Update on Martin

Thanks for all your prayers and support. Martin's vision has been improving, but not as quickly as he'd like. Unlike last time, when we went for three weeks with the misdiagnosis of pink eye, we started treating this early enough that there were only a couple days when it was painful. It's just frustrating to him to not be at 100% when he's got so much going on.

He's been working every morning at one of the local hotels and then coming home to edit the infomercial with two producers. (I call them "the ladies" and they were at our house every morning at 9 AM last week. Nice ladies, just always here.)

As for the blood tests to rule out any possible auto-immune causes, he's got an appointment in September with a rheumatologist, but I'm trying to get him to schedule an appointment sooner with a family practice doctor. No need to pay for a specialist if we can get it done more inexpensively, right?

As for the insurance not covering any of this, that's a bridge we have yet to cross. The opthalmologist's office has submitted everything to BCBS, so once those claim are rejected we'll have to work out payment. Good news is that this doctor gives a 50% discount to cash patients. But 50% of what is yet to be determined...

JT, on the other hand, is fully recovered and no longer has to wear the hated cone. He's on anti-itch meds that are costing us more than his life is worth, but we'll wait and see if he deserves to live. Actually, we're on a plan that hopefully will find us the lowest possible dose to keep him from itching his eyes out, but he has cost us $200 this month, which is more than we paid for him! If he were a car...

A Lot to Say...

Well, I've been busy, what with not working and all, and I have seriously neglected this blog. Here's what I've been up to:

Our friends Amanda and Janelle came to visit for Memorial Day weekend. We had a lovely time and of course I took no photos. I've been meaning to post these pictures, however. I didn't take them, and she didn't do it here, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to show everyone how INSANE she is.

Apparently, she went rattle snake hunting, which is basically finding snakes, pinning them with a stick, and then picking them up. She thought this was fun. She is crazy. (Not to mention, she took her 10-year-old niece with her.) I guess there's just not that much to do in Tulsa, 'manda?

Amanda wearing a snake as a hat - The snake is pinned, now to pick it up
The craziest thing I've ever see Amanda do

I've also attended Marc & Ashley's wedding reception in Seattle, which included a nice time in downtown Seattle with Brad & Noelle, and Matt & Cristin. Of course, again, I took no pictures of Matt & Cristin. I did get these, though, of the rest of us! (Cristin, will you send me copies of all the pictures you took?)

Noelle meets Hannah Montana! - Brad & Noelle at the Pike Place Fish Market
Brad at the First Starbucks Ever - Brad & Noelle
Martin & Betsy - Martin, dreaming about the yacht we will never own

Then Martin and I went to Tijuana, Mexico, on another AMOR Ministries trip to build a house. (Our first trip was in February of this year.) We had a great time! I can't even begin to relate how satisfying it is to build a house for a family.

Click on any of the photos to see the whole set. We had so much fun, but worked so hard. I'm still digging cement out of my ears.

On the trip, however, Martin started feeling a familiar pain in his eye. Martin had a case of iritis about a year ago, which was hugely painful and scary. At that time, we were told that one case of iritis is no big deal, but if you get it twice, it can be a sign of an auto-immune issue, like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. To make things more complicated, when I lost my job and we switched from a group plan to our own individual plan on BCBS AZ, he had to sign a waiver for both his chest and his eye as "pre-existing conditions" which would not be covered, at all.

Well, in Mexico, on Saturday, all of a sudden Martin started feeling the same pain in his (other) eye. We weren't sure if it was all the dust, sweat and sunblock that was in all our eyes just irritating it, or if the iritis had come back in his other eye. He was OK on Sunday and Monday, but by Tuesday morning it was so bad he stayed all day in our darkened bedroom. He finally got in to the doctor this morning, and they confirmed that he does have a severe case of inflammation in the eye. He's got steroid drops and other drops that keep his eye dilated, and a follow-up appointment on Friday. He also has to get an appointment with his PCP for blood tests to rule out any other things (lupus, RA, even TB). There's a 60% chance that there's nothing else.

