Dear Family and Friends,
THANK YOU - THANK YOU for your prayers, your cards, your kind words of hope and encouragement and your generous giving. All of this is contributing to Lynde’s healing; you are contributing to her wellness. Thank you and we thank God for you. We are humbled by your caring hearts.
This has been a journey for us, a path we never imagined
having to take. It has been a long,
confusing and more often than not, very overwhelming journey. With that said, your prayers and support
make the days more manageable and allow us to focus on regaining Lynde’s
health. Despite the difficulties and
struggles, this journey is proof that God can turn our greatest trials into the
biggest blessings. The will of God will
never take you where the grace of God will not protect you.
We are so appreciative of your desire to walk with us
through this season in our life. We are
grateful and humbled by those that have rallied around us and providing us with
ongoing support; even people that we don’t even know. We have assistance with grocery shopping, walking
Beau, preparing of meals, cleaning the house.
What a blessing it has been and continues to be to see God working
through people. The assistance,
encouragement, and support are the answer to prayers – no matter if you are praying
or helping us daily - all of you are a blessing to us in your own way.
Lynde looks forward to getting the mail, and on most days it
provides a great deal of encouragement when she has the strength to get outside
and walk. Some days that has been easier
than others, but it ALWAYS gives her a sense of hope when she opens cards and
is reminded that we are surrounded by many who are believing with us who love,
care and support us. There are many times she cries tears of joy and
thankfulness as she walks back from the mailbox. Those usually are the days that are
particularly difficult; she gathers up every ounce of energy and forces her
body to move, walking to the mailbox. She
opens up a card and reads that someone believes in her, at that very moment when
she is not so sure.
This past Monday (Feb 6) we visited the Dr. in Missouri. While there have been some setbacks over the
past few months, the Dr. is very optimistic that Lynde is going to recover
well! PRAISE GOD! What that long term
plan looks like—we don’t know just yet.
What we do know is the foreseeable future, and in that we
are clinging to the confidence and hope of others who have had success with the
same treatment. For the next few weeks
Lynde will be off all her antibiotics in order to give her immune system a rest
and boost her White Blood Count. An
increase in white blood cells is important in order for her to continue to
fight and take the next step in treatment. The Dr. would like to see her WBC at a minimum of 3.5 at the end of two
weeks beginning Feb 7th. When
her WBC reaches 3.5 he will feel more comfortable proceeding with a PICC line
(inserted in her arm), and will begin IV antibiotic treatments.
This requires a lot of coordination and support. We will have home care nurses visiting weekly
to assist in changing of the dressings, assist with some of the treatment and
to take weekly blood draws. Blood draws
are necessary to be sure WBC doesn’t drop too low and that Lynde’s liver
enzymes don’t go too high. Lynde will be
infusing the antibiotics on her own. We
are especially thankful to be blessed with a friend who is a retired nurse who
will help us with any questions we have pertaining to the infusion. This provides us a great deal of comfort as
we venture into unknown medical territories.
There is no “one treatment” for Lyme - each body responds
differently and treatments are not as cut and dry as we would sometimes like
them to be. We continue to pray and
trust in GOD that HE is BIG and we are seeking HIS wisdom and plan!
Here are some things that you can pray and do for us:
- Pray specifically in the coming days that Lynde’s body gets stronger and for God to continue to encourage, comfort and guide us on this journey.
- Pray that the Dr’s. are guided with wisdom as to the course of treatment that will allow Lynde to heal and remain as strong as possible in the process.
- Pray for continual strength and energy for Brad to care for and support Lynde.
- Pray for Lynde’s spiritual, physical and mental strength.
- Pray for Lynde’s bodily systems to return to complete homeostasis and that her immune system gains strength to battle the infection on its own.
- Pray that as the IV treatments begin we will receive clear signs that the proper medication is being used in the proper doses.
- Pray for the insurance company (BCBS) to authorize and approve coverage of the first month of IV and any future months that IV treatment is necessary.
- Continue to grow in your personal relationship with God.
- Continue to believe with us.
We believe there is great power in all of your prayers. In spite of the confusing journey though this
disease, we BELIEVE that God is BIG and will be used and honored through
this. Some days it isn’t quite as clear
what that looks like, but we are trusting in HIM. We remind ourselves to: Not be afraid, Just
Believe! We are regularly able to see
glimpses of God even on the darkest of days—we believe that’s a result of the
faith and prayers of those around us.
Please continue to pray for strength, wisdom, patience, understanding
and trust. We know that GOD’S GOT THIS!
Thank you for your prayers, thank you for your grace and
thank you for your patience. Thank you
for listening. Thank you for crying with
us. Thank you for being a broken record
with words of encouragement during our dark days. Thank you for being willing to be confused with
us. Thank you for being concerned with
us and for us. Thank you for believing
with us. Thank you for allowing us to
piggy-back on your Hope. Thank you for
propping us up on our leaning side.
Thank you for serving us. Thank
you for allowing God to use you to be a blessing to us.
If you want to follow along and find out ways you can pray
and how God is blessing and encouraging us along our journey—please check out
our blog at www.lyndesteensen.blogspot.com. We check this often and seek encouragement
from the words and support that are left there.
“Guide me in
your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in
you all day long” Psalm 25:5
God’s Got
This,
Brad and Lynde
Brad and Lynde
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