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David Kumdee
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First Email, Dated December 24 th, 2004 (9:41am) Dear friends, Please pray for our son David Kumdee.
Last night at 6:40 pm (December 23rd) David drank some pipe cleaner
liquid (Sodium Hydroxide)(Drano)(Acid). Someone put it in an, out of
the way, water cooler to unclog it. We rushed him to Lanna Hospital
and then he was transferred to Suandok Hospital. David vomited blood
every 20 minutes for several hours. They gave him a chest X-ray at 10pm
and it showed that his stomach, lungs, and esophagus had not been pierced
and he did not have any internal bleeding. About 9-10pm he began to
be able to sleep, although he was still spitting up stuff all night.
He had a restless night and developed a fever. Although his condition
is currently fairly stable, without prayer he could begin to have problems
such as his throat closing. At 8:00am the doctor inserted a camera down
David's throat to inspect the damage. This will determine what treatment
is needed (at the time of writing, the procedure is not yet complete.) David is currently at Suandok hospital, although
there is the possibility that we may transfer him to Ram 2. Right now
we would prefer not to have any visitors. Dear Friends, Dated December 24th, 2004 (11:00pm) It's 11pm on Christmas Eve. We have just arrived
home from Pastor Gampon & Mirjam's house, where we have been taking
care of their other children.
The doctor checked David this morning, Christmas
Day, and informed us that the burning is getting worse, because the
acid has not been neutralized**. Please pray that God would neutralize
the acid, and bring complete healing. Mirjam's update, Dated December 26th, 2004 He gets Morphine sometimes which helps and he does
not throw up that much anymore which is good, as the acid would cause
more trouble. We have to go on day by day. If we can get out of intensive
care by tomorrow,then we have to stay two more weeks at the hospital
with David having I.V. and no food.Then the plan is to feed him liquid
and check again his esophagus. The doctor mentioned operations, that
have to take place, but it is to early to say anything definite. We
do not want to worry about it right now and just believe that the Lord
God of miracles will reveal again his mighty power over David's life.
We really thank you once again for your prayer cover and will send you
updates as soon as possible. Dated December 28th, 2004 (11:00pm) Hi everyone, Hi, Thanks for your continued prayer for David. He is still in the hospital and even though he is in 'good spirits' a lot of the time, he is still very sick. He has been vomiting a few times a day, every day for the last week, but thankfully he is no longer vomiting blood. He still requires his IV's to be changed every day, which is very traumatic. David is scheduled to have an x-ray tomorrow morning at 9am (Wed 12 Jan). He will have to drink a solution in order for them to be able to see how well he is healing. They will not do an endoscopy (send a camera down his esophagus into his stomach) until they have determined that he has no perforations in his esophagus or stomach. Gampon and Mirjam are considering moving him to a better hospital, depending on the results of this test. Please pray that God would work miraculously in the night and completely heal his little body. His parents are under a great deal of stress, so please also pray for them. They haven't had any time alone together since the accident occurred. Also, there is another little baby in the church that needs our prayers. He is less than a week old, and was born prematurely at 30 weeks (7 months). At birth he was 1600 grams, and is now only 1400 grams. He has developed 2 infections (lung and stomach). Please pray for this little guy. His parents are Dang and Noot. Please also understand that we cannot rely on medical science to heal these 2 little boys. The care from staff isn't great to say the least, and they don't have the equipment and knowledge that we take for granted in the West. We are totally relying on the grace and mercy of God to see these two boys completely healed. We have no where else to turn. I have be praying Ps 18, and also thinking a lot about Daniel 10, where the angel explains to Daniel that God answered his prayer on the very first day, but the enemy resisted the help that God sent. We know that as a church we are in the midst of a spiritual battle. But our God has already won the victory, and as we worship Him we will see that victory made plain before our eyes (Like Jehosephat). And so I just want to declare that God is Faithful and Good. And I worship Him because of His Love, and I praise Him because He has done great things for us. And He has won the victory in the battle between life and death. So as you pray for David, and also Noot's son, please also worship our Father and thank Him for His awesome love and the victory Jesus won for us at the cross. God bless, Anne and Sean Hi Everyone, Here is the latest most urgent prayer need for David - Please keep praying!! David has continued to vomit frequently and tonight the Doctor had to put the IV's back in, because he was not getting enough nutrients, and is de-hydrated. (David has been eating since Friday, and had the IV's removed on Saturday). It is imperative that David be able to eat and keep food down, because he has lost a lot of weight in the last 3 weeks, and is only skin and bones. Please continue to fight with us in Prayer. We know that God has heard our cry. He has answered us. We have the victory. This is just a ploy of the enemy to bring discouragement and doubt. If you would like to know the rest of the story since last Wednesday, please read on... As many of you know, last Wednesday David had an x-ray to check his esophagus and stomach. We have been rejoicing since then, as the report from that x-ray was favorable. His esophagus is good. No perforations, and it's actually more open than they expected. Praise God!! But, he does have a problem with reflux (they determined that this is the reason he is vomiting so often). They have planned to do an endoscopy this Thursday, to get a good look all the way down his throat, into his stomach and intestines. We were rejoicing on Saturday, because the IV's were removed, and David finally began to eat. The doctor also said he could go home after the endoscopy on Thursday. Being able to eat changed David's demeanor and outlook - he is a lot happier and content. But with these latest developments, his return home may be delayed. Thank you for your continued prayer. Blessings, Dated January 25th, 2005 (9:00pm) Dear Friends, Sorry it's been a while since we last wrote. Mirjam