He's got a video shoot on Saturday, editing all next week, then another video shoot the next Saturday. They have already prepaid him for this job and he can't not do it - there are many other personnel involved in the shoot that are depending on him. Right now, his right eye (his shooting eye) is completely clouded and so sensitive to light he just stays in our room. He obviously can't do the shoot on Saturday (in this current condition), so he needs immediate improvement.

Martin in his Bat-Cave (click on image to read notes) - What it REALLY looks like in there

On top of that, although we're doing OK financially with both of us at home, a huge medical ordeal that our insurance won't cover puts us on shaky ground. Please pray for favor with our insurance company, as we work to see what they will cover in spite of this waiver, and wisdom to know whom to ask for help.

Not to mention that we just paid $95 for more meds for JT, because of his own eye issues. Just think, when we got this puppy, I told Martin if we had vet bills over $100 we would just put the dog down. JT doesn't know how close to death he was. :) Oh, I am so kidding: it will break my heart to have to do that. I love his silly little furry butt. (He's looking like Spaceman Spiff in his collar. Check him out.)

Poor little guy doesn't fit through the doggy door with his big collar

And finally, I've been greatly amused by this comic:

Probably because the "dead squirrel" comment reminds me of my family's endless amusement with roadkill. Don't ask. We're weird.

Update [7/16/08]: Martin's eye is getting much better. He's been taking steroid drops and the inflammation has greatly decreased. He has a follow-up appointment in September for the blood work, but that seems like more of a formality than an urgency. We're still looking into our insurance issues, but the good news is that the ophthalmologist gives a 50% discount to his cash customers.

In the News

Martin made our local news! Click here to view it.

What a Weekend!

• When I got home Friday night, Martin surprised me with a super-clean house. He hired some help (Alinea) and it was sparklin'! So great.
  
• Friday night we had dinner with friends that turned into a great game of Taboo. My team won! Woo-hoo!
  
• Saturday morning, inspired by my newly cleaned house, I did a lot of spring cleaning and about 8 loads of laundry. We also bought a new comforter for our bed - I love it, M hates it - and some great laundry room accessories.
• Saturday afternoon, Martin and I did a photo shoot with Emily. We had so much fun! Check out a couple of the photos here.
• Sunday, Martin and I celebrated our 6th anniversary. It doesn't seem like 6 years have passed! Thanks to everyone for the cards.
  
• Sunday night, church was awesome! Brad shared some really challenging thoughts on communion. Great quote: "The church is the only organization created for the benefit of its non-members." Check it out here!
• After church, we had dinner and a meeting about our next AMOR trip to Mexico in July. (We went in February to Rocky Point.) Anyone want to go with us this time?

What a great weekend. What did you do this weekend?

Cruisin'

Martin and I are on our way to LA for a short little cruise down to Ensenada, Mexico. It's a l...o...n...g drive and the internet (via our fantastic Verizon Wireless card) is s...l...o...w.

Right now we're listening to the comedy channel on XM while I check email. Martin is laughing inappropriately at jokes making fun of wives and marriage. He's going to pay later. :)

Have a great weekend!

Where Am I?

Or, where have I been? Well...

We had our first Sunday morning service with Desert Vista Church this past weekend. Our current series is "30 Days to Live", so that's what the banners are for.


Martin leaves today for his first trip back to the Motherland. Fatherland? I'm not sure. Anyhow, he leaves tonight, and won't be back until after Thanksgiving. (No, Mom, murderers won't read my blog, google my address and kill me in the night. Besides, I have a killer dog to protect me.) He'll be seeing family, old friends, and attending his 10-year reunion.

Other than that, I'm keeping busy with work and all the side jobs of Iris Media. I'm looking forward to going to Seattle to see my mom for Thanksgiving, and I'm very excited to be attending an InDesign seminar on November 30 (David, want to go with me?), so hopefully I'll get some mad skillz.

OK, back to work. It's still month end.

I was in an accident tonight, right as I was leaving work. I was exiting the Starbucks drive-through, came around the corner, and BAM! There was a car backing out. I didn't see him, he didn't see me, I hardly had time to brake before I hit him.

