AS OF Sept 17th, 2007 ...
Well, a new update is finally here!
(1) In January, Jennifer lost her insurance. Oregon health plan didn't pay for much except doctor visits, but, with no insurance, she has not been to see any of her doctors since before the first of the year. This summer, mom and dad paid full price to go back for a follow-up for her neck surgery with Dr. Abtin. (The neck surgery is healed and looks great.)
(2)In March, she applied for Social Secrity Disability. SS got her to their doctor right away and in June, she got a letter saying she WAS disabled, and would recieve benifits. PTL!! Now it is the waiting game.
(3) She has only two more terms in order to graduate from Western Oregon University. When she got her letter from financial aid, she discovered it was almost $2000 less than she needed for her tuition. (not counting what she needs for books!) We prayed for God to have everything in place before school started, including all financial needs. On September 13th, with check in at school scheduled for the 16th, There was a letter from SS saying she should see a check by the 10th. Jennifer checked her bank account on line, and the monies had been direct deposited!!! PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE!! The Lord is good! Thank you all for your prayers! Her disability check was retroactive for over a year and was enough for her schooling, books, and to pay off one bill completely. Thank you, Lord, for Your wonderful care!
(4) Jennifer's ability to walk has deteriorated a lot this past year. Her knee has also gotten much worse! She goes to see her orthopedic doctor on Wednesday the 19th. She may decide to do the amputation over Christmas break. Please pray that God will guide everyone conserning this decision and that it is not too late to save the knee.
| Jennifer’s Story |
4/3/06 The following is the original prayer request from Jennifer, sent to our church. She tells it better than I can. Hello Everyone –
I have saved up a few prayer requests over the last few months. For some reason I, thought word had gotten around about some of these things but I realized last week that I was wrong. I have three big requests.
(1)That I am accepted into the interpreting program at Western Oregon University.
(2)Scheduling and Planning of two major surgeries as follows:
a)I need to have another spinal surgery like the one I had two years ago and
b)I need to have my right leg amputated below the knee.
(3)That the Oregon Health Plan will cover both surgeries.
I realized when I was home last week that many people did not know that I was considering having my leg amputated. This has been a hard decision for me but my leg is getting so bad that there are times that I cannot walk at all. At the same time, I began noticing problems in my left leg. They are minor for the moment, but I will need another spinal surgery to keep it from getting worse. My doctors have told me that I will eventually come to a point where I will need to be in a wheelchair. The surgeries are a chance to put off that fate a while longer. Please pray for me and the doctors as we schedule these things and work with the insurance to take care of these problems.
I am determined to finish my degree at Western no matter what my physical condition. Please pray for strength as I go forward with my goals of being an interpreter. Thank you for your prayers,.
4/24/06 #1...Jennifer was NOT accepted into the interpreter program for this fall. She will find out some of her options later this week. WOU has already suggested auditing some classes next year to become "smoother" and reapply in 2007. This would be financially hard but (if we win the lottery) doable. Pray for God's direction in this. #2. Jennifer's first surgery is now scheduled for June 12th. This will be spinal surgery to untether her spinal cord, the same as she had 2 years ago. Pray for everything to go well and no side effects (like headaches!).
4/26/06 Jennifer has new options for continuing at Western Oregon in translating of ASL. This will allow her to continue in her studies, polish her skills, and maintain enough credit hours to qualify for financial aid. This is a very direct answer to prayer and definitely lowers the stress level! Please pray that as each new door opens, all those involved will see God's hand in it.
4/28/06 Jennifer saw her neurosurgeon today. He blindsided her with something new! He had her get an MRI of her neck a few weeks ago. He is concerned with what he found. Jennifer has two disks that are compressed and enough out of alignment to push into her spinal cord. Usually, this is not a real problem because spinal cords can move a little. Jennifer's spinal cord (being tethered) does not move. This is probably what is causing the numbness in both arms and hands, some of her headache problems, and the extremem weakness on her right side. After the spinal surgery, she must wait at least one month and then will have another surgery on her neck. The doctor will remove the compressed disks and insert a metal plate and screws. The doctor will go in from the front. Jennifer is going to make an appointment with the orthopedic doctor about possibly putting off the amputation until next summer. If not, it will be one busy summer! Please pray for God's wisdom for all involved.
