Eman in Atlanta - UPDATES...

Dear Friends, it has now been over a month since Eman was flown to Atlanta. The last 6 weeks have been a time of settling in, adjusting to the new situation there and meeting with various specialists. Emmanuel's official evaluation at the Shepherd Center was on August 7th, he will begin a basic rehabilitation program at the Shepherd Center in two weeks. Besides this program, Emmanuel will also participate in a program with "Project Walk" - after visiting Eman personally, the CEO of the Atlanta branch of "Project Walk" very generously donated fifty free therapy hours. Eman begins this week!!!! Eman continues to do his strengthening exercises at home, helped by family and friends [Emmanuel with his brother Francis] On a medical note - we had been hoping that once Eman was evaluated in a first world country there might be further testing or perhaps even other medical options available. So far pretty much all of the doctors have repeated what we had been told here in Rio by the various neuro surgeons, physical therapists etc... That has been a bit of a disappointment. Thank you so much for your continued prayers! Albeit slow, there IS progress and we are continuing to trust God for Eman's strengthening and healing. Special thanks to those who have helped tremendously, helping Emmanuel get set-up in Atlanta: **HOME DEPOT** For all your help setting up the house to accommodate Eman **PAUL PICKARD** For your interest in Emanuel's situation and generously donating therapy hours **McKesson** For helping with medical supplies **John & Valery** For helping Emmanuel get needed equipment and for all of your kind-hearted contributions. It has been very hard for Emmanuel to leave his kids and home and move to another continent in search of better medical attention and rehabilitation. Those of you in Atlanta who have responded with such kindness and generosity have made this whole process easier. Thank you and God Bless You!

THE MOVE.....

It was with heavy hearts that we watched Eman and Lolo leave this morning..... We are so grateful for this amazing opportunity that Eman has been granted but at the same time it is very difficult to have our family separated. If there is anything that has kept us through this time it has been the "togetherness" of our family. I could not be prouder of our kids who have, with kind hearts and generous spirits sacrificially given of themselves these last four months and day in and day out been there for Eman, doing whatever needed to be done. Our last night together we hugged and wept and laid hands on Eman praying and claiming our favorite promises of healing. Eman prayed for us and for our healing. The truth is - that bullet hit us ALL. The pain and grief has just been so heavy on all of our hearts and spirits - it is devastating to endure watching someone you love suffer so much. We cried when Eman prayed that our family would be happy again. BUT God is working............... let's face it, it's not everyday the FBI flies in to the rescue and one is extended one of the best medical and rehabilitation resources in the WORLD. - People keep asking me "how did all this happen?" - all I can say is PRAYER WORKS!!!! And that's what we're going to keep on doing!!! - In Genesis 32 when Jacob wrestled with the angel, he said "I will not let you go UNTIL you bless me"..... Thank you all for persevering in prayer with us UNTIL we receive the blessings. "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with WINGS [lear jet?] as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint".

EMAN'S SEND OFF

WHAT A PHENOMENAL DAY!!!! THANK YOU to all who came from far and wide to join us in sending Eman off with a lot of love and positive energy, it was VERY special. Thanks to the man upstairs, we had gorgeous weather..... Thank you to Edson and Jodie who let a whopping 25O participants invade the beautiful "Oasis Sitio" for the day. From babies to grandparents we all enjoyed each other's company, lunch outdoors and assorted activities. To all the musicians who lent their many talents to our musical program, THANK YOU! Emmanuel played with ArizonA for the FIRST time since March 5th, and true to form brought the house down with his guitar playing. The tidal wave of camaraderie and love was overwhelming. No doubt the days and months to come will be grueling for Emmanuel, I know he is going to think back on his send-off and remember all of YOU his many friends who are "with him" in spirit. I don't think there could be better motivation for him to keep up the fight.

JUNE UPDATES

Dear friends - A heart-felt thanks to all of you who are sharing this journey with us and keeping Eman in your prayers We are seeing so many miracles along the way we can't help but hold on to the hope that God is going to the the "big miracle" and help Emmanuel get back on his feet again. The CEO of the "Shepherd Center" [for neuro rehabilitation] in Atlanta, Georgia has offered to take Emmanuel for Rehabilitation there. He will most likely be traveling beginning of July. The FBI has is organizing a Med Evac flight to bring Emmanuel there. Home Depot has offered to remodel Emmanuel's mother's house [in Atlanta] so that it is "user friendly" for a wheelchair. The expat community here in Rio de Janeiro organized another fundraiser [during the annual America's Day event] for Emmanuel that our band played at, raising more funds towards his rehabilitation. We saw a plastic surgeon last week and in his opinion Eman's pressure sore should heal naturally WITHOUT needing plastic surgery which is also really good news. While we are waiting for the wound to heal, Eman is doing daily therapy with visiting physiotherapists and a personal trainer who comes to the house. A friend installed a stainless steel pull-up bar above Eman's bed to facilitate upper-body strengthening and maneuvering. Eman has been working very hard with his therapy and exercises, it is very discouraging to see so few and slow results whilst making so much effort. Please do continue to keep Emmanuel in your prayers, he is in CONSTANT physical pain, even though his various medications have been upped and we are doing as much therapy and massage as possible. I couldn't even begin to describe adequately the wounds to spirit and soul that he has sustained throughout this whole ordeal. His daily spiritual and emotional struggle rivals his physical one. There is no doubt in my mind that the physical miracles and opportunities that are now materializing are a DIRECT RESULT of so many of your prayers. PLEASE continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you! *** Special Thanks to our friends at Moxxor for sponsoring Eman's vitamins!!!***

May 02 - UPDATES!

