Reiki and Decisions

To Charley’s Family and Friends,

I had the privilege to spending a few hours with Deborah, Nehemiah, and Charley today. Charley was sleeping and without the Bi-pap for most of the time I was there. He woke up instantly when Pastor Don arrived! Charley was alert and enjoyed watching his new Ultraman VCDs from his family in China. Charley watched Ultraman when he was in the hospital in Beijing and even though the audio is in Japanese, he knows all of the characters’ names!

Doctor Rosenthal, a specialist in Integrated Therapy, met with Charley’s parents to discuss his nutrition needs. He feels that it is very important for Charley to be able to eat foods with antioxidants. Charley has been enjoying some cactus juice and occasionally asks for some fruit, but his nausea has kept him from having an adequate appetite for over three months. Dr. Rosenthal is suggesting some therapeutic means to help Charley to relax so that he can swallow more nutritious drinks. Charley will begin Reiki therapy. Reiki involves healing with energy through hands.

After the meeting with Dr. Rosenthal, Deborah and Nehemiah faced the major decision of whether to transfer Charley to the comfort room on the 6th floor, where he may feel more physically comfortable, or to have him stay in the ICU for a few more days, where he can remain under the care of the same doctors and nurses who have taken care of him for the past couple of weeks. (The latter plan would also allow them to continue the current plans of caring for Charley’s nutritional needs.)

Luckily, Pastor Don was there to provide a message from the scriptures. James 1:5 states, “If you need wisdom – if you want to know what God wants you to do – ask him, and he will gladly tell you.” Moments after Pastor Don’s message and prayer, Charley’s doctors told Deborah and Nehemiah that it may be best for Charley to stay a little while longer in the ICU. Praise the Lord for giving Charley’s family the answer and taking that burden off of their shoulders!

Doctor Sallan, Charley's attending doctor, stopped by later Monday afternoon. He examined Charley and noted that Charley's spleen remained the same size. His lungs were improving.

Prayer Request:
* Deborah and Nehemiah continue to ask God for help in making their decisions.
* That the condition of Charley's spleen and lungs can continue to improve.
* That Charley can continue to feel the support of his family and friends at his side.

-Erin

April 29, 2007 Update

Dear Family and Friends of Charley:

I’m Madeline, Charley’s teacher from Shrewsbury. I would like to update you as to what has been happening at the hospital the last couple of days.

I saw Charley on Friday afternoon. He was still in the ICU because the doctors had been concerned about his lungs; but Charley has been slowly improving. He had been using the BI-PAP full time (the big face mask) but Friday he used the small nose tubes for 5 hours. Saturday he had the nose tubes on for 7 and a half hours, on Sunday for 10 hours, and the amount/force of oxygen was lowered.

Charley has been fed by IVs since he was in ICU. His parents have asked the doctors about the possibility of having an additional dietary supplement given to Charley. This would consist of herbs and other natural nutritional and food enhancements. These could be supplied by a tiny tube (feeding tube) that would go to intestine. The team has arranged the appointment with the director of the integrated clinic on this Monday. Nothing has been decided about this.

The doctors are also concerned about Charley’s spleen being enlarged. Oftentimes an enlarged spleen can mean the presence of leukemia, but some infections may also cause the spleen to be enlarged.

White Blood Cells: a healthy person can have between 4,000-10,000 white blood cells. A couple of weeks ago Charley’s WBC was 60 and on Friday it was 110. This morning‘s lab results show the WBC to be at 210, so very, very slowly it's coming up. Importantly, his absolute neutrophil count is 130, 62% of white blood cells, which are true infection fighters. If the ANC continues going up, then Charley's body will be able to fight off various infections. His platelets are still low, though.

When I saw him on Friday, he was really, really tired and he slept most of the time. Erin, his other teacher, and his grandmother were there with him, too.

As many of you know, there was a medical team - parent conference on Friday, too. Dr. Peter Choo, a personal friend and physician, and I also attended. The team and parents discussed many different things: Charley’s overall health, his lungs, his spleen, the fever (why is there a fever? Is there an infection?), and the possibility of using an NJ tube.

Right now his sepsis is controlled, his blood pressure is controlled…but he is weaker now than a few weeks ago, his heart is working hard, and he is labored in his breathing. He still has bouts of fever.

