Hello to you all. Today was a good day overall. I know Laura was exhausted from all of the things that went on today. It started out bright and early as normal for her. Every day the doctors and nurses come and get Laura around 4:30 a.m and take her to have some scans, xrays, blood work, tests...etc. You name it, it's done between 4:30 and 5 a.m.
Now, leading up to this many of you have been woken up from your sleep between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. That just so happens to be Laura's worst sleep and she tends to be in a bit of pain around then, so please keep praying for her when you are suddenly wide awake between 3 and 5. She still needs our prayers.
Once I got there, the doctor was not far behind to fill us in on the results. Today was very much like yesterday in that her white blood cells have increased again, but Dr. Bosco was going to make a few changes with Laura to "chase" the problem. And, he does not like the fact that every night so far Laura's temperature jumps up suddenly. So, his first solution was to take her off of the antibiotics again. He says that sometimes the antibiotic that Laura is on can give a "confused" white blood cell result. So, in order to limit that he has decided to stop that antibiotic. Laura did not mention it to me but I could tell she was a bit nervous about it. This was the same thing that they did a few nights ago and she got worse. She later told Holly that she was a bit scared about it but that she trusted her God to comfort her. Next, Dr. Bosco said that he was also going to take her off of the pump version of the pancreas medicine (octreotide) and switch her to shots in the leg. Laura was not thrilled about this either. He also wanted to replace her PIC line today just to make sure it wasn't contributing to any misreadings on the lab results everyday. Her PIC line goes in thorugh her arm and drops down in to her chest and it has many functions. It can feed her and they can draw blood from it. So, it's an important piece for someone who hasn't drank anything or eaten anything for 9 days. Finally the doctor did say she would actually be moved today and she WAS! Of course that brought on a little tension as well, because in the trauma unit Laura is very close to the most advanced equipment; she was one of only 3 people in that area, so she was given a lot of close attention. Please pray for her with this because, as I have shared, she was very comfortable with the team in the trauma unit.
Once our meeting with Dr. Bosco was over, it was non-stop people and tests with poking and moving until 3 p.m. Finally, she was left alone and in her new room. I was hoping that her and Holly could just rest but Laura could not. She just never reached that deep sleep that she needed. She needs rest, so that is a prayer as well. She also decided to no longer take any pain medication for a few different reasons. First, she kind of started to want it and second, she was relying on it for sleep. She would rather rest next to her Lord. She had a great vision today of that but I will not share those details with you all; it was very sweet though! With all of that going on Laura still managed to shine a bit on her new nurses and they seemed to like being around her. I have not seen a nurse yet get out of that room without Laura knowing sometihng about them. It's pretty fun to watch. That's Laura in action. Her gifts being used...people, listening, caring.
Overall, Laura is getting better. Slowly. Very slowly. That just is not the pace in the Frederick house! So it's really hard for Laura--at least I get some breaks from that place. Our walk today was awesome. She was so moved by all of the things going on around us. It makes us both ask, "Why?" Why us? A ton of people are hurting or have been hurting. I really did not have an answer. All I know is you all have moved my family into a place of rest and peace in the middle of some very difficult times. I know God is using you all to bless us, and for that I am so humbled and grateful. I would love to share more of my day with Laura with you all but instead Laura wanted to share a few things that she wrote today...
From Laura.
There are a few thoughts on my heart today. 1) There is no way we can fathom the power of our God. When you pray you are sharing your heart with a Being who extends beyond what our minds could ever comprehend. Don’t let your fears make you forget how big he is! 2) Sometimes he allows us the privilege of seeing the work he is doing in our lives. But sometimes we don’t have visibility to that work. His loving hands never stop shaping us. Offer praise even when you don’t see the fruit (yet). 3) I’ve never fasted. I like my comforts. This has been a forced fast. However, even now there are ways I could compromise. Even in the case of a forced fast there were still ways to find loop holes. I've had to trust God to meet me in the fast and release my will, so I could connect with him in it so it would be a full fast. God has slowly taught me to look to him for satisfaction of hunger and thirst. He has met me in this fast. I can hear him more clearly. It’s a sweet place to be! The parts that I hear about how people are serving, helping, loving, praying. I’m hearing how each person is serving in their own strengths. It just blows me away that the Body is alive and moving. It’s such an amazing thing to hear about. We don’t even know how many people are being touched and changed through this. Keep pressing in to God. I look forward to the time when I can join with you in serving and in asking God to direct my heart to fill the needs of those around me.
