As medical science caught up with reality, we found doctors with the latest info concerning the spleen. They recommended patients be put on antibiotics for the rest of their lives. Some doctors recommended women to have their tubes tied since their bodies are already facing extra stress with this missing organ.

From the first pregnancy I was extremely tired, and the fight with anemia was ongoing.  Each pregnancy increased our commitment to nutritional pursuits.  At the height of my physical problems we were gardening organically, raising chickens and goats, and daily grinding our flour for fresh homemade bread.  God helped us to give up the nutritionally empty foods we enjoyed, and replace foods that would best help my health and it greatly helped me.  Praise the Lord for a husband willing to sacrifice his desires to care about his wife.  He grew up on junk food and disliked fruits and vegetables so I know it wasn’t always easy for him.

After the first two were born in hospitals, we started having home births. This reduced the risk of outside bacterial infections. 

Babies five, six and seven were the most difficult.  During a miscarriage between babies four and five, my one kidney became painful and seemed to weaken. To compound the situation, I became pregnant with Luke, six weeks after the miscarriage.  I had to rest most of the time to reduce the all too familiar cramping symptom of miscarriage.  Becoming pregnant so soon after a miscarriage with a large blood loss was very difficult and draining.  But the end result was worth it – Luke, baby number five. 

My health declined more.  Babies six and seven were similar to the difficulties of the fifth pregnancy.  I experienced another miscarriage between baby six and seven.  This showed me how susceptible I was to miscarriage even though I had gone to great effort to take care of myself.

One well-meaning relative was very concerned that I would leave my children motherless as she had been left.  My response was simple, “Which is better for my children - to live a shorter life obeying the Lord, or a long life disobeying Him?”  I was confident that God would keep me here as long as my children and others needed me.  On the other hand I was not going to hasten my departure by tempting the Lord unnecessarily.