As for me I have something to be so very thankful for today ~ an answer to prayer!
On Wednesday I awoke to find a box had been delivered to my door. I wasn't expecting anything so I didn't open it until Thursday evening. What a wonderful answer to prayer... a box full of nebulizer treatments. For those who aren't familiar with what a nebulizer is; it's one of my life supporting treatments. It clears my airways when nothing else will work... it's often my last step before running to the emergency room or calling 911.
Why is this an answer to prayer for me... because Wednesday night I had used my last two vials thus leaving my supply depleted. The price to purchase a new supply was going to cost me close to $200; since I don't have that kind of money I probably would have waited until things became really bad and gone to the hospital.
I'm still not sure why this showed up at my door... I haven't taken the time to research the "why's"... I just haven't been feeling well enough to even want to figure it out at this point.
As it stands right now, I will continue to praise my Lord for His goodness and mercy. Once again His blessings continue to pour out upon me; definitely not in my timing, but most certainly in His.
Isaiah 55:8-9
8 “ For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
9 “ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.
With this package arriving at my door it allowed a sliver of light, a sliver of hope, just enough to know that my Lord remains in control and all things will be provided for and come to completion in His timing.
It doesn't appear that this most recent round of antibiotics and steroids did anything to improve my condition. Come Monday morning if there isn't a significant improvement then I will once again call the doctor and we will decide what the next step is.
It's now going on 7 weeks that I've been down with bronchitis...
In addition to bronchitis, side effects to the antibiotics are beginning to surface (I will spare you the exciting details of these side effects).
When a diabetic is sick blood sugars tend to run high; add steroids to the mix and it sends my sugars soaring... this causes the nerve damage in my feet (neuropathy) and nerve damage in my abdomen (stomach paralysis) to act up. Higher sugars also mean that I'm so very tired and all I want to do is sleep.
High sugars also mean an increased usage of diabetic medications... thus causing my supply to dwindle faster than it normally would. But as God showed this past week, He will provide for my needs .
Unfortunately, high sugars sometimes mean that a crash (very low sugars) can come out of the blue... just as happened last night. My sugars had dropped to the mid 30's; I think that last night was the closest I've ever come to passing out. Once again, something to be thankful to God for as both my children, son-in-law, and grandchildren were at home with me when this happened.
I'm truly looking forward to seeing how God is going to provide the medications that are needed between now and the first of the year...
*****
Dad and Mom...
I am once again going to share some information so that you will know how to pray. I'm not putting this information out for any other reason except for you to be able to pray more specifically for my parents.
As a side note I wanted to share my parents ages with you... I think their ages just might come as a surprise to some and even shock others. For the most part, people of their age groups do not experience what they are going through. I'm hoping this will help you better understand the reason this is all so shocking to us.
Mom is a very young 69 years old, in fact she just celebrated her birthday the beginning of October.
Dad is a very young 71 years old and will be celebrating his 72nd birthday at the end of November.
Mom's condition remains extremely poor... She remains heavily medicated, in fact, if they needed to further medicate her I believe the next step would be a drug induced coma.
When praying for dad please pray that God will continue to provide him with strength. Not only for his heart but also the strength (mentally and physically) to assist in caring for my mother each day. Pray that his mind will be still at night and that he will be able to have a solid time of sleep; one spent without continually waking up in worry over my mother.
Before moving on to my mom... remember that both of my parents were out here (in California) with me in April. My mother spent four weeks taking care of me during my recovery from cervical spinal surgery and my father spent four very busy weeks being Mr. Fix-it... he did everything from plumbing repair to garage clean up to remodeling a room in my house so the boys (my grandsons) would have a special room in the house when they come over to play and / or spend the night (this only happens when Ricky is home).
Now onto mom...
Have you ever cared for an end of life alzheimer's patient? They ask the same questions over and over again. There is no rhyme or reason for most of their questions; most of their time is spent highly confused and frustrated over not understanding. They are no longer able to care for themselves and need a caregiver for their simplest daily needs.
The above description is that of my mothers daily life... without going into details this lifestyle is exhausting for all concerned, including my mother.
Believe it or not there is good news in all of this; with the amount of medication that she is now on it has allowed the last few days to be relatively pain free. That alone is great reason for us to be thankful to God; that through medication she is no longer crying out in pain. Please join our family in praising God for this answer to prayer.
