Monday, June 27, 2011

Personal note and prayer requests

This morning I did not get to blog, because my husband, Don, and I were out of the house early to visit his father, Frank, in his assisted living home. Late yesterday, while we were at a baby shower, we received a phone call from the home that Dad had fallen after dinner. So we headed over to check him out. He was in a lot of pain, and was bleeding from his shoulder, where he had a skin tear. It didn’t take us long to figure that we needed to get him to urgent care for x-rays. So, after three hours at the urgent care, they determined that he has a compression fracture in the thoracic region. However, it was not clear whether or not it was a new or old injury. Thankfully, they had an x-ray to compare from a couple of years ago, and it looks like an old injury. That is good news!

So, we took him home and put him to bed with some tylenol with codeine. We went back this morning to see how he is doing. The pain seems to have lessened a bit, but it still makes him wince. It hurts in the lower back and the left shoulder (which apparently took the brunt of the fall against a wall), but only when he is in certain positions, which makes us think he does not have any broken bones (they did not x-ray the shoulder area, because he wasn’t complaining about it last night, but they did dress the wound there). We spent the majority of the day there today trying to assess the situation, and we did talk with his doctor. The doctor advised us that he probably will get better within a few days, but, if not, he would order a bone scan. In the meantime, Don and I are leaving for a trip to Chicago on Wednesday for a week! It’s a working thing for me (teachers’ convention - I’ll be in meetings all day), but a vacation trip for Don (the only one we’ll have this year).

In addition, Molly, our elder daughter, is having her tonsils out this Wednesday (at age 36), while we’re in flight! I’m sick about not being here for her, but am grateful that her husband, Kevin, is home for the summer, and her sister is just down the street! Molly has a terrific church family, which I’m sure will meet her needs with meals for the family. She’ll be doing the ice cream thing. . . Those of us who have had our tonsils out know that the ice cream thing is NOT what it’s cut out to be!!

In the meantime, many of you know that my sister, Jodi, who lost her son Justin in March, is in isolation at the University of Illinois, Chicago Hospital, where she is undergoing autologous stem cell replacement for multiple myeloma, after several rounds of cancer treatments. Unfortunately, although I will be in Chicago, and staying not too far from the hospital, I will be unable to visit her, because she is so severely immune-suppressed that she cannot have visitors! My mind is spinning at this point and my heart is sick!  So many needs and complete inability to meet any of them! Thank goodness that is what God is for! He is more than able to meet all our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus, eh?? (Phil 4:19)

So, I’m asking for your prayers to cover this whole situation. Here are the specific requests:

Pray that Frank will stabilize, that his pain will lessen, and that the assisted living place will be able to care for him completely.

Pray that he will NOT need to be transferred to a skilled nursing facility while we are gone for the week, as this would be a burden to Don’s brother, Dave, and his wife, Nancy, who are in San Diego. And, more importantly, I’m afraid it would send him into an emotional tailspin with a quick slide downhill.

Pray that Molly’s surgery will go smoothly, with little bleeding and miraculously little pain. Pray for Molly to have the peace that passes understanding, because she has been hearing horror stories from EVERYONE!!! (It's like the women who share pregnancy horror stories with the first-time mom as she waits in the obstetrician's waiting room).

Pray that Molly will recover quickly, as her family has an anniversary trip (10 years) planned for July 8-15 that they cannot get out of (and that I want her to enjoy). Seems we make our plans, and sometimes God leads us in a different direction!

Pray for the peace and safety of Molly’s darling kids, Colin and Lucy, as their mom is having surgery and they are staying with a friend.

And please pray for Jodi, as she is at her weakest point of immune-suppression. Pray that she will continue what has been a miraculous response to treatment with very few side effects and no pain! Pray that the LORD will continue to be merciful - and that somehow I will be able to see her while I’m there (that is my totally selfish prayer).

These seem like huge requests to me, but so simple for God. Finally, pray that we will all be submissive to His plan for us during this time, because He knows exactly what He is doing, and knew all about this before we were born. He has a plan that is for His glory and for our good, so pray that we will walk in it with joyful responses no matter what happens!

Back to Genesis tomorrow - forgive this personal side trip! I love you all!

 

2 comments:

  1. Sally; you have a lot on your spiritual plate..not to mention your physical plate! I think sometimes we diminish those times because we think nothing can be done or we don't want to bother others. Praise for asking for prayer!!! Today, I will ask for a covering over you and all your family and that the boundaries will fall in pleasant places! Safe travels, believing for healing for your father in law and your daughter and sister.

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  2. Thanks, Jenny!! I so appreciate your prayers!!

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