Update on Bob DeWaay - Praises!

Bob just got home a little while ago, after receiving his Rituxan infusion. They gave him Benadryl and steroids by IV first to help reduce side effects from the infusion. It was a 5 1/2 hour infusion but he tolerated it very well. They purposely did a slow infusion to avoid side effects, it does however have long lasting effects, the number one concern is the inability for him to fight off infections. It will be awhile before we know if it worked, but it did before and this is a much higher dose so hopefully it will bring the Churg Strauss under control and help his lungs to function better.

Thank you everyone for your prayers. God is so faithful and we trust in His sovereignty. Our times are in His hands. No better place to be!!!

Bob DeWaay June 2015 Health Update and Prayer Request

Please pray for my dad, Bob DeWaay.
He just returned from seeing his
Rheumatologist and his Churg Strauss indicators are much worse.
He wants to do another round of Rituxan treatments. We are waiting for the insurance company to approve the treatments. He has had this treatment once before. Please pray that if this is what is needed to get the disease back under control that it would be successful and that the insurance company would approve it. Pray also that his body will tolerate the treatments with few side effects.

\

He's Home!

From my mom:

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised!!! It is with great joy I 
am letting you know I brought my beloved husband Bob home late this 
afternoon. It is such a relief to have him home and I am so grateful to 
God for sparing his life. Thank you to everyone who prayed for us, who 
encouraged us and have helped us out along the way. For all the help we 
have received financially and rides and visits, thank you from the 
bottom of our hearts. We are humbled and deeply grateful by the care and 
help we have received from Gospel of Grace Fellowship and our brothers 
and sisters in Christ around the world. He truly has supplied our needs. 
When I got home with him this afternoon, someone had raked the leaves in 
our yard and off all of my perennials in my flower beds and in back 
along the garage that were growing above the leaves. I have no idea who 
did it. God bless whoever did it.

The oxygen company was here early this evening and have him all set up 
with portable tanks we have to fill everyday and a long hose that comes 
upstairs to plug into his CPAP at night.
Please pray he continues to gain strength and that his lungs improve and 
will process air by themselves without assistance.

Lamentations 3: 22-24  The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, 
For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Thy 
faithfulness, " The Lord is my portion, " says my soul, "Therefore I 
have hope in Him."

Bob DeWaay Health Update -Wednesday

Bob had a good day today. He is determined to go home so he is working hard to make that happen. For those of you who know him well, he can be very determined and strong willed. He has been up all day either in a chair or sitting on the couch in his room. His physical therapy went well and we took a walk down the hallway this afternoon. I pushed the oxygen tank and he walked slowly, occasionally using the hand rails when they were available. They turned his oxygen level down one degree today and he is tolerating it alright. He will go home with oxygen. Right now they are talking about releasing him Friday afternoon. He has an order for intravenous steroids through Friday and that is usually given to him at noon, so I think he could go home in the afternoon if he continues to do well. Thank you again for praying for us and please continue to lift us before the Lord. Pray Bob would continue to get stronger and that his lungs would heal and process air normally.

Bob DeWaay Health - Tuesday Update

Hello friends! Thank you so much for your continued prayers. I did get to speak with my Dad briefly today. He can't talk much but it was good to hear him. He loves his new room and is very thankful to be out of the ICU. Here is an update from my mom:

Today has been a relatively good day. It has been fairly uneventful - finally. It is his first day out of ICU and he mainly rested. He was up in his room only and with oxygen. It still makes his oxygen levels drop when moves around. 

Tomorrow he will start physical therapy. He saw his pulmonary specialist today and his x-ray today shows his lungs look the same and sound the same. They will take him off of intravenous steroids tomorrow and he will be taking it in pill form, which is a good step forward. He has been taken out of isolation, he is over the flu.

 The goal now is to get him stronger and his lungs functioning better. They told him it will just take time for his lungs to heal and function properly. So continue to pray that would happen. 

Thank you everyone for lifting us before the Lord so faithfully. We appreciate it so much. God has been so gracious and good to us!

Monday April 13 Update - Bob DeWaay Health

I finally have some good news this evening. He is going to be moved from ICU to a regular room in about an hour. He will be on the 8th floor, which is the new section we haven't seen it yet. The nurse said it is real nice, they call it the penthouse. 

 

He had a rough night last night and has been up since 2 a.m. but he did cat nap during the day. He is now on just the simple oxygen that goes in your nose so it is much more comfortable. He is still on the same amount of oxygen but it is much easier to get around with this. His oxygen levels still drop when he does any exertion. His pulmonary specialist will see him in a day or two and decide when he can go home and what kind of medications and oxygen that me may need at home.

 

 They will have to decide what to put him on to keep the Churg Strauss under control, but he is still off that medication until the infection is totally clear. They need his immune system higher to help fight the infection. 

