We planned to return to Ghana as a family three weeks ago, but we had to adjust on the fly.

My youngest daughter Abigail has been having some medical issues (constant stomach aches with occasional fevers and vomiting) for a very long time now. We had a lot of testing done in Ghana last year and then more done during our visit back to California. Right before we planned to return to Ghana, Abby got sick again which led to a referral to another specialist. This meant that I had to fly back to Ghana alone to resume work with the hope that my family would join me a few days later. But the specialist wanted to do some in-depth testing which required general anesthesia (a bit scary for us since she’s so young, though very safe) to test for Crohn’s disease among other things. This meant an extended stay in the U.S. for the family.
I stayed two weeks in Ghana and then, after consulting with IJM leadership in Ghana, decided to return to California to be there for the procedure and help out with the family.

Child-life specialist was AWESOME at explaining to Abby what was happening and helping her feel safe

I am pleased to report that all went smoothly and the tests came back negative for all the really bad things the doctor was concerned about. Abigail has been fever-free for a month, her energy and color have improved, and she seems pretty healthy. She has some gastritis, which we are treating with a prescription antacid. We hope it will eventually reduce her stomach pains. With the great news from the doctor and Abigail’s improved condition, we have bought plane tickets for the whole family to return to Ghana on Monday! Hurray! Praise the Lord!

Way better than a wheel-chair for discharging kids from the hospital!

In the meantime, I am working on some IJM projects out of a coffee shop while Joy is homeschooling the kids. Thank you all for your prayers for little Abigail. We are grateful for God’s healing!

All done!