As I post updates on the blog or send out texts concerning Odie's eye I will also post them here when I can so you can read it all in one place. I will post the latest update on the top of the page. Thank you for praying for Odie and us.
Make sure you read last night's post if you have not read it yet.
Scratch the update from this afternoon.
Odie's insurance finally found a neurologist that could get Odie in on ... June 23rd. Huh? What's up with that? So much for an emergency appointment, right? Actually it turns out it was not a neurologist at all. It was a neuro ophthalmologist which is an entirely different animal. Not exactly what Odie needed but it worked out in her favor anyway.
Odie called the office and they were able to move the June 23rd to 2:30 TODAY. Now that is more like it! However not only was the doctor not a neurologist but Odie did not even see the neuro ophthalmologist. She saw a regular ophthalmologist but she will officially be under the care of the neuro ophthalmologist guy. Got it straight? I know, we need to draw a chart.
Anyway, these folks were super nice and super helpful although we do not know a whole bunch more than we did before. They ran a bunch of test to establish a baseline of where her vision is and they would like to have her back in several weeks to do it all over again. We KNOW they are going to see a huge improvement when she goes back.
Speaking of improvement, although Odie's vision in her left eye is nothing close to what it is suppose to be, it is improving and we give God the glory for that!
The doctor today suggested a little expanded treatment for the Optic Neuritis and the office staff is going to do their best to get Odie into a neurologist as soon as possible. That is a positive development and we should know something about the neurologist appointment in a couple of days.
There is really nothing new to report on Odie's situation today. She is about the same as far as she can tell although at times she thinks there may be a slight improvement. We are clinging to every promise we can and we really do thank you for all the prayers and concern.
Tomorrow she will try to reach the neurologist that has been recommended and make an appointment as soon as possible. We are hoping she can get in this week. If she does then MAYBE we can get back on the road by next weekend. We are anxious to get back to our duties but we are also at peace with being in Ohio at this time if that is what we need to do. I am usually climbing the walls after about 3 days at home. Although I am staying busy with several bus projects I do feel a contentment that I know God is giving me.
So many of you have called, text and emailed to let us know you are holding Odie up in prayer. God bless you for it. We are thankful for the good news we received Friday night but the blindness in her left eye is still a very serious matter to us and to her. Please keep praying. Thank you.
Wednesday Night April 30, 2014
Odie is much improved from where she was ten days ago when God began to give us victory in this. Although the vision in her affected eye is not 100%, we are praising God for His help. She can see how many fingers somebody is holding up from over 20 feet away! She could not see that from 2 inches for over nine days.
God has given Odie a miracle and we will not stop giving Him credit and praising Him for it. Thank you so much for praying for us. We have been overwhelmed with your kindness and compassion. Please continue to pray for complete healing. We would love for Odie's eyes to see better than ever. Wouldn't that be just like our God?
Since we have not had news daily as we had before, this will be that last update to this post. Further updates will be posted in our regular posts.
Thursday Night 4/24/14
Odie is still gaining ground in her vision every day. We are almost continually praising and blessing God for it. God is giving us victory in this fight and I can not begin to tell you how grateful we are. Odie wanted me to pass the word to everybody how much she appreciates all of the prayers, calls, texts, emails and comments. May God bless you for your kindness. It has all meant so much to her and to us.
We are still in limbo as to an appointment with the neurologist but we are content with that. We have decided to make plans to leave next week in time to begin tent revival in Oklahoma City May 4th. It feels good to have a plan. If the plan needs to be adjusted we are content to do that as well. We feel like God is in control and that is the safest place we know to be.
Wednesday Night 4/23/14
Odie's vision in her left eye continues to improve every day. We are so thankful for what God is doing. It is amazing. She says that everything is still very, very blurry but she is seeing more and more detail each and every day. She has had a big dark smudge in front of everything and she said today that was mostly gone. Praise God, Praise God, Praise God! Please keep praying that God will bring the vision back 100%.
We still do not have an appointment with a neurologist. We have decided to wait another week and then hit the road. If we leave and then they call her back we will deal with that but hopefully somebody can fit her in soon. Who knows? By the time they find an opening for her she may not need it! That is what we are expecting.
Tuesday Night 4/22/14
Scratch the update from this afternoon.
Odie's insurance finally found a neurologist that could get Odie in on ... June 23rd. Huh? What's up with that? So much for an emergency appointment, right? Actually it turns out it was not a neurologist at all. It was a neuro ophthalmologist which is an entirely different animal. Not exactly what Odie needed but it worked out in her favor anyway.
