Update on Amy

Amy has seen the retinal specialist and has surgery scheduled for November 1.  Here is what she wrote in her blog:

“I am stateside.  I arrived with absolutely no problems.  I left my house at 3am, was at the airport by 7am and on the plane about 9am.  Both the flight from Port to Miami and from Miami to Jacksonville left right on time and I was safely in Jacksonville a little ahead of schedule.

I had an appointment made for 8am but was told it may be a long morning as I will have to be worked into the schedule.  Just this morning, the Ladies from the Bible Study I attended before I left for Haiti prayed that God would give me a connection with a Doctor who had a heart for Haiti and a heart for the work I am doing there.  My mom got a call today saying that the Dr who would be seeing me had changed.  When she talked to that Dr. my mom found out that she has been to Haiti numerous times.  God has definitely been working in the details!!

The appointment yesterday morning wasn't actually for the surgery- it was a consult to see what the problem really was.

The surgery has been scheduled on November 1.  I have to be at the surgery center at 8:15am.

Bottom line, there is more substantial damage than just the bleeding.  There is scarring at the back of the retina and if not repaired, it could mean detachment of the retina and eventual complete blindness.  the bleeding was actually a separate yet related problem.  I consider it a blessing over all as the problem could have continued and become completely non=repairable.

It is a problem associated with diabetes and poorly controlled blood sugars (I guess Haiti has been harder on my system in that way than I realized but I am working on getting them under control and will just have to continue changing what I do when I return…)  As of now, the laser surgery can help stop the bleeding and remove some of the scar tissue.  The recovery process, he said in general is a two month process.  If the process goes smoothly, then after two months he will sign off on the recovery and I, ideally, will be free to return to Haiti.  As far as my vision, I am at 20/25 in my right (good eye) but at about 20/100 in the left eye.  There is a 3 in 4 chance it will improve some and a 1 in 4 chance it will not.  I am trusting and believing for the former.

I am working through what this all means and what life will look like over the next couple months.  While things have turned out differently than I thought, I know that God’s hand is in this and I will trust Him to continue to guide me through.

I am missing Haiti very much today.  I woke up to find news of a cholera outbreak in the North Western part of the Haiti.  My heart breaks for a country whose people has already experienced enough grief and tragedy in the past ten months to last more than a lifetime.  Keep Haiti on your mind, in your thoughts and in your prayers.”

Continue to pray for Amy.  You can find her blog here.  We will post updates as we receive info from her.