Dairy of The Unfoulding of A Miracle JULY 22-23, 2006
Steve tries to give encouragement to his father, who is suffering the ill effects of esophageal/stomach cancer. The response, "You have no idea of the pain I feel. You couldn't even begin to understand." Steve replies, "I wish that I could take on your pain!" Wed. AUG 9, 2006 @ 3:00 PM
Steve is working and carrying on a conversation with employees.
In mid-sentence Steve's voice instantly gives way, and sounds as though there is a helium balloon in his throat. The employees ask Steve what is wrong, and they tell him that he needs to go to the emergency room. Steve leaves work and comes home. His voice sounds almost comical, yet was a real cause for concern. We made plans to visit the clinic when it opened. We eat dinner. Then Steve jumps in the hot tub, as his back was beginning to bother him. He comes in, showers and sits, waiting for the clinic to open. The pain increases and has radiated into the diaphragm area up into the chest. Steve decides that he is ready just to go to the emergency room. Throughout the 15 minute drive to the ER, the pain came and went. He describes that it feels somewhat like rolling gas pains. APPROX. 5:20 PM In the ER at JTDMH, his vitals are checked. No apparent issues. The pain comes and goes. The wait is beginning to get to us. Finally Dr. Fox appears. Steve fills him in on the symptoms... pain in the mid-back, up into the shoulder, and around up and under his ribs. A helium like sound was very apparent in Steve's voice. We mention a previous surgery Steve had had on his stomach. The doctor leaves after ordering a chest x-ray.
Steve notices a little swelling in his throat. long wait...
X-ray technician comes to x-ray.
another long, long wait... We hear everyone outside of our room, around the desk, just yakking away and having a good ole time. Steve has had enough waiting and is very frustrated. His pain had somewhat subsided, and he's ready to get up and leave. When Steve steps down off of the examining table, the pain hits him. He begins to wail, and I grab ahold of him so he doesn't fall over. He wails for nearly 5 minutes before we finally hear someone say, "I wonder what's going on in there." and the staff begin to enter into the room a few at a time... They lay him down and Doctor Fox stands at the foot of the table with his arms folded across his chest, asking Steve, "What's wrong with you?!" Steve replies, "You are the doctor, you tell me!" I mention that I think it has something to do with his stomach. ...just then Steve's throat and face begin to swell as if being filled with a tank of helium, like that we had been hearing in his throat. Morphine administered... Steve continues to wail in excruciating pain. He begins to yell, "I can't breathe. My whole body is locking up.". We both begin to pray in the Spirit... More morphine administered... no relief ! More praying in the Spirit... Doctor Fox orders more tests, then says he thinks that maybe Steve's aorta is tearing. (First misdiagnosis) Church prayer line is called... By this time, Steve's face is swollen over 3 times it's size, and his right eye is swollen completely shut. Steroids given. Oxygen mask is administered... More praying ! More morphine... the wailing continues... 7:10 pm
We were then informed that he would be life-flighted to a bigger hospital. Life-flight delivers Steve to St. Rita's Hospital in Lima, Ohio. I drive straight over (45 miles) to find him there still wailing in pain. His vitals are good. Morphine administered... no relief ! Brother Ed Ingrahm (elder of church) comes and lays hands on Steve and prays over him ! Dilaudid given... with still no relief ! More praying... Steroids were ordered. I mentioned that he just had steroids in his elbow the day before and an hour prior at JTDMH... but the ER records said nothing about steroids just being administered in the JTDMH E.R.. I overheard the call being made by a nurse to the wrong hospital to try and get information. Thank God she ultimately called the right hospital and word got back and no steroids were given. Toradol administered along with dilaudid... FINALLY... the pain is almost bearable ! 
