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
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