Thank you to all of you for your prayers and support for Marco during this difficult time.

Marco has been doing well.  He is in ICU and has slept most of the day but has been awake at times, and we can see he hasn’t lost any of his vibrant personality.

After two days of debate, the surgical team, together with the radiologists and specialists from another nearby hospital, have decided they cannot be sure that all of the tumor has been removed. The have concluded that it is best to return to the OR for exploratory surgery to confirm that the tumor has been completely removed.

It’s been very difficult to wait on their decision, but we trust the neurosurgery and ENT (ears-nose-throat) team and believe it is worth the risk of another surgery to remove anything that might remain.

Surgery will be mid-morning tomorrow. We will update the blog as we hear news. Tomorrow’s operation will be much less invasive than Friday’s surgery and should be much quicker.

Please be in unceasing prayer for our dear Marco. It is very difficult to see him recovering from Friday’s surgery and have to be operated on once again. We need a true miracle — that every last tumor cell would be removed and that this would be the end of Marco’s hospital visits.

Once again, we spent most of our day waiting for any news about Marco. He spent the day sleeping in recovery, heavily sedated with pain medication, waiting for a bed in ICU to open.  He is now settled in the ICU for the night. He had a few moments of wakefulness, where he was able to recognize the team that is here and communicate with us (including asking if he lost any hair!)

We are still waiting to hear the final results from the CT and MRI, which hopefully will confirm that yesterday’s 12-hour-surgery removed the tumor completely.

Marco spiked a fever today, so please pray against infection as we await culture results.

Please pray for the Mayer family as Sarah remains in California with Marco, and Brendan manages the home and girls in Mexico.

Maria knew there was something wrong with her child. He was having seizures, his head was abnormally large, and he just didn’t seem right.

But the doctors at the hospitals she went to kept telling her there was nothing wrong. Finally, as her son Jose neared his 5th birthday, a doctor at a government-run clinic agreed to do some blood tests. His levels of growth hormone and prolactin were off the charts. The doctor suggested a CT scan of her son’s head.

A few days later Maria and her son Jose showed up at Siloé Clinic asking us to review the CT and give her our opinion. We were shocked at the results. Jose has a large pituitary macroadenoma–a tumor of the pituitary gland that is secreting high levels of growth hormone. This has resulted in gigantism; her son at just five years old weighs almost 75 pounds and is the height of an average eight year old.

Our nurses Becky and Miriam drove Jose and Maria to the General Hospital in Ensenada to find out what they would do for him. Jose has “Seguro Popular,” a basic form of Mexican public insurance. Unfortunately, the care they provide is minimal, and the hospital is ill-equipped to do major surgeries. At first, she was told that her son’s 4 cm brain tumor was not urgent and that he’d have to wait many months for an appointment. When she offered to pay for her consult fee, the neurosurgeon finally agreed to see Jose.

Maria was told that his insurance will not cover the procedure, and that it would cost $30,000 – $40,000 pesos plus the cost of an MRI and additional lab fees (about $4,000 total). Her husband works in construction making roughly $100 a week, so clearly they cannot afford such an expensive surgery.

We had told Maria that Siloé will help cover the costs of Jose’s surgery. Maria recently began attending a local church and accepted Christ as her Savior! We know that this experience, as difficult as it is for her, can draw her closer to God and strengthen her new faith. She is determined to help her son, passing out cans with his picture to local stores and restaurants, hoping that spare change will be donated toward his cause.

Will you help us help Jose? Please consider making a donation to Siloé and designating it towards Jose’s surgery. Please join us in prayer that Jose’s tumor would be successfully removed and his health would be restored!

How can I donate toward Jose’s surgery?

You can designate a gift toward Jose’s surgery costs in two ways:

1) Make a one-time donation online (via Paypal). Before confirming your gift, you will have the opportunity to designate it toward a specific cause. Type “Jose’s surgery” in the designation field.

2) Send a check with “Jose’s surgery” written in the memo field to the address below.

Siloé Ministries
P.O. Box 6362
Chula Vista, CA 91909

As always, your gift is tax deductible and you will receive a receipt. Thank you for joining us in helping Jose and his family!