Odie called the office and they were able to move the June 23rd to 2:30 TODAY. Now that is more like it! However not only was the doctor not a neurologist but Odie did not even see the neuro ophthalmologist. She saw a regular ophthalmologist but she will officially be under the care of the neuro ophthalmologist guy. Got it straight? I know, we need to draw a chart.
Anyway, these folks were super nice and super helpful although we do not know a whole bunch more than we did before. They ran a bunch of test to establish a baseline of where her vision is and they would like to have her back in several weeks to do it all over again. We KNOW they are going to see a huge improvement when she goes back.
Speaking of improvement, although Odie's vision in her left eye is nothing close to what it is suppose to be, it is improving and we give God the glory for that!
The doctor today suggested a little expanded treatment for the Optic Neuritis and the office staff is going to do their best to get Odie into a neurologist as soon as possible. That is a positive development and we should know something about the neurologist appointment in a couple of days.
Tuesday Afternoon 4/22/14
Odie got an appointment at neurologist. We are waiting there now.
Monday Night 4/21/14
We seem to be making some progress. We are making NO progress in finding proper medical care. The neurologist that Odie was referred to by the ER doctor does not accept Odie's insurance. She spent several hours on the phone Monday trying to find somebody to see her. She talked to the insurance company, her primary doctor, the ER, the person at the hospital that coordinates patient care and many, many individual doctor's offices. She still has a lead or two to follow up on but so far nothing.
However, God IS helping. I was working on the bus this evening when Pastor Darrell Toliver called to check on us and Odie. I was in the middle of saying to him, "If this is a direct attack of the enemy..." and Bro. Toliver said, "Davy, it is a direct attack of the devil. I knew it from the very first text you sent me." He went on to expand on his point and I knew he was giving me a Word from the Lord for us.
I understand that we live in frail human bodies that are affected by 6000 years of the cumulative affects of sin. Our bodies are literally dying from the day we are born. We can expect sickness and disease because we are human. We also know that some afflictions can be attacks of the devil. When Bro. Toliver was talking to me I feel like it was confirmed to me this is more spiritual than physical.
Now, I know that I have a very wide range of readers on this blog and you come here from all sorts of varied backgrounds and beliefs. The idea of satan or even God having an active interest in our lives is completely foreign to many. But we believe in a real God that loves us and cares for us and is concerned for us. We believe in a real devil that is interested in destroying everything good, Godly and spiritual. We believe that Christians are allowed to be tested and tried (Job). We also believe that God can sustain us through these trials and tests and give us victory in the end. Maybe that gives everybody a little foundation for what I am telling you.
By this time in my conversation with Bro. Toliver we had loaded up in the Green Machine. Kelly Jo was driving, Odie was in the passenger seat and I was behind her.With this new sense of direction in prayer. I laid hands on Odie and passed the phone to her as Bro. Toliver, Kelly Jo and I prayed for her. As we praised God and rebuked the devil and his evil plan we could feel victory rising up within us. We could sense that we were now praying according to the will of God and He was helping us tremendously.
And help us He did!
And help us He did!
By the time we reached Waynesville and we began to get out of the car, Odie could perceive some outline of the trees across the road in her extreme peripheral vision. She has been thinking she was gaining a little peripheral vision since Friday afternoon but she has been afraid she might be wishful thinking. The improvement this evening was out of the other corner of her eye so she knew it is an improvement.
When we arrived back at the BoggsMobile, Kelly Jo opened up her vision chart on her iPad and put Odie to the test again as she has several time over the last week. Odie has not been able to see a letter 8 inches tall right in front of her left eye. Not at all. But tonight for the first time Odie could make out some of the bigger letters on the chart looking straight ahead. It is nothing you could call real sight yet, but it is a definite improvement. Praise God. We have been rejoicing in the bus tonight!
To sum it all up, we now are convinced this is a spiritual attack and we are praying to that end. We know God is able. Hallelujah! We heard a Word from the Lord and experienced a move of God this evening. We are already seeing some improvement and we are expecting a complete miracle and restoration of sight for Odie. We realize we may be in this for a long hall but we are fighting with God on our side and that is exactly what we need to win no matter how long the battle.