It's easier for me to deal with this then I can imagine it is for my father... I'm only able to speak with mom over the phone. I've not yet seen any pictures of her; but I'm sure once I do the reality of this will set in much more then it already has for me.
As for dad, he is living this day in and day out... I'm sure that at times it seems that this may all be much more then he can or wants to handle.
The one thing I will say; my sister and I are so very proud of the fact that he has been right by her side every step of the way.
Thank you again for the very many prayers and all the thoughts and well wishes!
Diana
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
October 26, 2010
So much to share; I'm not sure where to begin!
Moving forward I will refer to these times in life as 'Faith Strengthening Exercises' or FSE's...
I've been in bed the last several days; still trying to fight off this bronchial COPD flare up. In other words, I've had a steady case of bronchitis for the last 6 weeks; some days are worse then others, but for the most part I remain thankful that God has allowed me to stay out of the hospital.
I've begun yet another course of antibiotics and steroids... I haven't noticed a difference yet but am holding out hope that this will work!
And then for the best news yet...
For the last 7 - 10 days the price of my med's had begun to go up... the best I could understand was that it had something to do with Medicare coverage (or the changes within). I picked up the med's that I absolutely needed and figured I could deal with the others once I began to regain some strength.
But then today as I was calling to inquire about another needed medication I received the best news of all... As of October 25th (Monday) I hit the doughnut hole! What does this mean... from now until the end of the year I no longer have prescription coverage. For someone like me who is on 20 - 30 prescriptions each month; it means no more prescriptions until January 1, 2011.
It looks like I need to spend some time making phone calls tomorrow (whether I feel like it or not). My priority for tomorrow will be trying to figure out how I can get some of the meds that I must have to live for the next two months (11 of which are for diabetes and breathing - COPD).
*****
I received a card in the mail from a dear friend on Saturday... inside the card she gave me a scripture verse. At first I didn't think much of it... don't get me wrong, I love getting cards and treasure the Word of God along with the many scriptures within. But at the time of receiving the card and scripture it didn't pop out at me as something to hold onto tightly.
But as this week has progressed (with news of my medications and then more news about my mother) that specific scripture has become increasingly meaningful to me.
Isaiah 28-31
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
*****
My father is doing well for the most part... he has only had one bad day since my mothers fall and for that we are all thankful. This is so much more magnificent when you remember that he is still operating on only a portion of his heart and five of the arteries connected to his functioning heart are 100% blocked.
He has written a short note for me to share with you.
I went to my cardiologist on October 22... as he checked me over we began to talk about my stay in the hospital. The doctor said that he did not expect me to walk out of the hospital. Neither my cardiologist nor my electrical physiologist expected me to survive the procedures that were done. In fact Dr. Freeman refused to do a procedure because he didn't think I would pull through it. As I was talking to Dr. Schreibman he asked me to wait while he e-mailed Dr. Freeman to tell him how good I was doing. He also posted a picture because he was so excited to see the results of what God did for me. Dr. Schreibman and I know that it was just the Lord that got me through this ordeal. Thank you all for your prayers, Frank
As for my mother, the news is not as good...
She did have one day that was good... good for her means having had a bearable day; one that wasn't spent crying out in pain. Regardless, we are thankful for that one day.
Dad has watched her over the last two weeks (it seems as though it has been so much longer than that). Listening to the doctors and nurses tell him that she shouldn't be in as much pain as she is in, knowing that my mother is not one to complain, and watching her in extreme agony, my father decided to do his own research.
He spent a great deal of time on the computer researching pelvic breaks and reasons that could be causing the amount of distress mom seems to be in.
On Sunday he went to the rehab hospital with a stack of research papers in hand... within a couple hours my mother was in an ambulance on her way back to the hospital.
After more scans the results came back; in addition to the three breaks in the pelvic there was an additional bone that broke when she fell. The name of this bone is Sacrum and it too has broken in three places; this is the cause of her extreme and intense pain.
In doing some of my own research in an attempt at explaining the intensity of the pain she is in, this seemed to be the best description.
The sacrum is a triangle-shaped bone made up of five fused (joined) vertebrae. The vertebrae are the bones that make up your spine. The sacrum is found at the end of the spine, with the hip bones on each side.
There are many
nerves that run directly through these broken bones... most specifically the sacral nerves.
Again, whenever she moves, the muscles and ligaments that surround these bones go into spasms... this causing her indescribable pain.
She is being sedated as much as possible; but even with this sedation most of her day is spent crying and even screaming out in pain.
