Whitney with her ophthalmologist, Dr. Brazitikos and his partner, Dr. Sophia. They were so kind to Whitney and she really felt comfortable with them.
Here is Whitney in her pre-op garb. They gave her some "yummy" syrup to make her sleepy before the procedure.
Our family had a special time of prayer for Whitney on the morning of her procedure. Whitney loves to spend time with Kris and his prayer for her was so touching and Christ-centered.
It was such a treat for us to take the girls to Applebees restaurant. We don't have any restaurants with that type of food and it was fun to hang out together.
Faithful prayer partners,
Greetings in the Lord from Tirana, Albania. We are back home from our trip to Thessaloniki, Greece for Whitney's eye procedure. We apologize that we didn't get this out sooner but due to Internet issues and Christmas, we were not able to send an update sooner.
The time that we spent in Thessaloniki for Whitney's medical care reminded us that God is sovereign over history and the intimate details of each of our lives. Watching the sun set over the same ocean that Paul stood by nearly 2,000 years ago inspired us to recall the Lord's tender care for His servants. We even saw some ancient archaeological arches; although the girls were much more interested in the "golden arches" of McDonald's.
On Monday, December 22, Whitney had her first appointment with Dr. Brazitikos, who is a professor of ophthalmology in Greece. He performed numerous tests and even did an IV angiogram of the vessels in her eye (he injected dye into her veins which then traveled to her eyes). We were then able to see very clearly the subretinal neovascular membrane that is affected by the hemorrhage in her eye. The doctor told us that he has high hopes that he will be able to treat her condition with good results because we caught the hemorrhaging in the early stages. We glorify God that He brought it to our attention when He did. The doctor's treatment plan is to inject a medicine for macular degeneration directly into the affected area of the eye for 3 months in a row. We will be driving to Greece again at the end of January and February for this surgical procedure. His hope is to avoid having to perform laser surgery which has the potential to cause more damage because of the close proximity of her injury to the vision center of her eye.
On Tuesday morning Whitney went to the one day surgical center for the first of these injections. The procedure took only a few minutes. However, we spent quite a few hours recovering in the hospital because Whitney did not respond well to the anesthesia she received. She was in quite a bit of pain and was disoriented. Thankfully the anesthesia was out of her system within a couple hours after she was discharged and she was feeling back to normal. Whitney's vision has not improved at this time, but we are praying that the combination of the three shots will reduce the hemorrhage and halt the degeneration of the affected area of her eye in order for her to recover some of the vision that she had two weeks ago. We will follow up with our ophthalmologist here in Tirana next week to monitor her intraocular pressure and to make sure there is not any infection.
Thank you all for your fervent prayers for our family as we travelled to and from Greece. God worked in a mighty way in answering our prayers at the border crossing back into Albania. We had been told that the line is sometimes 1-2 days long during this time of year! We were praying fervently and had a letter from Whitney's doctor that strongly suggested that Whitney be allowed to pass through the border quickly due to her medical issue. When we got to the border there were over 100 cars in line. After Kris spoke with three different Greek border agents, we were able to pass right to the front! We were in Albania in 45 minutes instead of the hours it would have taken. What a powerful God we serve. It was a tremendous opportunity for our girls to witness God's might, and to see first hand that He hears and answers our prayers.
We are so thankful for your continued prayer support. Here are some specific prayer requests regarding this situation.
* Pray that Whitney would not have any latent adverse reaction to the drug injected in her eye (like increased pressure in her eye or an infection).
* Pray that the hemorrhage and build-up of fluid in her eye would decrease, and that the medicine would have its intended results.
* Pray that the subsequent procedures in January and February would stop this degeneration of her macula so that she would not have to have the laser surgery.
* Pray that Whitney would regain some of her vision. Her far vision has not been greatly affected by this hemorrhage, but her near vision is severely reduced which affects her reading.
* Pray that we would have the opportunity to share the gospel with the Greek doctor and his staff since God has orchestrated that Whitney needs this continuation of care for at least the next 2 months.
* Pray that Whitney would not be afraid of or resist the next procedure due to the fact that this last one was rough on her and she remembers the post-op pain quite well.
* Continue to pray for Whitney's spiritual health and salvation.
* Pray that our insurance would cover all the doctor bills and hospital charges related to these procedures.
During our time in Greece, God used the situation to highlight His mercy to us and teach us some important lessons. Waiting rooms are interesting places. They strip away the veneer of our control and reveal our true heart and raw emotions. Hopelessness, fear, impatience, anxiety, relief, and joy are all displayed by those who find themselves in waiting rooms. Even with language barriers it's obvious to see the feelings that are common to human kind. While we were in the surgical waiting room as Whitney had her procedure we heard over the hospital sound system the familiar Christmas song proclaim, "Joy to the world, the Lord is come, let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him room." Looking around at the peoples faces in the waiting room we could see every emotion but joy. At that moment thanksgiving and joy flooded our hearts in light of the reality that Christ had been born for US. He redeemed US through His death and resurrection. The peace that we were experiencing, sitting in the same waiting room with all of these other people, was only possible through Christ. In that waiting room, John 14:27 and 15:11 brought great comfort. "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." Our hearts were broken for all those "sitting in the darkness and the shadow of death" upon whom the Light of the "Sunrise from on high" has not yet brought peace and salvation (Luke 1:78-79). How undeserving we are to have the right to be called children of the King and co-heirs with the Light of the world (John 1:12), but we praise Him for His sustaining grace that brings us such joy and hope.
Thank you for your continued prayers and support of our family as we have the privilege of watching our great God work through this trial in our lives.
Bondslaves of the King,
The Stire family
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