He is Good!

As I write this, my sweet husband Ryan is driving me to New Orleans to spend some time with Mom.   I’m now 32 weeks pregnant and every week that passes makes it harder and harder for me to sit up at the hospital all day. We are praising God and feeling so blessed that I’m not having the same complications with this pregnancy that I did with Harrison. The Lord knows exactly what you need, and He knew that I needed a smooth pregnancy this time around. 

Grannie has been with Mom since Sunday night and does a fantastic job of caring for her. The old saying is so true, “No matter how old you get, you still need your Mom”. Mom constantly ask for Grannie and leans on her to get through every procedure and test. How blessed are we that Grannie is in such good health and able to care for Mom? Again, the Lord knows exactly what you need. 

Tuesday, Mom had a really good day. It was full of decisions that would help get Mom closer to a discharge day. We aren’t anywhere near going home, but we have lots of hurdles to get passed to get us there. Every hurdle we get passed, is a day closer to coming home.. so no matter how small the hurdle is we celebrate it. Tuesday the prosthetic people came and brought a shrinker to help shape her left leg and prepare it for a prosthetic. The doctors also gave the ok for her to have her trach downsized. Downsizing the trach is something that has to be done a few times before it’s eventually removed. This also makes the trach more comfortable for Mom. Tuesday was a good day for her. 

This morning, I got a text that Mom had spiked a fever overnight. Her white blood count had also risen significantly and she has been having a consistent stomach pain that won’t seem to go away. Today, they took her for a CT scan to try and get to the bottom of this infection and stomach pain. Please pray it’s a simple infection that will be cleared up quickly and easily. 

Mom also has some spots on her left hand and left leg that aren’t healing properly. These “sores” were caused when she was having the blood clot issues. They are basically dead tissue that we have been praying would fall off and new skin/tissue would form in its place. The Vascular surgeon came in today and cleaned the spot on her leg and packed it and have hope that it will continue to heal. The hand surgeon has plans to do the same to her hand tomorrow. Please pray that these spots heal quickly and don’t cause anymore issues.

Mom is very alert these days and enjoys visiting with us when we are there. It does my heart so good to talk to her and show her pictures of the kids and tell her stories of what’s going on at home. Every time I have to go home, it just breaks my heart. I can’t wait for the day I get to take herb home. 

Recently, there was a picture on my timeline that I posted 5 years ago asking for prayers for Mom because she was in the hospital due to her heart failure. I broke down when I saw that picture and I begged God to put these days of sickness behind her. I’m choosing to believe that there’s a day ahead of us where Mom will be well. She will feel good and for the first time in six years she will be able to enjoy and indulge in life. I’m very aware that that day won’t be next week, nor will it be next month, but when I close my eyes I can see my sweet Mom laughing with her kids, hugging her grand babies and enjoying every moment of life. These days, that’s my prayer. I pray for complete healing and health for Mom. I pray that she will get to enjoy and participate in moments that she hasn’t been able to enjoy in six years. The Lord has promised Good to those that serve Him. He has never broken a promise and I have no doubt that the days ahead will be Good for Mom. Please join us in continuing to pray for good days ahead. We love you all and are praying that the days ahead of you are good as well. 

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Redeemer of the Rain

Throughout this whole journey we’ve been encouraged to celebrate the small victories. Every day without a set back is a day to celebrate. Recently, the “set backs” have slowed down and Mom has started making leaps instead of just baby steps. Although we know the road ahead is still long, we feel encouraged by the progress she is making and we rejoice daily.

It has now been almost 10 weeks since Mom has had anything to eat or drink by mouth. On Monday of this week, they decided to have a swallow test done to see if she was strong enough to correctly swallow food and liquids. Praise the Lord! Mom completely passed the swallow test and was cleared for thin liquids and food. Today, for the first time in 10 weeks, she was able to drink a coke! Y’all, sometimes it’s the little things. The precious speech therapy staff came parading  in today with Mardi Gras decor, cokes, spaghetti, king cakes and gifts all for Mom. It was a special moment that this emotional, pregnant daughter cried over. We feel so blessed that the staff up here loves Mom almost as much as we do!

“Holla if you can Swalla!”

Mom’s kidney function has continued to improve. They have slowed her dialysis and are trying to find the appropriate balance between helping her kidneys filter her blood and letting them continue to work on their own. Please pray for the nephrology team as they study her lab work and continue to tweak her fluid input and output. Mom’s kidneys making a full recovery would be a huge “win” in her recovery process.

Mom still has her trach and we are working towards the day of having that removed. It is no longer breathing for her but does offer some oxygen support. Please pray that we can get the trach out soon and she will be breathing 100% on her own.

Everyday I find myself asking “Why did this happen?”... “Why was MY Mom the one who had to have complications?”. I have come to realize that I might not ever get the answer to those questions and if I do, I might not be pleased with the answer I get. Our family is slowly coming to accept that reality and we are beginning to be ok with that. We are choosing to believe that the Lord isn’t finished with Mom. We believe He is going to allow her and our family to use this experience to bless others. One of Mom’s favorite songs is “Redeemer of the Rain” by the Collingsworth family. We’ve listened to it in her hospital room over and over again and the more I listen to it the more I believe what the lyrics say. Our Lord is the Redeemer of the Rain. He’s our hope in a hopeless world. He brings beauty to the most awful situations and he restores the most broken hearts. Our Redeemer lives and His love sustains us. Today I pray, that no matter what brokenness you are experiencing, you allow the Redeemer of the rain to bring hope to your heartache. We love you and are blessed by each comment, hug and encouragement you give us.

Trusting the Lord

This morning I received the news that Mom was being moved out of ICU and to the step down unit. This news hit me like a ton of bricks because, to be honest, I don’t believe she’s ready for that. In the ICU, she has one on one care with nurses and it will not be that way on the step down unit. Mom still has so much going on. Just in the last week, she’s been changed from CRRT to hemodialysis, she’s fought a staph infection, had a procedure to put a tube in her stomach because it’s still not working right, she’s had multiple tachycardiac episodes, and many other things that have caused concern.

I would like to ask all of her prayer warriors to please pray that this decision is the right decision and not something that will cause more issues. Please pray the doctors have thought through all the possible complications and are preparing appropriately for them. Please pray that Mom doesn’t have anymore tachycardiac episodes and that she will be able to continue to get stronger on the speech valve.

Our family is also on the search for a rehabilitation hospital in Baton Rouge for Mom when the time comes. Let me be clear in saying, that time is still a good ways away. Please pray we can find the right place in town that can accommodate Mom and all her needs. We still have a very very long road to recovery ahead of us and it would be such a blessing to get her closer to home.

Today, all I’m able to do is trust that this decision is within the Lord’s plan. Trusting that Mom is moving in the right direction and her recovery will move faster than we expect. Please join me in trusting and believing these things for my Mom.