Today was pretty uneventful. The news was pretty much the same from the start of the day. Laura is a little better, and they are still keeping close tabs on the cyst on her pancreas. Basically, they are trying to wait long enough for Laura's body to desolve the cyst on its own, rather than operate to remove it. The doctors would like to see the cyst gone before they remove her gallbladder. I'm not sure if they can do both at the same time if they did open her up, but they are trying to avoid that. Her white blood cell count continues to improve, so the doctors are hoping that just waiting long enough will dissolve the cyst. And her temp. has been great for a few days, so they are encouraged by that as well. The only thing that continues to be difficult with the healing process is the amount of time. It is still a mystery to us. We honestly have no idea how long Laura will be there. There are moments of peace in the abundance of time we have together though. Lots of talks and prayer, and our walks are the highlight of my days.
It's an entertaining thing to be walking the halls of the hospital with Laura and have someone that only saw her when she first got there. They all respond as if she should not look as good as she does. She smiles at them and is quick to ask them how their kids are. It is fun to watch a doctor or nurse not know how to respond to a simple question. You can ask them to tell you exactly what is wrong with Laura and they will descirbe every painful detail, but if you ask them how they are doing they kind of stumble a bit. It is a testament to Laura's peace and her gifts. People. Plain and simple. Invest in others. Care about others. She does that, and I admire her for those qualities. God has really moved in this time in our lives, and Laura is making it count.
The issue surrounding Laura is time and healing. How long will it take to walk out of there? When will she be considered healthy again (of course Laura just wants to know when she can go for a run again)? And with all of the questions about time, she is now wondering how long her commitment to fasting, praying, singing, reading, solitude and worshipping will last? We are now at the end of 11 days without anything to eat or drink. She told me today that even seeing a straw is hard. She so desperately wants something cool to drink. Today, during one of her many shots in to her PIC line, I saw Laura closing her eyes and she had a strange look on her face. An expression I had not seen so far through this trial. So, I asked, "Are you okay?" She said, "Yes, I like it when they give me shots in the PIC line, because it's cold and I can feel it through my arm. It's the closest thing to a drink I can get." That was a bit strange to hear but also really crushed me. My wife looks forward to shots because they can slightly quench her thirst. As a husband in this situation, I can hold her hand, pat her head, sing with her, read to her, pray with her, help her move around and walk with her, I can even serve her heart, but I can't quench her thirst. She does not know it but that moment today was very difficult for me. It showed me another way that only God can accomplish these things. And, the best part is...Laura fully expects Him to. That is a great faith. A deep faith that I don't believe I have. It may seem like her only option right now, but her actions speak volumes to me every day.
I wanted to also share a bit about our two children, Kaitlyn and Kaden. They are so blessed by you all, and it really means a lot to me that they know they have so many people in their lives that care about them. Through this whole ordeal they have been loved on in a huge way by you all, but they are still just kids and they are showing some wear with all of this. I have noticed that they are having a few difficult moments now. Mostly emotional moments. Today, in the middle of rough housing (a classic Frederick game), Kaitlyn stopped in the middle of me attacking her, and she started to cry. She said she really misses mommy and wanted to know when she was coming home. I have traveled a lot for my business over the years, so Kaitlyn does okay when I'm gone but she has never gone more than a few days without Laura. Please continue to pray for their little spirits. They don't get all of this stuff, and all they know is mommy is sick. Their lives have been filled with joy through all of this because of the efforts you have all made but they just miss mom. So do I.
J.P.
It's an entertaining thing to be walking the halls of the hospital with Laura and have someone that only saw her when she first got there. They all respond as if she should not look as good as she does. She smiles at them and is quick to ask them how their kids are. It is fun to watch a doctor or nurse not know how to respond to a simple question. You can ask them to tell you exactly what is wrong with Laura and they will descirbe every painful detail, but if you ask them how they are doing they kind of stumble a bit. It is a testament to Laura's peace and her gifts. People. Plain and simple. Invest in others. Care about others. She does that, and I admire her for those qualities. God has really moved in this time in our lives, and Laura is making it count.
The issue surrounding Laura is time and healing. How long will it take to walk out of there? When will she be considered healthy again (of course Laura just wants to know when she can go for a run again)? And with all of the questions about time, she is now wondering how long her commitment to fasting, praying, singing, reading, solitude and worshipping will last? We are now at the end of 11 days without anything to eat or drink. She told me today that even seeing a straw is hard. She so desperately wants something cool to drink. Today, during one of her many shots in to her PIC line, I saw Laura closing her eyes and she had a strange look on her face. An expression I had not seen so far through this trial. So, I asked, "Are you okay?" She said, "Yes, I like it when they give me shots in the PIC line, because it's cold and I can feel it through my arm. It's the closest thing to a drink I can get." That was a bit strange to hear but also really crushed me. My wife looks forward to shots because they can slightly quench her thirst. As a husband in this situation, I can hold her hand, pat her head, sing with her, read to her, pray with her, help her move around and walk with her, I can even serve her heart, but I can't quench her thirst. She does not know it but that moment today was very difficult for me. It showed me another way that only God can accomplish these things. And, the best part is...Laura fully expects Him to. That is a great faith. A deep faith that I don't believe I have. It may seem like her only option right now, but her actions speak volumes to me every day.
I wanted to also share a bit about our two children, Kaitlyn and Kaden. They are so blessed by you all, and it really means a lot to me that they know they have so many people in their lives that care about them. Through this whole ordeal they have been loved on in a huge way by you all, but they are still just kids and they are showing some wear with all of this. I have noticed that they are having a few difficult moments now. Mostly emotional moments. Today, in the middle of rough housing (a classic Frederick game), Kaitlyn stopped in the middle of me attacking her, and she started to cry. She said she really misses mommy and wanted to know when she was coming home. I have traveled a lot for my business over the years, so Kaitlyn does okay when I'm gone but she has never gone more than a few days without Laura. Please continue to pray for their little spirits. They don't get all of this stuff, and all they know is mommy is sick. Their lives have been filled with joy through all of this because of the efforts you have all made but they just miss mom. So do I.
J.P.
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Any encouraging words will be passed on to the Fredericks. Thanks!