The Full Story of Greg Helms | Interview with Kilby Helms

In this bonus episode, Brody sits down with Kilby for a full update on Greg’s health scare. She recounts the sudden collapse, the battle in the ICU, and the emotional rollercoaster of not knowing what was going to happen. After returning to the U.S., a fast-track visit to Duke brought clearer answers and a new path forward. Kilby shares how their community stepped in, in powerful ways, how Greg is doing now, and how this experience is shaping their plans to head back to Uganda better prepared for what’s ahead.

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Transcript

Context For Kilby’s Story

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hey, in this episode of No Sanity Required, I want to uh bring y'all into a conversation I had with Kilby, my daughter. And this conversation has to do with everything that happened this past December. November, the end of November and into December with her husband Greg and his health issues and the the huge scare that they had on the mission field. And just kind of let you hear from her perspective how that all went down. Our folks were really tuned in and following along. And I was the other day I was just at a local business here in Andrews. I was at a mechanic shop and dropped in. Just a lot of times I'll swing by and see who's in there and just small town, you know, small town sit around, shoot the bull. And there was a couple guys in there asking about my son-in-law, and I thought, man, a lot of people followed along, and we haven't really updated anything. And so Kilby and Greg, you'll hear her reference this in the video, but or in the interview rather, but she they've gone back. By the time this drops, they are uh en route to back to East Africa. And so it was a crazy story, and um, and so I I just wanted to give you a little bit of context for our conversation. Uh Kilby's pregnant, they have a one and a half year old daughter, um, and they were in the Capitol City preparing to come home for a surprise Thanksgiving visit. Nobody knew they were coming uh except for me on this side, and then I had told Tucker, our son, because I I wanted him to make sure he was able to be here to see them, and he needed to be able to plan for that. Uh it was a surprise to everybody else. So they were coming home. They were they were gonna be flying home on the Monday before Thanksgiving and then spending Thanksgiving with us, and uh on that Saturday prior to that Monday, they were gonna be putting four interns on a plane who had been with them for three months. So four snowbird ladies had been there for three months on a 90-day visa. Their time had come to an end. Those four ladies and Katie cousins were all leaving Uganda after having visited. Katie had visited the four ladies who had been there for uh for 90 days. So Kilby and Greg had driven them to the Capitol. They were gonna put them on a plane that weekend, take them to the airport, and then Kilby and Greg were gonna follow on Monday. They were gonna fly. They were gonna fly on Sunday and arrive on Monday, so 24 hours after they the the next day after the girls flew home. And uh they were they were in the city for that when Greg had this episode of convulsions, and it was it was crazy. Kilby gets into it in this in in her explanation, but basically they had sort of split up in the Capitol City because there's a shopping mall, it's very western uh feel to this shopping mall, and they don't have anything like that where they live. They live, for context, 10 hours out of the city. You got to drive down through the whole country, cross the Nile River a couple times, and and you get down to the Capitol. And then so when they come to the Capitol, they try to, you know, get things they need. Um they had they had taken the girls to buy some souvenirs and they they were kind of split up. Greg had gone to one store, and um while he was in that store, apparently he collapsed and went into a convulsion. And Kilby had no idea. And then when she started trying to touch base with Greg by phone, she couldn't get up with him. And eventually a medical staff member answered his phone and explained to her, hey, we've taken him into medical care. There was a clinic literally attached to this mall. They had taken him into this clinic, but it was not suited for for this kind of a medical um situation. And so they ended up moving him to one of the better hospitals. Didn't know what was going on, and still to this day don't totally know what's going on. Um you'll hear Kilby in the interview say that uh the neurologist that that met with Greg, met with them, said he thinks he was probably poisoned. It's the only thing that makes sense, and that's what Greg and Kilby had been feeling was probably likely. But we went, man, it's so cool how the Lord orchestrated everything. They, when we were going to pick them up from the airport on the Monday, they ended up coming home um about a week after when they thought they were gonna get to come. And uh and probably shouldn't have traveled then, but Greg was like, I gotta get out of here once he was stable, and you'll hear he'll be walk through the timeline. Once he was stable enough to travel, they flew home and um we picked them up from the airport the Monday after Thanksgiving. And in that ride home, I got a call from a friend of a friend, a board member at Snowbird who had a connection at Duke, Duke Medical saw Greg two days later. So he'd been in country two days and he saw the best infectious disease doctors in the world. And uh they ruled out everything. Uh no, they said there's no cerebral malaria, there's no malaria, there's no uh they went through all these different, you know, Zika, uh West Nile, all these other um, what's the one thing? Uh Ebola, like like they they they checked everything off and they're like, doesn't make sense. And that infectious disease doctor, Greg was pretty loopy at that point. He was still a little bit out of his mind. It was just he and I there. And that infectious disease doctor said, I think you probably did get some sort of a toxin, which would be a poison. It's the only thing that makes sense. From there, um the medical treatment continued. Greg had some infection and and uh had a UTI and was just kind of septic. It was crazy, it was a crazy couple weeks. Started to really get stable, stabilized, started to to mend. Um some friends at South River Baptist Church in Statesville, North Carolina connected us to a neurology group, um, Lake Norman Neurology, which operates in Charlotte, Hickory, Statesville, they're kind of all over that Piedmont part of the state. Um and uh one of those doctors was super gracious to see Greg, and Kilby saw him at the saw Greg at the end of a day, and he said the same thing, said your you know, your brain scans all look good. Um my guess is it was some sort of a toxin. So it looks like he got poisoned. Um, but sat down and walked through the whole story with Kilby, and it'd be good for you to hear it from her perspective. But the update is Greg's doing well, they're headed back to Africa. Thank you all for your prayers. Um so many people gave financially. I'm blown away. Um, you know, the the what it takes financially to pull something like this off to get him the medical treatment he needed to fly him home. Man, I had people, uh, family members really on on little side of the family, my wife's extended family, a group of folks in Middle Georgia that gave these are working-class blue-collar people that just love the Lord and love this ministry and love my family. They gave sacrificially to cover medical bills. Our church, Red Oak Church, gave uh people that that I am friends with uh in ministry circles, like a family that we're close have become close friends with over the last couple of years in southern Ohio, a pastor friend in eastern North Carolina, just given not from their church, from their own pocketbook, their own checking account, given it took thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars to treat Greg there, get him home, treat him here. And it's shocking. You know, you you think uh, and this is not shade on anybody, but you think, oh yeah, these friends or this family or whoever will will really get around us and help us navigate this. But the the support came from places I wouldn't have expected. It didn't a lot of situations, it didn't come from where maybe you would think, oh yeah, these these folks will get behind us and help us. And just the Lord impressed on people to give and support this. We didn't even ask. People called and said, How can we support what's going on? And uh$10,000 of medical bills in Uganda and then the travel, you know, thousands of dollars to travel home and then seeing doctors and specialists here. And you anybody knows how quick those bills rack up. And and uh Greg has Greg and Kilby have insurance, but this this kind of went outside of the parameters of some of that, what some of that is there for. But anyway, um, just a crazy story, and they're headed back. This is a bonus episode. Wanted to just give you guys an update, let you hear from Kilby. She's just gonna tell the story, walk you through the story. Um, we ask for prayers now as they settle. They're not going back to their hometown, which is in northern Uganda. Uh, they're gonna spend the spring near the Capitol where Greg is finishing up his master's degree at a seminary there. That'll keep them close to medical facilities in the event that there was a need. But then also Kilby will have the baby there close to the Capitol. Um, that baby's due in May. So Little will be going over to spend a few weeks with them uh around the due date. And um, it's been a sweet time, hard time, but once things sort of stabilized, it's been a sweet time having them at home and they've been able to be a part of weekly worship at Red Oak, and then our families had a lot of meals together, and it was awesome because all of our kids were home for a little window there at Christmas, and it was just wonderful. So I'm thankful that the Lord took something really scary and turned it into a blessing, and and um and I appreciate everybody that's followed along and kept up with what was going on. It means a lot. Um, our faith family, our church family, our ministry family, the folks that tune in and listen to this, so many have have expressed prayer and have given sacrificially, and we're grateful. So because of that, they're headed back. The Lord will continue to do the work that he's doing through them there to disciple, raise up young men and women, to particularly young men to to pastor and lead churches among their people group. A couple different people groups they work with, and I'm thankful for that. So um, yeah, with that, I'll welcome you now, I guess, to No Sanity Required and and uh bring you into my conversation with Kilby.

SPEAKER_00 10:26

Welcome to No Sanity Required from the Ministry of Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters, a podcast about the Bible, culture, and stories from around the globe.

