Please Pray for the Gardners
December 19th
We have the latest news from the Gardners, which is that Caleb is again making progress and they are doing very well. Please see their website, www.gardnersforgod.org for the latest info and photos. We are so pleased and thank you for your continued prayers for them! We hope to have them back in Nampula next year.
November 15th
Gardners are back in the USA now, in Colorado, and visiting with family and friends and churches. We hear that Caleb's progress has slowed, and that he is still having troubles doing many of the things he was able to do before the illness. They continue with physical therapy and it is yet to be seen if there will be permanent damage or if he will recover completely. They have high hopes for the latter, and indeed his young age makes this a possibility. Please continue to pray for them! They hope to return to Moz next year sometime to either continue the work or to pack up and move home for good.
October 19th
Caleb is making amazing progress these days! In an email yesterday, Shawn and Sarah said that Caleb was discharged from the hospital!! He is taking all his milk by bottle now, and sitting up (with help). He is smiling and giggling when tickled and making all kinds of other progress. Wow. It is just amazing. They decided not to do an MRI as he would have to be sedated again and everybody is pretty much against that since the drugs are out of his system now. Months from now they may do one if there is a determination needed as to the extent of long-term damage. For now, it seems like he is making progress very quickly. They plan on flying back to the USA next week, to their home state of Colorado, for 7 months (or more) of rest, physical therapy for Caleb, and recuperation. I am going to move their page from our home page but ask that you would continue to pray for them and check back here for updates. We are on their update list and will update this page as we have more info.
October 13th
Yesterday we got an email from Sarah as well as being able to visit with Shawn while he was here in Nampula briefly. Caleb is making a great deal of progress, though it is things an outsider might not notice. He can hold his head up for longer periods, and has started smiling as he kicks his legs. He sometimes makes eye contact now and is able to focus more. He is able to take some milk in his mouth, though most of his feeds continue through the tube in his nose. That is currently his only tube. They will do an MRI soon to give a better picture of where he is at, and they hope that Caleb will be released from the hospital after that, so that they can make plans to return to the USA. At this point, they plan on being in the USA until at least June, at which point a decision will be made about returning to the mission field. Please continue to pray for complete restoration for Caleb!
October 6th
Some things are worth hearing word for word! Below is form Shawn and Sarah,
"For the first time in a long while we laughed and celebrated with the nurses about Caleb's rapid progress over a few days! He is doing pretty well this week and is learning to eat from a spoon again. He is still on a feeding tube so that he can get liquids as he hasn't taken to a bottle or cup yet, but the doctors hope to wean him off the feeding tube over the next week. He is much less sensitive to touch and his spastic movements are greatly diminishing. This week his eyes seem to be focusing better although he still can't really follow an object with his eyes. He seems to have at least partial hearing which we're happy about too. A big thing is that he can hold his head up for a short time and even flip his head over while lying on his stomach. All of these things seem to indicate that he did not lose his motor functions, and although he will have 'lost' his milestones such as sitting by himself, crawling, standing, etc. we are hopeful that he will regain these and more with time. We have no idea how his 'intelligence' was affected by everything but at this point we won't worry but instead trust the Lord to handle it.
So the doctors are extremely pleased with how he's doing, esp. considering how very sick he was on several occasions. We recently learned that Caleb was indeed without oxygen for a long time during those frightening hours before he was evacuated to South Africa. But on hearing that report and seeing how he is doing today we are encouraged as there are definitely some good signs that give us hope (and we trust God to bring about a miraculous recovery in His time). Caleb really 're-learned' eating from a spoon and swallowing remarkably fast. We are hoping that Caleb will be able to get the hang of eating and drinking so that in another week or two he will be discharged and we'll be able to make plans to fly to the States. Shawn is leaving tomorrow for a quick trip back to Nampula where he will take care of many matters and pack up our house for now as we will certainly be away from Moz. for many months, if not longer..."
October 2nd
From Gardners:
We cry most nights about Caleb. But our tears are not just from saddness or grief. They are that; but they are mixed with hope and joy and peace. When I look at Caleb and consider his current condition and all that will need to be done in order for him to regain his faculties I often get a striking image of how we humans must appear to God: one of my most cherished children, debilitated by a sinister and horrible tragedy, but who will day by day be renewed until he is raised to glory if I have my way with him.
Last Friday our teammates in Mozambique and many others of you all joined in fasting and praying for Caleb. We all obviously want to see Caleb fully restored. At this point that would most certainly constitute a miracle. Thank you to all who are praying. At this point we are pacing ourselves in our hope in preparation for a long distance miracle. We hope that by the end of two years Caleb will have regained a high percentage of his faculties.
The doctors and their devices cannot say to what extent Caleb’s brain has been damaged, nor what capacity he may regain or how long it will take to regain it. We are on a one-day-at-a-time program of observing Caleb and responding to what he shows us he is able to do. All his IV’s have been taken out and he is no longer on any medication except something to help him rest from time to time and a small dose of oral heart medicine. He is still receiving his food through a tube going through his nose into his stomach. Today he was able to swallow about seven spoonfuls of yoghurt though. That is good news! We are hoping to get him to where he can eat without a feeding tube before being discharged. A neuro-physiotherapist comes by twice a week now and is trying to desensitize his over-sensitized nervous system. If you just touch him on his face and some other places he winces and whines. He whines most of the time he is awake. He still doesn’t seem to respond to us visually or audibly. They say his eyes are well and his left ear too, but that it might just be that his brain is not properly interpreting those sensations yet. We’ve been encouraged, however, from several stories we’ve heard of children who have had the same symptoms after long ICU experiences and brain trauma, but that are doing well now. We’ve also noticed Caleb responding positively to the physiotherapy and slowly regaining some muscle control and use. So, all these things together have given us even more reasons for hope.
Sept 28th
Today has been proclaimed a day of prayer and fasting for Caleb's complete restoration. Please join with friends of Caleb as they approach the throne of grace and ask for mercy.
Sept 1st
This came from Shawn today:
Many of you have asked us how you can help with the expenses we will incur from the evacuation, ICU care, and other related expenses. Thank you for your concern in this matter and your support. We are greatly humbled by your thoughtfulness!!
Instead of a traditional medical insurance, we are members of Samaritan’s Ministries, which is a network of Christians that help each other with their medical expenses. The deal is that the member is to pay for their own expenses first and then submit a registry of those expenses paid to this group. They then garner a “reimbursement” based upon one’s monthly membership commitment. Any further needs beyond that limit may be published in the group’s newsletter and individuals may voluntarily send extra gifts. <o:p></o:p>
Of course, at this moment we have no idea what the total is going to be. I think an estimate of $50,000 total is conservative (the flight was $24,000 and ICU costs at least $1,000/day not including pharmacy and doctor’s fees), plus our living expenses in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Johannesburg</st1:place></st1:City>. We feel awkward mentioning this, but many have asked, so if you feel led to help with this here are some directions: <o:p></o:p>
Make check payable to: Central Church of Christ<o:p></o:p>
Write in Memo: For Caleb’s Medical Care<o:p></o:p>
On the envelope write:<o:p></o:p>
<st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Gardners</st1:place></st1:City> for God<o:p></o:p>
<st1:address w:st="on"><st1:Street w:st="on">P.O. Box</st1:Street> 557</st1:address><o:p></o:p>
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Gering</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">NE</st1:State> <st1:PostalCode w:st="on">69341</st1:PostalCode></st1:place><o:p></o:p>
August 31st
Here's a link to their website: http://www.gardnersforgod.org
We'll continue to update as we have information.
Cami
