Update on Emanuel

God is certainly taking care of Emanuel and answering your prayers.  The boarder crossing was faster than I ever thought possible.  I called ahead and talked to two supervisors who later met me at the door and led me into the facility.  When we got word that Juan and Emanuel were close I went out to meet them and brought them past the extremely long line to the supervisors who took us to the exit and passed us through so fast that I was amazed that we didn't get a speeding ticket.  They also had a wheelchair waiting for them and both supervisors stood with them while I went to get my car.  Talk about VIP treatment.  The President doesn't get over the boarder faster than that. 

Emanuel's doctor in Portland had called me and strongly urged me to take him immediately to an emergency room in San Diego.  We are very thankful that we did that.  From the emergency room at UCSD he was transported by ambulance to Rady’s Children’s Hospital where he spent the night in the Intensive Care Unit.  This morning the nephrologist (kidney doctor) told us that he was in very serious condition.  While he looked pretty good on the outside his blood was so messed up on the inside that he literally could have dropped dead of a heart failure at any moment.

Emanuel has received a blood transfusion and other treatments.  Today he will have surgery to put a catheter (not a port) in his chest to facilitate dialysis.  When he gets to Portland they will start looking for a transplant donor.

Speaking of donors, today we received the good news that someone is donating the money to fly Juan and Emanuel to Portland so that they will arrive quickly at OHSU and so that they will not have to suffer my driving for two days.  I and my car, unfortunately, still have to suffer my driving.

Pray for the ability to fly to Portland sooner rather than later.

Pray for Emanuel’s health and eventual kidney transplant.

Pray that Emanuel’s mother will be able to get a visa to come and care for her son while dad gets back to work.

Pray for Emanuel and his Family

Emanuel Herrera was diagnosed with a serious kidney problem when he was just a couple years old.  In December of 2005, the doctors at Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) told his parents that his kidneys would eventually fail but that they would give him medicine that would postpone that failure as long as possible.  Faced with this prognosis and the possibility of a cure in Mexico, the family moved back to their home in Oaxaca in early 2006.

Emanuel showed good progress and about two years later his father, Juan, told me that the doctors thought that he was cured.  Emanuel had regular check-ups through the years, but about a couple years ago he again started showing symptoms.  His situation has gotten worse and this last Monday the doctor told Emanuel’s mother Vicki that his kidneys were failing and that there was nothing more he could do for Emanuel.

Vicki immediately called Juan, and Juan immediately called Jon, and Jon immediately told Juan he needed to go back to Mexico (immediately) and bring Emanuel back to OHSU.  We bought Juan a plane ticket and he flew do Oaxaca on Tuesday.  On Wednesday he visited the US consulate in Oaxaca and they promised to give him a Passport for Emanuel Thursday morning at 9:00 am.  Unfortunately, Juan was told that he would be able to fly himself because his own Mexican passport had expired.

So… the plan is that on Friday Juan and Emanuel will fly to Tijuana, Mexico.  They will take a taxi to the border and walk across where Jon will meet them and drive them back to Oregon.  The Mexican passport is only needed to fly internationally.  Juan’s permanent resident card is sufficient for a boarder crossing.

Please pray for:

      Emanuel’s health

      Peace for the whole family, especially Juan and Vicki

      No problems getting the passport

      Safe travels all the way to Oregon.

If you would like to help with the transportation expenses, you can send a donation to: ICDV, PO Box 240, Jefferson, OR  97352.  Juan has spent all his money on treatment for Emanuel so we are paying for this entire trip, trusting that God will provide the funds.