ICU Fears And Cultural Hurdles

SPEAKER_01 10:37

Okay, so let's get into what happened to Greg because I know people really want to an update and kind of hear, because when this drops, y'all are basically in route headed back to East Africa after being home for a couple of months. But at the end of those four girls being with y'all, you took them, you had taken them down to the Capitol a few days early. They were gonna fly out on Saturday. Y'all had driven down midweek or something, and you were gonna spend a little time in the city, they were gonna fly out, and then that was it for them. Um, and then while y'all were in the city, the day or two before they were leaving is when things happened. So what happened with kind of walk me through that day, the day that you called me. You and I had talked that morning. Which you probably you don't, you're that's all a blur to you, I'm sure. We had talked that morning because you were planning to surprise everyone here. Y'all were gonna fly home on that next week. I was gonna pick you up, your mom didn't know. And um, so we had talked that morning, and then you called me sometime later because things had started to happen. So kind of walk through what happened. People, there's a lot of questions, people, a lot of speculation. There was a post you remember that was misinformation, and it's like, what happened? What and then where are y'all at now? And how's Greg and what's going on? Let's just kind of give an overview. So, what happened? What was it like? What was your experience?

SPEAKER_02 12:00

Um, yeah, again, I think about like the providence of the Lord, which I probably will sound very repetitive in saying that throughout explaining this, but it's just so it's so intricate and clear and beautiful to me to see like how specifically he was working in ways that like honestly, if things hadn't happened to Greg, I would have just passed by and not even thought about. So yeah, we we um while we had those four interns staying with us, another friend um had come just for like three or four weeks. So she was flying out on Monday, and then they were going to those intern girls were gonna fly out that next Saturday. So we all Katie Cousins?

SPEAKER_01 12:42

Yeah, she was just on here.

