Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may
be glorified in the Son.
It is with a grateful heart that I address all of you today! I
have come to two very important conclusions, Based on my flurry of Facebook
updates I imagine the I have offended some while strengthening the resolve of
those strong in faith and the only thing that most of you are willing or able
to do is inquire of our situation. Although
we do not mind, we are not entirely sure how to address it. Eric and I are very
private people, so to be honest it is with much prayer and angst that I am
willing to offer you all this update. Some have tried to offer support, but
most do not know the hardships that we have recently faced so that can be
difficult. But through God’s strength and Grace alone have we begun to win this
fight.
I want to first begin by just
saying “Thank You” to all that have respectfully inquired and offered prayer to
us in our time of need. I will not say that we are in despair since anyone who
has been in a similar situation with a similar Christian background knows that
there is simply no room for despair, but only time for Praise and prayer. For
those of you that understand this, I am eternally grateful! Again we are very
private people, so you must know that for us to ask for help takes a great deal
of trust, but we have faith that God has given us the strength to endure and the
faithful to pray!
Eric and I have been married now for a little over 6 years, and in
that time I have grown to love him more than I ever thought possible. To love, honor
and cherish him in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer and till death do us part has taken on a whole new
meaning to me in the last 6 months however. A marriage can suffer and die often
through far less turmoil than we have had to face, but I am confident that this
struggle will only bring us closer and make us stronger. For many years my
husband has been ill, not mildly ill, but by most standards severely. As one of
the strongest men I have ever met when faced with a debilitating illness he has
been able to persevere, but even the strongest man can sometimes fall. In, 1998
he was diagnosed with a common condition known as Ulcerative Colitis, There is
no delicate approach to this disease, to be honest there is nothing delicate
about it, and there is to date, no cure. By all accounts it is one of the most
embarrassing conditions that a person must endure, but for many years my
husband has handled it with a grace and a dignity that can only come from a
true man of God! This condition although not rare entails for him very rare and
uncommon side effects.
Two years ago we were told that one of those rare side effects was
a failing liver. Most healthy people can regenerate the liver but in his case due to the most recent flair
up and the ravage of this condition to his body he has been unable. Through intense
prayer two years ago we were able to avoid placing him on the donor transplant
list and he had for all intent and purpose gone into remission. However due to
this most recent flair up, we are once again faced with a very real and scary
proposition, and far worse than before. We refuse to believe that it
is imminent however. About six month ago, my husband came to me and said very
simply, “I am ill”. Once again in the blink of an eye, our world changed. We
had some tough choices to make very quickly. My children had to leave the only
home that have known for 7 years, and move 1100 miles away so that my husband
could be near his family and get the support that he needed. We made the
decision that I would stay in Denver in order to sell our home and continue
working to provide the much needed health insurance that our family desperately
needs. Our intent was to sell our home quickly so that I could be with my family, but that was not the case. Praise
be to God that although it took several months in this tough economy we finally found a
buyer for our home. This prayer was answered for us, and although not ideal it
will provide much needed fiscal relief.
Just recently Eric was once again admitted into the hospital for
complications related to this condition. At this point his body has begun to
give up the fight, but we have not. Some of the issues that he faces on a
regular basis are extreme fatigue requiring blood transfusion, stomach cramping
so severe that he can not sit up right, severe dehydration, and malnutrition
just to name a few. The complications are so severe that his liver is not
longer capable of regenerating itself. At this point we have exhausted all of
the medically sound options regarding medications available to us except one. Medical
professionals, when faced with no other alternative prefer to cut and remove, but as
believers in Christ we have faith that God gave Eric a liver and a colon and
our goal is that he keep them both. Radical as that sounds, to us the
alternative may be far more debilitating! The complications derived from
replacing his liver and removing his colon can supersede that of healing the
ones that he currently has.
We want to believe that we still have options and that God can
move mountains, we also believe that this terrible disease can once again be
put into remission! So now we are asking the body of Christ and all that
believe to help us, in concentrated prayer!
For two weeks my husband lay in a hospital bed 1100 miles away, and I felt powerless to do anything for him. When I posted a call to action loving Christians, some of which I have never even met, stopped what they were doing and answered the call, and for that I am forever grateful! Praise be to God that He heard and answered our prayers.
For those of you that have asked, Our request is simple, We must pray that God delivers him from this illness once again. We want to prove through the power of prayer that God can guide the hands of the medial professionals to heal him from the inside out! He is home now, but the road ahead is still a very rocky one. So my goal is to focus on the positive and bring light into an otherwise dark place. So if you have a minute take a second to pray this simple prayer with me: “Lord Jesus, we ask you today to be with the family of Eric Voigt, provide them clarity of strength and Peace to move through this trying time. Lord Jesus we ask for healing though Your Grace and Mercy if it be your Will and through your strength in Jesus name we pray -Amen”
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