Update on Mum’s Recovery – Monday 7.3.2022

Dear Friends,

Thanks for your prayers – Mum’s sleep last night was the best she has had for a while.  Really appreciate your intercession.  Her right arm has not ‘instantly improved’ but we know that your intercessions are being heard by our loving Father!

Mum is super organised – everything in Shanti Kunj has its special place (did I tell you that it was ‘spick and span’ too?).   Mum often told us that she would begin packing weeks before a journey so that she did not leave anything behind (yes – she will make at least one list).

But now the packing task is for us to do.  We are planning to have Mum with us for a few months at Asha Kiran Hospital in Lamtaput, so we want to help her pack for this journey. But this time she will have to tell us where things are and what she wants to take.  Any change is a challenge, and we know that even this process may be hard for her to take.  Will you please pray for her as we start this task tomorrow – that the Lord will give her courage and trust in Him as she faces this upcoming change!

We are all walking along new paths.  I just filled in the airline request for a wheel-chair to help Mum at the Delhi and Vishakapatnam airports.  The website asked me to state why she needed wheel-chair assistance, and I wrote that Mum had a stroke. This is the first time I have done that.

We have reviewed Mum’s case with a neurologist in Delhi and from Mum’s condition she has diagnosed Mum as having suffered a stroke in her brain stem.  The stroke affected the left pons (a part of the brain stem) and it is likely that the vertibro basilar artery which supplies blood to the pons was affected by an embolism (perhaps from her heart?).  The effect of this stroke on Mum has been a quadri-paraletic effect with her losing function in all 4 limbs.  She also has a left LMN facial palsy.  We understand that for many people such a stroke would be fatal.  We are so glad Mum has survived.   And the good news is that neurologist is optimistic that Mum will be able to  regain her strength and become functional again.  

As we go to Lamtaput, Odisha with Mum (God-willing leaving on Thursday evening) we face a big gap:  our beloved Asha Kiran Hospital does not currently have a physiotherapist or occupational therapist.  What a great need we have for one (or two!).  Sheba has helped develop our “Caring Communities” team who have identified 28 children with disabilities (most of them with cerebral palsy).  What a blessing it would be to have a compassionate physio-therapist who could help the families in villages look after these children.  What a blessing to be able to better help the elderly people who have suffered strokes.  We can see in Mum’s life how much of a blessing the our dear Pritam has been.  How much we wish other elderly in the villages will be blessed in the same way (and of course we would like Mum to be blessed too!).

So here is the request:  could you please pray that Asha Kiran Hospital will be blessed with a physiotherapist… and that she or he would join soon!  And if you know someone who would be willing to come and explore serving with us, could you please reach out to them and put them in touch with us?   

Next week we are excited that a wonderful team from the Anugrah project from Herbertpur (including a physio-therapist and an occupational therapist)  are spending 4 days with us at Asha Kiran – and will be helping us with the children with disabilities we serve.  Please pray for the Father to send forth labourers into His harvest field.  For Mum’s sake of course – but also for the many precious people who are not getting care which can reshape their lives in so many positive ways.

And so we sign off from cold Mussoorie with the lights of Dehra Dun glittering like an array of diamonds in the dark velvet of the night.  The Lord continues to be so good to us – holding us tightly as we go forward.  Thanks for your heart-felt prayers and encouragement! 

Blessings from Andi and Sheba (on behalf of the Eicher ‘Pariwar’)