The pain and sedation medications have their own side effects such as slurred speech, forgetfulness, hallucinations, and the list goes on.
Now that it is clear as to what is causing this extreme pain, the doctors are estimating 3 - 4 more weeks of this pain. Her pain won't begin to subside until the bones have had a chance to heal.
Unless God begins a miraculous healing in my mother she will remain in the rehabilitation hospital until Christmas.
I think the worse part is that throughout all of this she must continue to undergo physical therapy. It's important that she continue to work on strengthening her muscles so that she will eventually be able to get back on her feet.
With this information I would once again ask that you pray for her... that God would fill her with peace and flood her with joy.
Additionally, that God would continue to provide my father with the strength he needs to keep up with his heart therapy and then be able to tend to my mother.
As I have mentioned before, I don't have answers as to why she is experiencing the pain she is in. The fact is that the world we live in is not perfect... it is a world consumed by sin.
My mother has received the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. With this knowledge we (all of us) can rest knowing that there will be a time when she will no longer be in pain. All who have received the gift of salvation can look forward to an eternity in which our old bodies (some full of pain) will pass away and there will no longer be pain, tears, or sorrow.
For those who have not yet made a decision to follow Christ and have Him be the Lord of your life... for you, according to the Bible, there is no hope of looking forward to a time where there is no longer pain, tears, or sorrow. In fact eternity will be spent in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone (hell).
Revelation 21:3-8
3And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them.
4He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.
5And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new" And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true."
6Then He said to me, "It is done I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.
7"He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.
8"But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
I'm continuing to share my Lord, my Jesus with all of you because where you spend eternity is the only thing that matters in this life.
If you have any questions regarding my Lord or the things I am writing about I would be happy to speak with you.
And finally, thank you for the many prayers that have gone up on behalf of my family. Thank you to all who have called, sent cards, letters, and emails with words of encouragement and to let us know that you care.
If you would like to send a card to mom here is her address:
Sunset Lake Health and Rehabilitation Center
Mildrene Young
832 Sunset Lake Blvd.
Venice, FL 34292
With love,
Diana
Moving forward I will refer to these times in life as 'Faith Strengthening Exercises' or FSE's...
I've been in bed the last several days; still trying to fight off this bronchial COPD flare up. In other words, I've had a steady case of bronchitis for the last 6 weeks; some days are worse then others, but for the most part I remain thankful that God has allowed me to stay out of the hospital.
I've begun yet another course of antibiotics and steroids... I haven't noticed a difference yet but am holding out hope that this will work!
And then for the best news yet...
For the last 7 - 10 days the price of my med's had begun to go up... the best I could understand was that it had something to do with Medicare coverage (or the changes within). I picked up the med's that I absolutely needed and figured I could deal with the others once I began to regain some strength.
But then today as I was calling to inquire about another needed medication I received the best news of all... As of October 25th (Monday) I hit the doughnut hole! What does this mean... from now until the end of the year I no longer have prescription coverage. For someone like me who is on 20 - 30 prescriptions each month; it means no more prescriptions until January 1, 2011.
It looks like I need to spend some time making phone calls tomorrow (whether I feel like it or not). My priority for tomorrow will be trying to figure out how I can get some of the meds that I must have to live for the next two months (11 of which are for diabetes and breathing - COPD).
*****
I received a card in the mail from a dear friend on Saturday... inside the card she gave me a scripture verse. At first I didn't think much of it... don't get me wrong, I love getting cards and treasure the Word of God along with the many scriptures within. But at the time of receiving the card and scripture it didn't pop out at me as something to hold onto tightly.
But as this week has progressed (with news of my medications and then more news about my mother) that specific scripture has become increasingly meaningful to me.
Isaiah 28-31
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
*****
My father is doing well for the most part... he has only had one bad day since my mothers fall and for that we are all thankful. This is so much more magnificent when you remember that he is still operating on only a portion of his heart and five of the arteries connected to his functioning heart are 100% blocked.
He has written a short note for me to share with you.
I went to my cardiologist on October 22... as he checked me over we began to talk about my stay in the hospital. The doctor said that he did not expect me to walk out of the hospital. Neither my cardiologist nor my electrical physiologist expected me to survive the procedures that were done. In fact Dr. Freeman refused to do a procedure because he didn't think I would pull through it. As I was talking to Dr. Schreibman he asked me to wait while he e-mailed Dr. Freeman to tell him how good I was doing. He also posted a picture because he was so excited to see the results of what God did for me. Dr. Schreibman and I know that it was just the Lord that got me through this ordeal. Thank you all for your prayers, Frank
As for my mother, the news is not as good...
