Joe Marks

As written by Cory Wenrick, Josh's cousin.

My Dad has something called prostadynia, or another name for it is chronic pelvic pain. It is linked to his prostate, but it is not cancer. It is something that medication can not get rid of, but it is something that will always have to be managed. He has been battling this for about a year now, just right after Kristin's wedding. At first he was being treated for a UTI and then another kind of bacterial infection. It was only until this last spring that we were put on the right track, by a friend of mine who has vulvadynia, the female version of prostadynia. She told me that she goes to a physiotherapist to control the pain. So my friend's doctor referred my parents to a doctor in Evansville. My Dad went to see her for the first time in June and left not feeling any pain for about 1/2 hour. This gave my Mom and Dad some hope that they were on the right track. But the down side to it was the 1:15 minute drive to Evansville. Sitting for long periods of time makes the pain worse. So by the time my Dad would make it to Evansville, his pelvic floor muscles were so tight that the physcial therapy wasn't working. Just recently, he has been seeing a physiotherapist in Jasper that works on female patients with vulvadynia and has agreed to try the same techniques on my Dad. I believe his good days are getting better, but the bad days are still pretty bad. He did go to a chiropractor a couple of times, but no relief. He also has been to an accupuncturist, but no help there eithe. Sandra has been dealing with chronic pain too, I believe she thinks it is Fibroid myalga (sp?). Anyway Sandra suggested to my Dad to see this chiropractor. Apparently he works with people with chronic pelvic pain and something about pelvic floor nerves...which is the problem. So we are hoping that he will continue to get some relief. I believe we are heading out to California on Oct. 17th. The doctor who runs the clinic suffered from prostadynia for 22 years. He is a psychatrist that understands the mental side of this issue. Meaning you can't relax when you are in pain, and relaxing is the way for physcial therapy to work. So, prayer requests...the clinic is expensive and I know my parents worry about if it is the right thing to do. The clinic doesn't guarantee relief, but does state that 70% of the patients do experience some level of relief. Of course, no amount of money can be placed on good health, but I know they feel like if this doesn't work than they wasted a lot of money. It looks like the insurance company is battling with my parents paying for the physical therapy done in Jasper, so they most likely won't be paying for any medical treatment done in California. Pray that if we do make the trip out to California, my Dad has comfort traveling up to Indy to catch the flight, that he can endure the long flight and then the 2 hour drive to the clinic...remember the pain worsens the longer he sits. David and I will be going out with them, pray that my Dad feels well enough to want to see some of California. This is the first time my parents will be in California, and David and I would like to do some sightseeing with them. David and I have been there before, but I would like for my parents to see some things they have always wanted to see.

Amanda Vollmer - 6 weeks old

Peggy, I asked Susan Vollmer if it was okay to send this to you. Amanda is only six weeks old. Can you please add this to the prayer blog? We have all seen with Gabe what the power of pray can do! Thanks. Michelle Drury (Rachel's mom from Justin's Pre-K class)

Amanda has been making funny "squeaking" noises since birth. She started having a few other symptoms, so we took her to the doctor this afternoon. The doctor was very concerned about what he heard. He believed that it was either a lung problem or an upper airway problem. He sent us directly to have chest x-rays, which ruled out a lung problem. He set us up for Amanda to have a Barium test first thing tomorrow morning. After they get the results from that we will either see a specialist tomorrow afternoon or first thing next week, or we will be referred to Rileys Children's Hospital in Indianapolis. There are basically 4 things it may be. The best case scenario is soft cartilage that will correct itself in time. With that she will eventually outgrow the problem. The other three will require surgery and a stay at Rileys Hospital. Keep us in your prayers and I will keep you posted.Susan

Maureen

Dave and Maria Schoeppner said...
The prayer blog is a great idea. Thank you for organizing it. I work with a teacher whose husband is out of work and they are struggling to make ends meet as she is a Catholic school teacher, so if anyone could send some prayers her way it would be greatly appreciated. Her name is Maureen.

Grandma

I'll start this new blog of prayers with a request to pray for my grandmother, Evelyn Dougherty Peek. While my Mom was here, helping us care for Gabriel and the rest of the family, my grandmother fell and broke her arm. It was set surgically and things seemed ok at first, but her condition began going down hill rapidly. My flew out to Denver the next week to help my Aunt care for her. To make a long story short, she wound up in the emergency room after several days of severe nausea and not eating. She was diagnosed with pancreatitis and admitted for a week. She was released from the hospital yesterday, but to a rehab hospital to help her hopefully go home soon. She is doing better, but because she has been in so much pain and unable to care for herself, it had been understandably difficult for her and she has not quite been herself. Please pray for her and for her daughters (my mom and her two sisters) as they cope with this stage of life where the caretaker roles are reversed. It isn't easy for any of them and it is hard to be so far away and helpless to do anything but pray, and listen. You should know my grandmother is a proud and stubborn woman (hmmm...sounds a little bit familiar, but I'm not sure why...) who has helped so many in her 86 years. We love her very much. Thanks.