July 31, 2009 - What an amazing week!

Hello. What a week! You know . . . when God takes the reins . . . you better hold on tight! This week has been a total roller coaster of emotions and blessings. Some of the highlights are: - A family in Charlotte offered to let us stay in their beautiful home at no cost through the 21st of August. WOW! - We spoke with several people from the Charlotte area who are now praying for us. - We have seen an outpouring of love and support from people we know, people we do not know, and people we will be meeting in Charlotte. It is so good to see that there are still so many wonderful and loving people around! - The doctor's office indicated that they will only charge $100 per treatment opposed to $125 which saves us $1,000! - We also have had many people offer to bring meals to the family or who are sponsoring fundraisers to help cover medical expenses. - Many people have shared stories with us about how they or someone they know has had success with HBOT. Each reason for treatment was different (wound care, diabetes, etc.) but it was good to hear no harm was done and that they experienced success. - We also had a family offer their rental home less than 10 minutes from the center to us at no cost! We can stay there the entire time of our visit and there is plenty of room for the family when they come to visit. This will save us $2,000! You can see that this has been a week like no other! We have had family and friends step up to help take care of the children while Erik and nurse head to Charlotte Thursday - August 6th to get things settled. Erik's consultation is on Friday - August 7th and his first treatment will be Monday August 10th. We are so excited about the trip and feel we can't get there fast enough! Please continue to lift us in prayer through our return from Charlotte. Love in Christ, Erik's Family We were recently informed that Northwest Community Church has agreed to collect donations to help cover medical expenses for this trip. Please use the mailing address below: NWCC Benevolence Fund For: Erik Medlin 7712 Carpenter Fire Station Road Cary, North Carolina 27519

July 26, 2009 - Same plan to pursue HBOT . . . different location!

Hello. We have had an interesting weekend including an exciting change in plans for Erik’s HBOT treatments! One of our biggest concerns was that Louisiana is so far away. Making it through this separation would be hard but we have been praying about it and as God often does . . . he had a different plan for us! We had lengthy discussions this weekend with a physician from a center in Charlotte (Charlotte Metro Hyperbarics: http://www.hboinfo.com/ncarolina.htm) who can offer HBOT for Erik in Charlotte, NC. YAY! They seem to have a great program set up and solid medical supervision. We like that they are closer to home and are located directly in front of the local hospital. Also, if others in the Triangle area choose this option for their children, it is close. Another answered prayer is that since we will be in NC, we should be able to take a nurse with us or get one there for the work days. This will be a big help! Please continue to pray for us as we can see that it is working! Thanks, Erik's Family

July 22, 2009 - Louisiana Bound!

Hello All. Well . . . all is set. We will be traveling to Louisiana for HBOT for Erik the first week of August, 2009. We are so excited! We plan to leave for our trip on Wednesday - August 5th. This has happened really quick for us and we strongly feel God's hand pushing us in this direction. WE NEED YOUR PRAYERS! This is happening so quickly for us and seems like an impossible or at minimum very challenging journey. Those of you who know us, know that we faced a similar trial in 2005 when we traveled to CA for surgery and through this challenge we were given the opportunity to witness and participate in God's miracle for Erik. We have found ourselves facing many of the same challenges as we move towards HBOT for Erik in LA: - Our family will be under different roofs for ~8 weeks. - Family and friends will be at home to maintain the household and keep the family in tact. - Erik and Mom will be staying in the Ronald McDonald House in New Orleans during treatment. - Insurance has indicated that they will not cover the treatment. Erik will need 40 treatments costing $200 per session. - Mom will have to care for Erik without nursing help while in LA. Erik currently receives 12 plus hours per day skilled nursing care. - We are also faced once again with totally trusting God - (challenging yet rewarding!). All that stated, we have prayed about this and continue to believe this is the direction we need to go. We ask first and foremost that you lift Erik and our family in prayer. God has extended grace to Erik many times before and we look forward to witnessing even more miracles as we proceed with HBOT. After the email was sent yesterday, we have received so much support and encouragement! Some of the needs we will have are listed on the website. It has been amazing! We are going to do as we have in the past and let God work to take care of all of this particularly because we do not have the luxury of time! We would like to ask for your prayers and for you to forward this email to your friends, family, co-workers, small groups, neighbors, and anyone else who can lift us in prayer or who you believe will benefit from participating in what we believe will be miraculous. Love in Christ, Erik's Family If you are interested in sending notes of encouragement to ERik's family or if you are able to help us cover medical expenses for this trip, please use the mailing address below: 1413 Celandine Drive Apex, NC 27502 Wendy and Erik's mailing address as of August 7th will be: Ronald McDonald House 4403 Canal Street New Orleans, LA 70119 Information regarding HBOT: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00290186?cond=%22Cerebral+Palsy%22&rank=1 http://www.hyperbaricmedicalassociation.org/390/text/591/files/8_Stoller_May6_2004_Written_Testimony.pdf

July 20, 2009 - Doing well and our current exploration . . .

Hello all. Hope this email finds you all well. Erik is doing really well this Summer. We have set goals for him which he appears to be steadily working towards. He has a speech/feeding therapist who has been coming to the house to work with him on a weekly basis. This has been great and he just loves it! On the "news" front . . . recently, we have had several people ask us if we have considered Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) for Erik. We have read some available information, communicated with physicians, and are actively exploring this treatment option for Erik. As you may know, we have also explored stem cell infusion. Stem Cell Infusion appears to have risks that could possibly be significant for Erik causing us to have many questions about this treatment option. We are now wondering if Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) may be what Erik needs to boost his improvement? Here is a link to a website that has information and even videos that may be of interest: http://www.hbot.com/. Here is a summary of what we understand as of now: • Treatment is safe and the risk is pressure similar to what you would experience when flying. • Erik appears to be a good candidate because he is responsive, shows emotions, and is progressing to name a few reasons. • Patients in much worse condition have seen fantastic results from HBOT. • There are indications that stem cells are generated/released during therapy from bone marrow during treatment. • Treatments are administered in “blocks” usually comprised of 30 to 40 1-1 ½ hour sessions. We would like to ask for your prayers as we continue to research this treatment option for Erik. We welcome any and all feedback from you. Although HBOT is not yet being used on a large scale for improving neurological conditions, we believe with the progress Erik is making that this could give him a needed boost allowing him to progress more rapidly. Thanks in advance for lifting Erik and us in prayer. Love in Christ, Erik's Family