She did have one day that was good... good for her means having had a bearable day; one that wasn't spent crying out in pain. Regardless, we are thankful for that one day.
Dad has watched her over the last two weeks (it seems as though it has been so much longer than that). Listening to the doctors and nurses tell him that she shouldn't be in as much pain as she is in, knowing that my mother is not one to complain, and watching her in extreme agony, my father decided to do his own research.
He spent a great deal of time on the computer researching pelvic breaks and reasons that could be causing the amount of distress mom seems to be in.
On Sunday he went to the rehab hospital with a stack of research papers in hand... within a couple hours my mother was in an ambulance on her way back to the hospital.
After more scans the results came back; in addition to the three breaks in the pelvic there was an additional bone that broke when she fell. The name of this bone is Sacrum and it too has broken in three places; this is the cause of her extreme and intense pain.
In doing some of my own research in an attempt at explaining the intensity of the pain she is in, this seemed to be the best description.
The sacrum is a triangle-shaped bone made up of five fused (joined) vertebrae. The vertebrae are the bones that make up your spine. The sacrum is found at the end of the spine, with the hip bones on each side.
There are many
nerves that run directly through these broken bones... most specifically the sacral nerves.Again, whenever she moves, the muscles and ligaments that surround these bones go into spasms... this causing her indescribable pain.
She is being sedated as much as possible; but even with this sedation most of her day is spent crying and even screaming out in pain.
The pain and sedation medications have their own side effects such as slurred speech, forgetfulness, hallucinations, and the list goes on.
Now that it is clear as to what is causing this extreme pain, the doctors are estimating 3 - 4 more weeks of this pain. Her pain won't begin to subside until the bones have had a chance to heal.
Unless God begins a miraculous healing in my mother she will remain in the rehabilitation hospital until Christmas.
I think the worse part is that throughout all of this she must continue to undergo physical therapy. It's important that she continue to work on strengthening her muscles so that she will eventually be able to get back on her feet.
With this information I would once again ask that you pray for her... that God would fill her with peace and flood her with joy.
Additionally, that God would continue to provide my father with the strength he needs to keep up with his heart therapy and then be able to tend to my mother.
As I have mentioned before, I don't have answers as to why she is experiencing the pain she is in. The fact is that the world we live in is not perfect... it is a world consumed by sin.
My mother has received the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. With this knowledge we (all of us) can rest knowing that there will be a time when she will no longer be in pain. All who have received the gift of salvation can look forward to an eternity in which our old bodies (some full of pain) will pass away and there will no longer be pain, tears, or sorrow.
For those who have not yet made a decision to follow Christ and have Him be the Lord of your life... for you, according to the Bible, there is no hope of looking forward to a time where there is no longer pain, tears, or sorrow. In fact eternity will be spent in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone (hell).
Revelation 21:3-8
3And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them.
4He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.
5And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new" And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true."
6Then He said to me, "It is done I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.
7"He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.
8"But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
I'm continuing to share my Lord, my Jesus with all of you because where you spend eternity is the only thing that matters in this life.
If you have any questions regarding my Lord or the things I am writing about I would be happy to speak with you.
And finally, thank you for the many prayers that have gone up on behalf of my family. Thank you to all who have called, sent cards, letters, and emails with words of encouragement and to let us know that you care.
If you would like to send a card to mom here is her address:
Sunset Lake Health and Rehabilitation Center
Mildrene Young
832 Sunset Lake Blvd.
Venice, FL 34292
With love,
Diana
Monday, October 18, 2010
October 18, 2010 - Mom
I'm so excited! I just had a 15 minute conversation with my mother... It was about an hour after one of the 'spasms', but I was able to speak with her, laugh with her, and even cry with her.
She is still in horrible amounts of pain... the doctors are comparing her pain to that of a woman at the peak of labor pain.
I remember back to that (there were no epidurals when I had my children)... my beautiful, wonderful daughter provided me with 40 hours of entertainment back then... I thought it would never end.
It's so hard for me to know that mom is experiencing this pain day after day. At least with a baby you know there will eventually be an end to the labor. I will say that on a scale of 1 - 100; she has moved up from a 1 to a 2 in regards to this process as a whole.
