THE HEAVILIN HERALD
SEPTEMBER, 2009
Well, the only word that comes to
mind to describe this month is OUCH, OUCH, OUCH, OUCH!
On August 14, Marilyn experienced a
pain that she thought was a muscle
spasm in her right upper back. By
Saturday the pain had traveled to
the right front. By Sunday morning
we were heading to the ER in Toms
River. Marilyn’s symptoms were
quickly recognized by the doctor as
Shingles. Shingles?? This is her
fourth bout of Shingles. Well, at
least they have a good antibiotic
for Shingles now, so no big deal,
right? Wrong! Marilyn says this has
been the worst of all as she walked
the floor because of the pain. So
the last half of August has included
3 trips to the ER, a visit to a
dermatologist, and an internist,
prescriptions for Percocet,
Acyclovir, Vicodin, ODT, Lyrica
Cipro, Colace, and Flagyl. The last
visit to the ER revealed that the
Shingles were healing nicely, but
Marilyn now had Diverticulitis which
was decided by lots of blood tests
and a CT scan, a large bottle of
barium, and five hours in the ER.
The pain from the diverticulitis was
pronounced enough that even an
injection of Morphine did not phase
the pain. So needless to say this
has been a very painful two and a
half weeks and the pain has not
really subsided yet.
The most disappointing part for
Marilyn is that she has not been
able to participate in the last two
weeks of conferences and the motor
home has become SMALLER and
SMALLER.
------------
Well that part of this letter was
written prior to the following
episode. On September 4, Marilyn’s
situation worsened and we headed for
the ER for the 4th time. This time,
after a 3 hour wait in the ER,
Marilyn was examined thoroughly. A
suspicion of a bowel blockage was
denied after another CT scan (and
yes, another bottle of barium). At
about midnight Marilyn was admitted
to the hospital. After many bouts
with vomiting and the insertion of
an NG tube, she was assigned a room
and arrived in the room on Saturday
morning. She was moved to another
room on Sunday and became an
‘Official’ patient.
After visits from many doctors, an
Endoscopy was scheduled for Labor
Day morning to try to explain a mass
that appeared on the CT scan at the
base of the esophagus. The ‘mass’
was determined to be what is called
Shatsky’s Ring and has not been a
problem for more than 20 years.
So where are we now? Well, we hope
the diverticulitis will heal within
the next few days and Marilyn can go
home. Marilyn is scheduled to speak
in Toledo on September 23-25. We are
praying we can keep those plans. We
had hoped to visit Colonial
Williamsburg before we drove to
Toledo, but we will have to adjust
those plans.
On September 8, Marilyn was released
by one doctor at 8:30 in the
morning, but that doctor wanted
Marilyn’s release to be contingent
on another doctor’s opinion. Soooo
we waited to see the other doctor
which didn’t happen until after 4:00
pm. Marilyn was finally released and
came home on September 8 after 4:30
pm. She slept well that evening and
is slowly regaining her strength. We
have a follow-up appointment with
our doctor on September 15 and hope
we can leave New Jersey the next
day..
On other fronts, we were delighted
to receive a call from Mellyn that
Christian, our grandson, was
baptized last Sunday. How we wish we
could have been there; we are so
proud of him.
Remember the Cherubs we had shipped
from Precious Moments in Missouri to
America’s Keswick in Whiting, NJ?
Well, they have a new location close
to where they were before, but just
a little closer to Little Dottie’s
grave, and a new paint job.
Eventually they will also have a
memorial marker which will read “To
The Glory of God and in Honor of all
children, especially those who left
too soon.” We look forward to seeing
the completed memorial when we
return next summer.
This has certainly been a different
summer, but we feel much was
accomplished for God’s purpose.. We
have learned that God’s plans cannot
be measured in human dimensions. The
question is: “Are you being obedient
and are you representing God well
all of the time?
Please pray that we will follow
God’s path for us; that Marilyn’s
infection will clear quickly; and
that her strength will return soon.
We are sorry this letter is so late,
but the letter is Marilyn’s project
and she obviously has been otherwise
occupied during the last few weeks.
This is now September 10, and
Marilyn feels she is slowly
gathering physical strength. She did
manage to go to the TNT meeting at
the Colony of Mercy last night. God
has truly drawn us to the Colony men
and to the work God continues to do
in their hearts. They have been so
concerned about Marilyn and gave her
a standing ovation when she arrived
last evening. We wish we could
bottle the spiritual energy that
occurs at the Colony and pass it on
to each of you. Their excitement
about the delivering power of Jesus
is truly contagious.
Thank you to everyone who responded
to Glen’s e-mail. It was so
comforting to know that so many here
at Keswick and around the world were
praying for us. We felt the
influence of your prayers.
Because of Him,
Glen and Marilyn Heavilin