak, some tests said I had a bacterial infection, and the head doctor of the hospital advised Jason to get me home to check on the baby.
Jason flew home with me one because I was too weak to get myself home and also to get an ultrasound for him because we never made it to his appointment because I was so sick.
We made it home safely on Tuesday evening and I had my OB visit on Wednesday morning. After a scary few minutes of not being able to find the baby’s heartbeat, the Doctor found it!! It was neat to hear, but we were all so worked up from the intense moments before we really didn’t enjoy it. The doctor asked us to return in a week because he felt like he couldn’t get a clear picture of how I was doing because I was so weak and we had just stepped off a plane the night before, so I returned home to puke my guts out … hints the picture. My job for the week was to sleep and try to eat.
My return visit was much more pleasant. The doctor found the heartbeat immediately and this time it was really cool. We even got to hold the machine and feel the heartbeat beating in our hands. I had also gained back 4 of the 10 lbs I had lost in the previous 2 weeks, so that was good. I must say it was the first time in my life I was happy to see weight gain. Our doctor has advised me not to return to Honduras at this time because my immune system will continue to be suppressed throughout the pregnancy and I will be susceptible to becoming sick again. He said I can not continue to loose weight like I did.
Jason and I are choosing to follow the doctor’s advice as my main job right now is to take care of the baby, which means taking care of myself. Jason will be returning to Honduras this weekend until the beginning of May.
Jason’s blood tests and ultrasound he had here in the States all came back negative. While we were happy that there was nothing serious found through these tests, he continues to have some abdominal pain. Our prayer is that his pain will stop and if not, that the Lord will make us wise about whatever steps we need to take.
We do ask for your continued prayers over this next month as we will be apart. I am having to mentally and emotionally prepare for this unplanned separation. It is hard to think about the baby beginning to move and Jason not being here to experience that and also it is just not easy to think about being apart from my husband for so long.
Well, sorry to be so lengthy, but we wanted to give a full update. We hope that this will be our final health update and the next photo that you see of either of us in the hospital will be in September when our little one arrives :)
Prior to Jason’s visit to the hospital, I continued to struggle with vomiting and diarrhea. That intensified on Saturday night and by Monday I was on another IV and unable to eat or drink anything. By Monday afternoon I was very weak, some tests said I had a bacterial infection, and the head doctor of the hospital advised Jason to get me home to check on the baby.
Jason flew home with me one because I was too weak to get myself home and also to get an ultrasound for him because we never made it to his appointment because I was so sick.
We made it home safely on Tuesday evening and I had my OB visit on Wednesday morning. After a scary few minutes of not being able to find the baby’s heartbeat, the Doctor found it!! It was neat to hear, but we were all so worked up from the intense moments before we really didn’t enjoy it. The doctor asked us to return in a week because he felt like he couldn’t get a clear picture of how I was doing because I was so weak and we had just stepped off a plane the night before, so I returned home to puke my guts out … hints the picture. My job for the week was to sleep and try to eat.My return visit was much more pleasant. The doctor found the heartbeat immediately and this time it was really cool. We even got to hold the machine and feel the heartbeat beating in our hands. I had also gained back 4 of the 10 lbs I had lost in the previous 2 weeks, so that was good. I must say it was the first time in my life I was happy to see weight gain. Our doctor has advised me not to return to Honduras at this time because my immune system will continue to be suppressed throughout the pregnancy and I will be susceptible to becoming sick again. He said I can not continue to loose weight like I did.
Jason and I are choosing to follow the doctor’s advice as my main job right now is to take care of the baby, which means taking care of myself. Jason will be returning to Honduras this weekend until the beginning of May.
Jason’s blood tests and ultrasound he had here in the States all came back negative. While we were happy that there was nothing serious found through these tests, he continues to have some abdominal pain. Our prayer is that his pain will stop and if not, that the Lord will make us wise about whatever steps we need to take.