Sedation Struggles And Long Night

Alone With Alma And Hard Choices

Greg Wakes And Moves Rooms

Discharge, Travel Home, And Relief

Duke Doors Open And Answers

Community Gifts And Medical Bills

Poisoning Likely And Next Steps

Providence Threads And Final Reflections

SPEAKER_02 12:44

So we all drove together on Monday um from Arua where we live, and it's like an 11-hour drive from Arua to the capital. Um, so we drove there, and then it was gonna be really sweet because it was just like, okay, from Monday, once we dropped Katie off until they left, we could just kind of like debrief, talk, you know, and just kind of still in Uganda about out outside of the context of where we live. Um and so Greg also um he's in the middle of some studies at a seminary in in the Capitol. And so he was gonna try to catch up on studies for that week. We're just gonna kind of have a restful, you know, respite. Um and again, providentially, as I had mentioned, me and Greg were feeling pretty worn down. And so our sending church Red Oak had said it wasn't time for us to come visit the States, but they had said if you want to come just for like a week or two over Thanksgiving, just for some rest, like quietly come, I'll help you to do that. And so we had planned that. I think you're literally the only person who knew. Nobody else knew. Um, and so even the fact that like we had all of our suitcases packed for coming to America, it was just for a week. It wasn't, you know, as long as we've been here. But even, you know, having all of those things ready um was just a gift from the Lord. But we so we came down, um, had a few days just resting. We went to see some cool where we live is a bit more remote. And so in Kampala and in Tebi, the two the two cities near the airport, there's more like touristic things. So we took the girls to see some cool things, um, eat good food. There's like malls and the best Lebanese food I've ever had in my life there, you know, just like fun things like that. Um, so then on that Friday, um, Greg went to school, was doing his schoolwork. We were hanging out at the house, and then we had a ironically, the best chiropractor I've ever known in the history of chiropractor work lives in Uganda. Um, she's a Swiss woman. Um, shout out to Prisca, who has literally saved my life so many times. But um, so we anytime we're in Camp Alo, we go to see her. So we had an appointment um in the city. When we stay in Camp Alo, we stay a bit outside of the city. So me, Greg, and two of the intern girls were gonna go uh have that chiropractor appointment and then go pick some last minute things up before the girls flew the next day. So uh two of the girls stayed at the compound at the guest house with Alma. Two went with us. We drove, it's like 30, 40 minutes. We drove to the chiropractor. And this is what's so strange to me, like looking back, there that day feels like so eerie. Um for two, I think like two things that stand out. One, I literally have these texts. So um we were trying to apply for Alma's um visa. Me and Greg have three-year visas, but Alma has a dependent visa. Um, so it just looks different. So we were trying to apply for her visa for the few days that we were gonna be coming over Thanksgiving to the states. And so that morning while Greg was at school, I was applying for her visa and I was like, I don't have any of this information. Like I was having to text him every five minutes when I was filling it out, hey, what's her passport number? Hey, can you write a letter of recommendation? All these things. And I literally have on a text, I was like, I am so grateful that you're in good health because if you, if the Lord took you for some reason right now, like I do not know what I would do. Like, because I would miss you and I love you, but like practically also just being me and Alma in Uganda, I don't, I don't even know how to access our like bank account stuff to get tickets to get back to America. And it's just crazy that I have like these texts of me and him on the day going back and forth. And he was like, it's just so when I look back and read those once I realized I'd sent those the day everything happened, I was like a little bit sick in my stomach. But um, another thing that was just like a little bit uh eerie, I guess, was um he Greg had had malaria like three weeks before, and it was, I think, probably the worst malaria he had had. And me and Gabby and Hannah, the two intern girls who were with us, had said like that day when we were with him in the city when we were going to the chiropractor and going to the mall, he was like the in the best health we had seen him in since he had malaria. That malaria the month before, like totally racked his body with like exhaustion and he was super, yeah, he was just very down, looked weak, felt weak, didn't was not very energetic. And we were like on that day, we literally were saying, like, Craig is himself again, like he's so energetic and he's in such good health. And like, I don't know if it's from being in Kampala and having cooler weather and having nice food or what, but like he's just himself, and it's so you know, he's he's healed, he's better. So um, we went to the chiropractor, then we went to this mall, and he went to the supermarket, the two girls went to a souvenir shop. I went my own way, we all were kind of separated, and um I went to try to find him and I couldn't find him anywhere. And Greg is like very serious about answering his phone. So I called him he didn't answer two or three times, and I thought maybe just I don't know, didn't think anything about it. So I went and found the two girls who were at the shop, and we sat down and I tried to call again, try to call again. And the second or third time I called, a woman picked up his phone and she was like, Hello, who who is and it was a Uganda woman, and she was