[ Contents | Search | Post | Reply | Next | Previous | Up ]
From: Louise Connell
Date: 06 Oct 1999
Time: 17:31:10
Remote Name: 216.130.152.50
A while back, I told all of you about the young child that goes to our church. Well, I finnally talked to her mom today, and this is what happened......Rachel has been taking heavy doses of steroids to combat the symptoms (lesions) of the PG. There had been a mysterious lesion on her liver that seemed to be spreading and something unusual had appeared in a bone scan, possibly indicating Leukemia which can be an underlying cause of the PG.
Because her immune system was suppressed by the steroids, she contracted Shingles from a Chicken Pox vaccine she had received . By Tuesday, September 21, the shingles were spreading and Rachel's life was in real jeopardy. The doctors had hoped that the Shingles would be confined to the one nerve strand that seemed affected on her scalp and neck. and not enter her blood stream, which could prove fatal. When they lifted up her gown on Tuesday morning, they saw that the disease looked as if it was raging out of control moving down her little chest. The anti-viral drugs that she was receiving did not seem to be working. The Doctor pulled Jeanne and Tom into his office and gently told them that they should be prepared for "the worse." He thought that they would probalby lose Rachel because she was not responding to treatment and there was no other treatment to be offered. Completely devastated and broken hearted, Jeanne and Tom returned to Rachel's room and found her sitting up, laughing and talking with one of the children's ward activities directors. She wanted pizza for supper! Jeanne said that at that moment she felt that God did not intend for Rachel to die at that time. He would pull her out of this.
The next morning when the doctors came by on their rounds, they pulled up Rachel's gown and all physicians in the room began to actually smile. The pox from the Shingles were disappearing! The Doctor looked at Jeanne and said, "Well, it looks like the anti- viral drug kicked in after all." Jeanne said, "Well it could just be all of the sweet prayers that have been offered for Rachel." Amazingly, just two days before on Monday, September 20, many members of our church had fasted and prayed for little Rachel. It was a true miracle!
That was two weeks ago. Since then, the lesion on her liver has been drained and seems to be much improved. Rachel's bone marrow has been tested and she does not have Leukemia. They cannot even find anything really showing up on her most recent bone scan and x-ray.
The pox form the Shingles continue to improve. There have not been any new lesions from the PG. even though they have lowered Rachel's dangerously heavy dose of Steroids.
Please continue to pray for a complete healing. There are still painful lesions on one of her feet. She basically has no immunities at this point to battle off even the basic childhood illnesses. Some of the drugs she is taking are experimental in children. The real cause of her PG. is still unknown. It 's a real mystery.
Rachel has an 8 year old sister, Adrienne. She had been a trooper through this, but has missed the loving care of her mom during Rachel's long hospital stays. The entire family appreciates all of the prayers and feels them daily.