health update

Everyone,



I am feeling pretty discouraged. I have started running fevers again at night - I had one every night this week. I had been feeling pretty good and felt I was recovering well from the surgery but have taken a real nose dive. I am very weak and can hardly do anything. Even taking a shower wears me out so that I need to lay down afterwards. We went in to see my surgeon yesterday and she did some blood work and a chest xray to see if she could find anything but it may just be that the tumors are active again and causing this. I finally got an appointment at OHSU (Oregon Health and Science University) but it is not until July 1st. I would appreciate your prayers for endurance and strength during this time. I know it is hard for Kent as well because I am not up to doing anything so he just is stuck here taking care of me. Today he did go down to Eugene and will take my dad golfing for Father's day and then he is going over to our daughter's house for dinner. At least he will have a little break. I realize this is short and sort of whiny but it's all I have right now. Thanks for understanding and holding us up.

Love, Myrna

Health Update

Everyone,



It's been a emotional roller coaster the last couple of weeks. I am healing from my surgery. Today I got the staples out of my incision which runs from my navel to my back. I was pretty uncomfortable at first but am doing pretty well now. Last week the infectious disease doctor called us and said he thought maybe I had a disease called Wagners so he wanted me to see a kidney specialist. The kidney doc called and scheduled me for the very next day. I looked up Wagners and was NOT encouraged by what I read. It is not a disease you want to have. Kent and I decided not to say anything to our family until after we went in so as not to worry people unnecessarily but we were both pretty stressed out. As soon as the doctor walked in and sat down she said "You do NOT have Wagners" WHAT a relief! She spent and hour and a half with us and said she really wanted to try to work with the other doctors to get to the bottom of this. We left feeling a bit encouraged. While at her office my blood pressure dropped quite low and I had to drink some hot broth that I am convinced they made from dead horse's hooves - at least that is what it smelled and tasted like. I was exhausted by the time I got home.



They next day my rheumatologist called to say she wanted to see me and could I come in the next day. I asked if I could wait a while because I wasn't really feeling up to it. They agreed. Within a hour or two my kidney doctor was on the phone saying that whether I felt like it or not I needed to go in fact she wished I had been able to go even earlier because my liver toxin levels had risen even more. Once again we were a bit frightened and wondering what this would mean. When we got in there the rheumatologist apologized for making me come in and said she thought the toxin level was because of the fungal medication and she would talk to the infectious disease doctor about it. She had wanted to see me because she assumed since I am off all my arthritis drugs that my joints would be swollen and painful. Instead my arthritis has never been better it is like I don't even have it. Once again we left feeling better than when we came in.



This week we got another call from the infectious disease doctor. He said "I am sorry to tell you this but we are at the end of the line with what we can do. All the tests are back and we can find nothing that is causing this." He said he had asked the kidney doctor to look at Wagners disease again, the pathologist to look at lymphoma again and had asked another infectious disease doctor to review the files. He said if these all come back negative - which they did today - then we are left with two things 1) I am starting on a very high dose of two different antibiotics in the hopes that it might kill whatever it is even if they can't find it - he said "This is a complete Hail Mary - we are just shooting in the dark and hoping we hit something" We will do a scan in 4-6 weeks to see what has happened. 2) I need to get seen by a research facility - in this case we are applying to Oregon Health and Science University. These doctors are doing research on diseases and things that the average doctor doesn't see so it is possible they will find something the other doctors have missed.



I asked the doctor if they didn't find it if this would just eat my kidneys completely and he said "That is my fear but I don't know how to stop it". Kent and I were both feeling pretty emotional about all this because of not knowing what that meant for our lives and our future or even my chances of dying. However today both our urologist and the infectious disease doctor told us that they don't expect this to kill me - their fear is that it would eat my kidneys to where I would need dialysis and perhaps a kidney transplant but that I would survive. We are both feeling a bit more hopeful and like we can face whatever comes as long as we are doing it together.



Please pray for these new doctors who are looking at my case with fresh eyes. Pray that the antibiotics would work. Pray for continued healing from the surgery and continued peace for Kent and I as we move forward. Thank you for your unfailing love and support.



