The Adventures of the Reese's Pieces Gang

We've been blessed by friends who have given us apples this month. First our land lord came over with a bushel of apples that made 6 quarts of sauce. Yesterday we received a bunch more from another friend. Today we made 25 quarts of apple sauce from those. Sam and Elizabeth were big helpers today. It took us most of the day to make the sauce and they did most of the quartering of the apples while I was making bread, having Thomas's weekly team meeting, and cooking the apples. It was definitely a team effort!

Caleb had a check up today with his doctor at Children's hospital. The doctor said his eye looks great. He will see Dr. Connor again in a year.

Thank you to the many friends and family who have been praying for Caleb over these past weeks since his eye injury. His surgery has been scheduled for September 11th at 7:30 at the Children's Hospital in Milwaukee WI. The doctors will be removing his lens because the damage and cataract are too severe to be corrected. They will be putting a contact lens in that will allow him to see until he is old enough to get a lens transplant. They will also be correcting the problem with his eye pressure. The eye is still too soft which indicates that he eye is not pressurizing properly.

Please pray for Caleb and the doctors on the 11th and for us as we are with Caleb. I say "we" in a very prayerful tone. As of yet we have NOT been able to find anyone to stay with our children so that I can go down to the surgery with Phil & Caleb. Please pray with us that we will be able to find someone to be here so that I can be there with Caleb. My mama's heart is struggling with having to be hours away while my baby is having a major surgery.

Thank you for praying!

Yesterday Caleb had another appointment at the Eye Institute at Children's Hospital of Milwaukee.

For those of you who are not aware of all that has happened with Caleb I will give a quick re-cap.

Mon July 23 Elizabeth, Samuel, & Caleb left the Reese Family Reunion in Michigan with their dad, grand parents & brother Steven. The kids were scheduled for a one month visit with Grandma & Grandpa. Phil was going to see about any possible job opportunities in Kitchener where his folks live.

Tues July 24, the kids were playing with neighborhood kids running through the woods. Caleb jumped over a pile of sticks, landing on a stick that flew into his left eye. They ran back to the house, he had blood on his face, coming from his eye. Phil called an ambulance and off to the hospital they went.

The Canadian Doctor they saw said he needed surgery right away however, we are not insured in Canada. So the Dr. called ahead to Children's Hospital in Milwaukee to let them know Caleb was coming. Phil's Dad, Phil & Caleb drove 9 hours through the night to get him to the hospital.

Wed. July 25, Caleb was seen by a Pediatric Ophthalmologist and had surgery around 7 that morning. They spent the night with friends from Brookside Baptist.

Thurs. July 26, Caleb saw his doctor again before coming home.

Since then we have been making trips to Milwaukee 1-3 times a week for Doctor appointments. Caleb wears a "pirate" patch on his eye 24 hours a day. He is very sensitive to light and has occasional very bad headaches.


Last week Doctor Ruttum expressed concern about the retina so he wanted us to see another doctor at the Eye institute which is who Caleb saw yesterday.

Yesterday at the appointment they saw one doctor first who ran Caleb through some tests in the office then sent him to get another Ultra Sound (he has had several Ultra Sounds of his eye). Finally at about 6:30 they were able to see the doctor they were scheduled to see. Doctor Connor let Phil look into Caleb's eye. Phil said his pupil is white. The doctor has decided that Caleb's lens is too severely damaged so they will be doing surgery to remove the stitches and his lens and place a special type of contact lens in place of his real lens. He is too young for a lens transplant. The contact lens will help with the astigmatism that he now has as a result of the injury. This lens will be doing the job that his real lens should be doing.

We will be scheduling his surgery tomorrow hopefully and will let you know when it is so you can pray.