Keeping up with the Williams Family

Well, things have been going great.  Payton has been feeling very well and we have busy at school, church, and just living life without the disruption of pain.  That is until about 3 days ago.  On Monday she went to the mall for 4 hours with the teens from church and when she came home her leg was kind of hurting but we figured it was because she was on it that whole time and we iced it and figured all would be well the next day.  However, it has started to progress and last night when she went to bed I had to give her pain medication for relief.  Advil was no longer helping.  Once again we are coming to you all and asking that you will pray for God to take this pain away from her.  We just cannot go through this again.  Poor Payton does not need to have to deal with more pain.  Last night she was so sad and worried and frustrated that she is having pain again.  So, please join us in prayer!

Dear God, please touch Payton right now as she is asleep in her bed.  We pray that you will take away the horrible pain that she has been feeling and heal her condition.  We ask that you will stop this flare up and take away this pain forever!  We love you and we trust that you can and will heal her from this painful illness.  We love Payton and right now we just give her up to you and trust you to take care of her and to do Your will in her life.  Thank you for being a God who cares and for being a God we can come to with our petitions and requests.  We love you Lord!

Thanks everyone for praying with us.  I will keep you updated on Payton’s status.  She sees Dr. FG next Thursday so as far as medical plans we will know more then.  We love you all!

“Bubbly” - that is the only word I can think of to express Payton today.  She went to church and then to a baby shower with our Youth Pastor’s wife and came home just about to bubble over with happiness about being back into life again.  She had a wonderful pain free day and is so excited to think about all of the things she will be able to do this coming year.  She knows she needs to guard her leg with her life and protect it.  She jokes that maybe she will just wear her softball shin guards turned to the side to protect that part of her leg from any kind of bump, kick, hit, or whack!  There is no way to express how happy it makes mom,dad and brother to see her so happy again.  Tomorrow starts pretty active exercises on that leg.  I predict that she will do great and the activity will make her feel even better but I always go into these things bathed in prayer because with RSD you just never know.  Because of the way the nerve pathways run in the body even mental stress can cause pain messages to be sent to that leg so we have to really watch her stress levels as well.  She is still working through the emotional side of this flare up but in my opinion is doing well and is handling herself with such grace.  That is why she is Payton Grace!  In addition, with a second flare up so soon after the first, there is more of a chance of spreading of the RSD.  It spreads either laterally meaning from one leg to the exact same place in the other or diagonally meaning from her left lower leg to her right upper arm.  Strange huh?  Last week she had a couple of days where her good leg was burning but we went straight to God and then straight to the medication and exercises and it stopped.  But you can see how the cycle of worrying about the possibility of spread could actually cause more flare ups and spread!  So, to have a happy Payton is to have a healthy Payton!!

Thank you for continuing to pray for her and our family.  We have been through a lot this year and are now wearing the scars but we made it through and are determined to have a GREAT 2008!

YES!  We went to Oklahoma to see Pam’s parents over the New Year holiday.  We had a really good time and were able to sleep a lot and relax.  We  feel like we were able to recover from the exhausting few weeks leading up to the holidays.  Payton had some pain while we were gone but between medication and physical therapy exercises we were able to keep the pain low.  One day she jogged half a mile around the area where Pam’s parents live!  That was quite an improvement and really was encouraging for Payton.  Now she is starting to feel like she is getting back on track!  She is wanting to walk, jog or run several times a week so it looks like she is well on her way as long as that pain stays away.  The worry was that the epidural may not have been in long enough to provide lasting pain relief but at this point we believe the doctor will consider the week long treatment a success.  She needs to go about 2 more weeks without pain or with very little pain for it to be successful and be in the clear and not have to go back to the hospital. 

As I relected on the past year on New Year’s Eve I was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the difficulties we went through this year.  This past year was not a year I would ever care to repeat!  We are asking God to allow us this next year to be a year of recovery, rest, renewal and revival in our family. 

Tim was asked by UPS to join them as a permanent employee.  So, as of January 2nd the 60-day countdown toward new health insurance began.  Our health insurance costs and medical bills have caused us a lot of heart ache so we are encouraged that the UPS insurance will provide us some financial relief.  Especially since effective Jan. 1st our current health coverage went up so much that there is no possible way we could make it work.  In fact, the entire plan may fold simply because it is not affordable for most of the pastors on it.  We are praying fervently that this job will work well with the church job and Tim will be able to work his schedule where he gets enough sleep and is able to function despite the wierd hours. 

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support.  There are so many of you that have helped us beyond anything imagineable.  Without you we would not have made it these last few weeks.  Batesville First Nazarene  - you all are a wonderful family and without your support we would not have had Christmas that we did or the security for the next few weeks.  Thank you for your selfless giving and sacrificing your own budgets in an effort to ease ours!  We could never thank you enough!  Also thank you to our own College and Carreer Sunday School Class and Paula K. and Ann N.  You helped to make our Christmas a fun one for all of us.  Coming home from the hospital to a clean house and clean sheets on the beds was an awesome Christmas gift!  Thanks for helping us finish our shopping and then wrapping all of our gifts for us and then adding some gifts of your own….amazing.  We were touched by your generosity.  You will all be blessed for the blessings you have been to us!

Here’s to a happy new year and a great and pain free 2008!