like, Yeah, whoever this is, um, the owner of this phone has had an accident. And I thought my first thought was like the accident was he lost his phone, or the accident was, I don't know why I thought this, but like the main mode of transportation in Uganda is these motorcycle taxis. And I was like, he got hit by a motorcycle taxi and hurt his leg or something, like which still would have been unfortunate. But I was just like, okay, where you know, can you tell me where he is? And she was like, Yeah, he's he's been unconscious for an hour and he's he's in this hospital at the top of the mall. And I didn't even know there was this hospital, it was not really a hospital at the top of the mall. So um we went. I had no idea where it was. So we were just like finding random workers and being like, is there a hospital here? Do you know where it is? And we finally got to this, it was just a clinic. And um I was really shocked because we walked in there and I could like hear someone that I was like, not this is not Greg, someone just like I can't even explain. It was like just not necessarily like sounds of pain, but someone who is very much not aware of what was going on and not conscious. So um they had a little room, they had this tiny, Greg is is pretty tall and they had this tiny, tiny bed, and they didn't even have nurses working there. So, like three of the supermarket attendants had just like followed the stretcher when he had passed out, when he had collapsed in the supermarket, and they were just like holding him on the bed because he was he was not um having a seizure, but he was like convulsing, and so the and the bed was so tiny, he kept trying to like fall off. So the three attendants, the whole time I thought they were nurses, and then when we were leaving, they were like, Okay, we're going back to our jobs, and I was like, Where do you work? And they had just been these three helpful, really helpful people. Um, and even that, like, how many people who it was not their job to care for Greg who cared for Greg over the course of everything that happened was like just so shocking. Um and one of those supermarket attendants, she got my number, and she still, like, probably once a week since everything has happened, has messaged me and be like, How's Mr. Gregory? We're praying for him. Um so he was there and they didn't really have anything um to do for him. So they they had put an IV in, and you could just like even the IV was you could tell like they didn't know if they were doing it, was not in well. It was there's a good bit of blood on his arm where it was just like not, it was it was just not done well. And um the doctor was like, Yeah, we we have given him some medication to to sedate him, but it's not working, and it was clearly not working. Um and they were just he I I love um living in Uganda. I love Ugandan people, but the one time that the the only instance I really struggle with living there is any sort of medical emergency. So, like even this past year in April, Alma our daughter got really, really sick. And the whole situation, I was like, just I don't anymore ever ache to be in America, except in medical emergencies. So like I was there and I was starting to get pretty worried, and I was getting emotional, and the people were like, Oh my darling, you just smile, you just smile, everything will be fine. You smile, you laugh. And I was like, What? Um so it was just like everything felt very surreal, and poor Gabby and Hannah were just sitting on these stools right outside the room, hearing everything and not sure what to do. Um So very kindly, after after a few hours, very kindly, the Lord had some of our closest friends from Arua, eight, ten, ten hours north of where we live. They um they were staying not just in Campala, but at the same guest house that we were staying. Um, and so I called them, and they're some of our dearest closest friends, genuinely. And so I called and I was like, I don't know. Greg is convulsing. And at that point, he had been convulsing for like three hours without waking up, without stopping. And I was like, I don't, these people aren't doing anything. I don't know what to do. And so they they drove uh to the clinic and we got an ambulance um and went to a hospital that was much much more put together. It's called Nakasera Hospital, and um it was like such a crazy difference. We got there and they were like very orderly and they knew exactly what to do. So they took him into the triage, and even that was really crazy because he was in the triage for again like probably four or five hours, and they weren't really like taking him anywhere, they weren't really doing anything. They had they had to like bind him because he was so he was so convulsive and and he was totally unaware, like he didn't know what was going on, his eyes were closed and he was not conscious, but he was moving around and kind of like shaking and um aggressive in a lot of ways. And it was just it was really crazy because I was trying to, they were asking me questions, I was trying to figure out what was happening, and at the same time, they were like, maybe you should be calling your family to come to be with you so that when he dies, you have somebody to help with your daughter because we shouldn't be alone for this. And um even the fact that Carl and Rachel are friends were there with me, like again, the providence of the Lord that they were there because they not only were friends, but they've lived there for many, many years and they've worked in the medical field, and they Carl knows Greg, and so he knew, okay, like Greg being violent like this, you know, is not Greg. Greg acting like this is not Greg. And like they kept asking me, the doctors kept asking me, what what drugs does he take? What is he is he an alcoholic? Because they're like, this is just what happens when