Coming home

We are in the airport in Taiwan waiting for our next flight just 2hrs away. We've been traveling 16hrs and we have about another 18+hrs to go. Yippie :) anyway we are doing fine but are a little tired, the flight leaves here around 11pm this time so hopefully we'll get some sleep on the next flight which is the long one about 12+hrs.

Thanks for your prayers and see you in the good ol USA soon. "Lord willing"

Richard & Robyn

Meeting with Doc before heading home

Hi everyone,

I just got back from the meeting with my doc and everything is A.O.K, so we are still headed out tomorrow morning and heading for home. I have to wear my collar for at least 6 weeks and behave myself :( during that time. He said that at the end of 3month from the date of my surgery I should be able to do anything that I want :) "God is good.....All the time"
He gave me a card to get through airport security if needed and a copy of my x-rays etc... we had such a good experience with the hospital here, everyone was really nice so today we took cookies to the staff and nurses. Robyn is getting a perm right now and then we're going to say our goodbyes to some of the friends that we've made while here. We leave the Hotel at 4:45am which I'm not looking forward to but we are both anxious to get home.

Thank you all for your prayers they mean so much and I know that they have helped my surgery to be a success.

Richard

Good Tuesday Afternoon: This is the 2nd day of Chinese New Years here. I guess they celebrate for 15 days, but these 1st 2 days are important because most of the stores are closed. Families come from wherever they currently live to their hometowns to celebrate with the rest of their families. They've been shooting some fireworks off at night. It's been quite busy here at the hotel and shops.

Richard is doing good. He had a rough couple of days, but he's feeling better. He is learning to pace himself. He is having some tightening in his neck so even when he has the neck brace off he still feels like he's wearing a tie. Hopefully that won't continue. We see the doctor in 2 days and leave here in 3. We can't wait to come home.

Thank you for all your prayers and emails. Please keep us and our family at home in your prayers. Pray we get home safely.

Love,
Robyn & Richard

Good Sunday Morning, or Saturday evening for you all back at home. Well, all is o.k. here. Richard has had a few bad days. He's been really tired and wore out. He slept an entire day. He felt a little better yesterday, but last night he got an upset stomach, so we aren't sure if he ate something bad or not. He's also feeling like he has a neck tie on even when he doesn't have the neck brace on. Hopefully, he hasn't pulled a tendon or muscle or maybe it's just the healing that's going on in there. We are supposed to head home Friday am here, but Thursday there. Please pray he will be well enough to go home as scheduled and that we'll have a safe trip home. I am getting homesick. He is such a good husband. I am so blessed to have hime. Here he is sick and recovering and he's always worried about me. The Lord has blessed him with a great heart of love and selflessness. Thank you all for your prayers and emails. We look forward to receiving them. Have a great day!
Love,
Robyn

Friday evening for you.

Hey everyone,

It's Friday evening for you but it's noon here on Saturday. I had a slow day yesterday cause I over did it a little. We went out with some people that we've met here, we wanted to take them out to dinner sometime before we left and they have been letting another lady that is here stay with them at their home and so she was wanting to take them out as well. She is leaving before us and wanted to go out Thursday evening. So we did, but I should have stayed at the hotel and rested. We went to a Chinese place that had dinner and a show, the food was good I ordered a whole peking duck with plum sauce and we ordered some other fixins like rice and stuff. The show was a little cheezy but we still had a nice time. But I was really tired on Friday and spent the whole day in the room. I'm back on my feet again today but I'm going to take it a little slower and we are not going to make plans anymore and take it a little slower.

You all be good, and we are praying for each of you too!
Richard

Good Friday Morning! We slept in today. We overdid it yesterday. Richard is a little sore today so we will just rest today.

He is still doing pretty good and we thank each of you for your prayers, blogs, and emails.

I hope all of you are being blessed and doing great! We miss you all and can't wait to get home!

I know that he'll rest even better when he's at home in his recliner with his puppy cuddled up next to him. He bought her for me 2 years ago, but she's been such medicine to him during his bad days.

Hope you all have a great Thursday evening.