 

They did another chest x-ray this morning and his lungs are the same, there has been no improvement. He is on 3 different antibiotics. We are rejoicing that he is well enough to be moved, it will be much quieter in a regular room. 

 

He still can't have visitors because he has Influenza B. Thank you again for your ongoing prayers. 

God is so faithful and we put our trust completely in Him.

Sunday Update - Bob DeWaay Health

Today as been another day of ups and downs. We found out today he has influenza B. They took the test when he was admitted on Tuesday but we just got the results today. So nobody is allowed to enter his room without a mask.

He had to have insulin today for the first time. His blood sugar is high from the high doses of steroids. He was allowed to go on a full diet today, so today is his first day of eating food since Tuesday; which he is very happy about, he was very hungry.

 His lungs have not really improved. The upper lobe of his right lung shows slight improvement on the x-ray, but the lower lobe and both lobes of his left lung have not improved at all. He remains very oxygen dependent and it might take quite awhile for that to improve. He still can't talk without his oxygen dropping very fast. He is getting discouraged at the lack of improvement so please pray that God would give him grace for all he has to endure.

 Continue to pray his Churg Strauss Syndrome would not get out of control, they still have him off the Imuran to see if his bone marrow improves. He remains in critical condition, but he is stronger and looks better than when he was admitted.

We thank God for small improvements. We continue to trust in God's sovereignty. Thank you again for continuing to pray for us, we appreciate it so much. I know that is what is keeping us going, so bless all of you who are praying.

Saturday afternoon update - Bob DeWaay Health

We are thankful to be seeing small improvements today. His hemoglobin is holding steady and his white blood cell count climbed to 3.4. They were able to get him a smaller mask, which he likes. He is still needing a lot of breathing support from the bipap. He did get to have some clear fluids this afternoon, which was a real blessing. He has not been able to have anything by mouth since Tuesday, so he was thankful for even a little fluid.

The hemotologist took him off of Imuran because that can affect bone marrow. We are hoping that will help his blood numbers. Imuran has been keeping the Churg-Strauss syndrome under control the last couple of years, so please pray about this. 

Thank you for your continued prayers.

Bob DeWaay Health Update - Ups and Downs

Here is a quick update that my mom emailed last night:

"I am overjoyed to let you know that when I left the hospital this evening they told us his white count had climbed to 2.2 - which is still low but no longer life threatening. God is so faithful and I am so thankful for your prayers. There may be lots of ups and downs. His oxygen levels had to be raised today and he hasn't had anything to eat or drink since Tuesday because they still may have to put him on a respirator. He had already lost 10 pounds last week and he is down another 3 as of today. God has been with us every step of the way and our trust is totally in Him."

Thank you for your continued prayers and support, and for all of your kind words of encouragement.

I'll post another update once I hear how the night went. We are also posting updates on the CIC Facebook page, which is public so you can see it even if you are not on Facebook. 
https://www.facebook.com/CICministry

Pray for Bob DeWaay - Critical Update

 

Thank you for your continued prayer and support for my Dad. He condition today is critical, still has pneumonia in both lungs.He's been breathing with a bipap (breathing machine), and we were warned last night that he would might have to be intubated and put on a ventilator. The doctor was ready to do that overnight, but he really doesn't want that and the doctor was willing to wait a bit. That still might have to happen if things don't turn around soon. Please pray that he will allow that to happen peacefully if it becomes necessary. 

His hemoglobin dropped to 6, so he was given a couple of units of blood. His white count is down to .9, so he has no immune system and there's nothing they can do about this. 

We have the results of one of the cultures and that showed the presence of streptococcus in his lungs. They will now use antibiotics that target strep, in hopes that eliminating the others will help his white count rebound. We are still waiting on a lot of other tests.

He cannot have visitors, and he cannot talk at this point but we do appreciate all of your messages and prayers.

1 I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
8 The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in
From this time forth and forever.

-Psalm 121

Urgent Prayer Request - Bob DeWaay April 9 Update

Thank you all for your continues prayers, messages, and emails. 
My Dad's pneumonia is worse this morning, and he had to be moved to the ICU and put on a BiPap (breathing support).

Please continue to pray for healing, for wisdom for the doctors, and for peace and comfort for my family.

 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

 Philippians 4:6

April 2015 Bob DeWaay Health Update and Urgent Prayer Request

Many of you  know that my Dad, Theologian Bob DeWaay, has been in the final stage of Churg-Strauss Syndrome. You can read the history of that here: http://www.bygracealone.net/2012/10/a-bob-dewaay-october-2012-health-update.html

He has been sick most of the winter, and now has been hospitalized.  We do not yet know if this is Churg-Strauss related. He currently has pneumonia in both lungs, he is jaundiced, dehydrated, and very weak. This is the third time he has had pneumonia since Christmas, and this is the worst it's been.

