October 26, 2011 Update on Samantha

Dear friends, Thanks for your continued prayers for Samantha. We have received many requests in recent days asking for an update. After coming home from the hospital on October 3, having the infected PICC line removed, still using the NJ feeding tube, she was able to drink enough liquids that the doctor decided to try pulling the NJ feeding tube on Oct. 10 and see what happened. He had no idea why some things were better but others had not changed. That was 16 days ago. Praise the Lord that so far, she is able to drink enough pedialyte and ensure to stay hydrated and get the calories she needs without a feeding tube. This is huge progress from one month ago, when we were told that she would probably have a tube for the rest of her life. She is still not able to eat anything solid, and we do not know yet if she will be able to eventually. At this time we are taking it easy, and waiting on God. She has good days and bad days, but is definitely better than she was a month ago. She is very glad to be without the tube. She has been able to go to school and is staying on top of all her classes. This week was parent-teacher conferences. It was a blessing to hear her teachers, in the public school, talk about her faith, and how they can't understand how she is cheerful and manages to keep up with her work, with all that has happened. To God alone be the Glory. The next few weeks will be filled with more appointments, as our insurance has kicked Samantha's case into California Children's Services(CCS). CCS is a government funded insurance which pays for every thing when a child has a chronic illness. We qualify, but now we must see a whole new set of doctors and specialists, of CCS's choice at a hospital in the Bay Area. We are very thankful for this coverage, but not looking forward to starting over with more doctors. It is our prayer that one of them will have some new treatment options, but that is unlikely. Trips to the Bay Area cost us a minimum of $50 each trip, in gas, bridge tolls and parking, plus a day that we can not substitute teach. But, that is minor compared to the hundreds of thousand of $$s in testing and hospitalizations that the insurance covers. We are so thankful for the financial help that we have received from our prayer supporters. Every bill has been paid to this date, including the expensive medications that the other insurance did not cover. To God alone be the Glory! Your prayers and notes of encouragement have carried us through this challenging time. God has truly been faithful and we have had many opportunities to share God's grace with doctors, nurses, etc. HIS strength has been made perfect in our weakness. Thank you for bearing this burden with us and fulfilling the law of Christ. It is our goal to send out a regular prayer letter in the next week, including pictures from Crossroads Fifth Anniversary Celebration and a report on how GOD is building HIS church in Tracy CA. Thank you for your prayers and support! God is good, all the time. Tim and Susan Heinrich

Tel: 209.833.6263 Email: timandsusan@tracychurch.org

---

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link: Unsubscribe

---

Crossroads Baptist Church 1220 Appalosa Way Tracy, CA 95376 US Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.

October 2, 2011 Update on Samantha

Dear friends, Thanks for your continued prayers. Samantha was admitted to the hospital last Monday with a very dangerous infection in her PICC line. Specialists were called in, as the labs were unable to determine exactly what the infection was, or where it came from. Thankfully it did respond to antibiotics and after a few days she was out of danger. The doctors were very concerned about future infections and the need to increase the feeding rate on her NJ feeding tube, which had never worked well. They anticipated at least another week in the hospital, treating the infection and finding a safe way to get her much needed nutrition, as she has not been able to tolerate anything by mouth for months. Infections are always scary, but especially with motility conditions, as often they make the symptoms much worse. The doctor had to pull the infected line and also repositioned the feeding tube, as it had moved. We were not happy when he decided to wait to replace the PICC line and try again to use the feeding tube. This tube has been extremely painful and the other specialist had recommended abandoning it. Much to everyone's surprise, the tube is now working so well that they did not have to replace the PICC line. She can now get all of her nutrition through this much safer method. AND....she has actually been able to sip some clear liquids today. Because she is doing so well, the doctors decided to let her come home today. This change is her condition was totally unexpected and can not be explained by any treatments that have been done since she was hospitalized. The small intestines, which have showed NO motility for months of testing are now working. The nurses can't believe it, the doctors can't explain it and we are praising GOD! Time will tell how much healing has truly happened and what the future will hold. All decisions made by the specialist to discontinue treatments were based on the fact that the feeding tube wouldn't work and the small intestines were not moving. We are anxious to see what comes next, based on what happened this weekend. God has clearly worked a miracle! We are patiently waiting to see the extent of HIS work. God is good, all the time. Tim and Susan Heinrich

Tel: 209.833.6263 Email: timandsusan@tracychurch.org

---

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link: Unsubscribe

---

Crossroads Baptist Church 1220 Appalosa Way Tracy, CA 95376 US Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.