Love,
Robyn

Good Thursday afternoon: It's Wednesday night at home and you all have got to enjoy Wed. services. We are really missing church. Richard had a great night. I fell asleep last night and he decided to take his bandage off which he wasn't supposed to but it was irritating his skin. So we had already bought some bandages to change it in case it got messed up and so he was trying to talk me into letting him put a sock in his brace and go to bed like that without the bandaid but I said no. So he's such a good patient. He put the bandaid back on and went to bed. :) He wanted a new cervical collar so we could wash the one he's been wearing since the surgery and we couldn't find any at the pharmacies close to the hotel so we went back to the hospital and the doctor ended up seeing him and saying he could go ahead and leave the bandage off. He's very excited, plus they gave him a new clean cervical soft collar. YIPPY! He said it feels clean! So I washed his other one and now he can switch them out. We are getting restless and ready to come home but we still have a week to go. We are getting ready to go see Beverly Hills Chiuahua at the movie theatre next to the hotel with some of the other people that we met here. We looked for a recliner and never found anything we could afford. He found this really nice chair but it would of been 5K american so yeah, not an option. Anyways, we are making do with pillows and drugs. No fever last night so that's a blessing too. Thank you all so much for your prayers and love and emails. If you want us to write you back please email us at chapbuilder@comcast.net. We would like to respond to some of your posts on the blog but we don't have your email address and cant figure out how to reply to posts to the blog. Anyways, hope you have a great nights sleep.

Love and Blessings,
Robyn

Hi Everyone: It's Wed AM here. and Tuesday afternoon at home. Richard is having a hard time getting comfortable. He's still running a fever on and off. He'll be on antibiotics for a few more days. Please keep praying for him. Pray that he has no infection, that the new discs adhere, and that he gets stronger everyday. Pray that we can find some way to get him comfortable here in the hotel. He's sleeping right now and slept most of the night. Sleep is good for healing so I am glad that he's sleeping. I just will feel better when he's feeling better and stronger. Thank you for all your prayers. We miss everyone at home.

Love,
Robyn

Praise the Lord, Richard is out of the Hospital!

Hi Everyone:

Richard is out of the hospital and is doing pretty good. He is glad to be out of the hospital and is getting ready to order room service and enjoy some better food. The hospital food wasn't that good.

Thank you for the prayers, please continue to pray for his recovery and that he'll do what he's supposed to do. He goes back to the doctor the day before we leave for home.

I'll have him text you all later so you can hear from him. Thanks for all your prayers.

Love,
Robyn

Thank you for all of your prayers

It's 10:25 am Monday morning and I'm sitting in a chair and writing this note to you. I know that you have been praying for me and it means more to me than I can express in words. Saturday was obviously my hardest day although it started out just fine. I had no anxiety because I knew that the Lord had sent us here and that nothing would go wrong. I had a hard time coming out of the surgery meds and had allot of pain but the pain felt like it was mostly from the surgery and not the usual pain that I've been having. I was in the ICU until 5pm yesterday Sunday for us, the Doctor came and saw me about noon and He let me get up and walk cause I was already tired of the bed. I'm having to wear a soft collar and I think that with that and the pillow I wasn't able to find a comfortable place in bed although I did rest very well while in ICU. Last night they moved me back to a regular private room and I was very sore probably until about 1am. I put in my ipod and started listening to some of me favorite songs that tell of how wonderful our God is. I got a little sleep last night probably only about 3 hrs. but since breakfast I've been feeling really good. My throat is feeling some better and I can swallow easier. They are letting me get up whenever I want to but they want someone with me in case I get quizy, but so far I haven't had a problem with that. I had been difficult to sit up or stay up for very long because I felt like I couldn't hold up my neck but I've been up for about 45min. now and am doing pretty good. The Doctor hasn't been here yet today so I'm not sure how long I'll be in the hospital, I figure at least one more day maybe two depending on what he thinks. The last think I'll mention is the pain meds. I've been slowing decreasing the amount of morphine and today I've only had to use it after I ate and once earlier cause I was having hot flashes (withdrawal systems I'm sure) anyway pray that I can come off the meds but in a wise fashion. I know this has been quite long but some of you wanted to know what I've been doing.