Kent and Myrna Morley
Tripoleos 76
Elliniko 16777
Athens Greece
011 30 210 96 38 625
backhoeboy1@gmail.com
http://kent-uniquelymorley.blogspot.com
To join our Support Team:
Online go to: www.iteams.org select: US, Select: What do you want to do, Select: Give
Or Send to:
International Teams
411 W. River Rd.
Elgin IL 60123
Please designate for the ministry of Kent and Myrna Morley and indicate whether this is a one time gift or monthly support. Thanks :)

Health and Ministry Update

Everyone -



Health News:

I am only up to writing a short note. I am home and feeling little better each day but spend a lot of time floating away in sleep on the pain pills. I wasn't able to eat more than a few bites at first because of some intestinal issues but that has mostly righted itself and I am trying to get a little more nutrition down. Kent is taking good care of me - figuring out ways to make me comfortable and fixing soup, baked potatoes, eggs etc. We are at my brother and sister-in-laws house still. They are gone for two weeks. Kent was going to sleep in their bedroom but the first night I had some vivid dreams or hallucinations from the medications that scared me so he has been right here at my side - so thankful. People have asked for the address here it is:

care/of Dale Gibson 2421 Donegal Ct. West Linn OR 97068. We don't have any report back yet except the pathology report for cancer and it is not cancer which we pretty much already knew. Now we are just waiting for them to find something else which usually takes at least a couple of weeks and then once they find it to culture it and find a way to kill it which can take up to a month more.



Ministry News:



The team recently did another of our "doctor days". Many families were able to talk with the doctor's. There was a nutrition class where they taught them to make breakfast burritos that are inexpensive and easy. I love the mix of cultures! As usual several people said it was the best day they had had in a LONG time and were very grateful.



The Team was away at a team retreat this last weekend. We've heard good comments about the teaching and sharing time so continue to pray that the team is uplifted an united especially in our absence.



Meetings are underway for the summer camp which will be happening the first couple weeks in June. The men's camp will be during the first week of June and though some of our men will participate we will run our regular programming during that week as well. June 10-16 is the Family Camp and we close down as almost the whole staff goes to help at this camp. This is a highlight of the year for staff and refugees alike. MANY decisions for the Lord and baptisms have been during or followed our summer camps. Please pray for the final planning, pray for adequate staff, pray for the right refugees to come and pray that their hearts will be open.



We Love You All and could not do this without your support.



Kent and Myrna Morley
Tripoleos 76
Elliniko 16777
Athens Greece
011 30 210 96 38 625
backhoeboy1@gmail.com
http://kent-uniquelymorley.blogspot.com
To join our Support Team:
Online go to: www.iteams.org select: US, Select: What do you want to do, Select: Give
Or Send to:
International Teams
411 W. River Rd.
Elgin IL 60123
Please designate for the ministry of Kent and Myrna Morley and indicate whether this is a one time gift or monthly support. Thanks :)

Update on the Update

Everyone -



Our lives are never dull - after Kent had purchased tickets last night to fly to Greece for the week next week, this morning my doctor called to say. "Good news! We've moved your surgery up to Monday night!" We were happy to be able to get the surgery done sooner but Kent had already made plans for things he was going to do in Greece and of course we had bought tickets on line so we worried about getting a refund. However we called and Delta said that since we bought them on the Delta site and since it was within 24 hours there was no problem and they just refunded the full amount. SO thankful! So Kent will not be making a trip to Greece and I will be having surgery this Monday the 19th at 5pm at Good Samaritan Hospital in downtown Portland.



Love, Myrna

Health Update

Everyone,



A lot has happened in the last few days and I am still trying to process it all. I got up Monday morning early so I could go in for my scan. I am going through a bible study called "Stronger" and the lesson for the day was "God is stronger than your bad news". I told Kent on the way to the hospital for my scan - this does not bode well for me. After my scan was over the technician said to me "Do you have an appointment with your doctor right away?" I said "Yes I have one on Wednesday". They have never asked me before whether I had a doctor's appointment - another little sign to me that perhaps things were not going to be well.



The day before on Sunday when we were at church in Elmira I had asked several people to pray that God would give us a definitive answer. Since I had been feeling some better we were in hopes that they would say that the tumor had shrunk or there was scar tissue but we were afraid they might say "Well things look about the same I think we should just continue to wait and see what happens and then we would know what to do about Kent returning to Greece etc.



