Ups and Downs

So my Dad was doing great in rehab. He walked 10 feet, he can wheel himself around the therapy room in his wheel chair. He could put his shoe on by himself. And he was talking up a storm.

Tuesday morning, they transferred him back to the hospital to insert the PEG tube in his stomach to get the tube out of his nose that was bothering him so much. He went through the surgery without a problem, but then they took him back to the rehab hospital. Apparently, his digestive process was still slow from the anesthesia, and they gave him a full feeding soon after he arrived, through the PEG tube. He was feeling great, went outside to enjoy the warm, sunny day and a visit with the family - when he got sick to his stomach, and started throwing up.

They got him back to his room, where it continued, and apparently he aspirated. By that night, he had spiked a temp of 102.7, his blood pressure dropped, and he became unresponsive.

They took him straight back to Emergency. We thought that was it. Did God allow him to survive a stroke and overcome so much trauma only to die from something this trivial? Why? He was doing so well! And it all could have been avoided if someone had been paying attention.

So here we are on Friday. He's still in the hospital (not rehab) with aspiration pneumonia in both lungs. His temp has been up and down, his blood pressure has been up and down. His heart rate is irregular. His lungs are very moist and the audible wheezing can be heard all over.

Until last night... we summoned the prayer warriors again and took him before the throne of God. The Holy Spirit was with us, interceding on his behalf (Romans 8:26). The evening report from his nurse was "He is doing SO much better! His vitals are good - his lungs sound much clearer!" Praise the Lord!

This morning's report was similar. The only thing they are worried about now is that his heartbeat is still irregular and they're not sure why. They thought low potassium, but it's fine. He's sleeping a lot, which is good, to let his body heal.

We're still not clear of the woods, but we are starting to see a light at the edge of them again...

Life Gets in the Way!

I fully intended to post more information about my Once a Month Cooking, but you know what they say ... Stuff Happens!

And boy has it ever!

My cousin has taken to calling me Job. Remember him? The guy in the Bible that had a "Series of Unfortunate Events"?

I will be blogging more about what God has taught me through my recent trials, but I just wanted to apologize for not getting the OAMC posts up and give you a summary of what my life has been like lately...

On Friday, Aug. 28th (which was only 3 weeks ago, but it has been the longest 3 weeks of my life!) my sister called to tell me that our other sister's husband had passed away at the age of 47! I jumped in the car and made the 4 hour trip to her house to spend the night with her, along with my other sister, my Mom and my niece.

Saturday, Aug. 29th - I came back home to get clothes and things prepared for the funeral home. I needed to find suitable clothes/socks/shoes for 7 kids to wear, plus hubby and me (maternity, of course!) I also volunteered to handle the funeral luncheon and went shopping to buy food for 50+ people.

Sunday, Aug. 30th - Prepared some food which could be made ahead of time and thanked God that I had meals in the freezer for my family! Monday I would be going to my parents' house to start cooking, and then to the hall where the luncheon would be to set up tables, etc. My oldest daughter is going with me, but the other 6 will stay home with DH until Monday evening.

Monday, Aug. 31st - While having my morning coffee before running out the door, my sister called to say that my Dad appeared to be having a stroke and they had called an ambulance. They were right. They rushed him to a local hospital where they said his condition was too critical for them to handle, and they put him on a helicopter and Life Flighted him to Cleveland Clinic. My daughter and I jumped in the car (yes, the one that has broken down twice already) and headed for Cleveland.

Three miles from the exit for Cleveland Clinic, we hear a loud bang, and something seems to be dragging. I pull off to the left on a 5 lane highway with cars zipping past, get my 6 month pregnant, bulging belly out of the car, and on to my hands and knees to look under it. Nothing is hanging down, but the tire is not vertical - it's diagonal - the top is leaning in and the bottom is leaning out...

I hadn't even had time to pray to ask for help when God sent an "angel" in the form of a big guy named Fred to help us. He worked for ODOT and his job was to keep the lanes clear. He opened the trunk (full of groceries!) and checked the strut and informed me that the center bolt was missing. He asked where I was headed. I told him Cleveland Clinic and told him about my Dad. He said, "I think we can make it. I'll follow you!" And he did - right to the parking garage.

DH called AAA and the car was towed and fixed while I sat in intensive care with my Dad.

Tuesday, Sept. 1 - My brother in law's funeral was scheduled for 10 am. My mom and my other sister, my daughter and I sat by my Dad's bedside while other family members went to the funeral. We wanted so much to be there and for our sister to be with us, but it just wasn't possible. My sister buried her husband and got in the car and came straight to Cleveland. So sad...

Wed. Sept. 2 - Fri. Sept. 4 - We continued taking turns sitting with Daddy and staying with Mother. There were ups and downs and things were still touch and go. We knew we could still lose him at any time.

Friday, Sept. 4th - Cleveland Clinic informed us that they were transferring Daddy to a local rehab hospital about 15 minutes from his home. While we were waiting for the rehab hospital to call to say that he had arrived, I got a phone call from my husband to let me know that his aunt had been taken to Emergency. She died minutes later...

We went to the Rehab Hospital to check on my Dad. He looked so much worse than he had before...

Saturday, Sept. 5th - Headed home to prepare for the next funeral. I drove my Mom's car since there was no way I was going to get back into the car I had now broken down in 3X! Half way through the 2 hour drive home, I stopped at a red light, heard squealing, smelled rubber and smoke poured out from under the hood. I got into a parking lot and called DH. An hour later he arrived to find that it wasn't the belt as I had suspected, but the casing on the AC compressor. I followed him home in the van while he drove the car.

As I walked up the steps onto the porch at home, my phone rang. They were taking my Dad back to Emergency! Aghh!! Everything checked out and they took him back to the Rehab Hospital that night. It was in those hours of waiting that God grabbed me by the shoulders, shook me gently and got me to focus on him. He gave me a hug in the form of a devotional by Max Lucado that popped into my email box called "I'm sinking fast". I will blog about this later...

Sunday, Sept. 6th, I went to church and cried through the sermon. My pastor and friends annointed me and prayed for me. I felt peace.

Monday - present: I stayed home to get the kids caught up with the school we had missed in the midst of our crisis'. There were enough family members at home to cover hospital visits and staying with my Mom. DH insisted that I had had enough stress already and so he took his Mom to her sister's funeral and I stayed home with the kids and handled barn chores in his absence.

My Dad is doing well. In fact, I got to talk to him on the phone last night! My sister called from the hospital and put the phone to his ear and he listened and responded. He spoke sentences yesterday for the first time since his stroke.

I am heading back out to Ohio tomorrow to take my shift for a couple days. I plan to do my shopping and cooking the end of this week, so I'll try to get back to my Once a month cooking blogging soon.

Is life still stressful? Yes. Could things change at any minute? Yes. But I have learned that we need to focus on the Lord - just as Peter did when he was walking on the water and the storms raged around him. When he started sinking, he needed to refocus. This is just one of the lessons I've learned lately. More next time...