you overdose. And so to have not just me, because I am a woman in a culture where a woman's word is not super revered, so to have Carl there to also be saying, no, he we know that he he is not on drugs. He is not an alcoholic. This is not from an overdose, you know. Um, even that was such a gift. Um, and so that was the first night, and then it was so hard because I remember they were letting me sit with him, and then they said, Okay, we have to take him to ICU and we have to sedate him. Um, and you can't stay here. Like you have to, you can't, there's not, you can't be here. And so I had just planned, okay, I'm just gonna stay, you know, as long as it takes. And then they were like, You can't, there's no place for you to be, you have to go. So they took him to ICU, they finally got him sedated after like six hours of trying. They were, I mean, they were putting sedation medication all in him, and nothing, nothing was working. And so by the end of it, once they finally had sedated, sedated him, he had been convulsing for like nine hours straight. It was crazy. Um, and so I went back with Carl and Rachel and even Gabby and Hannah, those two interns were amazing. When I thought I was gonna have to stay there the whole night, they were like, We're not leaving, we're gonna stay here with you. And um, the two other interns who are with Alma, they like the fact that Alma wasn't with me when that happened, you know, they could just she had no idea what was going on. They were at this really peaceful, beautiful compound. They got her to sleep. Um, so I went home that night, just waited. And um, so it was then the next day, same thing. He was just sedated, and I could only go for like 30 minutes a day and go and see him, 30 minutes at lunchtime, 30 minutes in the evening. And it was, it's like an hour from where we were staying to the hospital. So it was like kind of an all-day ordeal. Um, and so again, even the fact that those girls were there to keep Almore, and then Carl and Rachel would drive me back and forth. So that was Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Um, Saturday, the girls had to leave. Monday, Carl and Rachel had to leave. And I remember when Carl and Rachel left just sitting and just weeping and being like, I've now I am alone. You know, like I've been alone, but not really, but now I'm alone and I don't know what I'm supposed to do. And like I, those doctors have been saying, you need to call, you need to tell family to come and like in to be with you for when he for when he dies. And I remember just feeling I don't need to do that right now because I have these girls, because I have Carl and Rachel here. And then it was like Monday they left, and I was like, I should have listened, you know, I should have done that because now they're gone and it's it's just me and Alma. I literally the hardest thing for me um was like Alma was asking for her papa every day, and I just had to say he's not here, you know, he's not here, and I don't know if he's ever gonna be here again. Um and she didn't she didn't know what that meant, you know, like she wasn't sad, but she was definitely she knew that something was not as it should be. And then once the girls left, she was asking for papa and she was asking for Hannah and Sophie and Gabby, and then once Carl and Rachel left, she, you know, so it was like it was hard because there's no way for me to explain to her as a one-year-old what was going on. Um so it was so wild. Oh, thank you. It was so wild because um on Monday, Carl and Rachel left like six in the morning to go back to Arua, and they would have stayed, they had something they could not miss, and they I know they would have stayed as long as I asked them to. And um, and I had a friend, I have a friend who also lives in a ruin. She was like, I'll drive down, I'll drive down to be with you. Just tell me I'll, you know, I'll do whatever it takes. And even the intern girls, they were like, we will miss our flight and stay. And the only reason they didn't was because their visa expired the day they were flying out, so they couldn't extend anymore. Um, and on Monday, Carl and Rachel left. There was uh an acquaintance who is in a uh in Campology for the day, and they're like, hey, what you know, what can we help with? And Alma wasn't allowed into ICU. And so um up to that point I'd been fine because Carl and Rachel had been keeping her. And I was like, at that point, I was just planning on taking her to the hospital and just trying to find a really kind-looking nurse and asking if she could watch Alma while I went back to be with Greg for those 30 minutes. And um, and that friend said, you know, we can meet you at the hospital and we can keep Alma, you know, just as long as you need. So that happened. They met me there. I left Alma with them. I went up and they were like, hey, he's awake and you can come in. Because because they had sedated him on Friday, but then from Saturday they had stopped sedating him and he was just in a coma. So he, whatever was going on in his body, the medicine was out and he was just he was completely out of it. He was in a coma. And um, and so from then until Monday, they were like, We're not, we're not the ones keeping him like this, so we don't know when he's gonna wake up, you know. So I got there and like he's awake and I went up, and even even the fact that I was there when he woke up was such a blessing because it was, I mean, if I woke up in that situation, it was like, you know, when I went in, I had to wear the face mask and the net and the full body everything, and like he's just surrounded by all these people, just in, you know, it reminded me of like the scene at the end of ET when they're all like going in their hazmat suits. So the fact that I could even just be there when he woke up to be like, you know, I'm right, even though it doesn't