He has also had a very sore throat for the last few weeks and has had no voice. An ENT did a scope of his throat today and his vocal are red and inflamed, and he has a vocal chord granuloma. We do not know is this infection is related to the pneumonia or not.

The doctors are doing many tests to try to determine what all is going on. Please pray for wisdom for the doctors, peace and comfort for my mom, and healing for my Dad.

Because he is immune system is compromised do to the Churg-Strauss syndrome he is not allowed visitors at this time, but we appreciate your prayers.

I will post updates as we know more.

Thank you for praying!

May 2014 Bob DeWaay Health Update

This past Sunday my dad mentioned in his sermon that when he started preaching through Galatians last year, he didn't think he would be alive to finish it. But God is good and his given him more time here on earth to preach the gospel and, Lord willing, he will finish Galatians this Sunday.

Overall, he has been feeling very well. He is still dependent on blood transfusions, but has been able to go 2-3 weeks between transfusions. Of course, he loves to share the gospel with the nurses while he there receiving blood. My sweet friend Sylvia drew this awhile back:

Thank you for your continued prayers!

(You can read the rest of posts about this here)

July 2013 Bob DeWaay Health Update

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for my dad. He is continuing to need regular blood transfusions, but is feeling better than he was during his last treatment. Here is an update from my mom:

Bob DeWaay had another consult with the Hematologist at the U of M today and he has suggested two new drugs for Bob. The first one is Mycophenolate mofetil or MMF (CellCept) and it is to treat his red cell aplasia caused by Churg Strauss Syndrome; a rare auto immune disease. This will be the fourth treatment to try and solve this.

The 2nd drug is a new drug recently approved by the FDA to strip the extra iron out of his body that is accumulating from all of the transfusions. It is called Deferiprone or (Ferriprox). It is not supposed to be so hard on his kidneys. This is the only other drug approved in the USA so please pray the insurance company will approve it, and that it will be effective with few side affects.

On a positive note his last treatment was Atgam. It made him quite sick and weak and did not help his red cell aplasia, but it did improve his vasculitis caused by the Churg Strauss Syndrome so we are thankful for that.

We appreciate your prayers and all the encouragement you have given us. We are so thankful for all the things our family and brothers and sisters in Christ have done to help us. We know we are in the safest place we can be - the sovereign hands of our Lord.

Thank you for your continued support and prayer for my family. 

View older updates.

Rejoicing!

Thank you all so much for your prayers. The insurance company has agreed to cover the new treatment! It will start on Monday. Please pray that it will work with minimal side effects.

⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6,7)

Updated Prayer Request for Bob DeWaay

Well, we thought my Dad would begin a new treatment on Monday, but as it turns out this will not be possible. Here is the latest from my Mom:

Please pray for Bob DeWaay, there has been a change in the schedule of his new treatment. The insurance company has no code for this treatment so they aren't sure if they will pay for it or not. The only code in their system is to use this to treat organ transplant failures, there is no code to use it to treat Bob's red cell aplasia. So the Dr is postponing it one week. He has also decided not to do it over a weekend. The recommended way to treat this is 10 days in a row. Because Methodist is a small hospital and not fully staffed over the weekend he does not want Bob to have treatments on Sat and Sun. If he had any major reactions they would have to call someone in to deal with it and it could be too late by then.

They use horse antibody's and when those get into various organs sometimes the organs react or shutdown so he wants a full hospital staff with all specialists available in case of trouble. So he won't start until Monday April 29th if the insurance company approves the treatment. They sounded like they would because his disease is life threatening, but they have to solve the code issue. He will be treated Monday through Friday for two weeks in a row. If he has any reactions he will have to stay in the hospital the whole time, if not he can have the last 7 treatments as an outpatient and go home afterwards. Please pray the insurance company will approve the procedure if it is the correct treatment for Bob. If it isn't the correct treatment we pray it will be denied.

Thank you so much for your continued prayer for my family.

4/23/2013 - Our prayers were answered and the insurance company agreed to cover this! We are rejoicing and praising God.

April 2013 Bob DeWaay Health Update

Here is the latest update from my Mom regarding my Dad's health:

Please pray for Bob DeWaay. His inflammation levels remain high and his white count is too high indicating that his immune system is too strong. They are increasing the prednisone to 15 mg and the Cytoxan back to 100 mg, which is where he first started.

On Monday he will be starting a new treatment. They will be using the drug ATG, which is Antithymocyte globulin (ATG) — a drug that targets a type of white blood cell called T cells. T cells are an important part of the immune system. T cells direct the rest of the immune system when to attack foreign cells such those that cause infection. They also help in the attack. This drug is the one that is used for transplant patients who are rejecting their transplanted organs. It is a very powerful immunosuppressive therapy.