Hello everyone..... So sorry that we've been unable to keep this blog and all of you updated. We do thank you for your continued prayers and concern. Eman was sent home from the hospital about ten days ago. Blood tests taken at the hospital showed that Eman is anemic. In light of that the plastic surgeons recommended waiting to perform the plastic surgery to close the wound on his back [from a pressure ulcer]. Since his return home we've been focusing on his diet. Prioritizing foods rich in iron, protein and fiber. We've also started "juicing" - which we've heard gets minerals and vitamins to your blood stream within minutes and is very effective in rebuilding the body's immune system. Eman has to be rotated every two hours. To prevent further pressure ulcers from developing, Eman's body cannot be in the same position for longer than that. We take turns sleeping with him at night, setting alarms so that we can wake to turn him. Overall Eman's health is better. A week or so ago he would shake violently for almost a hour when we'd move him from his showering chair to his bed. Now-a-days this transition in smoother. We've have had 5 different therapists visit us for "in-home" sessions over the last couple weeks. This has been wonderful. As the days go by we are seeing the importance of exercising and working his body, besides strengthening his muscles it also helps them to relax. His leg muscles will involuntarily contract and tense all day long and even during the night which is extremely tiring for him and prevents him from getting uninterrupted sleep. It is a DAILY challenge to stay focused on keeping positive and facing these new challenges with faith and not succumbing to depression and despair. Some days are better than others. A month after Eman's shooting I finally got around to going to the bank to see where we were at financially. It was AMAZING to see HOW MANY contributions there were from all of you - THANK YOU!!!! We were really taken aback by the volume of contributors. It is so very kind of you. Some names we recognized and others we did not. To each one of you who kindly gave from your hard-earned reserves we thank you and pray that the Lord blesses you 100-fold.

MARCH 5TH

Please keep Emmanuel in your desperate prayers, at one o'clock Tuesday, March 5th he was shot! On the way to a friend's house in Recreio he had stopped at his bank to make a cash withdrawl - upon leaving the bank he was followed by two guys on a motorbike. As he was pulling close the house he noticed the two men on the bike and a gun tucked into the second guy's jeans, realizing he was about to be assaulted he backed up and swerved to get away. They chased him and then in broad daylight, on a public street shot him through the window of his car with a 9mm gun. Within minutes, friends of ours who live in that neighborhood were with him and the ambulance came and brought him to Miguel Couto, the main public hospital in Rio de Janeiro were they deal with gun-shot victims / trauma patients etc... Although in serious condition Eman is stable. The bullet entered his shoulder and went across his thorax, piercing his left lung and sending a piece of vertabrae into his spinal cord, the bullet itself is lodged somewhere in his back. When he got to the hospital they performed an immediate surgical procedure to begin draining his lung which was haemorrhaging. From their initial scans and xrays, it show a lesion to his spinal cord which means irreversible damage. He cannot feel his legs or feet. Please pray with us for complete healing & recovery for Eman. "All things are possible to him that believeth" we are claiming the promises of God's Word that Eman will come through this without the smell of smoke. My eldest daughter, myself and several friends were at the hospital all afternoon and were able to see him in the evening, although in a lot of discomfort and pain he can talk [slowly] and is "all there" - he was relating to us what happened. It's a miracle he is alive. The motorbike driver was enraged that Eman tried to get away and screamed "mata ele" / "kill him" to his accomplice on the back of the bike. Eman said he could see the hestitation in the second guy's face as he took aim to shoot him and thinks that's why he was shot in the shoulder. The medical staff at the hospital have been extremely kind and accommodating and we have been assured that he is in the best hands to deal with this trauma situation. We cannot tell you how much it means to us know that so many loved ones are praying for Eman and fighting for him in spirit. Thank you! It comforts our hearts just knowing that we are not alone. We will post daily updates and prayer requests for Eman here on this blog. Please share this blog with your prayer groups, spread the word ... "The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" It's all so surreal, I keep thinking I'm going to wake up and it's just going to be a bad dream, we're in a state of shock from it all. Love, Julia. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

MARCH 6TH

We arrive mid-day at the hospital, Eman's breathing is very labored and he is in a lot of pain. I know he is trying to stay strong and positive. Between Arthur and myself we rotate turns being with him. When we are with him we pray and read Bible verses aloud to him. The hospital is very confusing and in the emergency ward were we are there is constant comings and goings. All throughout the day we are approaching doctors asking for updates and hoping to speak personally to the main neuro-surgeons.  The staff bend the rules for us and allow us to stay hours over our official visiting time, at the end of the afternoon we meet with the main neuro-surgeon for hospital Miguel Couto; Dr.Ivan Santana and head doctor Dra.Silvia Araujo. Dr.Ivan was the doctor who examined Eman upon his arrival to the hospital. They explain in detail the injuries Eman suffered, the trajectory of the bullet and the damage that Eman's body sustained. Dra.Silvia tells us that these days they do not see that many gun-shot victims at the hospital, because usually by the time they arrive they are in body bags. The fact that Eman is alive, breathing and conscious is a MIRACLE. The entire neuro-surgical team of the hospital convened this morning to examine the x-rays and scans, the collective conclusion is they will not operate, there is nothing they can do. Dr.Ivan explained, trying to operate on his spinal cord could cause more damage than there already is. They also explain that the main priority right now is his lungs. Upon arrival at home this evening the kids and I gather, I tell them the official prognosis - we are all dealing with agonizing heartache and shock. As devastating as this news is for us, we know how much more so it is for Eman. We know that we need to focus on being strong in faith & prayer to make it through this together.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------