Dear CCAM Partners and Friends,

The first couple of days transitioning from the hospital to the Ronald McDonald House were a little difficult, due to Buntheep's persistent nausea and overall weakness. However, yesterday afternoon there was a marked improvement. The nausea began to dissipate and Buntheep felt like walking around the house instead of riding in the wheelchair all the time. Also, our Cambodian friends brought some yummy food that finally enticed her to eat. Thank you all for praying about these problems. Praise the Lord for His speedy solutions! Please keep praying that there will be a steady recovery in the days to come.

Buntheep seems to have captured the hearts of just about everyone here who knows her. Many of the hospital staff brought her Christmas gifts, and today, Dr. Roy (who had teamed up with Dr. Aldana to perform Buntheep's surgeries) invited Buntheep and me to a Vietnamese Restaurant to eat lunch. Delicious! It was great to be out in the open air too.

We also enjoyed chatting with one of our favorite doctors! Before bringing us back to RMH, Dr. Roy loaded us up with extra Asian food for future meals! One of his associates will be bringing Buntheep some clothes tomorrow. And Dr. Roy is trying to work out a special trip for Buntheep to visit Magic Kingdom in Orlando, possibly around the time of her March appointment just before she returns to Cambodia.

Tomorrow we have a follow-up appointment with Dr. Aldana. Wednesday we will meet with the infectious disease doctors. And Friday, Buntheep will have her eyes tested again (please keep praying for vision in the right eye to return). Probably by the end of the week, we should have a better idea about how to arrange our future plans.

Please keep praying for Annette's health. Ever since she returned from her Christmas trip, she has been ill most of the time. Today she has come to see us after a long absence. However, she is still not back to her full strength.

During the time Annette was unable to come to relieve me, God provided several very attentive nurses at the hospital who watched over Buntheep while I sometimes left to do email or wash clothes or get a bite to eat. Also, Dale and Julie (a husband and wife team who are volunteers at RMH) began to come to the hospital to sit with Buntheep, as well as to help us move from the hospital to RMH.

We are continuing to do recovery exercises to strengthen Buntheep's legs, feet, arms and hands. The two little fingers on her left hand are beginning to respond slowly to the exercises (and our prayers!). Although they are still numb and partially paralyzed, Buntheep is now able to use them to press the keys (compensating in various ways by the position of her arm). She can also play almost all of her repertoire of musical pieces on the keyboard.

Buntheep can now walk without shuffling and without a limp! However, the right leg is still weaker and sometimes painful after too much exercise. She cannot walk up and down stairs yet. However, in the next few days, we plan to practice that too. Praise God that He continues to reveal each new step one at a time.

In His Hands,
Gioia and Buntheep

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