Cat scan and MRI ... Lung specialist enters the room and tells Steve that he has a small whole that ruptured in his lung and his lower left lung has collapsed causing the air to get trapped in the tissue of his chest, neck and face. Aorta fine ! Lung specialist talks about inserting a chest tube... but then decides against it ! Plans on preforming a esophagogastroduodenoscopy first thing in the morning . He is admitted into the ICU... being treated for a collapsed lung. Pain is somewhat under control... I go home to be with boys. It is now nearly 12 a.m. Thursday Aug. 10th 7:00 a.m. I attempt to leave to head up to Lima, but dense fog postpones my departure. I get there and he is somewhat comfortable and is joking around with his nurse. They inform me that there were to be several doctors in and out throughout the day to see him. First the Infectious Decease doctor comes. After reviewing all of the test... he say he believes Steve may have a leak in his esophagus/stomach. This struck a cord with me... I was convinced of the same thing. Stomach specialist (Gastroenterologist) contacted. Every hour I am asking... when is the stomach specialist coming... we need to get him here.? Lung specialist from the E.R. the night before comes. He tells Steve that he still believes this is just a lung issue. Still no stomach specialist. I am not happy ! Swelling somewhat worsens in his face. I ask if maybe Steve should be taken to another hospital. I was told that they were doing all they could and if they felt Steve needed to go elsewhere... they would send him. 3:00 p.m. Lung specialist orders repeat tests to keep an eye on things. Another lung specialist appears and says he doesn't think Steve needs more tests. (these ppl have no insurance) Test preformed any ways... thank GOD ! 4:30 p.m. Tests show that his lung is continuing to collapse. 7:00 p.m. Insertion of chest tube ordered and preformed. Lung specialist pulls me aside and tells me that he found something he didn't expect to find. Upon entering chest cavity... fluids burst forth. Not measuring what spilled out onto the floor... nearly 2 pints of fluid was drained. Fluids collected for testing. Now they believe Steve's stomach(esophagus) has ruptured and that stomach acids and contents have escaped into his chest cavity causing pressure on his lung resulting in the collapse. 8:34 p.m. I am told that they will care-flight Steve out. Here comes the Gastroenterologist... He runs a scope down Steve's throat. This was the test they sad they were going to preform first thing in the morning.... APPROX. 9:45 p.m. I am informed that tests do show a hole in the stomach and possibly the esophagus in the area of his previous surgery. Steve will once again be care- flighted, this time to OSU Medical Center... where they have lined up as specialist/transplant surgeon who is more experienced with issues with the esophagus. Steve flies... I drive 110 miles Praying and praising God all they way, like I have never prayed before. Upon arrival I am taken to the SICU waiting room as Steve is undergoing further tests. Approx. 1:30 a.m. Aug. 11 th Surgeon comes out. Susan D Moffatt-Bruce, M.D., Ph.D. 
Thoracic Surgery University Hospital
lung transplant; heart transplant; transplant outcomes; thoracic oncology transplant immunology She tells me that my Husband is a very sick man. I tell her I understand... (although I show very little emotion.) She says... "no I don't think you understand, he is very, very sick and it is highly likely that he will not make it !" I tell her... " I understand that it is a fact that he is in bad shape, but the truth is... MY GOD IS A HEALER ! " She explains what they believe is the issue... however, the test are so foggy. They are afraid they will be unable to local the tear and repair it. I told her that I was praying that God use her hands and He leads her right to the problem ! ( There are many people praying and interceding for him at this point ! ) She agrees. She continues... The stomach content has been in the chest cavity for nearly 38 hours maybe more. Even if they are able to locate the hole... he is going to experience terrible infection and damage. She is concerned about cancer. If they are able to get in in time and repair the damage, it would still be a very, very long recovery process. I will probably not hear anything for 4 1/2 -5 hrs. She leaves to prepare for surgery. Throughout the night... her words ring through my mind. I begin to think about life without him. Immediately I would kick those thoughts out of my mind. I would verbally (in the presence of 3-4 ppl who thought I was crazy !) speak out against these reports and force myself to think on those things that are lovely, pure and of good report ! I held a Bible that was on the table across my chest and quoted scripture that I had posted in my previous post ! [Mark 9:23 ] ( God has been preparing me for this... I am glad I didn't ignor Him ! ) (Click here) It was a long night. Approx. 6:00 a.m. Doctor Susan appears with a smile on her face. She says that my prayer was answered and she went right in and found the hole and repaired it. No signs of cancer ! There is no hole in the lung, but he would probably have some very bad lung days, and infection will probably set in. He will be on a ventilator for several days. He was in for a long recovery period... weeks in ICU. She said I could go in and see him an a little bit but he won't know I am there. They will keep him asleep until the next afternoon. I need to go home and rest... he will need me in my best form. I go into see him and as soon as I touch him and say his name... his eyes open and he looks into my eyes. Nurse is amazed at his response because he is loaded down with enough medication to knock out a horse for several days. I return home. A few hours later I call for an update. They say that he has been writing them notes asking where I am... and how he is doing. The guilt for leaving sets in so I rest up, take care of a few things and return early. Sat. 5:30 a.m. He is writing me notes telling me that he feels like he is choking, he itches, etc. We are able to find relief for these things. But I am unable to make out a lot of the things he is writing... he is very frustrated. But everyone is totally amazed that he is even able to write. I am only aloud to visit him for a half hour every 2 1/2 hrs... this is incredibly difficult. Seeing him in so much pain and so frustrated and not being able to do anything but pray is hard. I emotionally fall apart for a few minutes in the waiting room. But it isn't long before I feel comforted by a peace which passes all understanding. I get a room and go to get some rest. (yeah right! LOL) Sunday Aug. 12th 5:50 a.m. They tell me that they are going to remove the ventilator because all the test are showing that he is holding his own. The bad lung days I was warned about did not come to pass. It is a miracle ! Next visitation he is able to talk. He tells me " how ironic it is that this has happened after what he had told his father. Now I know his pain. I feel more alive than I have ever felt and our lives is about to change!!!" 