We got our definitive answer. I was not supposed to get the results of the scan until Wednesday but we had only been home a few hours when the doctor called. He said "The tumors have grown." I said "A little? A lot?" He said "Significantly". He felt it was time we needed to go ahead and do the open kidney surgery and said he would call the surgeon when he got off the phone with me.



Yesterday we saw the surgeon and the news seemed even a little more discouraging. She said that well over half of my left kidney was gone and that the tumor in my right kidney had increased as well. She said that she planned to operate on the left kidney trying to lop of about the bottom third of the kidney. However she said that there was a possibility that she would not be able to find enough good tissue to sew things back together again and if that was the case then she would need to take the whole kidney. This is why she has chosen to cut on the left kidney although it is the more difficult kidney because if I have to lose a kidney better to lose it than to lose the one with more healthy tissue. She said the other concern is that they would seed infection or whatever this is into my abdomen so they were going to try and stay as far to the side as possible and keep me in the hospital with drain tubes for a few day in order to prevent that. She said "I usually go in pretty confident of what I am going to do and I am sorry to not be able to give you better answers but I just don't know what I am going to find when I get in there". She wanted to have a second surgeon in the room as well so because of that they will not be able to do the surgery until May 29th.



One of the hard things about this is that though it is a serious surgery and a six week recovery it does nothing to make me better - it only gives them more tissue to hopefully be able to find out what is eating up my kidneys. My Infectious Disease Doctor says that he only knows of maybe 2 cases ever that are even similar and the surgeon said she has show my scan around to everyone she knows and they are all baffled.



Needless to say this has hit me pretty hard and I am having a few struggles dealing with it emotionally. Although Kent understands and is very sympathetic to this he is going to leave on Saturday and fly to Greece for a little over a week coming back a couple days before my surgery. He really feels that since he will for sure not be able to leave until after our daughters wedding in August, and because we don't know what the future holds as far as treatment if they are able to find what is wrong, this is his one window of time to go back and take care of some leadership responsibilities. Please pray for us both during this time - pray that his time there will be productive and pray for peace for me as I am here doing the pre-op stuff without him.



We don't know where this will lead but we are trusting God that he will show us the way through. Thank you for your prayers and love.



Kent and Myrna Morley
Tripoleos 76
Elliniko 16777
Athens Greece
011 30 210 96 38 625
backhoeboy1@gmail.com
http://kent-uniquelymorley.blogspot.com
To join our Support Team:
Online go to: www.iteams.org select: US, Select: What do you want to do, Select: Give
Or Send to:
International Teams
411 W. River Rd.
Elgin IL 60123
Please designate for the ministry of Kent and Myrna Morley and indicate whether this is a one time gift or monthly support. Thanks :)

Health Update

Everyone -



I know we were expecting to get a scan this week and perhaps have some answers but my doctor wanted to wait a full month to give the medicine time to work. SO I have my scan scheduled for the 12th with an appointment on the 14th to see the doctor and discuss the results. I have actually been feeling better and have not had the fever and chills for the last couple of weeks so we are hopeful that the medicine is doing it's job. I had trouble with my lower lip cracking open and being very sore in reaction to the medication for the first few weeks but after trying some things and making some adjustments to my other medications it has almost cleared. Please pray for us during this time - if my scan shows the medicine is working and the only treatment is going to be continuing on the medicine then Kent will likely take a flight back to Greece as early as possible. I will stay on here both to be sure I am nearby in case of complications during the treatment and also just for financial saving since we need to come back to the states in August for our youngest daughter's wedding. We don't like the prospect of being apart for so long but feel like it is the best option. IF the medicine is not working the plan was to go ahead right away and do the surgery to take a bigger chunk of the tumor and of course Kent would stay for that. I find I am a little emotional lately just about everything - we lost a dear friend in an accident recently (we were staying in their home while they were gone and he was killed while they were away) and it just made me realize how fragile life is and how we need to cherish the time we have with each other.



Kent spoke with Christy who is acting team leader in Greece while we are away and she said thing are going great so we are thankful for that but anxious to be back at work. I have continued to field Short Term Team Correspondence and Kent has kept in touch plus taken care of a few administrative things so hopefully we won't be too out of the loop when we get back. Thank you again for praying for us and for continuing to support us through all of this - we are so grateful to God for giving us such a wonderful group of people like you.