look like me, I'm right here. Um, and he was like the first few times he woke up, he was super out of it and he didn't know what was going on. Um, but on that day, on Monday, they moved him out of ICU to a normal room. And by the grace of God and the kindness of the Lord and the generosity of so many people in the Red Oak and the Snowbird community, funds had come in for us to have him in a private room so he wasn't because you gotta pay by the day, by the room. Yeah. And so uh he got to go into his own room and like it was just crazy because that family who had been available for like two hours to keep Alma, they left and Greg went into his own room, and so Alma could be with me. So even those like small details, it was like perpetual, literally, of like the Lord just sustaining and providing. Um, and so he went into the room. It was it was so crazy when he woke up like the first time where he was more aware of things. I mean, it still took several days before he was like, you know, truly aware. But when he woke up, the neurologist was there and he was like, Mr. They called him the whole time. Greg's first name is Ralph. Um, and so they called him Ralp. They're like, Mr. Ralp, do you know? Do you know how long you've been here? And he was like, maybe two hours, and they're like, You've been here for five days. And he just started like weeping, I think, just like so confused, and I cannot imagine like how disorienting that had to be for him to realize that, but then for him to like he was trying to talk and he couldn't, you know, like the words weren't coming the way he wanted them to, and um so yeah, from Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, all the way through until Saturday, he was he was in the hospital, but making what seemed like progress, and it was definitely up and down. Like, I think when he woke up and when he got moved to his room, I was like, Oh, this is it, you know, but it still was like very uh yeah, very roller coaster progress. Um, and then Saturday he got out. Um I know I'm I'm really going long and explaining this, but for some comedic relief, he was like pretty loopy. He was loopy from the drugs, but he was also his mind was just not right yet. And he was like, I I they told me on Friday, they called me and they said, Hey, you can you can like you can take him home tomorrow. If you know you bring him clothes, whatever you can take him home. And um, so I called him because I'd given him, they said I could give him his phone so we could communicate when I was when I had to go back to where we're staying. And he was like, I said, Greg, you I can come get you tomorrow. Because the like for the last three days, he was convinced that they had told him that he could leave. So every time I got there, he was like, Did you bring my clothes? I'm ready to go, let's go. And he couldn't even walk yet. Um so I said, you know, tomorrow we can go. And he was like, I'm so happy for that because I have to go to the mall. He's like so out of it and he's so loopy, and he had lost like 38 pounds and he has a catheter attached to his leg. And he was like, We have to go to the mall because I have to get a custom three-piece suit made for our flight back to America to wear the whole 36-hour flight back. And I was like, I could not convince like I genuinely could not convince him to not go and get this custom Ugandan velour suit to wear. Um, so he was he was super out of it. And honestly, a lot of it had to be laughed at, or else it was just like despairing um at that point. But he got out and they told us, they said we so we had had tickets to fly the Sunday, so two days after he had gone into the hospital, and I pushed a week back, thinking maybe, you know, I don't know, pushed a week back. So he got on on Saturday and they said he can fly tomorrow if you are up for it, basically. And he was like desperate. He was like, I have to get out of here. I have to get to America, I have to not be here for right now. Um, and so we flew. It was it was honestly pretty chaotic. Um, he he thought he was like way more advanced in his healing than he was, and so like his mind was still really confused and really slow. And so I am very much a follower. Like, I never know what's going on, and I just follow wherever Greg goes and does whatever he says. I do whatever he says very gladly. And I told him before we got to the airport, I was like, I know that usually you're the one in charge of all this, but you're gonna have to let me like be in charge, basically. And he couldn't, like he would just he was it was a really, really, really uh chaotic and difficult travel. And I remember getting getting to the airport in Atlanta and seeing you and mama and just being like, I until just right now think that I have been like despairing for life a little bit. And then I remember, yeah, just getting here and being like, okay, we're safe and we're okay. Um, so that was December 1st that we got here, and we've been here for two months, and uh the Lord opened so many doors like for Greg to go to neurologists and doctors, and um, so many friends helped in so many ways, and we're very, very grateful. Um, and God willing, um, we will get on a plane back to Uganda next Tuesday, the 10th, this upcoming Tuesday, um, and travel back. And um, it'll be a strange year because uh I think we will not be in Arua in our home. We'll be in Luboa, the the region in Kampala where we stay for Greg to finish classes, but also to be there in case of health issues um for the for the rest of the year. So it'll be unusual, but it'll be close enough, you know, it'll be a step getting back home. And um we'll go, I think we'll go and visit Arua a few times, yeah, just to just to check in on people and people know vaguely what happened to him, and so just to um yeah, to let them know that we're okay and um yeah, very miraculous.