We do ask for your continued prayers over this next month as we will be apart. I am having to mentally and emotionally prepare for this unplanned separation. It is hard to think about the baby beginning to move and Jason not being here to experience that and also it is just not easy to think about being apart from my husband for so long.
Well, sorry to be so lengthy, but we wanted to give a full update. We hope that this will be our final health update and the next photo that you see of either of us in the hospital will be in September when our little one arrives :)
On Sunday I got to experience a baptism for the church that meets on the Hospital grounds. This was the first baptism I’ve experienced in Honduras and it was such a blessing to be a part of. There is no baptismal in the church, in fact, right now the church is meeting in the hospital because we are in the process of building a church building for them to meet in. So the church members met at the Hospital at 8:30 and we loaded up two vehicles and the bus.
The bus was filled to the max. We added metal fold out chairs in the back. It was pretty funny because the men from the Pella, Iowa group that is serving here ended up sitting in those chairs. I must admit that I was a bit fearful for them, but not afraid enough to give up my stationary, front seat in the F-250. Let’s just call it pregnant rights. But they said the ride was actually pretty smooth for them.Jason drove the F-250 that was donated from Prince Avenue Baptist Church in Athens. It was one of the smoothest mountain rides. We carried 6 Hondurans in the cab with us and I’m not sure how many people were packed in the Pastor Mingo’s vehicle. But again, the people were very excited about this day and there was no complaining about the riding situation.
It was a beautiful day for the baptism. We drove up to a river where we first had a service. The people sang with hands raised, no instruments, standing by the river, and it was some of the most beautiful music you can ever here. One of the songs they sang said this: “The Holy Spirit is in the place, move in me, touch my mind and my heart, fill my life with your love, move in me, Spirit, move in me … The Spirit is here to console, to free, here to guide, the Spirit of God is here.” And He was. I got all teary-eyed as I listened, sang the lines I knew, felt the slight breeze on my face, and the river water flowing at my feet. (I was standing in the water to get pictures)
Pastor Mingo preached about baptism, its meaning, what it means in the life of the believer, and reassured his congregations of some fears that they struggle with in Honduran culture. In Honduras, baptism is sometimes viewed as another step of faith after becoming a believer in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. Often times people will not want to be baptized because they believe every sin/bad habit must be dealt with and cleaned up before they can be baptized. So Mingo’s sermon focused on the meaning of baptism as a declaration of one’s faith.
7 people were baptized on Sunday. This was the second baptismal for the year totally in 14 people. It was wonderful to join in with the church body in rejoicing for and with their brothers and sisters in Christ. Those being baptized range from an 8 year old boy with the cutest smile to a woman in her 60’s who was scared to death, but followed the Lord in obedience to baptism. After the service, the other church members had brought food to fellowship with those who had been baptized. So we ate, talked, rejoiced, played in the water and fellowshipped by the river. Greatness in Simplicity!
A day after I got to feeling better, Jason decided that he had to top me. At about 11:00pm on either Tuesday or Wednesday night (clearly I’ve tried to block it out of my memory) Jason’s diarrhea began. At 2:00 am we decide that he was not looking good and it was time to get some help.
Well I leave my toilet-dependent husband at the house to go find a doctor with the plan that Jason will make it to the hospital if he can or I’ll bring the doctor to the house. One problem with getting one of the American doctors, they are all asleep. So I enter the guys side of the dorm and decide instead of going from bed to bed leaning in really close to people’s faces until I find who I’m looking for, I’ll just pick a bed and wake someone up and then they can do the dirty work of finding the right doc. (Besides, after my episode the previous day I’m the last face that these doctors want to see leaning over them and breathing on them)
I walk up to the first bed and in a gentle, I’m sorry I’m waking you up, but my husband is dying voice say “Hello.” Again “Hello.” Nothing. So I get a little braver and do the poke. Again nothing. Finally I resort to the stern shake and that awakens the beast. This man comes flying up out of the bed as if he is prepared to kill me. And what do you know, it was Dr. Rinkliff … the man I was looking for. So I tell him the situation and he says he will find Jonathan … the Drug Doctor whom we all love and appreciate … and meet us at the hospital.