A wonderful decision was made about moving Charley back to 6 North into the big comfortable room. In this room he will be able to move around, sit on a couch, watch TV, play video games. He also will be able to be beside his mom and dad in the big bed, a closeness that he has been missing since he went to the ICU. The respiratory team will have their equipment moved to that floor in order to service him there if he needs the BI-PAP oxygen.
MOVING DAY IS MONDAY!

Prayer Requests :
* Please pray for strength. ….overall strength for Charley; and mental, physical, and spiritual strength for Deborah and Nehemiah. Pray that God will hold them so tenderly and close to His heart.
* Please pray that the decision concerning the use of the NJ feeding tubes will be the best decision for Charley.
* Please pray that the medical team will continue to be blessed with God’s direction and guidance regarding further treatment infections for Charley.
* Please pray for Charley’s lungs and spleen to go back to normal functioning and size.
* Please pray for his good blood counts to continue to grow to fight with.
* Please pray especially hard for Charley’s complete remission and cure of leukemia.

2007年，星期天，四月29号

田田亲爱的家人及朋友，

我是曼德琳，来自马萨诸塞州什鲁斯伯里，田田的老师，我这里向你报告一下最近几天有关田田的情况。

星期五下午，我去看了田田, 医生担心他的肺部感染，所以他还一直在ICU 病房，但他的肺部感染似乎在逐步改善。这些天，他一直在使用BI-PAP 面罩 (一种大的面罩)。星期五，他使用小型的鼻导管５小时，星期六，用鼻导管７个半小时, 星期天用10个小时, 同時使用的氧气量亦逐步降低。

自从田田到ＩＣＵ病房后，一直使用近胃管进食。他的父母问医生能否给田田中药或其他的天然保健品, 这些保健品也能通过胃管饲入肠道。治疗小组已安排替代医学主任下周一进行一次会诊。医生也考虑田田的脾肿大, 脾肿大常预示有白血病细胞, 但一些感染也可以引起脾肿大。

正常健康人白细胞在4,000-10,000。几周以前，田田的白细胞是60，星期五是110, 早上的報告显示白细胞是210, 很慢很慢地在上升。很重要的是，他的绝对中性粒细胞130, 占白细胞总数的62%, 这些细胞適用於與感染奮戰。 如果绝对中性粒细胞持续升高，田田的身体是能够对抗各种感染的, 尽管他的血小板还是很低。

当我在星期五见到他时，他真是很疲劳，大部分时间他都在睡觉, 他的另一位老师Erin以及田田的姥姥也在那里。

你们可能知道，星期五，又有一次父母与治疗小组的会议。Peter Choo 医生，还有我参加了这个会议。治疗小组与田田的父母讨论了许多问题，包括田田的总体健康状况，肺部感染情况, 脾肿大以及发热等情况 (为什么会有发热，是否是感染引起的??), 以及使用鼻空肠饲管的可能性。

现在他的感染得到一些控制, 血压控制也不错，但他比几周前更虚弱了,心脏负荷很重，呼吸困难，还常有发热。值得高兴是，医生决定田田可以回到北６區大而舒适的房间了。在这个房间里，他可以自由走动，坐在椅子上，可以看电视，玩游戏等等。他也能亲密地和他父母睡在一张大床上，自从去ＩＣＵ后田田就一直很懷念往日的親近和安全感，呼吸治疗小组将把呼吸救助设备安置在田田原來的房间, 以备用。預估回普通病房的时间是下周星期一。

祷告要求：

* 请求神赐予田田力量; 也从心灵、精神、身体上赐予田田父母以力量, 请神热情的拥抱他们，更接近他们的心。
*祷告使用鼻空肠导管是对田田最好的选择。

* 祷告治疗小组将在神的正确指引下进一步治疗田田的感染。

* 祷告田田的肺、脾恢复正常的大小和功能恢复正常。

* 祷告田田的血象能持续对抗感染。
* 特别祷告田田的白血病完全缓解和恢复。

Update and Urgent Prayer Request 田田最近的情况及急切需要的祷告

To Charley's friends all over the world,

I have spent some time with Charley over the past 2 days and I am happy to report that he seemed to have a bit more energy today. He was allowed to unhook the Bi-PAP mask for 3 hours this morning. He spent much of his time looking through new magazines from China and watching TV. He also worked with his hands, creating cardboard action figures and playing with a Rubik's cube. His lung function improves day-by-day. The hospital clowns visited and made Charley laugh out loud several times!

