What has happened?
On the evening of April 3rd, Dennis was told by his doctor to go directly to the emergency room. This was the culmination of…
- a “morphing pain” that began on the left part of his rib cage on February 10th and had proceeded to include most of his rib cage
- multiple trips to the doctor for a variety of tests
- a CT guided liver biopsy
- the rib cage pain moving to the point of being debilitating
A couple of hours after entering he emergency room a young doctor told Dennis and Marilyn that he had staph infection in his blood and a bone infection in his T 4&5 vertebrae. The infection in the blood would clear up fairly soon, but the infection in his bones would take “6-8 weeks.”
They moved him from the ER to room 6123 where he spent the next 12 days on antibiotics, running more tests and dealing with ancillary issues. After certain “markers” were met in his blood and after a “picc line” was inserted for the antibiotics, he came home the day before Resurrection Day!
Since April 15th he has been home but mostly bed-riden, spending over 20 per day in bed. His pain level has been fairly well managed but his energy level has been very low, sometimes to the point of exhaustion. There is clear overall progress, but it is very slow.
During this time there have been thousands of prayers prayed for Dennis. He is very grateful for each one. He is also grateful for the scores of friends who have provided practical help for him and the needs around the house. They are expecting to remove the picc line on June 9th. The recovery time from there is still unknown.
What is happening now?
Over the years, God has provided very well for the needs of IRM/CCPC. We are very grateful for our very faithful donors. They provide the bulk of our income. In addition to our donor base, all of the income from the book sales and the seminars related to the books contribute to our income stream. In addition to this we still have needed about $2,000 per month to come from honoraria to make our budget work.
When Dennis was still in the hospital he asked about how soon he would be able to travel again as he had several trips planned. The doctor literally laughed and said, “Cancel all travel.” Obviously, this impacts honoraria.
So, the next few months provide another opportunity for God’s “creative financing” to be implemented.
What can happen?
A good brother and friend of IRM and CCPC recently asked me about how we were doing financially. I mentioned to him that we needed about $2,000 more per month (based upon no honoraria) to make our budget work. As we talked he said that he would be willing to “take the first two months” and make it a matching grant!
Here’s how this will work:
- The matching grant will be in effect between now and June 30, 2017.
- If you are a regular donor to IRM/CCPC, anything you give beyond your normal gift will be doubled.
- For all others, any gift you give will be doubled.
- PLEASE DESIGNATE your gift with the word “special” in the memo line.
This will be a tremendous help to us! If the ministry of IRM and/or CCPC have been a blessing to you, and you have never given a gift of gratitude, this is a great opportunity to do just that!
In the interest of full disclosure, some family and friends have begun a “go-fund-me” account that is designed to meet the extra medical needs Dennis and Marilyn will have over the next few months. This matching gift described above is designed to meet the ministry needs of IRM/CCPC.