Back at the hospital door, I’m waiting outside to catch the doctors to direct them to where we are. Through the window I see my poor husband lying on a bench, then I see him hobbling to the bathroom, back to the bench and hobbling to the bathroom again before we all got to the hospital.
Jason has the veins of a manly man and I could probably stick him and hit one, but that was not the case this night. Jonathan (pictured with Jason) got him hooked up to his first of 8 IV bags that Jason would get over the next day. Sadly, his diarrhea continued through this process, so his hobbling now included me hobbling behind him with his IV bag. So there we are, he is in the bathroom and I’m standing outside the door gagging. Pregnancy has heightened my gag reflex unfortunately. Oh the things you do for love!
Long story kind of short, Jason gets 8 IV bags and lots of meds to bring him back to the real world. It was kind of funny at the end of the day because his face and hands were puffy from all the fluids. He said he felt like the Nutty Professor.
We are so thankful to the surgical team from Greenville, South Carolina. They were so kind to Jason and me and went to great lengths to help us get better.
We are now both officially feeling better, besides the pregnancy nausea and vomiting. We washed all our belongings, Jason sprayed Lysol over the entire house, and we are hopefully done with the Roto Virus for this season. We hope to now return to blogging regularly.
We are so blessed to have a surgical team serving with WBM this week. They are such a fun group. I think it is always fun to be around medical people because they talk their own language and they live on the edge.
They have jumped right in and have been performing surgery all day long while dealing with our normal patient load as well. We had 100s of people come through the hospital doors today. Here are some of the surgeries they will be performing throughout the week: gallbladder, colostomy, hernias, lumps/bumps, and tons of other things that I don’t know the medical terminology for.
More than having a heart to help meet people’s physical needs, they are here because they care for their patients spiritual needs. This is also why WBM exists and why we have Hospital Bautista. One of the doctors said it best in devotional tonight … “Physical problems always occur. We can do surgery on someone tomorrow and the problem could return again in the future. But the reality is that eternal life is much longer than the life we live on this earth. So while we look to meet physical needs, we follow Jesus’ example to meet some physical needs as we look for opportunities to share about people’s spiritual needs and a need to know Jesus as their Savior and Lord.” (This is in summary, not really a quote.)
Jason and I have loved every minute with this team and we are excited to see how the Lord is going to use them as the week continues. Please pray for these surgeons, nurses, translators, and helpers as they seek to use their skills to bless others and tell others about Jesus. This is such an exciting week!
One of my favorite commercials is the Dr. Pepper commercial with Kelsey Grammer playing Frasier. The commercial ends with a close up of his face and him saying in a Frasier sort of voice … “Trust me, I’m a doctor.” (maybe this rings a bell for you)
So this is how my morning begins, Jason waking me wearing a blue surgical hat and mask around his neck as we are talking about my health. I had been up all night with diarrhea and my stomach had been cramping. Being pregnant, this was really emotional for me and of course concerned us both. So we are discussing my options and Jason is advising me to walk down to the hospital to be seen. The ice breaker of this emotional conversation for me was Jason giving me a goofy look with all his doctor gear on and saying, “Trust me, I’m a doctor.” It just made me laugh and cry all at once.I got some great care today at the Hospital. Dr. Estrada saw me first, took my vitals, and asked me about all my symptoms. (There seems to be a stomach virus going around because I wasn’t the only one sick.) He wanted me to have an IV because I was dehydrated. Shortly after, the pediatrician on the American surgical team came in and talked with us as well. He explained to me why I would have experienced the cramping and asked me some further questions. Everyone felt confident that I was just dehydrated and that the baby was fine.
