The doctor indicated that it is most likely a viral thing (potentially the same thing that cause my pneumonia) which has caused some inflammation and fluid build up around his heart. There was also a slight abnormality on his EKG which most likely is no big deal, but the doctor wants to do more testing just to be certain that there isn't any underlying cause for the abnormality. We weren't able to get the echo cardiogram that we need to confirm this because the one tech that can do it is on vacation (oh the joys of living in a small town...) and we can't even get it scheduled because our insurance will only allow our primary doctor (who Ben hasn't even met) to schedule outpatient tests. Gotta love government insurance! Sigh...
So, I'm super glad to have Ben back home and feeling better, but still praying that we can at least figure out what is going on! One thing that I'm becoming more and more scared of is that there is something in this house that really is making us sick, or at least causing our immune systems to be much more susceptible to illness. I am going to be doing some testing for mold, though I'm really praying that there isn't any harmful mold in the house because from what I have read there is no law in Arkansas which protects us and quite honestly, there is no where else for us to rent. And I really don't want to be moving all our stuff AGAIN. On the other hand, we can't keep fighting off major illnesses like this for the duration of the time that we are stationed here!
One discovery we did make (while doing a quick search for mold in the house) is that our central heat & air system was running without a filter in it. AWESOME. The dirty (and I mean DIRTY) filter had been removed and set right next to the system, but hadn't been replaced. Soooo... this morning I ran to the local hardware store and bought the best filter they had. I also ordered some of the best possible filters online so that maybe, just maybe, we can start breathing some cleaner air around here! And just for fun (and because we really don't have anything better to be doing) our toilet isn't working properly. Sigh...
So, I guess the moral of the story is that God is just teaching us to BE STILL.
"Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."
Psalm 46:10-11
One of the things that really excited us about moving here to Arkansas was the ability to take life a little slower. We have been going a mile a minute for pretty much our entire marriage, and we were really hoping that this would be an opportunity to not worry about deployments, maybe not work quite as much, and just generally have the chance to be together as a family and live a little slower paced life than we had been. With all this sickness we certainly have been moving pretty slow! Though I am hoping to keep up with the slower pace and the simpler life, I am hoping that maybe we can move past the sickness and instead simply be slow and obedient. I want to be still. I want to see God exalted in our lives. We know that He is with us, even through all of the trials, but I want it to be plain to those around us that God is exalted in our home and I want to be still enough that we can hear his voice and have the time to be obedient to whatever it is that He may call us to do.
Thank you for the prayers, we really appreciate it. And we are so blessed to have so many faithful friends who love us even through all of the difficulties. We want to be able to return that favor and be a blessing to those around us!
Love you all,
B, E & H
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