Ray's big owie! (You may not want to look at this if you have a squeamish stomach!) NOT KIDDING!

About three months ago, Ray woke up with numb fingers and difficulty using his left hand. We thought maybe he had slept on it wrong and hoped it would work itself out, but it didn't. A few days later, we went to have it checked out at a local hospital. They performed an MRI to verify Ray hadn't had a stroke, then a few weeks later they did a nerve function test on his arm. (Ray said it was incredibly painful, and it wasn't much fun to watch either.) The diagnosis was an impinged nerve below his elbow which prevented normal function of his hand. The doctors recommended that he not wait until returning home to the United States to have it treated because it could cause more damage to the nerve and chance of recovery would be decreased.

A very good doctor at an exclusive hospital in Bangkok was recommended. Ray contacted him and asked if he determined that surgery was necessary, would it be possible to perform it in just a day or day after our initial appointment so we didn't have to make another trip. (Udon is about 350 mile from Bangkok.) He said that could be arranged. We saw him on Saturday, July 5th, Ray had an MRI (showed that the muscle was already beginning to atrophy), saw two other doctors and had other tests on Monday the 7th, and had surgery on Tuesday the 8th. Pretty quick service.

Ray with Dr. Suriya--an excellent doctor with a great reputation.

NOW here comes the close-your-eyes-if-you-have-a-squeamish-stomach part! We've never seen an arm in quite this way before, have you?

 And here's his arm all stitched neatly closed. MUCH better!

 He spent until the morning of the 10th in the hospital, and we flew back to Udon in the early afternoon. We were so happy to get back to our comfortable home and start working again!

That night we enjoyed going to the Book of Mormon study class with about 15 in attendance (not counting the missionaries). It was great!

Ray is using a sling to help support his arm and to keep the fingers from swelling, and he props his arm up on a pillow at night when he sleeps. He says it doesn't hurt, and he hasn't needed any pain medication. It really seems miraculous. The stitches are scheduled to be removed on Thursday the 17th. It could take months for the nerve to regenerate, but at least the process has begun. It has been frustrating to him not to be able to use his left hand/arm but we are hoping that will be temporary.

We feel very blessed that he has had such good care and so many people praying for him.