If it was only the broken bone that she was dealing with then the pain level would be minimal; but it's the spasms that are causing the greatest amount of pain.
Apparently the muscle spasms are in direct contact with nerve endings in and around the pelvic area... this is what is causing the excruciating pain.
I've told her that many are asking about, thinking about, and most importantly praying for her... she is very appreciative of all the thoughts being sent her way and the prayers going up on her behalf.
Joshua 1:9
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee to whatever place you go.
I believe that is the perfect scripture for now... We still don't understand the why's of this happening; but God does. He is right there next to mom going through this with her every step of the way.
Already, there is so much that God has allowed me to see through my mothers injury; things I would have never learned had this not happened. For the things the Lord has taught me so far; I am so very thankful.
By the way, dad is continuing to hold strong... that's one more thing to be thanking God for.
As for me, yesterday was another 'not so good day'... today seems to be starting off wonderful. It's looking like it could be fireplace weather... wishing my lungs were just a little stronger so that thought could become a reality; well, it's always fun to dream.
Off to spend some time with my Lord in prayer and in the Word!
With Love,
Diana
She is still in horrible amounts of pain... the doctors are comparing her pain to that of a woman at the peak of labor pain.
I remember back to that (there were no epidurals when I had my children)... my beautiful, wonderful daughter provided me with 40 hours of entertainment back then... I thought it would never end.
It's so hard for me to know that mom is experiencing this pain day after day. At least with a baby you know there will eventually be an end to the labor. I will say that on a scale of 1 - 100; she has moved up from a 1 to a 2 in regards to this process as a whole.
If it was only the broken bone that she was dealing with then the pain level would be minimal; but it's the spasms that are causing the greatest amount of pain.
Apparently the muscle spasms are in direct contact with nerve endings in and around the pelvic area... this is what is causing the excruciating pain.
I've told her that many are asking about, thinking about, and most importantly praying for her... she is very appreciative of all the thoughts being sent her way and the prayers going up on her behalf.
Joshua 1:9
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee to whatever place you go.
I believe that is the perfect scripture for now... We still don't understand the why's of this happening; but God does. He is right there next to mom going through this with her every step of the way.
Already, there is so much that God has allowed me to see through my mothers injury; things I would have never learned had this not happened. For the things the Lord has taught me so far; I am so very thankful.
By the way, dad is continuing to hold strong... that's one more thing to be thanking God for.
As for me, yesterday was another 'not so good day'... today seems to be starting off wonderful. It's looking like it could be fireplace weather... wishing my lungs were just a little stronger so that thought could become a reality; well, it's always fun to dream.
Off to spend some time with my Lord in prayer and in the Word!
With Love,
Diana
Friday, October 15, 2010
October 16, 2010
Psalm 116:1 I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.
There are many promises in the Word of God... but right now this is the one that I am holding on to.
A little update on me and then on to my parents...
As most of you know by now I have good days, not so good days, and then some bad days.
The last two days qualified as bad days and have been spent in bed. Wednesday I went to the doctor for a follow up visit; I was still suffering the affects of a COPD flare up but it was determined that the benefits of receiving the flu shot outweighed the risks of getting the shot while still sick.
What qualifies as a bad day for me is a combination of 'paralyzed stomach' (you can google this), a minor case of the stomach flu (from the flu shot), and an increase to the 'COPD' flare up (once again, from the flu shot).
I won't go into details, but if you are looking for investment advice I would suggest Kimberly-Clark... the makers of Depends... lol!
I've been waiting until I started recovering from the 'flare up' to start on my newest medication; but since that doesn't seem to be happening my very good friend (Jeralynn) is going to hunt it down for me.
The name of this new medication is Asafoetida; it's actually an Indian herb. It's nickname is devil's dung... it has received this name because of its strong pungent smell due to the presence of sulfur compounds.
I have just purchased empty capsules and once they arrive, along with the asafoetid, the capsules will need to be filled. Any volunteers? If this stuff works like it's suppose to I'm hoping to see a decrease in two areas; the paralysis (all digestive disorders) and the bronchitis/asthma/COPD... I'll keep you posted.
Onto my parents... please continue to pray for them... now more then ever before.
As a quick side note... the picture of my family was taken this past May when my parents were out here assisting me with the recovery of my neck surgery.
My father seems to be holding strong; although watching my mother go through this is proving to be one of the biggest trials in his life.