Now, leading up to this many of you have been woken up from your sleep between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. That just so happens to be Laura's worst sleep and she tends to be in a bit of pain around then, so please keep praying for her when you are suddenly wide awake between 3 and 5. She still needs our prayers.
Once I got there, the doctor was not far behind to fill us in on the results. Today was very much like yesterday in that her white blood cells have increased again, but Dr. Bosco was going to make a few changes with Laura to "chase" the problem. And, he does not like the fact that every night so far Laura's temperature jumps up suddenly. So, his first solution was to take her off of the antibiotics again. He says that sometimes the antibiotic that Laura is on can give a "confused" white blood cell result. So, in order to limit that he has decided to stop that antibiotic. Laura did not mention it to me but I could tell she was a bit nervous about it. This was the same thing that they did a few nights ago and she got worse. She later told Holly that she was a bit scared about it but that she trusted her God to comfort her. Next, Dr. Bosco said that he was also going to take her off of the pump version of the pancreas medicine (octreotide) and switch her to shots in the leg. Laura was not thrilled about this either. He also wanted to replace her PIC line today just to make sure it wasn't contributing to any misreadings on the lab results everyday. Her PIC line goes in thorugh her arm and drops down in to her chest and it has many functions. It can feed her and they can draw blood from it. So, it's an important piece for someone who hasn't drank anything or eaten anything for 9 days. Finally the doctor did say she would actually be moved today and she WAS! Of course that brought on a little tension as well, because in the trauma unit Laura is very close to the most advanced equipment; she was one of only 3 people in that area, so she was given a lot of close attention. Please pray for her with this because, as I have shared, she was very comfortable with the team in the trauma unit.
Once our meeting with Dr. Bosco was over, it was non-stop people and tests with poking and moving until 3 p.m. Finally, she was left alone and in her new room. I was hoping that her and Holly could just rest but Laura could not. She just never reached that deep sleep that she needed. She needs rest, so that is a prayer as well. She also decided to no longer take any pain medication for a few different reasons. First, she kind of started to want it and second, she was relying on it for sleep. She would rather rest next to her Lord. She had a great vision today of that but I will not share those details with you all; it was very sweet though! With all of that going on Laura still managed to shine a bit on her new nurses and they seemed to like being around her. I have not seen a nurse yet get out of that room without Laura knowing sometihng about them. It's pretty fun to watch. That's Laura in action. Her gifts being used...people, listening, caring.
Overall, Laura is getting better. Slowly. Very slowly. That just is not the pace in the Frederick house! So it's really hard for Laura--at least I get some breaks from that place. Our walk today was awesome. She was so moved by all of the things going on around us. It makes us both ask, "Why?" Why us? A ton of people are hurting or have been hurting. I really did not have an answer. All I know is you all have moved my family into a place of rest and peace in the middle of some very difficult times. I know God is using you all to bless us, and for that I am so humbled and grateful. I would love to share more of my day with Laura with you all but instead Laura wanted to share a few things that she wrote today...
From Laura.
There are a few thoughts on my heart today. 1) There is no way we can fathom the power of our God. When you pray you are sharing your heart with a Being who extends beyond what our minds could ever comprehend. Don’t let your fears make you forget how big he is! 2) Sometimes he allows us the privilege of seeing the work he is doing in our lives. But sometimes we don’t have visibility to that work. His loving hands never stop shaping us. Offer praise even when you don’t see the fruit (yet). 3) I’ve never fasted. I like my comforts. This has been a forced fast. However, even now there are ways I could compromise. Even in the case of a forced fast there were still ways to find loop holes. I've had to trust God to meet me in the fast and release my will, so I could connect with him in it so it would be a full fast. God has slowly taught me to look to him for satisfaction of hunger and thirst. He has met me in this fast. I can hear him more clearly. It’s a sweet place to be! The parts that I hear about how people are serving, helping, loving, praying. I’m hearing how each person is serving in their own strengths. It just blows me away that the Body is alive and moving. It’s such an amazing thing to hear about. We don’t even know how many people are being touched and changed through this. Keep pressing in to God. I look forward to the time when I can join with you in serving and in asking God to direct my heart to fill the needs of those around me.
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Any encouraging words will be passed on to the Fredericks. Thanks!