Soon after my visit with Charley, he complained of intense stomach pain. Charley continues to have fever 3-4 episodes per day. So far, no new microorganism has been isolated in the past week. Doctors are still working hard for finding resolutions. Also, the abdominal ultra sound confirmed that his spleen has been enlarged. This may be an indicator that the latest chemo was not effective in treating his leukemia. Tomorrow, the doctors will meet with Deborah and Nehemiah to discuss the situation.

-Erin

Prayer request:
* The cause of Charley's fever can be found and to be treated effectively
* The doctors can have the wisdom to determine what is causing Charley's spleen to be enlarged so that they can help Charley to overcome this battle.
* The lung function restores so Charley can be back to oncology floor. * His pain will cease so that he can be more comfortable.
* For Deborah and Nehemiah to feel the comfort of God as they enter another meeting with Charley's medical team tomorrow.

2007年，星期四，四月26号

田田最近的情况及急切需要的祷告---

写给田田全世界的朋友:

过去两天，我和田田在一起，很高兴今天他的精力有所好转。早上，可以同意他去掉防护口罩三小时。 他几乎一直在看从中国来的杂志和看电视。他也玩方块及数字游戏。 肺部感染在一天天好转。医院的志愿者扮演小丑访问田田，使他很开心大笑。

我访问他不久他就开始喊肚子痛。他还是每天发热3-4 次，目前为止，医生还没有分离出新的细菌。医生也还一直在努力寻找发热原因, 而且， 腹部超声检查证实脾肿大， 这可能显示最近的化疗不是很有效。明天，医生将和田田的父母程建平及翁曉慧进一步讨论田田的情况。
-Erin

请为田田祷告:
* 尽快发现发热的原因，并且得到有效的治疗。

* 希望赋予医生智慧，发现脾肿大原因，以便能得到有效治疗。

* 肺部感热得到恢复，使田田尽快回到肿瘤病房

* 希望疼痛得到控制，使他能自由舒适的活动

* 明天Deborah and Nehemiah 和医生讨论时，希望他们能感到上帝的慈爱。

Charley's Update

Dear Family and Friends,

I spoke with Nehemiah by phone Tuesday night.

On Saturday, Charley was able to take a short walk, ate and drank and the medical team was preparing to have him transfer from the ICU back to the oncology floor. However, no room was available. Early on Sunday (midnight), Charley began to have labored breathing; he had a partial lung collapse. Charley had sputum that he needed to cough up but was unable to do so because he could not breathe deeply. He also could not have it suctioned out because of his low platelets. He was placed on Bi-PAP (oxygen support) again. On Monday morning, after 3 hours out of the Bi-PAP, although Charley tried to cough, X-rays showed his lung had collapsed again. He lacks the strength to cough. Thus, he has been on the Bi-PAP since Monday afternoon and can’t eat and drink. Today, X-rays revealed some slow improvement. Pray for strength to cough up the sputum.

Charley has been in bed for about 2 weeks now and is weak. The medical team moves him to a chair once a day but it causes him pain and even with the therapist, he is unable to walk.

Lastly, there has been some concern over possible inflammation or infection of his spleen and liver. For the moment it has been palpable since last Wednesday and hasn't worsened. The doctors will keep a close watch over this which could indicate leukemia attacking the organs.

Thursday, the medical team will meet with Deborah and Nehemiah.

Please Pray:
1. Ask the Lord for strength for Charley to cough and breathe deeply -- for full recovery of his collapsed lungs.
2. For God's healing to fully cleanse Charley of any infection. He's had fever of 38.2-38.8 but no bacteria have been cultivated.
3. God's hand on Charley's bone marrow for healing from the leukemia. Doctors will be looking for his blood count to go up by mid May at the latest to see if the chemo has worked.
4. Strength for Deborah and Nehemiah as they walk with Charley. Grant Deborah sleep, rest, peace especially since she hasn't been home for 2 weeks. She has been staying in the ICU, where there is no shower or even bathroom easily accessible.

Dear Charley, our hearts and thoughts are on you early in the morning and when we go to sleep. If we could bear any of this for you we would gladly do so. You are such an example to us all. Dear Deborah and Nehemiah, you've taught us so much. We pray for you that the Lord would uphold you and that you may trust in His love.

-Linda

Charley's Walk in the ICU

Charley's first walk in the hallway of the ICU