SPEAKER_01 36:47

Uh the miracles continued when you got on this side because when we were on the way to the airport to pick you up, I got a call from a guy who's a VP at Duke who said, Hey, I got a call from a guy who is one of our board members at Snowbird who's tied in with these guys. And the Lord pulled strings. We picked y'all up on Monday. I called in a favor to a guy that has a really fast airplane, twin turboprop airplane. He picked us up Wednesday from Andrew's. We flew out of Andrews Wednesday. We left our house at 10. Well, left your I came and picked Greg up at 10 that morning. We were sitting in a hospital in Durham, or sitting in a doctor's office in Durham at 1115. Uh that was an infectious disease specialist, and apparently they're the leaders in the world. And they so they were able to start ruling things out left and right, and then we flew back. That guy did not charge us anything. Paid, I mean, it's a$4,000 charter flight. Flew us to Duke. It's a six-month wait to get in at Duke. We were in in 48 hours, and Allure's just continued to to open doors and really grateful for that. And Alma's gonna be a big sister.

SPEAKER_02 38:11

So you'll stay in the city, stay down in the city till at least after the baby's born, I think, and maybe travel up and even I I know I've talked and talked, but people who are listening can fast forward if they don't want to hear me ramble, but um just like on the theme of providential, miraculous things that just kept happening one after the other. It was literally like multiple times a day, things that were just like blowing me away, the providence of the Lord. And um the day that the girls left, I was sitting in the waiting room in ICU waiting to go back to Greg. And um this younger guy came up and he was like, Are you Kilby? And I said, Yeah. And this is just like my mind has become so jaded because when he came up, I was like, Oh, he's gonna ask me for something. You know, like I was like, I'm not in the mental space right now to be talking to somebody, you know. So when we lived in Uganda in 2014, 14 to adopt Julia and Moses, um, the adoption house where we stayed was kind of run by this head woman named Hiria, and she was um, I think the love of all of our lives and made the world go round for us while we were there. Um, and she had children who we we went, they a lot of times stayed with her at this guest house, and then um we went to her house so many times and met them and loved them, and but she had some sons who were away at boarding school in India, and I had never met any of them. And so I was sitting there and he was like, Do you know Harriet? And I was like, Yes, I know Harriet. And he said, Uh, I'm Matthew, her son Matthew, and I know who you are because she has pictures of you all in her house still from 10 years ago when you lived here, and he was like, And I'm working in ICU, and I know that that's your husband, Greg. And if you need anything, like I'm with him. And so even the like, and I this was I did not care, it was so culturally inappropriate, but I just hugged him. So I was like, I I really don't care. Um, I hugged him so big, just like to know that there was somebody there. And at that point, like he was still in ICU, so I could only go for those 30 minutes a day. And I would like call perpetually trying to get updates. And the nurses on duty, it was a great hospital, but they were not, they were like, Yeah, he's still in a coma. And I was like, but what? Like, why is he in a coma? What are you doing to try to help him? And so, even from when I got connected with Matthew, like he gave me his number and I was just able to ask any questions at any time. And even like when Greg got moved to his private room, Matthew was off of work for like three days and he came every day to still check. He brought his mom Harriet. Harriet was the first person who got to see Greg after Greg woke up and she came and prayed for him and she got to meet Alma. Um, so even like that is like what are the odds? It's not odds, it's providence that the Lord would put him of all people in all places and all times there. And he's somebody who rotates throughout the whole hospital. So the fact that he was in ICU on the day that Greg got there was just like such a comfort and such a gift. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:36