My knight in shining armor drove over an hour in awful traffic to come make sure I was OK and to change my tire, which blew up in the collision.

My insurance company says it was the other guy's fault, so I'm hoping this won't cost me much more than a couple hours and the hassle of getting my car fixed. Again.

Feels Like Friday

Today "feels" like Friday and I'm going to be very disappointed tomorrow morning when it's not.

In other news:

• Martin has been the victim of a Nigerian eBay scam. Well, attempted victim. He's smarter than they are! He'll have to tell you all the story.
• Survivor: China premiers in just 22 days! There's a Christian talk-show host and author... who wants to bet she'll be one of the first three to go? Historically, Christians don't fare well on this show, usually because they're weird or pushy or both. With Lost and 24 not coming back until January 08, I'm so glad to have something great to watch!
• We still have a puppy, and he is slowly getting housebroken. He still does not sleep through the night, but we have come up with some alternate solutions (read: he won... he now sleeps in our bedroom, under the bed in his little cave) that have helped our sleeplessness, if not his.
  

Well, back to work.

Meet J.T.

The newest addition to the Leeuwner household. We adopted him this morning.

My South-Afri-Canadi-American

Face painting at our 4th of July bash.

For reference:

SURPRISE! Martin's 28th Birthday Party

The Wonder Years

wonder
noun
1. The emotion aroused by something awe-inspiring, astounding, or marvelous
2. Something that causes feelings of wonder; "the wonders of modern science"
3. A state in which you want to learn more about something [syn: curiosity]

When is the last time you felt wonder?

If you're like me, it's been a while. The ability to wonder diminishes with age. Experience lessens our capacity to wonder. Perhaps it's that there are fewer "firsts". As we age, there is less newness to the things that surround us. The world is mundane. Events are routine. Life loses its luster.

Watch young children, and you will see wonder. (Do you remember the magic of Christmas morning as a child?)

As a child, I wondered at movies. The town we grew up in had only one movie theater, and there was not much else in the way of recreation. Only one title showed per week, every night except Wednesdays, but Friday nights were the biggest night for the town to go out to the show. The previews we saw on TV as "coming soon to a theater near you" would arrive 6 months later, if at all. You can imagine the anticipation of waiting for a movie to arrive. Expectation was high. The night of the movie, we would arrive a half hour early, and wait in the line that wrapped around the corner. We would pay for our tickets ($3, if I recall), and go inside. In the tiny lobby, there was a concession stand with the usual fare. The aroma of fresh, salty, buttered popcorn would waft into the theater as you entered. The theater was huge, with a balcony. It was usually dimly lit when we entered. We would sit and wait for the previews to begin. (This was before the commercials and music that fill the waiting time.) The lights would go out, the curtains would open, and the screen would flicker to life. Oh, the thrill! The anticipation! The expectation of wonderful things to come. The darkness enveloped us and transported us to amazing places.

Even to this day, after seeing thousands of movies, I still get a tiny thrill when the lights go out.

Wonder is a powerful emotion, and it's not caused by small things. It's caused by grand events, marvelous sights, and magical moments. Joy is easily felt, with the right outlook. Happiness, even surprise, bubble up quickly and without much provocation. A funny card. An unexpected plot twist. Finding a good parking space.

Wonder must be experience on a greater scale. As an adult, there are still a few moments of wonder:

• The first time I saw Eastman Curtis give an altar call at a youth conference.
• Glimpses of my husband's wedding ring the first few months of marriage.
• Endless vistas of clouds from an airplane window.
• The gorgous horizon as we drove into Phoenix for the first time, with the majestic mountains and regal cacti.
• The first time I peered over the edge of the Grand Canyon.
• The first Sunday morning at The Life, looking at the crowded seats and it hit us: "We did it!"
• Last Saturday night at The Life, when God moved and we abandoned our schedule to let Him.
  

What makes you wonder?

Quick Update

I know we've been all over the place with this: emails, myspace bulletins, texting... but my computer at home has crashed, so I didn't have my usual email contact lists available, and we've just had a surreal couple of days.