Back in October we told you about Marco Antonio, a teenage boy at Door of Faith Orphanage who had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. He was miraculously granted a U.S. visa and underwent surgery to remove the tumor in the fall. Sarah and Siloé volunteer Lauren accompanied him to Southern California for the procedure and for follow-up appointments. Though his eyesight has not returned in his left eye, he seemed to have recovered remarkably well. He is back in school and back in his dorm at the orphanage.

Sarah and Lauren took him back across the border last week for a follow-up MRI. They also used the occasion to surprise Marco with a trip to Big Bear, CA, where he sledded in the snow and bowled for the first time!

Unfortunately, the MRI revealed that Marco’s tumor has returned. It is about half the size of the original tumor and will need to be surgically removed again within a month. Sarah, who is spearheading Marco’s care, will take him up for a final appointment this week before surgery is scheduled.

Marco is understandably discouraged–as we all are, frankly. But we believe that God has great plans for Marco, and can use this trial for his Glory. Please join us in praying for Marco’s full recovery; that his tumor would be removed entirely during the next surgery and would not return; and that Marco would be encouraged and would experience the peace that only the Lord can give.

We will keep you posted about Marco during the coming weeks. Thank you for your prayer!

UPDATE – 2/3/12:

Marco underwent significant, invasive surgery today to remove the tumor for a second time. Though it was a trying, emotional and very long day, the surgeons reported that the procedure went better than they had hoped. At the time of this update, Marco is being kept asleep while he recovers in the ICU. They will continue to monitor him and probably allow him to awake sometime tomorrow (Saturday, Feb. 4). Thank you to everyone for your prayer and support! We’ll continue to update you on Marco’s progress here and on the Siloé Facebook page. Resting in God’s capable arms tonight… Blessings.

We held our third annual “Christmas Party at the Greenhouses” on Dec. 20. The community of field workers and their families is suffering even more this year, as their work hours have been drastically reduced and power and water have been cut off to the barracks where some of them live.

Unlike last year’s event, nothing seemed to go well at the outset of this year’s party. But in the end, God used all of the setbacks for His glory, which made the day perfect in every way!

The first hurdle we encountered was a sudden change in venue. The greenhouse boss decided not to allow us to use the packing house facility we’ve used in previous years, blocking the road and even cutting off power to the facility. So we had to quickly decide on another location. We picked a flat field near the entrance to the community, which also happens to be the site of a new church plant! The day was sunny and warm, so the location turned out to be wonderful. A grove of trees provided the perfect spot for piñatas, and we were able to set up tables in a banquet style, which made the party feel more intimate. A gracious neighbor allowed us to run an extension cord to her house so we could plug in our sound system.

The second big challenge was an influx of families we had not expected. Despite our best planning efforts, we ended up with several families that we simply hadn’t accounted for. We decided not to turn any of them away, and ended up admitting about 200 into the party–including 92 children! That was a huge increase over last year’s numbers of about 150 overall and 60 children.

Our biggest concern about the large crowd was that there would not be enough food for everyone. We began praying that God would miraculously multiply the tamales, beans and pasta salad. We assumed there wouldn’t be enough food for the 20+ volunteers helping us with the event. But God came through, of course! Not only was there enough food for EVERYONE–there was more than enough. We served hungry guests thirds and fourths, we ate as much as we wanted and we still ended up with enough leftovers to bless a local Christian rehabilitation home. God was faithful and our faith was built watching the pile of tamales refuse to disappear!

When we admitted so many extra children, we were resigned to the fact that some of them would not receive wrapped gifts. But once again, the Lord had other plans. Thanks to our team’s efforts during the party (particularly Kristin Costello who was managing the gift planning) we were able to come up with gifts for every single child! One late-arriving family got overlooked but we delivered their gifts on Christmas Eve.

These miracles of provision and plenty made for a very special day. We felt that everything was part of God’s plan and under His control. The families enjoyed the activities, including raffles, piñatas and cake. There was much laughter. Our team of volunteers from Shoreline Church in Salinas and Loma Linda University were amazing. Everyone pitched in selflessly to serve these needy families. The local pastor and his wife even drove back to their house 15 minutes away to bring us extra tables.

This Christmas even wouldn’t have been possible without help and support from the following groups and churches. Thank you all so much!

