See Ya Later, Ochsner!

I don’t have much to update on except for the fact that Mom will be leaving Ochsner Hospital tomorrow. Yes, you read that right. My Mom, who wasn’t suppose to survive, is about to be discharged from the hospital.

Tears overwhelm me when I look back at the last 16+ weeks and relive what we went through. Pure hell is the best way I can describe it. I think I can speak for my whole family when I say that we are forever changed. I’m not the same Addie that I was in June. In some ways I’m stronger, but in others I feel weak and worn. PTSD is real and the trauma our family experienced, is something that I pray to God we can one day get over.

When I think about the Lord and what He did for us, all I can do is pray. Pray that the miracles and mercy He showed my Mom and family don’t go unseen. I hope everyone who reads this sees and believes what happened. I hope they fully understand that by no earthly means should Mom be alive today. I hope that every MD, NP, nurse, SLP, PT, Ot and every other hospital personnel recognizes what happened. I hope their hearts are opened and that the next time they are staring at another awful situation they will know that it’s not as hopeless as it seems. I pray that if they don’t know the Lord, that they will soon come to know him. I pray that they all now know that there is more to recovery than a medical opinion. There is hope, there is supernatural healing, there is grace and there is mercy and it all comes from Jesus. He is capable, He is able and He is still turning life’s around. He’s healing the deathly ill and He’s saving the lost. He’s pulling people out of the darkest pit and breathing life into their hearts. He’s making them new both physically and spiritually. I hope that that hospital knows that even if they feel as hopeless and lifeless as my Mom was in July, that He can make them new too. I hope they look at what our family’s faith did and crave what we have. I pray to God that if they didn’t know Jesus or what He has to offer, that they do now.

On July 28th, I was on my hands and knees watching the rain fall outside and sobbing on the phone to my husband telling him my Mom was dying. Tomorrow, October 21st, my Mom is alive and she’s leaving the hospital. But God. His plans were different and His love for us was greater. “By His stripes she was healed..” It’s an overwhelming thing to imagine a love so great that He would sacrifice His son so that my Mom could live. Much of what we have experienced the last 4 months has been overwhelming. It’s almost hard to imagine that Mom is leaving Ochsner and heading down the street to get a little rehab. Let’s all remember that we were told over and over that “It’s a stretch to think that she will make it LTAC much less home.” Well, LTAC won’t even take her because she’s too well and rehab almost didn’t either. Again, But God. He knows her needs and he’s meeting them. Mom is a little discouraged that she’s, again, heading to rehab. She’s SO ready to be home. Let’s be honest, we are all more than ready for her to be officially home. It was kind of a back and forth battle deciding whether she was to go back to rehab or come straight home, but we all decided that rehab was best even though it’s more time away from home. Mom isn’t strong enough yet to get herself from the bed to chair and we need her to get that quality of life back. It’s not fair to let her live her life depending on a lift to get her to and from the bed and chair. That limits her awfully. We want her to be able to go and do what she wants. In order to do that, she’s got to get stronger. Please continue to pray for strength for Mom both mentally and physically. Please ask the Lord to give her body and mind the endurance needed to be successful at rehab.

I want to take a minute to thank you all for your constant prayers and support. You’ve never once forgotten about us and your prayers literally kept us afloat. I’m so thankful and I wish I could personally contact each one of you and express my gratitude. You’ve loved us through some pretty hard times and I don’t know if you realize how much that means to us. Our family is blessed. We are humbled by your love and want you to know how much we love you as well. Thank you so much. Please continue to pray for us. Even though this current hospital stay is over, Mom’s battle with heart failure isn’t. There will be more hard days ahead but I’m standing and believing that those days will be few and far between. I’m believing that Mom is going to continue to get stronger and will be back learning to walk on her prosthetic before the year is over. I’m believing that the year 2021 is going to be Mom’s year. It will be full of blessings and hope for Mom. 2020 has been hard on everyone. I think a new year of blessings and Hope is due for us all. Will you join us in declaring this?