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After over a month of waiting, I finally had my appointment with Dr. Phillips today to find out how my kidney is functioning and what needs to happen next.
The best news first: there is no permanent damage to the kidney! The problem in my kidney has been there all my life, so I would expect after 25 years, there should be some permanent kidney damage. But the test I had last Friday shows that now, with the temporary stent in place, both kidneys are functioning equally well!
The good, although somewhat inconvenient, news next: there is minimally invasive surgery available to correct the problem. While I am not looking forward to having surgery, I am thankful that the problem can be fixed.
I am waiting for the surgery to be scheduled but it seems likely that I will be able to complete the VMS course and have my surgery after, in early to mid December. (Thanks to all of you who have been praying for me!)
Today was my long awaited kidney scan. After a class field trip to a recording studio in the morning, I drove to the hospital and drank a liter of water in preparation for my test.
I then spent about 40 minutes laying on my back in a machine that took pictures of my kidneys and bladder as radioactive dye flowed through them.
I'm glad it's over and am now looking forward to my appointment with the doctor which has been moved up to next Tuesday, the 16th. That is when I will find out exactly what the problem is and how the doctor wants to fix it.
Thanks for your prayers!
What do you get when you take a hut in the woods, a pile of blankets and foam, and three vernacular media students? A temporary recording studio.
This past week my class has been taking place at Jungle Jump Off, a rustic camp setting near JAARS. I worked with two of my teammates to construct a temporary recording studio using heavy blankets, foam, egg cartons, and other materials. This is the hut we worked in:
We spent all day Tuesday preparing our studio - first building a small room-in-a-room type frame in the hut and covering it with blankets to block out outside noise. Here's Fred by the door flap that leads into the studio. (The hut was so small that it was difficult to get good pictures inside!)
We spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday working in the recording studio, with people from the local community as our speakers, to dub the audio over part of the Luke video. (The Luke video is shows the life of Christ as recorded in the book of Luke.) We were just doing this as a practice to learn video dubbing skills, but in the field, this same kind of studio construction and recording techniques are what are used to dub the film into other languages. Videos like these in the local languages are a powerful tool to communicate the gospel and help believers grow!
In this picture, I'm in charge of the recording at the computer, while one student assists me and another prompts the speaker with his lines.~ ~ ~I don't have any update on my kidney situation yet. My next test is scheduled for late next week and I will have a follow-up appointment after that. This week I have been having quite a bit of discomfort from the stent the doctor put in mid-October, but taking medicine to manage the pain. Thanks for your prayers!
Getting to spend time with my family
Being back at home and enjoying how beautiful everything looked with a light coating of snow
Introducing my family to my boyfriend Scott and showing him where I grew up
Much delicious food, including a home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner and ice cream at Friendly's
Beautiful scenery on the drive back to NC
