I'm very proud of Becky, my youngest - she has 'let her light shine'. Someone she knows from school was baptized into Christ last night. She spoke with John about God and connected him to Chad, our preacher for studies. It was clear from the start that it was not a ploy for him to get her - he has taken rides to service and home with Chad rather than with us. He mentioned to Becky that he wanted to speak with Dan [DeGarmo, a former preacher who was up to help with our VBS] and Becky said, "if you want to speak with him then you go ask him", so John asked if he could speak at length with Dan and now John is a brother in Christ! In speaking of Becky, [Becky wasn't a christian when Dan was our preacher], Dan said, "I don't know «that» Becky", meaning her demeanour was so different, and I agree 100%. As to my health stuff, the MRI showed a 3 x 7 mm cyst on my brain - the neurologist says it is entirely a non-issue and doesn't explain anything so we're back to square 1. Jacquie found something on the internet that sounds plausible - it's called adult-onset Still's disease, and the symptoms seem to fit - the spiking fevers, joint pain, and odd salmon-coloured spots on my abdomen that don't go away and have been there for a long time and the doctor's don't know what they signify.

As I indicated before, I had an MRI done earlier this month. Today, I spiked a fever of 105.7º F. [no, the thermometer is not broken!] which thankfully lasted only an hour or so. I was contacted by the doctor's office today - apparently a cyst showed up on the MRI - how big or significant, I don't know. I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday [31st] and a follow-up with the neurologist early in September. So....we'll see...

To any and all who have been praying for me/us, my heartfelt thanks. I had the meeting with two of the administration from nursing at McMaster University regarding one of my courses [physical assessment] which I had not passed because I ran out of time on the exam. The school rarely allows one to repeat a course/exam a second time - one is simply kicked out of the program. In my case, they thankfully counted my failure as a medical issue, and on paper they put down that I had "withdrawn" from the course and therefore it would not 'scar' my academic record as having failed. I have intentions of having psycho-educational testing, which identifies where one has learning problems. In the case of McMaster, having the results of that test can allow extra time and/or modified requirements geared specifically to the student. My intention is to spend the next year taking only elective courses [one has to have 24 credits of electives to get the bachelor of science degree anyway], and then next year I will be able to only deal with nursing courses which will make the load lighter. Again, thanks to all for your prayers!

Tomorrow [July 24] I have a meeting with the administrators of the nursing program at the university. I had a physical exam course and I did not complete the exam in the 40 minutes time period and I thus failed the course. I repeated the course [a remedial offering] and took the exam which I found that I also failed, not having completed it sufficiently. After taking the test [before I knew the results], my teacher sat me down and told me that in light of my health concerns that I should take a year off to "heal". In reference to the course/exam, she said that most people who fail do so because they "don't get it". In my case, she said it was obvious that I did "get it" and the components I completed were done very well and I knew exactly what I was doing but there were "too many gaps". It is the general policy of the program that a person cannot repeat a course more than once - they are just plain out of the program. I am hoping and praying that they will consider the input of the teacher about having a year off to "heal". My teacher [who cannot be there for the meeting] stated clearly that if she hadn't known me from first semester to know my capabilities and intelligence, she would have had a different opinion of me from only knowing my second semester capabilities [after the meningitis]. She has made inquiry with a number of medical people and her suggestion is "psycho-educational testing" which will apparently identify areas of my learning and cognition that are damaged/lacking and will offer some direction on how to improve/compensate for the deficits. The testing is somewhat expensive [$1500], but it's likely that Jacquie's work will cover that expense, and even if not, I would like to know what can be done to help me. I am acutely aware that learning is a much greater challenge since the meningitis - I pray that the Lord will still hold this door open for me and my future; if not, I hope God will make it clear what I should be doing... Thanks again for your ongoing concern, prayers and kind words! I have not yet heard about the results from my MRI.

My heartfelt thanks for your prayers and expressions of concern. Many have asked for an update of information. I feel tired, though relatively fine unless a fever hits. On Monday, I had another "out of the blue" fever of 105º F. that lasted a few hours - lots of sweating, but resolved after a few hours + an aspirin/Tylenol mix. Of more immediate concern to me is that I received a phone call from my boss that she wanted a meeting with me and stated that I could have a union representative with me. I have made the arrangement for a meeting tomorrow morning at 1030. This is to discuss what happened the shift when I had the delirious blackout. I have already related what happened - all I remember is feeling a little oozy but thinking I'd better set things up for the medication pass and then a resident offering me a chair and stating that I wasn't feeling well - and a total blank in between [about 1½ hours]. While this is a bad enough reality, about a week following, it was discovered that on the other area [which I don't normally work at but on a night shift I'm in charge of the entire floor including that area] one of the drugs [not a narcotic, but an anesthetic drug] came up with 5 vials missing out of a box of 10. In light of my episode, I'm sure that I am suspect #1. I know I had nothing to do with the missing vials - even with a memory lapse, I wasn't working that area that day, and if I had, the vials would have shown up. I feel that management sees me as a liability that they would like to be rid of right now. Added to that, one of my teachers recommended [on a personal level as a nurse practitioner with the insight into my illness] that I take a year off of school to "heal" because of the stress and the residual effects that seem to be following the meningitis. I don't want to do that because of my age. Anyway, I'm sorry for the rambling, but these are some of the things that are weighing on my mind right now, and your continued prayers are sincerely appreciated.