asked me to delay sending any updates, as she and Gampon had some
key decisions to make in the last few days. As result of this prognosis, Mirjam and Gampon decided it would be better to take David and the family to Germany for further treatment. They are hoping that the basic nursing care will be better, and communication on all fronts much improved. In Germany, they hope to have help from a nutritional specialist, in order to get David off IV soon, and to provide him with small nutritious meals in order to get up to a more healthy weight. This was not available to them in Chiang Mai. The Kumdee family left for Munich this morning (Monday 24th), and will arrive in Germany some time in the middle of the night (local Chiang Mai, Thailand time). Please keep them in your prayers as they travel - prayer for David to have a safe, comfortable trip. I am not sure when the next update will be, as we are no longer with Mirjam and Gampon on a daily basis. But please be praying for little David daily. He has a long road of recovery ahead. Also pray for the whole family - that they'd have some time to rest and be refreshed, and they'd experience God's blessings in a deeper way in the coming weeks and months. Blessings, Anne & Sean Sanborn Greetings, We just got off the phone with Gampon, calling from Munich, Germany. He said that David will be having surgery today at 10am* (German time*), to start the process of opening his esophagus to it's normal width. The Doctors in Germany said that he should have been operated on much earlier, in order to help him to heal quicker. Because the burns in his throat are 50% 'healed', it may not be possible to properly widen those areas of his throat that have already healed. The widening process should have been started while the burns were still open wounds. David is now getting excellent care and the family is very glad that they took him to Germany. Also, David now has a tube feeding him directly into his stomach (i.e. he has a tube into his abdomen). The family is staying with Mirjam's sister, quite a long way from the city. Hannah is enjoying the snow, but Jonathan is very sick with flu and gastroenteritis. Please pray for Jonathan to cope with the changes and get well soon. Pray for David as he has this operation, that God would guide the doctor’s hands and give him wisdom. Continue to pray for complete healing. (So you know when to pray for a specific need: Thailand is 6 hours ahead of Germany. So, at 2:30pm in Chiang Mai, it was 8:30am in Germany. David's operation will be at 4pm Chiang Mai time, or 4am East Coast USA, or 8pm East Coast Australia). Dear Friends, Yesterday (Monday Jan 31st), Sean spoke with Gampon regarding David's condition. The operation last week went well, and a tube was inserted to begin the process of widening his throat. This is just the first of about 5 operations that will take place over the next month. The next operation is scheduled for Tuesday February 8th. Since the operation however, David's condition has deteriorated. His whole body is swollen, and they are unable to insert a normal IV in his arm, so he has the IV inserted in his neck. He is also having trouble adjusting to the time change and new environmental conditions - it is very cold and snowing in Germany. Gampon and Mirjam are glad that they chose to transport David to better medical care, as it seems that without it, his life could have been in jeopardy. A Catholic church is allowing them to stay at a house that is only 30 min walk from the hospital, as opposed to a 30 minute drive to their sister’s house. They will probably move there this week. Gampon is not sure when he will return to Thailand. This last month has been like a roller coaster
for Mirjam and Gampon - David seems to improve, and then he gets worse
again. Please pray for them for strength, and for many Christians
to come around them and support them at this time. Pray that the
people they interact with would be loving and understanding of their
situation. Pray for a very special unity between Mirjam & Gampon
and their kids during this time of hardship and warfare. Thanks for you continued prayers and support. Blessings, Sean & Anne Sanborn Hi all, I called Mirjam on Feb 6 and have good news. David is doing much better. They are so glad that they have taken David to Germany. Instead of a doctor visit once every few days their doctor visits David everyday. They now have an extremely experienced doctor who makes all important decisions in conjunction with several other experts, and welcomes the parent’s participation in all decisions. Also, each necessary treatment happens without any delay. Not long ago David was wasting away. He was dehydrated and malnourished and staying in Thailand could have meant disaster. We learned that David's previous swelling was due to his body becoming re-hydrated. His system has now returned to normal and his electrolytes are balanced. He is now able to take baby food and yogurt. Earlier, we thought that David needed an IV inserted into his neck, but the doctors found a way to make the IV work in his arm instead. What a blessing. Surgery The hospital has many diversions in the children's ward, and so David is not feeling as much anxiety. He can leave his room and play with the other children in the play corner, he can watch the cartoon channel in the lounge, and sometimes a clown visits. St. Maurice