Thanks for sharing all that. People really want to hear your it's just good from your side because I was given two and three minute updates day to day during all that, and people I saw a guy in town yesterday. He's like, Hey, how's the guy you kept updating us about? Yeah. Because I'm on social media, but our team is, and so I would send the videos over to our team and they would put them on Snowbird's Instagram, Facebook, and I was like, Oh, you're watching. It's crazy how many people were keeping up with thousands and thousands and thousands of people were tracking.

SPEAKER_02 42:06

It was wild because at one point people were asking how to like donate to help with with medical fees and housing and all of this stuff. And I was getting messages and also Venmo from like I think two or three friends removed of people. Or even I would get messages of from people like, our church is praying for you. I never heard of that person or that church before. And it was just shocking. But I think also in the when it was in the midst of it, even now, like it's a bit confusing. But when it was everything was happening, like even those updates were like you had to kind of be following them close because they were it was so everything was so confusing and so sporadic. And even like now, there are things that I told people a month ago or when everything was happening, and if they asked me, it's like, oh, actually that wasn't what was going on at all at all, you know. Yeah. Um, so yeah, it's good to be a bit removed from it by a few weeks and um and to actually have some clarity. And um it was funny. We the Lord opened the door for us to go to a neurologist um like a month or two ago, a month ago, I guess. And um he was the first person. The that hospital had given us all like 30 documents of brain scans and tests, and we didn't know how to read, like we didn't know what they said. So all we basically just took him to this neurologist and he just looked through them and explained them all to us. And that hospital, Nakasero Hospital, is like one of the leading hospitals in East Africa for cerebral malaria, which is what they thought Greg had. But I think it's just because he had recently had malaria and that's what they know to treat. Um, and when we got to that neurologist, he was like, I can definitely tell you it was not cerebral malaria from all these tests, it's very clear. And what it seems like is Greg was uh there was a toxin introduced into Greg's body, um, most likely. From a poison. And even that, like we were kind of laughing driving home because we were like so relieved to have answers. And we were like, who in the history of the world has like found out that they were poisoned and been like so relieved to hear it? You know, just like have even that like closure and clarity has been a big blessing. And one that we thought they had told us like the longer it goes from the instant, you won't find out what happened because everything will be, you know, kind of sordid. And so even to have those gifts of like closure and clarity and a lot of peace is such a big blessing.

SPEAKER_01 44:32

So we all pray for them as uh as they head back. Um that was uh I enjoyed getting to sit down and have that conversation. It's interesting. Kilby and I have talked about all this. I was talking to her two and three times a day that week that they were in the hospital over there. Um and uh and we were trying to help in any way we could from this side. Um but and then throughout their time home, we've had some conversation. But to sit down and walk through the whole thing like that, that was even, I mean, I learned a lot. It was good for me just hearing from her perspective. I knew what was going on on this side, it was good to hear what was going on on that side. Um but yeah, just continue to pray for them. We appreciate that. And uh reach out to them. You can follow them, they're easy to find on Facebook, Kilby and Greg Helms. Um you can sign up for their email updates if if you prefer that. Um, but they're very active on Facebook. Greg's a a very active Facebook person and and posts updates and um so you can follow that and you or you can reach out and and we can keep you updated. Um, but excited for them to be headed back and uh get back into the work that God's called them to. Pray that the Lord will watch over Kilby as she carries this pregnancy uh to the due date and that the baby would be born healthy and um and that the gospel would continue to flourish in the places that our missionaries are are taking it and laboring and ministering and doing the work. And then let's be reminded of how important it is that we be faithful to be on mission in our hometown and community and at your work and at your school. Um we've all got an opportunity and a responsibility to do that, to advance the gospel of the kingdom and to build and grow the church. So let's do it. Uh keep your hand to the plow and uh have an awesome week. And we'll see you, Lord willing, next Monday.

SPEAKER_00 46:23

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