Letter from Bro. Kitson Reid
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We have all been looking forward to our visit to the Brisbane Conference in a few weeks time God willing. However it is with great disappointment that I have to write and inform you of the events that have unfolded in our family this week and their likely consequences. On Tuesday evening this week Keziah my daughter, the youngest of our four children, had an illness that began to deteriorate to the point where she has been in intensive care ever since. The first 24 hours were very difficult and we are very grateful to God that she is still with us and seems to be slowly stabilising.
The doctors have been concerned that the cause has been difficult to determine but her kidneys failed and this resulted in some considerable strain on her heart. She has been given blood transfusions, dialysis and, subject to her health, the children's hospital in Birmingham hope to biopsy her kidneys today in an attempt to further determine the cause and future treatment of her condition.
The realisation of the fact that this could be a long road to recovery for us has left me facing the sad prospect that in all likelihood we will not be in a position to travel to Australia in only a few weeks time. I suspect Keziah will remain in hospital for some time and it is doubtful that we will be ready to make such a long journey.
I write this with a heavy heart, not least because we have a long standing commitment and I am extremely saddened to be putting you in the difficult position of having to make a decision on how to deal with this problem at such short notice. I would be very willing to approach any brethren in the UK who I think may be in a position to consider coming in my place and the nursing staff have assured me that any required documentation that may satisfy insurance claims against the cost of our flights can be supplied.
I have written this as soon as I felt able to do so and I hope and pray you will understand our situation. Alison and I are currently taking it in turns to be in the hospital with Keziah round the clock while she is sedated and breathing on a ventilator. We are still very much in God's hands and are praying for a healthy conclusion. I will keep you updated over the next few days but please do whatever you think is right and I will do whatever I can to support you from this end.
With love in our Lord Jesus,
Kitson Reid