Much Rejoicing

The doctor I wrote about yesterday took Caleb's case!

We are deeply thankful for all your prayers, and for the way God answered. There is much rejoicing on both sides of the ocean for the way the Lord is leading and caring for Caleb and his situation!

Now for the back story.

Unbeknownst to us until Wednesday, there is a clinic within the Cleveland Clinic called the "Chronic Abdominal Pain Clinic". It is the only one like it in the nation. And there it was...at the very place where Dave and Caleb were led by the Lord to go to!

On their website they say:

"Cleveland Clinic’s Chronic Abdominal Pain team has extensive experience diagnosing and treating chronic abdominal pain. The team consists of gastroenterologists, specialists, nurses, and schedulers. Their goal is to make your visit as smooth as possible.

The Chronic Abdominal Pain Clinic is a collaboration between the Digestive Disease Institute and the Department of Pain Management. It is the first in the nation to offer extensive interdisciplinary medical care exclusively for CAP patients."

I just want to say right up front...what they DON'T do is medicate the pain. In fact, on the front page of their website, they say they do not use narcotic drugs for pain. Their goal is to identify the root of the pain and figure out a way to treat it, not just medicate it. And they have some breakthrough technologies that they have developed for diagnosing and treating chronic stomach pain.

Can I just say...THIS IS HUGE!!!! This is what Caleb has been struggling with for ten years now.


Anyway...back to the story.

After the first appointment on Wednesday, the GI doctor sent them over to Charlotte (who, as it turned out, is a secretary in this clinic) to schedule Caleb's endoscopy and colonoscopy. After she found Caleb an appointment, Dave started asking her questions about how the Cleveland Clinic works, etc. In their conversation, SHE told him about this specialized clinic within the Clinic! He had NO IDEA that it existed, and the GI doctor hadn't even told him!

Dr. Maged Rizk is the head of this specialized clinic, and is the one that reviewed Caleb's case yesterday. All cases go through him, and he makes the decision whether or not they will accept you into the specialized program for chronic pain.

If he accepts you, there is a four 'consecutive day' program that they take you through to gather data, do testing, see specialists and make a diagnosis and plan for treatment. It begins on a Monday and ends on Thursday.

Because this is the only clinic of this type in the nation, as you can imagine, it's not easy to get into. But they are taking Caleb's case!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!

There is not an opening this coming Monday, but may be an opening to start the following week, on August 6th.

While that seems like a long time away, Charlotte said that's actually a very SHORT time to wait, considering how long others have had to wait for an opening.

Her job today is to try to line up all the specialists who will need to see Caleb, and see if she can get it all put together for August 6-9.

WILL YOU PRAY FOR CHARLOTTE TODAY?! While we realize that these things do take time, and that it is already an answer to prayer that he is even IN the program, we'd sure like to get him in as soon as possible.

The pain continues for Caleb and is extremely exhausting and wearing on him. He doesn't have much energy for anything, and is not sleeping well because of it. So it's a rough period of time for him. Do be praying for him...for supernatural strength from the Lord to endure this time of pain.

But we are SO SO SO thankful that help is within sight!

He and Dave will have at least a week and a half of just hanging out in Cleveland while they wait to start the four day program. Caleb will go ahead with his scheduled colonoscopy and endoscopy next Tuesday, but other than that, not a whole lot to look forward to (and those tests are not much to look forward to!) before he starts the four day program.

This is a long post but I wanted you all to know what's ahead...and what God is doing!!!