September 28, 2011 Update on Samantha

Dear friends, Thanks for your continued prayers. Sunday, Samantha started running a fever. Our doctor had us take her to the ER in Tracy for blood work. On Monday we got the blood work back and it showed an infection from the PICC line. The doctor was very concerned and admitted her immediately to Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose, treating the infection. We will be here for a few more days until they determine exactly what the bacteria is, so they can send us home with the correct specific antibiotic. Thankfully the fever has broken. She does not feel good, at all, but we are out of "danger". They did an ultrasound yesterday and it showed that there is no organ damage from the infection or from the treatments that we have tried. God is good, all the time. Tim and Susan Heinrich

Tel: 209.833.6263 Email: timandsusan@tracychurch.org

---

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link: Unsubscribe

---

Crossroads Baptist Church 1220 Appalosa Way Tracy, CA 95376 US Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.

September 22, 2011 Update on Samantha

Dear friends, Today was definitely a day where we were thankful for the prayers of God's people. The knowledge that God is the great physician and that nothing happens outside of HIS perfect plan, carried us through some tough news. We took Samantha to see the motility specialist in SF today. We really like this doctor because he is cutting edge, quick to try new things and VERY straightforward. He examined Samantha and reviewed everything that has happened since we saw him last month. His conclusions were what we expected (we have done a lot of research on our own) but not what we hoped to hear. We prayed for answers but also for the peace to accept God's will. "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ" 1 Peter 1:6-7 Samantha will not be continuing on the octreotide injections, as the side effects from them were very unpleasant, and the drug did not produce the desired result. A special thank you goes out to those who helped pay for this expensive treatment! She is not a candidate for any surgeries because of the extent of her condition. He has tried all medications that had any chance of reversing or greatly improving her condition and none of them produced the desired results. What is left are a few medications that may help manage symptoms and improve the artificial feeding process. He does not see her getting off the feeding tubes. The best he can hope for is that, with medication, eventually she will be able to tolerate enough through the tube through her nose(NJ) which is a more natural nutrition that they can reduce or eliminate the IV feeding tube in her arm (PICC line). If the NJ will work, it can be moved to the wall of the stomach so that it is not "in her face". At this point, the experimenting with meds will take months, with the hope that perhaps sometime she will be able to eat and drink a little on her own. Obviously we had hoped that he would be able to offer better options. Feeding tubes carry a high risk of infection and the PICC line/TPN feeding will eventually damage other organs. But, nutrition is necessary to survival, so it is a risk that must be taken. None of the doctors have been able to determine what caused this condition, but 60-80% of the time a cause is never found. It was probably caused by a virus. It is still hard to comprehend how this happened to a very healthy, active child. However, we know that God is good all the time. We are thankful that through insurance and the generosity of God's people, all medications and procedures have been paid in full. We now have a special fund set up at Baptist Church Planters in Samantha's name and are trusting God to continue to supply every need according to HIS riches in glory through Christ Jesus. We are now moving into a maintenance phase where we learn to live with this condition. There are many opportunities to share our faith with doctors, nurses, etc. as we go travel down this path. We will obviously continue to seek new treatments, but we have to acknowledge that the doctor whom we saw today is the one that every one in this field turns to when they don't know what to do next. If he doesn't have a solution, it is unlikely that others will. Samantha continues to amaze us with her faith. Of course, there are moments when we all falter and struggle. However, Samantha's FaceBook post from this afternoon sums it up quite well: "just got back from my appointment with my motility specialist in San Fransisco, he said the only thing he can really do for me now is try some new nausea medications for a few months and see if they help the feeding tube work better, if they do I'll get a more permanent feeding tube if the medication doesn't help we will probably just do TPN. When there is nothing you can do in your own strength that is when you are the most aware of Gods strength, he is the great Physician and can do a miracle but we have to remember that God answers our Prayers yes, no and later." Please understand that we have not given up hope. Our hope is in the LORD, the maker of heaven and of earth! Samantha still hopes that they will get her tubes working in such a way that she can return to playing softball, surfing, and doing all the things that a typical teenager enjoys. There is a need for more research and medications to treat this condition. Pray with us for a breakthrough to help her and many others who suffer from this "silent illness". Thank you for your prayers and support! Tim and Susan Heinrich

Tel: 209.833.6263 Email: timandsusan@tracychurch.org

---

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link: Unsubscribe

---

Crossroads Baptist Church 1220 Appalosa Way Tracy, CA 95376 US Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.