His daily routine goes something like this; he wakes up and goes to heart rehab... then it's off to compression therapy (external counter pulsation - you can google it). From there he's off to see my mother, home for a nap, back to see my mother and then back home. You wouldn't know that less then two months ago we were planning his funeral.
Let me first tell you that mom has been moved to a rehabilitation hospital; she will be there for the next 1 - 2 months. If you know her (even if you don't) and you would like to send her a card this is her address:
Sunset Lake Health and Rehabilitation Center
Mildrene Young
832 Sunset Lake Blvd.
Venice, FL 34292
I am not releasing her phone number right now; as you continue to read you will see that she is not able to take phone calls at this time.
I will try to explain this to the best of my knowledge; this information may change over the next few days as I become more familiar with her condition.
Please know that I am only sharing some of these details so that you can know how to pray... otherwise, I wouldn't be making some of this information public.
It is confirmed that her pelvic is broken in three places... because of the way it broke she is having muscle spasms every time she moves any part of her body.
The muscles spasm in an attempt at holding the pelvic bone together. To say this is causing her excruciating pain is putting it mildly.
She is being given morphine in addition to other pain medications, but as I will explain this doesn't always bring relief. It is my understanding that she is being given morphine every 8 hours (or as needed).
Example, when she moves and starts having muscle spasms (say 1:00) they will give her a shot of morphine... this will take away the immediate pain. The spasms take approximately 2 - 3 hours to work themselves out. As you may or may not know, morphine wears off as time goes by... that said, if she then moves again at (say 4:00) she starts into spasms again; this time the spasms are more intense as the morphine has begun to wear off and the cycle continues until her next dose (at 9:00pm).
I've only spoke with her a couple of times; during one of the calls she dropped the phone and all I could hear was a blood curdling scream.
I called yesterday and was able to speak with both my mother and father. When speaking with my mother (about 2 minutes) she spent a great deal of energy trying to make sense.. it was a combination of my guessing what she was trying to say and what she was actually able to say.
When I spoke with my father he told me that upon his arrival she was choking. He called the nurses in and they immediately sat her up in a better position and aided her in swallowing (with that she started screaming in pain). This doesn't happen constantly but it occurred frequently yesterday (I'm not sure yet how last night or today has gone).
Our brains tell our bodies how and when to do everything... with her brain being overwhelmed it doesn't seem to be sending the signals to her swallowing reflexes to swallow. What I mean by overwhelmed is the amount of pain she has had for the last several days; this combined with the fact that she's not sleeping properly and on a large amount of pain meds.
Today, Saturday, she will be starting physical therapy... this is expected to cause her even more pain then she is already in; but this is a necessary part of her healing.
Now you may understand my reference to the scripture in the beginning...
Psalm 116:1 I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.
The Lord I love is not answering my prayers the way I would have Him answer my prayers... if He was then my mother would no longer be in pain. I don't know why He is allowing her to remain in this pain... I may never know the reason.
The one thing you need to know; my Lord does hear my voice, my prayers, my requests. He is allowing this to take place for a reason, again, it may be a reason that I will never have an answer for.
Regardless, the Lord I serve remains in control; He reigns, He lives, He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
There are many of you who don't know my Lord as your Savior... you have witnessed the trials and tribulations of my life and most recently that of my family.
As you have read my story you have seen that coming to know my Heavenly Father as your Savior doesn't mean that you will be free of worry, strife, illness, or even financial worries.
The one thing it does mean is that I know where I will spend eternity and my mother has the joy (not free of pain necessarily) of knowing where she will spend eternity.
Each one of our lives will be over in a vapor and the instant each of our lives end all that will ever have mattered is where we will spend eternity.
With much love,
Diana
P.S. This should have gone out much earlier and to those of you who this is meant for I apologize. My deepest sympathies to the family of my cousin Rosie who passed away just a couple of weeks ago; you continue to be in my thoughts and prayers.
There are many promises in the Word of God... but right now this is the one that I am holding on to.
A little update on me and then on to my parents...
As most of you know by now I have good days, not so good days, and then some bad days.
The last two days qualified as bad days and have been spent in bed. Wednesday I went to the doctor for a follow up visit; I was still suffering the affects of a COPD flare up but it was determined that the benefits of receiving the flu shot outweighed the risks of getting the shot while still sick.
What qualifies as a bad day for me is a combination of 'paralyzed stomach' (you can google this), a minor case of the stomach flu (from the flu shot), and an increase to the 'COPD' flare up (once again, from the flu shot).