5/4/06 Jennifer went back to her orthopedic doctor today. The doctor says, "Spinal surgery trumps foot surgery." The amputation is postponed until next summer. They are appealing an earlier denial for a leg brace. If Jennifer can get the leg brace, it could really help slow the process of continued damage to the foot and knee. This would also help Jennifer get around the college campus with a lot less pain! As of today, her first surgery is June 12 (tethered spinal cord) and the second (on her neck) is one month later in July. This surgery is very critical. The compressed disks are "denting" the spinal cord. The doctor says there is a 90% blockage on the right side, and 60% on the left.Jennifer has noticed an extreme weakness on her right side. Please continue to pray that Oregon Health Plan will pay for much of this! We are trying to find other options, as the OHP has denied so many things all ready.
5/24/06 Jennifer has recieved a notice from Oregon Health Plan. They will not pay for her surgery. We have another appoitment with her surgeon on June 9th to discuss her options. She must have the surgery so we are praying that Dr. Abtin will accept (small) payments for the rest of our lives. We don't know about the second surgery yet. We are going to ask the doctor for a wheelchair for her, as that is something which is "fitted" also. She will need one after the operations for a while, and the Dr. has already said, that it will be her future. Please continue to pray that OHP will pay for some of these things! Jennifer is also concerned about school. We have a "cart" but there is no ramp in her dorm building. She recieved a letter from the college stating that the ramp will not be there by fall. They also think that the wheelchair will be temporary. This means changing dorm rooms again. There is a meeting planned to talk about her options at school. Keep Praying! Will post as soon as I hear.
6/05/2006 We have heard from Dr. Abtin (Micro-Neurosurgeon) about some of the cost. Just his costs for the surgery alone will be around $5,000. This fee is only one of several doctors involved and does not count the hospitalization. While a hardship, we can help with some, so keep praying for us. The surgery is still scheduled for June 12th. ... Another praise! The college has said that they will put in a ramp for Jennifer so she can stay in the same upper classmen dorm that she has been in. It will be ready by this fall! Talk about an answer to prayer!! They originally told her she would have to change dorms, possibly into a freshman dorm, in order to have a handicap room. This would have meant 3 new, freshmen, roommates. God is so good! Jennifer's last day at school is June 8th. Please pray for everything to fall into place and that her surgery on Monday, will go very well. Continue to pray for finances. Hopefully, OHP will at least pay for some of this including the hospital stay.
6/12/06 The Big Day. We had to be at Tuality Hospital in Hillsboro by 8:30am. Of course, she didn't get taken into prep until 11:15am and surgery wasn't started until 12:00 noon. Jennifer was in surgery for 4 1/2 hours. The doctor was surprised at the amount of scar tissue. It was much rougher looking than he had expected. He found and isolated an abcess in the skin that concerned him because of its proximity to the incision. Overall, he felt that she came through very well. He was concerned about the weakness on the right side, but we know that was there before surgery. She is now in a regular room (#437), and says she wants visitors or phone calls by Tuesday. When we walked into her room, we were amazed at how relaxed and good she looked! She told us that for the first time in 2 years, she was without her migraine headache! I give thanks to you all for all your prayers and glory to God for answering them! We will know more tomorrow and I'll try to post here as I can. Please continue to pray for healing, finances, and NO side effects!