(Skip down to today's date if you're up to speed already)
4/10/07-4/14/07

Martin left for Detroit to work with Tracy on a Teen Mania event. He stayed up the whole night before, finishing up video projects, etc., so he did not sleep at all. He was exhausted, and his roommate at the hotel was quite a snorer, so he did not get a whole lot of sleep the whole week he was there. He started complaining of pain in his left eye, and as he has had several eyelid infections in the past few months, we just thought the lack of sleep and cold weather conditions had caused the problem to flare up.

4/15/07

By the time he returned, his eye was red and swollen. He complained of severe pain.

4/16/07

Martin went to a walk-in "No Appointment MD" clinic, and was quickly (with very little exam) diagnosed with pink eye. An antibiotic gel was prescribed. The pain persisted, so much so that he still had not slept through the night since his return. He was taking ibuprofen every few hours.

4/19/07

The pain was so severe that Martin was taking any kind of painkiller we had in the house. He also was beginning to lose the ability to see out of his left eye, so he went back to the clinic and saw a different doctor, who did a more thorough exam and diagnosed pink eye again. She said she didn't know why the first doctor has prescribed the gel, since that was for babies, and prescribed antibiotic eyedrops. She also gave Martin a list of local opthalmologists in case he wanted to see a specialist.

4/20/07

Martin woke up and could not see out his left eye. He was in extreme pain and so sensitive to light that he lay in bed with the curtains drawn and the doors shut tightly. He made an appointment with the specialist and called me to come take him, as he could not see to drive. The opthalmologist diagnosed him with iritis, which is where the body attacks itself (the iris). It's an autoimmune reaction, and in half the cases, there is no cause and it only happens once. This caused inflammation in the eye, which caused an abundance of white blood cells (which is what clouded his vision) and also caused the iris to stick to the lens of the eye. The doctor prescribed Percocet for the pain, and two kinds of eyedrops to treat the inflammation and help stabilize the iris.
There was a long period of several hours as we drove around town looking for a pharmacy that had all of the eyedrops, then waited for them to fill the prescription, etc. Martin was in so much pain he was out of it or crying most of the time. We finally got him the drugs and drops and got him to bed. He still did not sleep, and was up every few hours throughout the night.

4/21/07

Most of the day Martin spent in bed with the lights out. We administered the steroid eyedrops every two hours to fight the inflammation, and Percocet every four hours for the pain. He got up and dressed for church, played drums, and then retreated to the darkness of our car. I was emotionally and physically exhausted. He did not sleep much throughout the night.

4/22/07

Again, most of the day was spent in bed. I ran some errands, cooked lunch, made iced tea. We spent some time with friends for a couple hours (Martin borrowed some sunglasses that made the indoors more bearable) and then went back home to our cave of darkness. Martin felt a little bit better, and slept most of the night. We're not sure if it was the Percocet/Michelob Ultra that finally knocked him out, or my sweet tea, but we were thankful.

4/23/07

Follow up appointment with the opthalmologist went well. He checked the eye out, and said that he can see a reduction in inflammation. Martin's sight has cleared up a little, but he's still very sensitive to light and unable to see well enough to drive or work on the computer. The doctor said we should continue the steroid treatments and he should be doing much better in a week or so. We have another follow-up on Friday morning, and I hope that Martin can see well enough by then to drive himself there.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers! Although Martin's not recovering as quickly as we would like, we are seeing improvement. His spirits were much higher today. To be honest, the constant pain is wearing him down, but his inability to sleep is the toughest for him to deal with. Please pray that he will be able to sleep, and that his eyesight will clear up quickly.

Martin's home, and all is right with the world.
He arrived yesterday morning, after flying all night and switching planes and airlines in LA, but his luggage still hasn't arrived.

Before catching his plane, he spent Sunday afternoon in the sun, without sunblock, and he's quite crispy. Other than that, he's no worse for spending 10 grueling days in Maui.

It is great to have him home. We spent a romantic evening together with my other favorite man, Jack Bauer.

The Blog is Dead. Long Live the Blog!

Check it out: Martin's New Blog