He was There.

"No weapon formed against you shall prosper..." (Isaiah 54:17)

Melissa had a pretty good day yesterday. She was laughing and talking a little and even ate a little lunch. We had a pretty peaceful and uneventful day.

Around 5 PM she received her 4th and final dose of Artesunate. They brought it early so they could give her the first round of Malarone 4 hours from that point. Thus began the downhill slide. Nausea, vomiting, fever, chills and pain.

By 8PM she was hurting in her upper stomach feeling a lot more pressure than she had been. The liver and spleen are pushing against the ribcage and causing discomfort and she was afraid it was worse. She got really scared thinking something was wrong.

The nurse sumoned the on-call doctor and he came down in about 10 minutes. Not impressed with him. Not even mildly. He was rude, uninformed, and immediately said the wrong thing to this mother and her 23 year old daughter.

"A famous cardiologist went on a hunting trip to Cameroon and got malaria and died" is what he said. I looked at him and said, "Well, thanks for that..."

The nurse look horrified that he would even say that. Then he wanted to know all about who diagnosed her and all and didn't really get to the point of the problem. The nurse helped explain things better when he left. Apparently since the hemoglobin was down, it can cause the cells in the liver and spleen to swell a little more. But she assured us that she was OK. It is a vicious cycle right now. But she did help us feel better.

At 9PM they gave her the starter dose of Malarone which consisted of 4 pills. She will take 1 pill tonight and 1 more pill Wednesday night and hopefully go home Thursday or Friday. If her numbers keep going in the right direction.

Almost immediately after the dose of Malarone, she began vomiting and Melissa's spirits plummetted quickly. For the next 3 hours I had to pray, quote scripture, sing, rub her back and rub her arm.

I had her close her eyes and told her to picture Jesus at the head of her bed reaching down and touching her.

Reaching down and breathing healing into her body.

Reaching down and breathing new life into her spirit.

I could feel Him. He was there.

I began singing softly. "He is here, hallelujah. He is here, Amen. He is here holy, holy. I will bless His name again. He is here, listen closely. Hear Him calling out your name. He is here. You can touch Him. You will never be the same."

I text my friend and had her sing with me. Melissa fell into a peaceful sleep for awhile. I was afraid to stop or even move. So I sat and sang and sang and sang..... And the tears flowed.

I felt Him. I welcomed Him. I leaned back against Him and I melted in His embrace.

When Melissa woke this morning, she thanked me for stroking her head. I told her it wasn't me, but her Savior.....

Once again, He covered us. Once again, He tucked us safely in the cleft of the rock.

Praise you sweet Jesus. I love you ever so much.

+++++++++++++++++++
Update for this morning -

**Liver counts a little higher (but not to worry says Dr. P)
**Platelets ??? 51,000!!! Yes - they are steady coming up and that is a good thing! Dr. P teased her and told her she was getting way too many... ha! only 74,000 to go!
**Potassium low - so she got a wonderful and tasty potassium cocktail which promptly made her sick....
** We are out of ICU! Yes! She is in her own room! Thank you Jesus!

She is resting well this morning. A little nausea and very weak, but in good spirits. Nothing like a touch from Jesus to perk you up!

Thank you so much for the prayers!