6/13/06 Well, Jennifer had no headache for over 24 hours but that has come to an end. It is not a migraine, but the pain is still there. It seems to come from her neck and spread up and over her head. (Pain level 5-6) It has not gotten any higher, and she feels it started when she fell asleep without enough support for her neck. By this evening, she was better though she still hurt. (Pain level 4+?) She says laying flat is no fun and wants phone calls or visits. They have taken out the IV, and pain meds are being given in pill form. The doctor came back in this evening and said she must stay down until sometime tomorrow. Lord willing, he says she might get out of the hospital by Thursday afternoon! If she gets to go home, she must still spend most of her time lying flat. The doctor says lots of movies, books, etc. Someone from the hospital came in and is working with us about the bill. We don’t know how much it is going to be, but this gal says that when we get the bill, we are to call in, and they would set up payments, or work with us, or whatever. So, bottom line, pray about the finances and give God the glory for everything going so well. Will update more tomorrow. Just got a call from Sarah, Jennifer's headache has gone to a 9 and she is hugging a throw up bucket. I'm heading back to the hospital.
6/14/06 Jennifer had a horrible night last night and was in a lot of pain. The pain level (9) was so bad that she kept trying to throw up. She could not talk, and was not aware of her surroundings. All she knew was; she wanted mom. I stayed until she went into an uneasy sleep at around 11:00pm. Both Jim and I were there again this morning by 8:00am so we could catch the doctor. (Who came in about 2:00pm) At 8:00, Jennifer could talk to us so we knew the pain was better. She said “around a 5-6”. She still couldn’t eat anything without wanting to throw it back up. When Dr. Abtin came, he said she should start getting up. Once she got sat up in the bed for a bit and started to feel better, they got her up in a chair and the pain really started to ease off. (About a 3) What a turnaround! Thank you all for all the prayers!! Thank you all, both the visitors and phone callers that lifted her spirits more than you can know! Because of all of you, the doctor is talking about releasing her to go home as early as tomorrow. And, yes, she still wants visitors, phone calls, and PRAYERS!!
Tuality Hospital in Hillsboro.
6/15/06 PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE!!!! Jennifer is HOME! Moving slow, but moving non the less, she walked up the ramp and into the house under her own power. Pain is about a 3, (probably from walking as much as she has,(PT came and had her walk before her release papers arrived) but the pain is NOT a headache. It is mainly in her neck and back and has been about a "2". Whooohooo! God is so good!!! Call her at home.
Now we wait for all the bills to start. Keep praying!
6/19/06 Jennifer is still having pain in the muscles of her neck. With the help of muscle relaxers, and pain pills, she is doing okay. Still no migraine type headache. We are trying to get another doctor's appointment to address our concerns about this "different" pain. Ever since the episode in the hospital, she has had some weird symptoms. Right now, the only appointment is the follow up one on July 11th. Hopefully, she won't have to wait that long to see someone. The meds are helping, but having to take that much pain killers for a month is the pits. Please pray that the doctor can see her sooner and that they find something to aleaviate some of this pain. We got a call the day after she was released from the hospital from the office. Her bill is over $20,000! They asked Jenn if her parents were going to be able to help. (Yea, right.) Please pray for finances. More later.
6/26/06 Jennifer got in to see her surgeon earlier than her July follow up appointment to help address the concerns about the neck and leg pain. The left leg (the good one!) suddenly has a lot of pain and weakness, making walking difficult. The Dr. says that she should proceed with the neck surgery within a month (about 2-3 weeks, now). We will have a definite date on July 11th. Please pray for everyone involved. Here is Jennifer's prayer request.
"Thank you for all your prayers, they have helped greatly. I went to see the doctor last week and we basically agreed that I need to have the next surgery in almost 2 to 3 weeks. In the meantime, I am still having a lot of problems with my neck and left leg that make walking difficult. Please continue to pray for God’s grace and peace for my family and wisdom as I decide what needs to be done. I have also been struggling with depression, please pray that I will feel God’s comforting hand during this time."
7/17/2006 The abcesses on Jennifer's back are healing (albeit, slowly). She has another appointment for Aug. 11th. Her neck surgery has been postponed until these are completely healed. Everything must be completed before September when Jennifer goes back to school. Please pray for continued improvement and complete healing. She is getting around better, but is still slow. Her left leg is now supporting her for walking, but she still cannot balance on it. Pray for additional strength.