I know this is a lot of information, but there has been a lot of confusion as to why they are wiping out his immune system. Bob has an auto immune disease called Churg Strauss Syndrome. His own immune system is attacking organs and most important his baby red blood cells. His body makes them everyday but his immune system destroys them. None survive so he can't make his own supply of blood.  This treatment is based on the widely accepted theory that the red blood cell aplasia is a result of the immune system attacking the bone marrow. The treatment weakens the immune system's response and allows the marrow to make more blood cells. It will be given by infusion and he will have to have it done in the hospital for at least the first 3 days. If he has no major reactions or side affects he can have the remaining 7 doses on an outpatient basis. This will be give for 10 days in a row starting this coming Monday April 22nd.

Please pray the drug would be effective, with few side affects and that it would work well enough so that he would be able to make his own blood supply, thus not having to have blood transfusions every 6 to 10 days.

Thank you so much for praying. God is sovereign, we totally trust Him and are so thankful for all of you who are praying and encouraging us.

PLEASE read the update to this post HERE.

March 2013 Bob DeWaay Health Update

Friends, 
This just came from my mom. Please keep him in prayer.

Please pray for Bob, his inflammation levels (sed rate and CRP level) have increased and his white cell count is back to normal so his immune system is no longer wiped out, which is not good. They are increasing the Cytoxan dosage and the dosage of Prednisone. He will be starting the new drug to strip the iron out of his system next week Wednesday. Please pray it will be effective with few side affects.  He sees the hematologist at the University of MN for a consult next week Thursday. Thank you so much for praying!

 

If you are unfamiliar with his ongoing battle with Churg-Strauss Syndrome, you can read about it here.

Bob DeWaay Health Update - March 2013

Please pray for my dad. He met with his Hematologist yesterday and is now scheduled for a consultation with a Hematologist at the University of MN on 3/28/13. His Rheumatologist thinks there are two separate issues going on, the Hematologist thinks it is all Churg Strauss Syndrome. The problem is the 2nd drug they put him on his not working. It worked as far as wiping out his immune system, but it hasn't helped his red blood cell aplasia problem. The theory is if it is from an auto immune disease, and his immune system is wiped out, it should solve his red blood cell problem, but it hasn't. 

He has now developed a complication of weekly transfusions - iron levels that are way too high. Normally if someones iron is too high they have them give blood, he can't do that. The iron can build up and deposit in his liver, pancreas, heart and other vital organs and cause problems. He can't take any supplements now that have iron. Neither of his doctors know what to do for him so they are referring him to the U of M.

There is a chelation process that can be done to get rid of the iron in the blood, but it is very expensive and we don't know if his insurance company will cover it. That is one of the things this new Hematologist will be going over with him. That and what other courses of treatment can be done. Stronger drugs, running more tests to see if there is a 2nd condition causing the problem, and to see if a bone marrow transplant may be an option. We won't know anything until we see him on 3/28. My dad is doing well but is more tired now that he is down to 5 mg of prednisone a day. Please pray for wisdom for the Doctor's and healing for my Dad. We know that God is sovereign and in charge. Thank you for praying, it means so much to us!!!!

January 2013 Bob DeWaay Update

Thank you, sweet friends, for your continued care and concern for my Dad. Your prayers are appreciated.

I have a brief health up date for you, along with some ministry news.

Health Update:

As for his health, his hemoglobin count was down to 6.6 on Monday. He continues to need regular (almost weekly) blood transfusions. He started his new treatment, Cytoxin, almost two weeks ago. He saw his rheumatologist yesterday and is going to have to cut the dose in half because his white blood cell count has fallen way too low. Please pray that this treatment, even at the lower dose, will cause an increase in his red blood cells. Please also pray that he would remain healthy as this treatment will wipe out his immune system.

(Preaching at the new church, Gospel of Grace Fellowship)

Ministry updates:

Despite his ongoing health problems, I am so happy to be able to share with you the wonderful news that he has been able to return to the pulpit to preach an occasional sermon. It is such a blessing to hear him preach again. The new church is Gospel of Grace Fellowship, led by Pastor Eric Douma. You can hear the sermons at the website.

He also has a new CIC article, Cursed by Works or Blessed by Faith. All new CIC articles will be online only, no print newsletters will be mailed. You can sign up to receive and email when new articles are published here. 

Local friends:

There is a blood drive being held for him and all blood types will help.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

12:00pm until 3:00pm

DoubleTree 1500 Park Place Boulevard St. Louis Park,MN 55416

A Memorial Blood Centers Blood Mobile will be at the DoubleTree following the service to accept blood donations to benefit Bob DeWaay.

*Gospel of Grace Fellowship is currently meeting at the DoubleTree if you would like to attend the service as well.

Psalm 91:1-2

¹ 

The one who lives under the protection of the Most High

dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.

² 

I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.”