Dear Praying Friends,
What an exciting time to serve the Lord! I believe with all my heart that His return is just around the corner. We may be the generation that will hear the trumpet sound and experience the glorious return of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And friends, “It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus…”
Update on Susan
One of our biggest prayer requests this last year was that we would be able to find out what is making Susan so sick. We praise the Lord that her blood pressure and pulse rate have been stabilized by medication, but the neuropathy and pain have continued to spread throughout her body.
Toward the end of December we were able to see a Rheumatologist (a Doctor who specializes in auto-immune diseases). Susan has most of the symptoms for Multiple Sclerosis and Lupus, so she was tested for those, along with a myriad of other diseases. The beginning of January we received the test results. Susan tested negative for MS and Lupus (praise God!), but she tested positive for Hashimoto’s (an auto-immune disease that attacks the thyroid). Several doctors in the last 10 months have mentioned Hashimoto’s as a possibility, but no diagnosis was ever given.
Because there is no known cure for Hashimoto’s, they are working on treating the symptoms and the pain. The GOOD NEWS is that the medication the doctor originally prescribed for Susan really worked in reducing her pain. The BAD NEWS is that it’s very expensive. Because of the cost, we switched to a similar medication (that was much less expensive), but unfortunately, most of Susan’s pain and numbness came back.
The doctor let us know that there are no other medications on the market that will do what the more expensive medicine does, so we are praying that God will provide the funds needed so we can switch back to the original prescription. The manufacturer gave us the name of a foundation that helps with prescriptions, and we have sent in an application.
Please pray with us that God would give us wisdom and direction. We have seen God do some amazing things in the past, and we are SURE that He will provide for this need as well (in His time, and in His way).
We have a full schedule ahead of us this year (see schedule below), and we are excited to see what God has in store. We cherish your faithful prayers for us!
Reaching Families for Him,
Tim, Susan, and Rachel Vermaas
P.S. As we were getting ready to send this e-mail, a friend gave a gift that covered the cost for two weeks of the medicine. (Ain’t God Good!!!)