I won't go into details, but if you are looking for investment advice I would suggest Kimberly-Clark... the makers of Depends... lol!
I've been waiting until I started recovering from the 'flare up' to start on my newest medication; but since that doesn't seem to be happening my very good friend (Jeralynn) is going to hunt it down for me.
The name of this new medication is Asafoetida; it's actually an Indian herb. It's nickname is devil's dung... it has received this name because of its strong pungent smell due to the presence of sulfur compounds.
I have just purchased empty capsules and once they arrive, along with the asafoetid, the capsules will need to be filled. Any volunteers? If this stuff works like it's suppose to I'm hoping to see a decrease in two areas; the paralysis (all digestive disorders) and the bronchitis/asthma/COPD... I'll keep you posted.
Onto my parents... please continue to pray for them... now more then ever before.
As a quick side note... the picture of my family was taken this past May when my parents were out here assisting me with the recovery of my neck surgery.
My father seems to be holding strong; although watching my mother go through this is proving to be one of the biggest trials in his life.
His daily routine goes something like this; he wakes up and goes to heart rehab... then it's off to compression therapy (external counter pulsation - you can google it). From there he's off to see my mother, home for a nap, back to see my mother and then back home. You wouldn't know that less then two months ago we were planning his funeral.
Let me first tell you that mom has been moved to a rehabilitation hospital; she will be there for the next 1 - 2 months. If you know her (even if you don't) and you would like to send her a card this is her address:
Sunset Lake Health and Rehabilitation Center
Mildrene Young
832 Sunset Lake Blvd.
Venice, FL 34292
I am not releasing her phone number right now; as you continue to read you will see that she is not able to take phone calls at this time.
I will try to explain this to the best of my knowledge; this information may change over the next few days as I become more familiar with her condition.
Please know that I am only sharing some of these details so that you can know how to pray... otherwise, I wouldn't be making some of this information public.
It is confirmed that her pelvic is broken in three places... because of the way it broke she is having muscle spasms every time she moves any part of her body.
The muscles spasm in an attempt at holding the pelvic bone together. To say this is causing her excruciating pain is putting it mildly.
She is being given morphine in addition to other pain medications, but as I will explain this doesn't always bring relief. It is my understanding that she is being given morphine every 8 hours (or as needed).
Example, when she moves and starts having muscle spasms (say 1:00) they will give her a shot of morphine... this will take away the immediate pain. The spasms take approximately 2 - 3 hours to work themselves out. As you may or may not know, morphine wears off as time goes by... that said, if she then moves again at (say 4:00) she starts into spasms again; this time the spasms are more intense as the morphine has begun to wear off and the cycle continues until her next dose (at 9:00pm).
I've only spoke with her a couple of times; during one of the calls she dropped the phone and all I could hear was a blood curdling scream.
I called yesterday and was able to speak with both my mother and father. When speaking with my mother (about 2 minutes) she spent a great deal of energy trying to make sense.. it was a combination of my guessing what she was trying to say and what she was actually able to say.
When I spoke with my father he told me that upon his arrival she was choking. He called the nurses in and they immediately sat her up in a better position and aided her in swallowing (with that she started screaming in pain). This doesn't happen constantly but it occurred frequently yesterday (I'm not sure yet how last night or today has gone).
Our brains tell our bodies how and when to do everything... with her brain being overwhelmed it doesn't seem to be sending the signals to her swallowing reflexes to swallow. What I mean by overwhelmed is the amount of pain she has had for the last several days; this combined with the fact that she's not sleeping properly and on a large amount of pain meds.
Today, Saturday, she will be starting physical therapy... this is expected to cause her even more pain then she is already in; but this is a necessary part of her healing.
Now you may understand my reference to the scripture in the beginning...
Psalm 116:1 I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.
The Lord I love is not answering my prayers the way I would have Him answer my prayers... if He was then my mother would no longer be in pain. I don't know why He is allowing her to remain in this pain... I may never know the reason.
The one thing you need to know; my Lord does hear my voice, my prayers, my requests. He is allowing this to take place for a reason, again, it may be a reason that I will never have an answer for.
Regardless, the Lord I serve remains in control; He reigns, He lives, He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
There are many of you who don't know my Lord as your Savior... you have witnessed the trials and tribulations of my life and most recently that of my family.
