We are Speechless!

 I’ve been trying to write this blog the last 3 days and have yet to come up with the words to describe what we have experienced in Mom’s life the last 2 weeks. Sitting with Mom today, I’m left completely speechless. This most recent miracle the Lord has given us might be the most amazing. I’m in awe, I’m speechless and most of all I’m thankful. 

We have been told over and over that Mom wasn’t going to get better. She would never be able to have the strength that she had before this latest hospitalization. Honestly, this has been an easy statement to believe because Mom’s weakness has been debilitating and overwhelming. She’s lost more weight than you can imagine and for so long she’s been too weak to even turn her head. Not to mention, she’s lost her ability to swallow and wasn’t even strong enough to work on swallow exercises. Two weeks ago, we had sunshine therapy and prayed specifically for strength over her body and complete healing. Well, today Mom is a completely different person than she was that day at sunshine therapy. Everything about her is renewed. She’s able to use her phone, pick her head up off the pillow and they are even able to get her in her wheelchair so she’s been able to cruise around the hospital to get some different scenery. She’s doing so well that our precious speech therapist feels like she might be getting back some of her swallowing ability. They are scheduling another swallow study to check that out. Thankful doesn’t even begin to describe how we feel. Oh how sweet Jesus is. He never stops working, He never stops healing and he certainly hasn’t stopped performing miracles. 

Mom continues to leave our family and the doctors speechless. They have made jokes this week that she has “more life’s than a cat”. My response- NO she has a God that isn’t done with her. Her story isn’t over. She has more to do here. More time to be spent with her family and more time sharing the good news that Jesus is alive and well. He’s working inside of her still and is making her whole again. For weeks our family has told her body to “wake up” and become new. We have prophesied strength and energy over her. We have commanded dying organs to come to life. The Lord has heard our prayers and is standing with us and making these request come to life. Part of me wants to say that I’m in shock seeing how well she is doing... but I’m not. I knew the Lord was going to heal her. I knew this miracle was coming. He’s so good to us and I’m so thankful that I want to spend every waking moment on my knees in praise. 

Mom still has a lot more strength to be gained. Please continue to pray for supernatural strength over her body. Please specifically pray that next week they will do another swallow study and that she will pass with flying colors. Please pray that she will gain enough strength in the next week that we will get to avoid LTAC and go directly to rehab. We want Mom to get the best therapy for what she needs and we believe that’s at rehab. 

We are so so so thankful for every single team member at Ochsner that has fought to get Mom to where she is. All the nurses and therapist that have pushed and cared for Mom so lovingly, we will never be able to adequately thank. Brittany- our precious LVAD coordinator has become like family. She has cried with us, laughed with us and most importantly fought to get Mom where she is today. Every doctor and NP/PA that has put up with my obsessive questions- bless their heart. I have not made it easy on any of them and I’m thankful that they are still fighting with us. Please continue to pray for their wisdom as we get through the last bit of this hospital stay with Mom. Also, pray for their patience with me because I’m still asking questions. Erika, Mom’s speech therapist, loves Mom so much and might have gotten the worst end of me when we found out the results of her first swallow scan. We are so thankful for her continuing to work and push for Mom to get the ability to swallow again. This has by far been the most emotional hospital stay for not only our family but the hospital staff as well. This would have been so much easier on everyone if Mom wasn’t so loved and so special. 

Lastly, I want to thank each of you for following along and praying for Mom. We certainly wouldn’t have survived without your encouragement and prayers. We love you all and are so thankful, I just can’t say it enough. 

Prayers and Positivity

There’s so much I could write about tonight, but I’m going to try and keep it short for you guys. Mom received her PEG tube yesterday and did well with her surgery. Overnight, her H&H dropped some so they gave her two blood transfusions to help give her a boost. It worked and her H&H has been stable today and tonight. They mentioned a concern of a GI bleed but I don’t think that’s the case neither did tonight’s nurse. I think she lost some blood during the surgery and she needed some help getting caught up. Our family has adapted a new way of speaking when we are in the room with Mom and talking about Mom. We are only speaking and thinking positivity. Negativity is not allowed around her and if it comes, whoever says it should be asked to leave the room. Mom wants and needs to be uplifted. She needs hope that life can and will get better. She needs people around her who want to lift her up, help her recover and encourage her. 

Today, Mom got a sweet visit from our favorite doctor- Dr Bansal. 

You might remember his name, he is the heart surgeon who put in her LVAD and fought for her life for so many months when she was deathly ill. He sat by her beside, canceled trips and did everything possible to get Mom to where she is today. We love Dr Bansal and respect him more than anyone else. She told him today that they told her she was never going to be able to eat again. Do you know what is response to that was? He laughed and said “that’s not true, you will get stronger and you will eat again. They obviously don’t remember what you’ve been through.” He’s right. She’s going to fight and she’s going to get stronger. She’s come back from deaths door more times than we would have liked and she will come back from this too. 

I’ve never spent more time in prayer than I do now. I pray in the shower, in the car, while I cook... I find myself praying all day long. Today I was driving down the road with Harrison and we were listening to worship music. I lifted one of my hands and started praying out loud for freedom from sickness for Mom. While I was praying, I heard Harrison trying to repeat exactly what I was saying and when I glanced back in the rear view mirror he had his hands raised and eyes closed and in his “own language” was praying his little heart out for his Lollie. I lost it. I almost had to pull on the side of the road. My sweet baby. Thank you Jesus for that precious moment. Just when my soul feels empty, He replenishes it with an image of His grace and goodness. Please join Harrison and me in praying for Lollie. She needs us to intercede on her behalf. She needs an image of His grace and goodness like I received today. She needs to feel whole again and well. She needs the Hope that only Jesus can give her. I’m proclaiming today that wholeness and strength are coming for Mom. It’s just around the corner. Please join me in proclaiming this for Mom. 

We love you all. Thank you for following Mom’s story and for the many blessings your prayers bring. We couldn’t make it without you! 

Addie 

Picture is of sweet Brittany and Mom. Brittany is Mom’s LVAD coordinator and came and did her nails today. We are so thankful for her and Mom just adores her!