November 26, 2014 - HEARTS FULL OF THANKSGIVING

"We always thank God for all of you
      and continually mention you in our prayers."
                                                                                                                                          - Thessalonians 1:2

Like Paul, Silas and Timothy in their letter to the people in Thessalonica, we are thankful for all of you - for the prayers, love, support and encouragement our family and friends have given over the past year. Your cards, emails, phone calls and visits have filled the lonely places in our hearts. Your prayers on our behalf have invited the grace and healing mercies of Jesus Christ. You are the blessings we count this Thanksgiving season.

One year ago, life was rocky and the road much dimmer.  John had weathered well the amputation and accompanying bodily infection, but the Guillain-Barre Syndrome was exacting its toll.  He was in a specialty hospital on a ventilator and feeding tube, unable to move - not to blink or swallow or talk.  He was still in a battle and we just took each day as it came. Thanksgiving was a hard holiday for me and our kids; John was little aware.  Life was our blessing - God's gift.

This Thanksgiving, we are home, together, and at peace.  John's surgical wound is healing very nicely with steady home nursing care and the wound vacuum. Looks like he could be finished with the machine by Christmas, but dressings and complete healing will continue for some time into the new year. He works regularly on regaining his strength with the physical therapist.  The lasting effects of the Guillain-Barre makes conquering the difficulty of using one leg with the walker a challenge.  He tires easily and we have to pace all our activities. He did "graduate" from needing the occupational therapist.  Mostly, he is waiting patiently.

I am on an even keel.  The early morning walks give me an energetic start to the day.  Fall weather has finally arrived and our low-40's temperature makes getting out of bed in the dark and out on the pavement a real challenge! Being careful to keep my low sodium diet is easier. Better regular blood pressure has allowed me to have more medication to strengthen the heart. I do most everything to keep our life moving along.

We have weathered much. The ups and downs, the trials and hard work of John's journey have been documented in this blog.  My own journey with a cardiac diagnosis and surgeries has had its own demands.  The pleasures and joys of our days have been overflowing and we have shared those with you, too.  The steadfastness of John's faith and the sometimes-shaky faith of mine have also been recorded.  There is new depth and understanding and thankfulness as we draw closer to our God who really loves us so much.

At this time of Thanks-giving, please know that we think of each one of you.  May the love and peace and power of God's grace be present in your days.

Psalm 100

   Make a joyful noise to the Lord,
      all the lands!
²     Serve the Lord with gladness!
    Come into his presence with singing!

³ Know that the Lord is God!
    It is he that made us, and we are his;
    we are his people,
    and the sheep of his pasture.

 

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
    and his courts with praise!
    Give thanks to him, bless his name!

 

⁵ For the Lord is good;
    his steadfast love
    endures for ever,
    and his faithfulness to all generations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

November 5, 2014 - WE ARE HOME AGAIN

We are so happy to be home again! Without much warning, John was discharged late Monday evening in good spirits, good general health, the wound vac working and plenty of antibiotics. It was great to have the Hood grandchildren and other family here to provide a lively welcome.

It has been a whirlwind since returning. The Hoods left about 9:30 on Tuesday morning and the coordinating nurse for home care arrived at 10 until noon. After lunch we settled in and found the best ways for John to maneuver around with the small machine he has to carry and got him comfortable for a nap. I dashed off to see my parents - my mother had a fall the evening before. Despite some bruising, she was in good spirits and doing okay. After a rather late dinner, we were just exhausted.



Today the home physical therapist came in the morning to make an assessment and begin some work with John. Amazingly, John walked a good distance in the house with the walker - carefully! There are a lot of ways he can work on building his strength while at home. A brief hour later the nurse specializing in wound care came to change the dressing. That is a time consuming, detailed procedure that will happen every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The nurse was very good and John felt less pain this time - fortified with drugs, or course.



John caught a short nap and our dear friends, Stephanie and Mike McCoy from Grace Church in Arlington, Texas came for a visit. It has been many years and we thoroughly enjoyed the time together. We "brought in" dinner since I am not organized yet. Tomorrow there are no appointments and John should get a full day of rest and I will put things back in order.


It looks like home is where we will be for the next 6-8 weeks as the wound vac does its job. After all, to qualify for Medicare, John is homebound. It is safer here for John to control the infection, protect the stump and get him the rest he needs. It certainly does look like a long holiday season as this journey overlaps into 2015, but God is good and we hold onto his generous mercies with great hopes for the future. I will continue to post on this blog and hope John will publish something soon.

November 1, 2014 - "WHATEVER IT TAKES"

John is doing well. He is upbeat and funny and calm. It has been busy here since John's surgery on Friday. The procedure to clean out the wound area went as planned - John tolerated it well and was alert in the recovery.  The wound vac was applied and he was moved to a room where he will be for several days.

John reports moderate pain and it is controlled with minimal medication today. Mostly he is just immobile and rests in the bed although he has been up in his wheelchair for a short period. Under the care of an Infectious Disease doctor, he is receiving a strong dose of antibiotic and we are waiting 72 hours for the culture report. Dr. Motzkin found the source of the infection and feels good about the procedure. Once again, John has an "open mouth" closing at the surgical site. We ate optimistic about the outcome, but only many weeks of specialized wound care will really tell. John should start receiving some physical therapy on Monday to continue building his strength and not lose ground on the hard work he has been doing.

Having Elisa's family here is a blessing. Halloween was a busy evening and I left the hospital for a bit to see the kids in their costumes as they went trick-or-treating with cousins. There is plenty of "loot" setting around in orange plastic pumpkins! With our Phoenix Zoo membership, I dropped them off at the zoo with those cousins this morning before going to the hospital.

Our days are beginning to take on a familiar routine. I spent a large portion of the day with John and came home this evening. Staying on my low sodium diet is difficult when I am away from home, but I feel very good. Elisa, Stephen, Ava and Corbin visited this afternoon.

John has a t-shirt that says
"Whatever It Takes"
and that is our motto each day.

We pray earnestly and hope fervently for a complete healing. We know it will not be swift. We know that God is what it takes. Thanks for your prayerful intercession.