Please continue to pray for us. Ask God to cover us with mercy and grace and to give us the strength to stand and be courageous. Take the fight to the devil for us! We have received calls, text and emails from all over this country and from other countries. We know that folks are standing with us and praying for us. Preachers from all over have let us know their churches are extremely burdened for Odie and are seriously interceding for her. Praise God. If all these saints are rebuking satan in Jesus name there is no telling what is going to happen.
I believe it is possible that Odie may not only see well again but WALK right out of this trial before it is concluded! Hallelujah!
God bless you all.
Davy
To sum it all up, we now are convinced this is a spiritual attack and we are praying to that end. We know God is able. Hallelujah! We heard a Word from the Lord and experienced a move of God this evening. We are already seeing some improvement and we are expecting a complete miracle and restoration of sight for Odie. We realize we may be in this for a long hall but we are fighting with God on our side and that is exactly what we need to win no matter how long the battle.
Please continue to pray for us. Ask God to cover us with mercy and grace and to give us the strength to stand and be courageous. Take the fight to the devil for us! We have received calls, text and emails from all over this country and from other countries. We know that folks are standing with us and praying for us. Preachers from all over have let us know their churches are extremely burdened for Odie and are seriously interceding for her. Praise God. If all these saints are rebuking satan in Jesus name there is no telling what is going to happen.
I believe it is possible that Odie may not only see well again but WALK right out of this trial before it is concluded! Hallelujah!
God bless you all.
Davy
Sunday Night 4/20/14
Tomorrow she will try to reach the neurologist that has been recommended and make an appointment as soon as possible. We are hoping she can get in this week. If she does then MAYBE we can get back on the road by next weekend. We are anxious to get back to our duties but we are also at peace with being in Ohio at this time if that is what we need to do. I am usually climbing the walls after about 3 days at home. Although I am staying busy with several bus projects I do feel a contentment that I know God is giving me.
So many of you have called, text and emailed to let us know you are holding Odie up in prayer. God bless you for it. We are thankful for the good news we received Friday night but the blindness in her left eye is still a very serious matter to us and to her. Please keep praying. Thank you.
Friday Night 4/18/14
Odie finally had the scans she needed Friday night. They could see No tumors and we praise God for that. There was No obvious problem seen in the MRI. After consulting with the ophthalmologist in Paducah, Dr. Baker, the doctors here are going to treat her for Optic Neuritis. This is inflammation of the optic nerve. It shows up about 50% of the time in an MRI. They could not see it but they think this is a likely suspect. It is one of the possibilities Dr. Baker warned us of last Monday. Treatment begins with massive intravenous steroids tonight then oral steroids. Ww will follow up with a neurologist in Cincy. Vision loss is NOT always recovered with Optic Neuritis but can be. God is able! Thanks for praying.
Friday Afternoon 4/18/14
Odie's eye was no better on Tuesday and after a three ring heath care insurance circus she is seeing a doctor in Ohio. We closed revival in Salem, Kentucky a day early and we cancelled our revival that was scheduled to start Sunday in Gainesville, Texas. We will update when we know more about Odie's condition. Thank you so much for all of your prayers. We feel the help of God.
Friday Afternoon 4/18/14
We finally received approval from the insurance company for the set of MRI's the doctor ordered. However, they scheduled it one week away from now. We spent a couple of hours trying to reason with the insurance company but to know avail. We secured an MRI appointment for 3:00 today but the insurance company would not transfer the approval.
They told us if we wanted it done earlier then go to ER. They had told us before that even ER would have to wait 48 hours for approval to do the MRI's. Wow! What an endless cycle!
Kelly Jo called a hospital that had been very helpful answering questions. She talked to an ER nurse that went way beyond the call of duty. She found and ER doctor and explained the situation.
He recommended that Odie come in now. He was as flabbergasted as we are that the MRI's have been put off so long. He said he would probably do a CAT scan and progress from there to the MRI's if needed.
That is what we have done. We are now in the ER waiting in the back. The doctor has stopped in and he is going to try to help. We will let you know something when we know something. Thank you for praying.
Thursday Night 4/17/14
A Little Later Thursday Afternoon 4/17/14
Thursday Afternoon 4/17/14
Wednesday Evening 4/16/14
It was wonderful to be in service at our home church tonight in Dayton, Ohio. Our folks embraced us warmly and prayed with us and for us fervently and the Spirit of the Lord visited us. These people have loved us through thick and thin and back to thick again. It was good to be home. We are blessed to be in some amazing churches and to worship with some of the best people all over this country on a weekly basis and that all started right here at home. The Lord blessed Odie tonight and we are expecting her to start gaining ground soon. Thank you very much for praying for Odie and for us.