• Mike and Julee Johanson and their group from Shoreline Community Church
• The PA classes at Loma Linda University (who supplied most of the wrapped gifts)
• Morningstar Christian Fellowship in the UK who’s generosity meant we didn’t have to hold anything back in blessing the greenhouse community!

EVENT PHOTOS:

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We were excited to have Dr. Kris Storkersen at the clinic last week helping us see patients. Dr. Storkensen is the Director of Ophthalmology and Assistant Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at Arrowhead Regional Medical center. We connected with  Dr. Storkersen in October this year, when members of Siloé’s team made numerous trips to San Bernardino for Marco’s brain surgery and follow up appointments. (see Marco’s story)  Dr. Storkensen was Marco’s ophthalmologist and generously donated his services so Marco could receive the care he needed.

Dr. Storkersen was gracious in his care for Marco in the United States and he was quick to extend his generosity across the border to Mexico.

His willingness to come to Siloé Clinic was a huge blessing for our patients and staff and we were eager to learn some important clinical pearls from this ophthalmologist with great expertise.

One patient was even driven to the clinic from over an hour away just to be seen by Dr. Storkersen!   It was a great collaboration amongst those who love to serve the people of Baja.

On Saturday, we drove to the greenhouses about 15 minutes north of us to pick up workers and their family members who needed medical care. The workers there are increasingly struggling to keep food on the table, with their hours being cut down to one day per week. Some families in the migrant camp are without power and running water, so their situation is dire.

We ended up with a van load of patients young and old and drove them back to our clinic in La Mision. Sarah and our visiting consulting physician, Dr. Jonathan Lim, saw patients with the help of the entire Siloé support staff. It was fun to play with the children and provide free care, advice and prayer to these needy families. We’ve been serving their community for three years, so we’ve made relationships with many of them. We are getting really excited to see them again in a few weeks when we throw our annual Christmas party at the greenhouses!

A special thanks to Dr. Lim for spending four days seeing patients and consulting with Sarah. He is a blessing to us, and we are so grateful for his involvement and help!

This past Sunday, the Siloé team traveled about three hours to Jacumé to meet volunteers from our partnering organization Prescribing Hope. Together we provided a one-day rural clinic in this small border community. It was a typically hot day and busy day, and we were able to see many patients in the few hours that we were there.

We had not been to Jacume since early summer, so it was wonderful to reconnect with the patients that we have formed relationships with. Both of our new nurses (Becky and Kristin) joined us for the trip, as did Lauren. We returned after dark and exhausted, but blessed to be serving others in the name of Jesus!

We are really excited to officially welcome Becky Wood and Kristin Costello to the Siloé Ministries team! They actually joined us in La Mision about two weeks ago, and are settling into their apartment on the church property (where the clinic is also housed). They have already been a huge help to Sarah, Lauren and Miriam.

Both Becky and Kristin are registered nurses in the United States. Becky is from Seattle, WA, and worked in radiology and cardiology previously. She will be volunteering with us for six months. Kristin is from Orange County, CA, and has experience with health education and pediatrics. She will be with Siloé for eight months. We are excited to see what God has in store for our ministry during their time with us, and grateful that they heeded God’s call to volunteer in Mexico!

Bienvenidas!

Marco Antonio is a 17-year-old boy at Door of Faith Orphanage–our close friends and partners here in La Mision. Marco has lived at Door of Faith since he was four years old, and he was one of the first kids we met when we came to Baja in 2008.

He has recently been diagnosed with a rare brain tumor. He has lost vision in his left eye, as the tumor is intertwined behind his eye and nasal cavity. After exhausting all specialists in Baja, he has been granted an emergency visa to travel to the U.S. for a biopsy. Sarah will be escorting Marco to Arrowhead Medical Center (where she once interned as a PA student) along with DJ and Lynette, the American administrators of the orphanage and Gabe and Lala, the Mexican directors. A neurosurgeon has agreed to do the biopsy, and they will be leaving as soon as tomorrow. Because of the difficult location of the tumor, surgery will be complicated.

Please pray for comfort and peace for Marco, who is a wonderful kid with a great attitude. We are trusting God and believing for a miracle.

If you’d like to follow Marco’s progress, you’ll find frequent updates at this blog: http://prayformarco.tumblr.com. Contact us if you’d like to support his care in any way.