Recovery - Day 8 - Still A Step Ahead

"2 steps forward & 1 step back," that's what a very wise nurse told us early in the week & today Suze experienced that reality.  As you recall, yesterday we were planning for her early departure (scheduled for today).  However, last night, Suze began experiencing nausea & at midnight, was unable to keep anything down.  This continued throughout the morning & afternoon.

One of the possibilities was having to put the NG tube back in (drainage tube through nose down to stomach), the thought of which was extremely discouraging to Suze & to me.  The bulk of the morning was spent trying to figure out cause (pain med reaction, intestinal issue, leak, etc.) & make Suze comfortable in the meantime.

Here's where we stand now:

• All pain meds have been eliminated except for the one she controls via the pump; medication is definitely not the cause.
• They think what is happening is that the digestive system is not yet fully on-line; the stomach & intestines are out-of-sync
• Her diet has been pulled back to ice chips only until the stomach regulates itself
• She will not have to have the NG tube (as long as nausea will stop)

Until further notice, Suze will remain in the hospital.  She's going to have to "ride this one out" until her stomach rights itself.  This is not unusual; it's often part of the process of recovery with this procedure.  Pray for her endurance mentally, spiritually as well as physically.  As you can imagine, the mental battle to keep the big picture in perspective is very difficult.  So we are reminding one another that while she feels cruddy right now, SHE STILL DOES NOT HAVE CANCER!  Sometimes its hard to see the forest for the trees.

Here's what we're grateful for today:
Lisa, the most amazing nurse in the world just "happened" to be here today
Our kids are going to hang out with our friends in Noblesville for the weekend & have some fun
Our prayer warriors were praying during the worst part of the day today
The view outside our window is spectacular with the blue sky & autumn leaves
Suze doesn't have cancer (I know I said it before but I just needed to hear myself say it one more time)

Personal Note:  We were so blessed today to attend the wedding or our friends, Kyle & Heather Smith live via streaming video at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.  We were supposed to be there for the ceremony but our current circumstances prevented us from attending.  They have been & continue to be a blessing to both of us as we have been privileged to walk with them in these months leading up to their ceremony.  They told us that they wanted us to be part of the wedding & so we had a front-row seat in Suze's hospital bed as they tied the knot & watched the spectacular fountains dance!  After the ceremony, they sent a very encouraging message & that really made our hearts full.

So if you'll permit us, we'd like to send a very personal word back to them via this blog post:

Heather & Kyle,
We love you & we love it that you have found one another.  From His infinite vantage point, God saw how fulfilling it would be for you to follow Jesus together rather than separately.  He saw a spring of living water bubbling out of your relationship that would not only saturate you but drench anyone standing near.  May you love one another well, pursuing Christ together as your greatest priority.  And may that pursuit result in over-the-top, circumstance-defying, life-giving joy that brings you strength & is contagious to everyone you meet.


We Love YOU!