A Little Later Thursday Afternoon 4/17/14
We have Dr. Smith's orders in our hands for all of the scans that Odie needs. However, we have been told that the imaging companies can not do the scans and allow her to self pay because she is on Medicaid. What is up with that? So a person on Medicaid can not get an MRI that the doctor feels is crucial in the midst of an emergency even if somebody else pays for it. We need God's help.
Yes, we have checked with a place in Kentucky where Odie's insurance will not cover her at all and they are bound by the same laws. We have been told that an ER visit to a hospital with all the necessary equipment might change things, especially since we already have orders from Dr. Smith. That may be the next step first thing tomorrow. First we to to church tonight at Dryden Rd. Oh God we need your help!
Thursday Afternoon 4/17/14
We are waiting approval of the insurance company. The doctors office has been in touch with Odie and they are working to get it done. The doctor has said she will order the scans so we can go to the place Kelly Jo found that would do them and read them for a cash price. We do not know if the insurance company would act on those scans IF they show something abnormal or not but it would probably give us some peace of mind.
We are ready at a moments notice to spring into action when the order comes for Odie to go for the testing. While we are waiting there is something we are doing. We, along with thousands of others are bombarding Heaven with out petitions. We plan to be at our home church tonight and let our Pastor preach to us and pray for Odie. That could be the end of this right there. Would you continue to pray for us?
Wednesday Evening 4/16/14
Odie saw Dr. Cindy Smith, the Primary Care Doctor assigned to her in Lebanon, Ohio today. The doctor is trying to order an MRI. Odie's insurance requires Jumping through a lot of near impossible hoops to obtain preauthorization for an MRI. Dr. Smith is trying to convey the fact that this is a real emergency in order to receive authorization now. The insurance company will not even authorize an MRI through an emergency room visit. A neurologist would have to order it there too.
All of this is kind of ridiculous but there is not much we can do. Kelly Jo found a place does the scans the ophthamologist in Paducah wanted and also accepts Odie's obviously limited insurance. They also take cash pay and we are willing to go that route if we need too in order to get the ball rolling. There is a question of whether or not the insurance would accept the scans even if we pay for them since they have not ordered them. The word circus comes to mind again.
Please Pray for a miracle.
Wednesday Morning 4/16/14
Odie's eye was no better on Tuesday and after a three ring heath care insurance circus she is seeing a doctor in Ohio. We closed revival in Salem, Kentucky a day early and we cancelled our revival that was scheduled to start Sunday in Gainesville, Texas. We will update when we know more about Odie's condition. Thank you so much for all of your prayers. We feel the help of God.
Tuesday Morning 4/15/14
I appreciate you praying for Odie's eye. She still needs the Lord to touch her. She called her ophthalmologist in Ohio and explained what was going on. He recommended she see and ophthalmologist here in Kentucky or go to the ER immediately if not sooner.
She spent a few hours Monday at the doctor's office and they pretty much turned her eye upside down and inside out looking for the problem. All of the tests showed no abnormalities. Here are the things we know according to the doctor.
-It is not a detached retina.
-It does not look like glaucoma.
-It does appear to be any other obvious eye problems.
We are still awaiting the results of the final test but the doctor has strongly recommended that Odie go home for some brain/head scans and see a neurologist to rule out several other possibilities for her problem. The doctor does not think it is a tumor on her pituitary gland but he can not rule that possibility out without a a scan of her head. He is willing to schedule her for tests in Paducah but her insurance is only good in Ohio and He said the next scans will get expensive quickly.
Odie basically has no vision in her left eye. It is nothing at all but a blur and she can not see any distinction with that eye at all. It became blurry Saturday and when she woke up Sunday it was in its current condition. Because of her insurance situation she can not have much done outside the state of Ohio. She has never really used her insurance other than for glasses so she does not know if it will even cover the things she may need.
We are asking God to heal her completely and we are seeking direction on what we need to do. We are planning to go west from here to Texas and Ohio is a long way from Texas. When she wakes up this morning (Tuesday) we are praying that she will be able to see clearly. If she is still afflicted we will call her ophthalmologist in Ohio and fill him in the the latest update and see what he can do. Once we have his thoughts we will try to plan accordingly.
Will you continue to pray for Odie and ask others to pray as well?
Thank you very much.
Davy