9:00-10:00 a.m. The cleaning lady enters the room and says... "God told me to to come in here... He told me to tell you that you have a calling on your life and this is the last call !" Later that morning he is gotten up out of bed he is praising God (laughing and joking) and witnessing to everyone that comes around. Some aren't so thrilled ! (especially his male nurse Joe...haha) Monday Aug. 14th 2:00 p.m. Steve is moved out of SICU. He is up calling people... some of the tubes (15 tube and drains 2 major incisions) are being removed. No signs of any infection ... absolutely amazing and unheard of ! Tues. Aug. 15th a.m. They are working on checking the stomach repair and jump starting the digestive tract via feeding tubes. Doctor Susan says that he is a MIRACLE ! Today he may just be getting that drink of water or even that pop cycle he has been begging for ! I will update throughout the day... however I am preparing to return to Columbus soon (tonite or tomorrow) Aug.17th I take the boys to see their Daddy. Chase completely falls apart when he sees what Steve has gone through. Cody is not quite as emotional, but the look on his face one of shock. He looks like a human cutting board/ pin cushion. We meet with the cleaning lady, Jerriann (from the 12th) and her family who have come to visit Steve. We all prayed together ... it was great ! Aug. 18th Steve is finally able to have something to drink... it has been nine days. Doctors say he may be able to go home on Monday. Tubes continuing to be removed. 
I return home to find bills ... no insurance... but no worries ! God didn't bring us through this to live a life that is any less abundant ! Monday Aug.20th I arrive every early anticipating my Hubby's release. But... it will not be today. White blood count keeps fluctuating. Steve has lost 29 lbs. He is anxious to have soft foods. 
Wed. Aug. 23rd Steve goes for tests and is told that he will get his soft foods today for dinner. Food tray delivered... it smells and looks wonderful... but he was told he can not have it. In fact... they order him to refrain from all liquids. They believe he has a leak. They tell him that the survival rate of people who have this issue and are diagnosed and treated within 12 hours is far less than 25% ! He was not treated until the stomach acids had been in his chest cavity for OVER 38 hours. Just like Jonah... by all means... Steven should have been eaten alive by stomach acid. Thurs. Aug.17th Tests preformed ... there is no hole ! Unfortunately the order that he could eat and drink did not make it into his chart. He is without food and water... no IV or tube feedings for well over 24 hours. He is suffering from Redman's Syndrome and is quite dehydrated and miserable. AUG. 23rd Hey Baby... You've got the look ! ...you should have been an underwear model... but it's a good thing I am not a photographer ! LOL Fri. Aug.25th Steve is told he may be able to go home on Sat. He is told... No work for 8 weeks, no driving for 30 days... He gets a breakfast tray ! 17 days without eating a bite. 9 days without so much as a drop of water. He has lost a total of 40 lbs. We figure we are looking at over $395,000.00 in medical bills... and are expecting yet another miracle ! Sat. Aug. 26th I arrive at 7:00 a.m. and my Hubby is free to go ! WOOOHOOOO !!! He is home and doing well. We have another appointment on the 6th and the 2 remaining tudes will be removed in a month. Whenever he needs something (or needs to know where something is) I have to remember just how blessed I am to have him and how he is worth all the work it is going to take to get him back on his feet ! *****UPDATED***** Sun. Sept. 3rd Chase hurt his ankle at church this morning. JTDMH says he has strained the ligaments, gives him a special brace and puts him on crutches. Wed. Sept. 6th Went ot Columbus for Steven's appointment. All tests come back great. They ask if we have some extra time ... they want to run an another test and if the results come back just as good... the feeding tubes can come out today ! 3 WEEKS earlier than expected. Results good... tubes come out ! Most generally these types of tubes come out easily like a straw out of a fast food cup, but Steve's tube removal ends up being very painful and traumatic. There is a lot more drainage than expected... Nonetheless he is now tubeless. He has been spending a few hours here and there at the job site, (supervising) as all the work that was done while he was in the hospital was not done properly and has had to be redone... three weeks of employees pay down the drain ! Sept. 8th I had to take Chase back to the emergency room as his ankle has gotten worse. We find that once again... JTDMH has made a misdiagnosis ! There is no ligament damage 
Chase has actually fractured his growth plate. They set it and put on a plaster splint which has caused him so much pain. Now we have to see a Orthopedic Surgeon at the beginning of the week and he will have to have a full cast. In a post back in May ... I made the statement But Doctors only "practice" medicine ! How can doctors charge so much for just practicing ??? Maybe they should start paying us for being their guinea pigs. As we sit now we have accumulated thousands and thousands of dollars in doctor bills for treatment that was given for misdiagnosed ailments ! (do we need legal advice here ???) I think about the woman with and issue of blood... the word says she... had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. Mr 5:26 In the same post I discussed Asa... In 2 Chronicles we can read about how it is more than likely, that what we know as "gout" ended up taking Asa's life ... The story goes ... Asa's heart was fully committed
to the Lord all his life. 2Ch 15:17 1Ki. 15:14 yet... In the thirty-ninth year of his reign
Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet.