Love ya all,

Richard

Good Monday morning Here, but Good Afternoon Sunday there!

Hi:

I hope you all had a great Sunday! I am sitting here with Richard in his room. He is watching an old movie on TV. He is feeling good. His pain is less today. He's been running a fever on and off but that is normal they said. We are waiting for the doctor to come see him. He still has a drain tube in his neck and we aren't sure when that will come out. His throat is still sore and he has junk in throat that he's trying to get out. He has a hard time getting comfortable. We may look for a recliner we can put in the hotel room because he thinks that will be more comfortable. The nurses gave him a bath today and powdered him up. He said it felt good to be clean. The people here are very nice. He has to wear a soft neck collar for at least 4-6 weeks to give the new discs time to adhere to the other bones so they stay securely in place. Richard said it's uncomfortable but something he's just going to have to get use to. He has to make sure he uses words "yes" & "no" instead of moving his head. Well, I need to help Richard get up....he's wanting to stretch. It's hard staying in bed. Pray for grace for him to do what he needs to do to heal. Thanks for all your love and prayers. I'll post again after the doctor comes in today.

Love,
Robyn

Hi Again:

I just got home from the hospital and they got Richard back in the regular hospital room. He's doing good but is having a hard time getting comfortable, plus he has to learn to say yes or no without moving his head, just answering. We don't realize how often when we say yes or no that we actually move our heads. Just pray that he continues to heal well and that he can get a good nights sleep. His throat is very sore from the procedure and the air tube they ran down it. The hospital food isn't really good either so I took him a chocolate milkshake from McDonalds. It said that made it feel good. Thank you all for your prayers. Please remember us when you are in church tomorrow. That's the worst part about being away. You don't know how much you miss church and your brothers and sisters in Christ until you are away. The Lord has blessed us with a Christian couple that has been helping us out. There are no MBC here. You all will be getting up pretty soon as it's 5:16 AM there but it's 9:16 pm Sunday night here. Have a blessed day in the Lord. I'll have Richard blog tomorrow.

Love,
Robyn

Hi Everyone:
I just got back from seeing Richard. He is doing good. They are getting ready to move him back to a regular room so I came back to the room to get some things for him. He's not in too much pain, he's just tired of being in a bed and is looking forward to sitting in a chair and walking around a bit, so that's good. His throat is swollen so pray that goes down. He looks good and the doctor felt he was doing well enough to move back to the regular rooms. I'll have him post his own blog tomorrow so that you can hear from him and not just me. Thank you all for your prayers. Please continue to pray for us. I miss being home. Will post another update tomorrow.

Robyn

Hi Again:

Well, I got to see Richard and he is looking really good. He is in a unit called High Dependency which is kind of like an ICU and they keep a close watch on them overnight. He's only supposed to be there for 1 day and then he'll go back to a regular room. He was sleeping when I left. I can't stay with him there so I am back at the hotel. Please continue to pray that he heals great and has no complications from surgery. Thank you so much for all the prayers you have already lifted up to the Lord on his and my behalf. I will bless the Lord at all times...His praise shall continually be in my mouth!!!!!!

Love,
Robyn

Hi Everyone:

Richard is out of surgery. They started later and it took longer but Richard is doing good and the surgery went well. They will keep him in a monitored room overnight and then he'll be back in a regular room tomorrow. Thank you so much for your prayers. Thank you Lord God for answering them. We appreciate you all so much!

Love,
Robyn

Hi Everyone:
Just so you know. Richard is still in surgery. They took him in at 8:15 am and it's 2:15. I don't really know what's going on they haven't told me. Please pray that all is going good. As soon as I know I will let you know. Thanks.