Hello Prayer Partners, Thank you so much for your prayers this weekend as Crossroads Family attended our first ever Family Camp. It was such a blessing to get to know each other better and grow spiritually in the beautiful setting of Pilot Lake Camp. Crossroads at Pilot Lake Family Camp Sept 3-5 TONIGHT! we kick off our 2011-2012 JOY Club program. We are continuing to divide the age groups as the club grows and workers are available. Please pray that we will be able to reach many of the children who attended "Rev It Up" VBS this summer. Family Update Samantha's PIC (IV) line was inserted last Monday without any complications. She was able to come home on Thursday and spend the weekend at camp with the church. The doctor is still working on adjusting the formulas to get her everything she needs without pain. This is the situation that we had hoped to avoid with other treatments, but we are thankful that her energy level is increasing and she is able to go to school. This will be a long process of experimenting with various treatments. Everyone is asking what is next, and we really don't know yet. The doctors are not sure. So, we appreciate your continued prayer for wisdom and endurance. Thank you for your prayers and support. On a brighter note, all three of our other girls have been cast in plays this fall. Janae, at her HS and Alyssa and Talitha at a local theater. We are hopeful that these opportunities will also give us the chance to meet new people in Tracy and share the gospel. In the picture is Molly, Samantha, and Janae. Standing at the Crossroads, The Heinrich Family

---

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link: Unsubscribe

---

Crossroads Baptist Church 1220 Appalosa way Tracy, CA 95376 US Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.

August 27, 2011 Update on Samantha

Dear Prayer Partners, Thank you so much for your continued prayers for Samantha. We have been overwhelmed by the calls, notes, and financial gifts to help with her medical expenses. It is blessing to be part of the body of Christ. She has been on the injections for one week now. They are making a slight difference, and the doctors are hopeful that we will continue to see improvement in motility. However, the change is not happening fast enough yet for her to get the nutrition that she needs through the NJ (feeding) tube. So, Monday morning the doctor will be putting in TPN...this is IV nutrition that will hopefully only have to be temporary. She will need to be hospitalized for 3-5 days while they get this regulated. For locals, she will be in Samaritan Hospital in San Jose. We also appreciate your prayers as the Crossroads Family heads up into the mountains for family camp at Pilot Lake Christian Camp Labor Day weekend. We are praying for spiritual growth and that they will continue to grow together as a church Family. Thank you for praying! Standing at the Crossroads, Tim and Susan Heinrich

Tel: 209.833.6263 Email: timandsusan@tracychurch.org

---

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link: Unsubscribe

---

Crossroads Baptist Church 1220 Appalosa Way Tracy, CA 95376 US Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.

August 18, 2011 Medication Needed

Dear Prayer Partners, We went to the Pharmacy today to pick up the medication that Samantha needs, after checking with our insurance, which has paid for everything so far, we found out that the medication would not be covered with no exceptions. We believe that this medication is Samantha's best hope for treating her digestive tract paralysis and getting her nutrition in the short term. We ask what the cost would be to pay for it outright. The brand name is over $800 per month, but praise the Lord the generic is $430 per month. We are very thankful that our insurance has been so good up to date. The name of the medication if you are interested is "Octreotide". Susan and I supplement the support we receive through Baptist Church Planters by Susan teaching music lessons in our home and I substitute teach in the local school system. However, because of the nature of this income, the end of Summer can be very lean financially. We currently do not have the funds to cover the ongoing cost of this medication. One of our Supporters has already committed to helping us with a portion of the first months cost, and we are very thankful. We are praying that a long term solution can be found that will be within our budget or covered by insurance. Your Prayers mean so much to our family at this time. God is good all the time and we are trusting in his grace to see us through. Proverbs 3:5&6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Thank you for praying! Standing at the Crossroads, Tim and Susan Heinrich

Tel: 209.833.6263 Email: timandsusan@tracychurch.org

---

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link: Unsubscribe

---

Crossroads Baptist Church 1220 Appalosa Way Tracy, CA 95376 US Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.