Though his disease was severe,
even in his illness he did not
seek help from the Lord,
but only from the physicians... So Asa rested with his fathers;
he died in the forty-first year of his reign. 2 Chronicles 16:12 - 13 I would say that this means that
if Asa would have only sought out
help from the Lord ...
he would not have died
from this disease ! ? ? ? No one should ever step foot in a doctors office or emergency room without seeking the Lord first and all the way through any kind of treatment !!! Fri. Sept. 22 Things have been a little hairy around here lately as there is a lot of stress on everyone.
We got word that there might have to be more surgery before the end of the year to fix the Nissen Fundoplication he had done almost 10 years ago, Even back then the devil wanted to take him out !
(link 2 that story)which came undone a couple years in.. They never told us then but with the technology back then they only expected it to last 10-15 years. Nor did they tell us he needed to be on a maintenance drug (such as Nexium) Had they been up front with us... August 9th might not have happened ! We just got a hold of all of the medical records(and it was like pulling teeth) and are seeing so many things that indicate that the ball was really dropped here.
(and I will be doggone if we will be paying 40k+ for it! )
It makes his recovery even more of
a miracle ...that no one can deny !  Sept. 29th The bills are astonishing ! A few women (from billing department) I have been dealing with have been giving me pointers. It is amazing how much more info and more help you can get if ya dig and beg ! LOL Several thousand dollars of bills left over from my surgery last Dec... are going to be wiped clean ! I am expecting the same thing to happen with these more recent bills. It's ALL GOOD ! 
Happy Thanksgiving !!! We were unable to go make Steve's appointment on the 15th because he had to go back down to be with his Father, so we spent the day in Columbus yesterday getting the results from the biopsy and to discuss any further surgery. During the espohagram (endoscopy or EGD) on the 3rd they found some abnormal tissue that they thought might be cancer or what is known as Barrett's Esophagus< P> ... HOWEVER ... biopsy results have come back normal ! They had also orignally thought that Steve would have to some repair work done to his esophagus, as earlier tests showed some narrowing near the opening of the stomach and he had been having problems with food getting stuck, but ... by the grace of God ... current tests show this is no longer a problem !!! So instead of major surgery with 8-12 weeks down time the only surgery needed is for the hernia repair, which probably occured pulling out the tubes ! (or as he would say... to give birth to the alien baby he is carrying)  We have scheduled this for the 8th of Dec. This will require 2-3 days in the hospital, and very little down time. 4-6 weeks and Steve will be able to go back to a completely normal life. TODAY AND EVERY DAY I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR ALL THAT THE LORD HAS DONE ! I REALIZE THAT THERE COULD HAVE BEEN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT OUTCOME ! BUT HE IS FAITHFUL !!! THANK YOU LORD !!!  Thursday Dec 7th After my Hubby learning that his Mom had a heart attack the other day while his Dad isn't doing well, and learning that the pipes had burst in our abandoned rental property ... someone asked him ... How much more can you take ? The answer to that is ... God knows and He won't let anymore fall upon you than He knows you can bare ! AMEN !!! Okay... so we were packing up to go down to Columbus and we decided to call ahead to see exactly what time we were to be at the hospital for pre-surgery tests (surgery was supposed to be @ 7:30 am) ... and they inform us that they had to postpone the surgery til the 15th. (Steve will go to be with his Mom and Dad) Sure would have been nice to have gotten a phone call ! So in turn I had to postpone my hysterectomy... ... grrrrrrrrr !!! Dec. 19th it's a girl !!! Steve's surgery went well. He did have much more pain than he expected, then he ended up with an infection which kept him in the hospital 2 days longer than planned. Pain Management Specialist claims Steve could experience pain for the rest of his life but we aren't buying it ! We had a little fun with it ... as you can see. I will be going for my surgery on the 5th Lord willing. Hope everyone has an awesomely wonderful Christmas ! DEC. 28th
Steve's Father passed away early this morning .... Please remember the family in your prayers. Jean, Tisha, Jeff and Steven. Especially Jean (his wife) who has recently had a heart attack and is going for more surgery on the 3rd of Jan. Thank you and God bless ! Jan. 13, 2007 Jan. 13, 2007 I came through my surgery pretty well... It was a lot more painful
than I had expected. Before hand I had told my doctor
what I thought my problems was...