8/11/06 Jennifer went to her appointment with Dr Abtin today. He checked her back (the abscesses) and said they are healed. Her surgery on her neck (with the two compressed disks) is scheduled for Monday the 14th. She has to be at the hospital at 11:00 a.m. The surgery will be 2-3 hours and she will be there (at least) overnight. First and foremost, please pray that, as Dr. Abtin says, "first, do no harm". Secondly, pray that this relieves the ongoing pain, and gives Jennifer more mobility and stability. The doctor is saying it will be a slow healing with limitations on lifting, etc. at first, so she will have to make some adjustments for school. I told her to get a radio flyer to haul her books. (She wasn't amused.) She has a backpack with wheels and only two buildings for all of her classes. Please continue to pray for Jennifer, both healing and finances, and for Mom and Dad. We all try to remember who is in control, but can't help but worry anyway.
8/16/2006 Jennifer is home and doing much better than yesterday. Monday night was a very rough night with little sleep and a lot of pain. They gave her different pain meds this time. By Tuesday morning, she was miserable, and the pain meds were not working. We talked to Dr. Abtin and reminded him of the dillatid that she had taken before that seemed to work quite well. He changed her over to that right away, and within 2 hours, Jenn was ready to go home. (prior to this, they were talking about keeping her for another day!) She could not swallow very well. Even water was hard to swallow. Her stomach was saying "feed me!" but she couldn't eat (or swallow) anything. She finally got some ice cream down and some pears, but it took an hour to get it down. As of this morning (Weds), she is doing much better. She still cannot swallow easily, but juices and fruit and (for the first time) scrambled eggs, went down. She's still tired, but so much better. God is sooooo good! Thank you all for all your prayers for Jennifer. Please continue to pray for her and the finances. We got a letter yesterday saying that OHP (Oregon Health Plan) will NOT pay for the operation, or hospital, or even a wheel chair rental requested by her surgeon. Her wheel chair, (which eventually will be permanent) will cost $400. We are renting one right now, at $60 per month. The hospital has said that when we get the bill, to call them, as she is aready listed under their hardship cases. Thanks be to God for being in control of everything!
9/1/2006 Jennifer continues to improve. She still moves slow, and has some difficulty swallowing, but can eat most things, now. She did get her wheelchair (Mom and Dad paid for this one). She tries not to use it too much, but she still tires quickly and it's nice to have a place to sit down. She doesn't go back for her "post surgery appointment" until the end of Sept. She says she is ready for our vacation, and can hardly wait. We are not sure how we are going to pack everything with 2 wheelchairs in there too. (Maybe make a bed on top of the van for Jennifer to ride on???[img]http://smilies.sofrayt.com/%5E/8/superbiggrin.gif[/img]) Please continue to pray for finances. We haven't gotten the bill for this last surgery, but it will be added to the first. (Hospital bill alone on the first was over $15,000 after their "hardship" adjustments!)
8/28/06 PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE!! Thank you all for your prayers concerning hospital bills! When we returned from our "vacation", we found a letter from Tuality Healthcare. It reads, in part, FINAL DETERMINATION NOTICE. For Jennifer's Hospital bill Medical Imaging (MRI's and x-rays) this determination was made on 9/6/06. ---- "Dear Jennifer Ezzell - We have reviewed your application for financial assistance. ---- Your application has been accepted. You will receive a 100% reduction on the balance owed..."
Thank you all for your continued prayer for this. This covers ALL of her first operation. The second application for the second surgery has not been determined yet. Jennifer is getting stronger and, as of today,has the go-ahead to start exercising to build up her strenghth. She is back in school after our "road trip" and doing well. She says that she had forgotten how much walking she had to do, but has the wheelchair if needed. Thank you all for praying!! One more set of bills to get past. Thank you, Lord, for being in control!
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