Kent and Myrna Morley
Tripoleos 76
Elliniko 16777
Athens Greece
011 30 210 96 38 625
backhoeboy1@gmail.com
http://kent-uniquelymorley.blogspot.com
To join our Support Team:
Online go to: www.iteams.org select: US, Select: What do you want to do, Select: Give
Or Send to:
International Teams
411 W. River Rd.
Elgin IL 60123
Please designate for the ministry of Kent and Myrna Morley and indicate whether this is a one time gift or monthly support. Thanks :)

Health and Ministry Update

Everyone -



I know it has been a while since I sent an update but we have just been waiting on results. I saw an infectious disease doctor today for a follow up. He is covering for my doctor who is out of town until the 15th. He said the University of WA found some mold DNA in one of my tissue samples. The doctor said this could mean that I have contracted a fungal infection mold can cause although it is more common to see this in the lungs than in the kidneys. He said it IS possible for it to be in the kidneys especially in light of my compromised immune system. He said it is also possible that it is some sort of contaminate that got on my sample and is a red herring. He wants to put me on an anti fungal medication for a period of time and see if it helps. However it is VERY expensive so he needs to line up our insurance coverage and even some help from the pharmaceutical company first. He said it could take months to completely work but that he would like to scan my kidneys in about 3 weeks after I start the medication and see if it seems to be working. If it doesn't seem to have changed anything then we would consider going ahead with the open biopsy at that time. He said if it is working we should begin to see the tumors shrink or see some scar tissue. There are some side effects to this medication - one of which is that he said I would likely see some flashing lights. I was not excited to hear this since I'm finally free of these since I am on the medication for my visual migraines. I have been feeling a little worse lately - less energy and more fevers. I don't know if that has anything to do with the fact that they took me off the antibiotics I was on or not. All in all I am a little discouraged again - it seems like it just goes on and on with no end in sight. I told the doctor today that I wouldn't mind so much if we lived here because life would go on normally as we waited for this test or to see if this worked. Instead our lives are on hold while there is always something looming in the near future that MIGHT happen which would be a big event. I told Kent today that I am so glad he is here with me to navigate around Portland, finding different doctor's offices etc. and just to be a support to me. I know he especially feels a desire to be back in Greece and getting on with what God has called him to there. However he has prayed about whether he should just go back and leave me here (which we assume may happen at some point) but has not felt a peace or a compulsion from the Lord that he is supposed to go now. So for the time being he will be here supporting me, taking care of administrative things by computer and doing what he can to support the team from a distance.



I mentioned the high cost of the medication the doctor wants to give me - hopefully most of that will be covered but I guess I need to mention finances even though it is not a subject I like or bring up often. We are once again being hit with bills above and beyond our deductible until we reach a cap of I think 5000 dollars more. As you can imagine the bills are coming in so we just wanted to let you know if you feel led to give a one time gift toward this it would be greatly appreciated. We have been so blessed by our supporters and God has provided amazingly through you but it is hard when we feel like we are sitting on the sidelines to ask for extra finances. We are thankful for everyone of you and for the gifts that come our way every month.



Please be in prayer for the ministry in Athens especially these next couple of weeks coming up on Easter. There will be some special presentations and a very clear presentation of the gospel. I always think of the two ladies who were watching the Jesus film one day at the ARC and crying during the crucifixion. After the part about the resurrection they said "We didn't know that Jesus came back to life - why did no one tell us this news!?" That news will be proclaimed loud and clear in these next couple of weeks. Pray that it falls on hearts that are ready to hear.



Kent and Myrna Morley
Tripoleos 76
Elliniko 16777
Athens Greece
011 30 210 96 38 625
backhoeboy1@gmail.com
http://kent-uniquelymorley.blogspot.com
To join our Support Team:
Online go to: www.iteams.org select: US, Select: What do you want to do, Select: Give
Or Send to:
International Teams
411 W. River Rd.
Elgin IL 60123
Please designate for the ministry of Kent and Myrna Morley and indicate whether this is a one time gift or monthly support. Thanks :)