he got out picture and explained to me
why I couldn't be right. After surgery he came right out
and very humbly told me that I was right ! Endometriosis
and scar tissue from 2 c-sections
was affecting several other organs
("frozen pelvis")
and was the cause of all of
my nearly constant misery. I ended up having to go back
to the emergency room Wed. night
(was admitted)
where a CT scan showed
a fairly large abscess near my bladder.
At this point they don't know what it is,
fluids or a pocket of blood maybe ....
but blood test show there is no infection.
We are hoping that my body will reabsorb it
so they will not have to go back in after it. Feb. 2, 2007 I want to thank everyone for their concern and prayer for my recovery ! Seems that the abscess has probably been reabsorbed, as I no longer feel the pressure. (I doubt I will be going back for another CT scan to check on it as long as there are no problems.) In fact I am feeling much better than I ever have ! 
Got a letter in the mail yesterday that HCAP and Hospitals charities are going to pick up 17k in bills from my surgery ... Praise God, and we are expecting that He will help us take care of what is left over from Steve's and my medical treatment. I also want to thank those (Dawn and Sharon) who blessed my boys with Christmas gifts ! Despite our situation they made out pretty well and were very moved ! FEB. 24, 07 
FAITH'S HOPE FOUNDATION
http://www.faithshopefoundation.org/
IS DOING A FUNDRAISER
ON OUR BEHALF !
PLEASE HELP OUR FAMILY,
AS WELL AS OTHERS
OVERCOME FINANCAIL BURDENS
DUE TO ILLNESS ! 
The Owens Family 
In August 2006, Steve Owens suffered from a hole in his esophagus, filling his chest cavity full of stomach acids which collapsed his lung and put his heart, as well as all his other organs in great jeopardy. Misdiagnosis at two hospitals held off proper medical treatment for over 38 hours. While his survival can only be contributed to a miracle, two care-flight bills, three major surgeries with ongoing treatment and his inability to return to his previous line of work has left his families financial security at risk. Even before Steve’s illness, bills had begun to pile up in the Owens household. In January 06, Steve’s father was diagnosed with terminal esophageal cancer. Steve had no choice but to leave the family’s construction business in the hands of others and tend to his father. When a series of unfortunate events caused the business to go into the red, many more medical emergencies struck the family. And to top it off, they didn’t, and still don't, have medical insurance coverage. The Owen’s savings have been depleted. They cannot pay their hospital bills, and they do not qualify for governmental benefits. The family has relied on the grace of God and the aid of Faith’s Hope Foundation. | |
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BE SURE TO PUT THE FAMILIES NAME IN THE "DESIGNATE TO" FIELD ! June 9,2007 NOTICE !!!! The fundraiser has been canceled, as we have been unable to find anyone who is willing to commit to volunteering time to get anything organized. At first we were very disheartened that it seemed no one cared enough, but now we are taking it as a sign that God has other plans. Steven has returned to work, although he was told he wouldn't be able to physically do the construction any more. In fact, (while we have done 1700 sq. ft room additions) we are building our first house and may have the opportunity to do a few more. Our business is having it's best year ever, this year being our 10th anniversary. We have managed to get our medical debt down to nearly 15k. With the few that have been turned over, we have gotten a lot of nasty threatening phone calls. I am handling them pretty well, dispite the fact that they pretty much call me a liar and a low life scum of the earth, sorry excuse for not taking care of these bills. I have found very few with an ounce of compassion. Aug 9, 2007 Can you believe it has been a year since Steve's esophagus ruptured ? God is so good !!! And he hasn't dropped dead as we were warned could happen . They said he wouldn't be out of the woods for 8-12 months. There was no telling how much damage was done to his major organs from being exposed to stomach acids for so long. He claims he feels better than ever and has gotten involved in church and persuing his calling. Still being hounded by collection companies... but we are getting there ! Thanx for all the prayers ! Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name ! Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. Psalms 103:1 - 5 
ARE WE BEING PUNISHED BY GOD ??? http://www.MySpace.com/traceoffaith | 