Robyn

One more night of waiting

I'm now sitting in my Hospital room waiting, We've had a busy day, but a good one, we had a few things that didn't go as planned and that took some working through but in the end they worked out fine. I'm not sure if we were being tested or just a fact of life. We are so fortunate to have our Lord to lean on in times of trouble, there are so many that don't. Please pray that we can be a witness to everyone we meet here. I'm planning to get a good nights sleep and then having a great surgery in the morning. Please pray for Robyn cuase while i'm sleeping through the surgery she'll be waiting. But she is a great wife and she puts her trust in the Lord and I know that she will be doing that tommorrow but just in case the flesh sneaks in and trys to discourage her I pray that all or your prayers will lift her up.

See ya on the other side of surgery,
Lord willing

Richard

Good Friday Morning!

Good Friday Morning everyone! Well it's almost afternoon here now, but it's Thursday evening at home. Richard is getting everything ready to head over to the hospital. They have their patients come the night before surgery and finish up any testing that they need to do so the patient is all ready to go. We had a good visit with one of the surgeons yesterday. He said they have really good results with the neck artificial disc surgeries. The hospital is really clean and nice. He will have a private room. The people are really friendly. There is an American couple here that works with Med Retreat the place Richard went through for the surgery, and they got us a cell phone that we can use to call home cheap. We have to change rooms I guess. Richard just came back. I was going to stay in the hospital with him the whole time but he doesn't think I'll be comfortable and so he wanted me to stay at the hotel, but I guess we need to change rooms. Anyways, everything is going really good so far. The place is nice, almost like home except all of you aren't right here with us except in prayers. We will post more later. God Bless each of you for your love and prayers. We are so thankful and blessed. I praise God for answering them. I praise him for loving us so much. The surgery is tomorrow / Friday for you all at 4:30 pm. It will last 3 hours. Pray that God almighty guide the surgeons hands as he works on Richard and that he recovers so well we can use that to glorify God and be a witness here. This is a Muslim country and handing out tracks is not a good idea. You could get talked to by the police if you hand a track to a Muslim person, if they accept they could go to jail. Pray for the people witnessing here it's tough.

Commenting on the Blog

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Thursday Morning

We just had breakfast at the Hotel, we have complimentary breakfast in a very nice room overlooking the city and the ocean. Breakfast was good but can't say much for the coffee. We're hoping to find a Starbucks :). We slept well and are getting ready to go for a walk. We are going to meet Becky, she's our contact person here and she's already been great. This morning she's going to bring us a cell phone so we can call home or around town as needed.



Love you all,

Richard & Robyn

Hey everybody,

We made it "Yeah" :)
It's now 6:30pm and so its 2:30 am at home, I'm not thinking that anyone is awake. We had good flights and are both doing fine other than being very tired. We'll get some rest, hopefully a good night sleep and we have until 3pm before our day needs to start. Thank you so much for your prayers I know that they are helping.

Love you all,
Richard

Well it's Monday morning, really it's almost noon and Robyn and I are scrambling trying to get the little things done that you want done before going on a long trip. You'd thing that we would have this down to a science but we still struggle a bit. We will head out soon to meet stevie at work and say our good bye's to her. She's doing great with school and we're really proud of her.

The Church had covenant prayer for us last night and with all of the prayers that have gone up for us I can't help but be possitive about the outcome of the surgery but we still covet your prayers not only for us but for our family while we are gone. We will have about 30hrs of travel once we start this evening at 8pm. so it will be a long day for us. Once there we will have a day of rest and then my first appt. with the doctor on Thursday, Friday i'll check in and Saturday morning I'll go in for surgery. That will be Friday about 4:30pm P.S.T. when I go in. If you add 4 hrs to what ever time it is here in calif and then change your am/pm to the opposite of what you have and then add a day that is what time it is over there? :)

that's it for now.
Richard

It's Sunday evening the 4th Robyn and I will be busy this week getting ready to leave next week for the surgery. We will try to keep you posted about the surgery and my recovery. I'll be sending out thankyou letters this week. We have been blessed in that all of the funds needed for the surgery has been provided through the request for help from my sposoring Church and all of our freinds and family that have given so that I could have this surgery. I'll be having two artificial disc placed in my neck at levels C5,6 and 6,7. I'll be using an artificial disc called the Discover disc. If you go to my web page I have a broshure about the Discover disc there. www.chapelbuilders.com there is a page about my neck injury.