Catholic church is letting them use their parish which, it turns out, is merely a 20 minute walk, although there is lots of snow and cold temperatures. Gampon, Hannah, and Jonathan are able to come and visit every day. Unfortunately, Gampon and Mirjam don't get much chance to see each other and talk, so please pray for them. A Pentecostal church has been helping the Kumdees. A Thai-German couple has been letting them use their washing machine, and have purchased groceries for them. They have also been supplied with Thai cooking pots (from a Thai restaurant) and with winter clothes (from family). Gampon has also made friends with many of the Thai people living in Munich. When we previously called we had a bad connection and misunderstood some of the information. This is the most correct up-to-date news we have. Thank all of you for your continued prayers. We believe David's recovery is a direct result of your intercession on his behalf. God bless, Hi All, We spoke to Mirjam this afternoon, Saturday Feb 12th. On Thursday David underwent another endoscopy (sending in a small camera to look at his esophagus), and the results are quite discouraging for the Kumdees and for us. The doctor said there is a lot of new scaring, and that his esophagus, especially the width in the bottom section is 'stuck' at 36mm. It needs to be at least 40mm. If they are not able to widen it, they will need to operate to remove it. The entire length of David's esophagus is only 45cm and if they need to operate then they would remove the bottom 5cm of his esophagus, and pull his stomach up. They will be performing an x-ray on Monday to determine if they need to do this. If they decide to go ahead with this operation, it will effect David for the rest of his life. He will have to chew his food very carefully, or it could get stuck and he would need further operations. There is a high risk of a stomach infection that sounded something like 'medius timitis' (please excuse spelling), and perforation of the esophagus if they attempt to widen it too fast. Both these could be life threatening. Please also be praying for the rest of the family. Gampon has a fever, Mirjam is also sick. Jonathan is finally well, and Hannah will be off for a week to stay with some friends who used to live in Thailand. City Gate Church is doing fine and everyone is united in prayer for the family. Some people have asked to know David's age: He is 4 years old. Please keep praying. Sean and Anne Latest info. Feb 14 David has been temporarily released from the hospital. No surgery needed yet. They can be reached at home at the Catholic Parish at Phone: +49 (89) 1401- 0317 Dear Friends, Even though David is able to be 'home', The Kumdees need to stay in Germany for at least 2 more months, and David will remain under observation to ensure he stays stable. If he has any problems, such as the current burn scars shrinking, food getting caught in his throat or throwing up too much, he will need to return to the hospital. Currently, they are expecting to see the doctor in one month. David still has the feeding tube in his stomach, plus a naso-gastric tube. They have added mashed potato and white bread to his diet. At the moment David is stable at 13.8kg (28lbs), up from 10kg not long ago, with the target healthy weight getting back to what it was at 17kg (38lbs). He still throws up about once a day. Surgery to remove a portion of the esophagus is still a possibility, if his body does not heal properly. Although, it is still an answer to prayer that the x-ray showed that this is not yet an necessity. According to the latest report, as much as 90% of the esophagus could be removed and part of the stomach would be turned into an esophagus. As we mentioned in an ealier update, this would effect David's eating habits and restrict food choices for the rest of his life. After his body is more healed there will be a simple surgery to repair the "hiatal hernia?" or the connector that inhibits throwing up. Please pray that the scaring will completely disappear, that the esophagus will not shrink, that no food will get stuck in David's throat and that he will stop throwing up. We do not want David to have to endure this surgery and it's long term effects. Pray for complete healing. Pray for Mirjam and Gampon to continue to cling to God and His promises. Gampon and Mirjam are doing much better physically. Gampon has been asked to start a Bible Study for about 10 Thai's in their area. He is not sure when he will return to Thailand and is not sure if he should take on the responsibility. Also, continue to pray for supernatural health and strength for the whole family. Sometimes the heating doesn't work well in their house, so ask God to send His warmth to them, especially David. Many of you have asked about their insurance situation. We want to confirm that David is now covered by insurance for treatment received in Germany. It is our understanding that most of the treatment in Thailand has been covered by kind donations from all over the world, and by the selling of their last home, as they have relocated closer to the church. Mirjam and Gampn would like to express their appreciation and thankfulness for the prayers and support of their global family. Contact: Please do not mail any more letters to the hospital as they may not be able to receive them. Mirjam will give me her sisters address just as soon as she gets it. In the meantime, you may call them at the Catholic housing at +49 (89) 1401-0317 Thanks for praying, Dear Friends, Hannah is attending school in Germany because it is illegal to homeschool there. Gampon walks her to the nearby school everyday in the -10 degree weather (they didn't specify deg F or deg C). Gampon is making plans to return to Thailand in the last week of March. He has therefore been excused of responsibilities regarding "Bless ChiangMai." Thanks for your prayers. |
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Thanks For Visiting! Email the Pastor at : Pastor Gampon Kumdee |
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