Talker!

Hello All--

It was definitely a great feeling to hear Kari speak for about an hour Saturday.  Other than a few previous times that she did cuff deflation, (it has to do with the tracheotomy tube) this was the first time I've heard her speak since the accident.  The other times were also only 2-3 minutes long and her voice didn't really sound normal.  This time, they installed a "Talker," which is what the respiratory people call the valve that they put on the end of Kari's trachea tube.  During the time that she was weaning from the ventilator, they put the one-way valve on which only lets air in, so when she exhales, her breath passes over her vocal chords, allowing her to speak.  (Normally, the air would escape through the trachea before it reached her vocal chords.)  Anyways, it wasn't exactly like her real voice--a little higher pitched and not quite as full--but none of us there were complaining.

Brett Noble and his wife Shary had also driven out for the afternoon from California to pray with Kari.  If you remember, Brett had been given an impartation from an Ethiopian man for Kari's healing.  I think the best way to describe what happened is that we don't know what happened.  There were no outward signs from Kari that a physical healing had taken place, so we are all still waiting in anticipation of what God will do--or the realization of what he did do.  After it was over, Kari said that she "had a lot more faith" and had been reminded of many of God's promises.  Later on in the evening, Brett and Shary gave us gifts that the team had brought back from Ethiopia--a drum, a malachite turtle, pictures, coffee, chocolate (from Germany), Ethiopian money, and some great stories.  A short summary of the trip will be on the Blog shortly.

As far as Kari's health goes, she still has ups and downs with her shoulder and stomach pain, and didn't get out of bed the last few days because of feeling dizzy and nauseous.  She is still very frustrated about not really moving forward for almost the past two weeks.  Reading your emails and letters has helped a great deal though, and some good friends of hers are here now, which is a great encouragement.  Thank you for all that you have done to support us.

P.S.  All the computer problems that I've had the last few weeks-(plus getting an iPod from my friends--you guys are the bestestest homeys ever) has almost turned me in to an Apple convert!