August 18, 2011 Update on Samantha

Dear Prayer Partners, Thank you so much for praying for Samantha's Doctors appointment Wednesday. We found out much valuable information, although it was not what we had hoped to hear. The tests last week showed that her Small intestine is not contracting at all, and her stomach is almost as paralyzed. During the test last week Sam was given a couple of different medications to see if they would effect the contractions. One of them is very promising and she will be starting injections of that medication today and will need to remain on the feeding tube for the next three to four weeks while we see how the medication works. We appreciate your continued prayers for Samantha and we will keep you updated. Thank you for praying! Standing at the Crossroads, Tim and Susan Heinrich

Tel: 209.833.6263 Email: timandsusan@tracychurch.org

---

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link: Unsubscribe

---

Crossroads Baptist Church 1220 Appalosa Way Tracy, CA 95376 US Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.

August 16, 2011 Urgent Prayer for Samantha

Dear Prayer Partners, We just received a call from the specialist office asking for us to come in tomorrow (8/17/11) to meet with the Dr. and go over the test results. The Dr. did not have any openings until next month but a cancellation allowed us to get in this quickly. Only by God's grace! Please pray with us that the Dr. will have a treatment plan that can move ahead quickly. Samantha is currently on a feeding tube that makes her very uncomfortable and she is unable to eat or drink anything for fear that it could dislodge the tube.. We are praying that this is very temporary. For those of you in the Midwest, many of you will be having prayer meeting at the same time as the appointment. (3pm pacific, 6 pm eastern). Please ask your churches to pray with us that Dr. Snape would have wisdom and that treatment could start promptly. We are very thankful for the many continued opportunities to be a light in a dark world. Many of the Doctors and nurses have noticed Samantha's great attitude in the face of a very serious illness and have commented on it. We are able to testify that it is only by the Grace of God! This picture was taken yesterday as the kids went back to school. Samantha is on the left, then Alyssa, Janae, and Talitha. Thank you for praying! Standing at the Crossroads, Tim and Susan Heinrich

Tel: 209.833.6263 Email: timandsusan@tracychurch.org

---

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link: Unsubscribe

---

Crossroads Baptist Church 1220 Appalosa Way Tracy, CA 95376 US Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.

August 10, 2011 Update on Samantha

Dear Prayer Partners, Many of you have asked for updates on Samantha for your Wednesday Night Prayer Meetings. Please share the following important requests tonight. Samantha had a four hour gastric emptying study done on Monday which showed SEVERELY delayed stomach emptying. Because of that test, the specialist moved the exploratory surgery, that was scheduled for September 8, to TOMORROW at 7 AM. The specialist may start treatment during the procedure, possibly even putting in a gastric pacemaker at that time, if he determines that is the best option. We appreciate your prayers for wisdom, as many decisions are having to be made very quickly right now! Samantha had the opportunity to witness today to her Buddhist pediatrician, who acknowledged that there must be a higher power, while looking at Samantha's blood work. There is no explanation for how "healthy" she still is, after 5 weeks of not being able to eat. The doctor says her nutrition numbers and weight should have changed after three days. We know that God has protected her. We are praying that Dr. Shen will believe that too. This doctor has her children in the day care run by a Crossroads family who have a strong testimony in our community. Seeds are being sown on so many levels. Thank you for praying! btw....we had another record attendance at Crossroads on Sunday, as GOD continues to grow HIS church. To GOD ALONE be the GLORY! Standing at the Crossroads, Tim and Susan Heinrich

Tel: 209.833.6263 Email: timandsusan@tracychurch.org

---

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link: Unsubscribe

---

Crossroads Baptist Church 1220 Appalosa Way Tracy, CA 95376 US Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.

August 3, 2011 Update on Samantha

Dear Prayer Partners, Samantha is once again at Children's Hospital in Oakland. We came in yesterday because she could not keep anything down and she had become dehydrated. The problem with her digestive system seems to have gotten worse, and we are waiting to see if the Dr.s will start IV nutrition. She has not had anything of any nutritional value in over 3 weeks. She is scheduled to have more tests on Monday. We appreciate your prayers for her. Susan is holding down the fort in Tracy where Crossroads is having our annual VBS. One boy was saved last night. Please pray for Susan and all the workers as Tim is in Oakland with Samantha. Standing at the Crossroads, Tim and Susan Heinrich

Tel: 209.833.6263 Email: timandsusan@tracychurch.org

---

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link: Unsubscribe

---

Crossroads Baptist Church 1220 Appalosa Way Tracy, CA 95376 US Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.