I’m probably one of the only people who have ever just walked in a hospital and gone straight to the head doctor’s office and seen immediately. Dr. Estrada then told me to go back to our house and get in my own bed and he would send someone down to put my IV in. What service! A little while later, an American nurse, Honduran nurse, and the hospital admin show up. They were all so sweet to me. Several other nurses then proceeded to come and check on me throughout the day. (Please excuse the fat head, clearly not feeling well here)
Dr. Jason watched over me all day. He changed all 3 of my IV bags, carried my IV when I had to go to the bathroom, and cleaned my pants. Cleaned my pants? You’re probably wondering why my pants? Dr. Jason removed my IV for me and gave me the task of placing the Band-Aid after he pulled it out. I accidently placed the Band-Aid a little low, so when he took out the IV, blood proceeded to squirt all over. (Dad, you would have never made it.) I was trying to catch it, but it ended up all over my pajama pants. It was one of those moments where we just had to laugh and be thankful that neither of us passed out.But all in all, I’m feeling so much better. We just ask that you all continue praying for our little one’s development and safety and just for my health. I’m so blessed by my husband’s willingness to constantly serve and watch over me and we are surrounded by wonderful family and friends here that offer us so much support and care.
But if you have any medical questions, you now know you can call on Jason Hollen, MD.
So Jason and I could never complain about our living conditions. We are living in a 2 bedroom, 1 and ½ bathroom, all brick and tile apartment. Clearly we are not roughing it. However, over the past week and ½ I have pondered killing our neighbor on several occasions.
Who is our neighbor? A crazy Honduran rooster. I add the adjective Honduran because the roosters here are of a different breed. Many of you have been following our adventures in Honduras and will remember my complaints about the roosters in the past. But this guy just takes it to a whole new level.
Right outside our bedroom window he causes mayhem ALL NIGHT LONG. Not only does he crow, but then he wakes up all the neighboring roosters as well. Take his crowing, add some warm nights and you get a non-sleeping, angry, pregnant lady. Yes, you should be praying for my husband.
But let me describe his crows. I jump up out of bed one night because there is a woman screaming. Jason wakes up as well and we think that our head doctor’s wife is screaming bloody murder next door. Oh wait, we hear it again and it is that dirty rooster who sounds like a screaming woman. It was good that there were bars on our windows separating me from him because I really wanted to ring its neck! (Well, that would never happen, but I feel justified saying it)
So to our solution. We have relocated to the front room of the apartment and we’r
e sleeping in two twin beds. Let me tell you, I have had 3 of the best night’s sleep. It’s cooler and rooster free! Jason and I keep saying that we should move the full bed into that room, so we could actually sleep in the same bed, but when we get back to the place at 11 or 12 at night and have devotional at 7am, its just not happening. So we pitifully say goodnight from across the room, say we should fix this, and then proceed to sweet dreams.
So just call us the Cleavers!
Well we made it to Honduras! The days leading up to us leaving were a little rough for me. I have been battling with all day morning sickness. So I will try anything. My mom bought me some "Seabands" for morning sickness/motion sickness and they actually seem to be working for me sometimes(good work Mom). However, when I wear them I think I look like I jumped out of a Richard Simmon's workout video. Hint the picture. I'm creating a new Honduran style while working on a pretty cool suntan.
The Honduran air has been good for me though. Tonight was the first night I lost the battle to dinner and had to miss out on enchildas for toast. Sad times. But despite feeling sick it is still pretty amazing that we are having a baby. We have enjoyed telling our Honduran friends and they are all very excited for us. I'm so thankful that we were able to have a sono before we left the States. I just love looking at the pictures of our little one and just praying for her/his health. Isn't it just the cutest baby you've ever seen?! I keep on wanting to call it "she" ... maybe it is a sign. :)
This week JoAnn and Sandy have some family here, so it has been a really encouraging time for them. Jason and I have been focusing on some administrative things, learning, and settling in before team season begins. Currently there is a Pastor Training class going on for Honduran pastors. I hope to get some pictures up and more details in the next few days. I think it is one of the neatest ministries of WBM.
Thank you for your continued prayers ... for all 3 of us.!
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