Tjernagels in Spain

TIME FOR ANOTHER TREATMENT

This week I headed to the clinic to get another treatment for my Rhuematoid Arthritis. The new treatment I am on is something I recieve every six months and it is administered introveniously. It is similar to a chemotherapy drug so I work through an oncologist to recieve the medicine. I recieved the medicine in May and we were happy with how it all went. This time around we were hoping to be able to get my meds through the Spanish medical system but the process was too long so we again used our insurance from the states.

This is no problem BUT we have to pay the bill in full up front. This medicine cost $7,000 which is something we don't have on hand to give out. So we headed to our appointment praying that God would allow the insurance company in the States to be speedy in their processing of the bill so that we would not be overdrawn at the end of the month.

Tim also prayed that God would give me a chance to talk with some of the other patients who are with me recieving their chemotherapy. I kind of giggled at this request as the last time it was DEAD silent in the room the whole time even though there were 6 people receiving medicine. It seemed to be the unspoken rule that no one talks. So I of course did not think I would be talking to ANYONE. Well, guess what. About an hour into the 4 hour treatment in walks a lady who the nurse introduces to me as being a fellow American. WOW...it was a wild thing as we know most of the Americans here in town as there aren't that many...yet she is someone I have never met. So for the next 3 hours we talked about living in Spain, our health, our families, and yes, I was able to share about my life with Jesus. And all in English...WOW...I kept thinking about Tim's prayer and thanking Jesus for answering that prayer. God is AMAZING and can/does do incredible things ALL THE TIME.

Now I know this is getting long and I don't have any more pictures to keep you entertained but I have to tell you what else GOd did for us!!! Tim went to talk to my oncologist to settle things with the bill. The oncologist told Tim that when he went to talk to the nurse and order the medicine I needed, they discovered that they had that same kind of medicine on hand that had not been used by a patient. They talked together and decided that they would just GIVE me this medicine for FREE. OH MY WORD. Being that the doctor and nurse work in a socialized medicine world and have never had to pay a medical bill, they have hated to see us pay for this bill...I think that made them look for a way to help us out. But mostly I know that God was at work and made this all come together. We will just have to pay the doctor and nurse bill which is significantly less than the amount we thought we would have to pay.

SO we are sooo jumping up and down praising God for blessing us more than we could ever imagine.

I will receive the last part of the treatment on December 9th. We thank you for your prayers for my health. In the midst of the yuck, God lets us know that He is walking with us through it all.