As you have read my story you have seen that coming to know my Heavenly Father as your Savior doesn't mean that you will be free of worry, strife, illness, or even financial worries.
The one thing it does mean is that I know where I will spend eternity and my mother has the joy (not free of pain necessarily) of knowing where she will spend eternity.
Each one of our lives will be over in a vapor and the instant each of our lives end all that will ever have mattered is where we will spend eternity.
With much love,
Diana
P.S. This should have gone out much earlier and to those of you who this is meant for I apologize. My deepest sympathies to the family of my cousin Rosie who passed away just a couple of weeks ago; you continue to be in my thoughts and prayers.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
October 12, 2010 - My parents
I'm suppose to be updating everyone on a more frequent basis but I continue to fail on that account.
My health hasn't been terrific lately and that is my primary reason for not providing an update...
I've been fighting bronchitis / head cold / flu over the last few weeks (bottom line - doing everything in my power to stay out of the hospital). And then, trying to figure out how to deal with the most recent diagnosis of 'stomach paralysis'. I will go into all of that in more detail at a later date.
This quick update is primarily for family and friends who know my parents.
My father is holding his own... he is now operating on 1/2 of a heart. The half of his heart that is working has 5 arteries that are 100% blocked... the good news is that although it is dependent on a pacemaker, his heart is now beating in a steady rhythm.
Now for the most recent news...
Monday night approximately 10:00pm (est) my mother fell and broke her pelvic bone in 3 places. With my mother having fallen it caused my fathers heart to act up and caused him to have some intense chest pains.
Two ambulances were sent to their home and they were both taken to the hospital. My father was released in the early hours of Tuesday morning. He spent a great part of the day having physical therapy (for the heart) and then the rest of the day with my mother.
My mother is on a great number of pain pills at the moment and she will remain in the hospital for the next 1 - 2 days. After that she will be moved to a convalescent home where she will begin to receive physical therapy for an undetermined amount of time.
I've only spoke with my mother briefly as she has been trying to rest. I'm hoping to speak more with her and my father tomorrow... hoping to get a better idea as to what is happening.
Please pray for peace, comfort, and healing for my mother... she is in a severe amount of pain. Pray that my father will continue to hold his own at least until my mother gets back on her feet. And finally, that God will grant wisdom where there are questions.
In the human eye it all seems to be a bit overwhelming... but God has already written this book and knows what tomorrow will bring. There are days that I sit back and wonder if God just watches us to wonder how it is we will deal with the circumstances that lay before us.
As for now, I'm grateful to serve a Lord that hears my prayers and knows my every thought.
Diana
My health hasn't been terrific lately and that is my primary reason for not providing an update...
I've been fighting bronchitis / head cold / flu over the last few weeks (bottom line - doing everything in my power to stay out of the hospital). And then, trying to figure out how to deal with the most recent diagnosis of 'stomach paralysis'. I will go into all of that in more detail at a later date.
This quick update is primarily for family and friends who know my parents.
My father is holding his own... he is now operating on 1/2 of a heart. The half of his heart that is working has 5 arteries that are 100% blocked... the good news is that although it is dependent on a pacemaker, his heart is now beating in a steady rhythm.
Now for the most recent news...
Monday night approximately 10:00pm (est) my mother fell and broke her pelvic bone in 3 places. With my mother having fallen it caused my fathers heart to act up and caused him to have some intense chest pains.
Two ambulances were sent to their home and they were both taken to the hospital. My father was released in the early hours of Tuesday morning. He spent a great part of the day having physical therapy (for the heart) and then the rest of the day with my mother.
My mother is on a great number of pain pills at the moment and she will remain in the hospital for the next 1 - 2 days. After that she will be moved to a convalescent home where she will begin to receive physical therapy for an undetermined amount of time.
I've only spoke with my mother briefly as she has been trying to rest. I'm hoping to speak more with her and my father tomorrow... hoping to get a better idea as to what is happening.
Please pray for peace, comfort, and healing for my mother... she is in a severe amount of pain. Pray that my father will continue to hold his own at least until my mother gets back on her feet. And finally, that God will grant wisdom where there are questions.
In the human eye it all seems to be a bit overwhelming... but God has already written this book and knows what tomorrow will bring. There are days that I sit back and wonder if God just watches us to wonder how it is we will deal with the circumstances that lay before us.
As for now, I'm grateful to serve a Lord that hears my prayers and knows my every thought.
Diana
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