Surgery... Part 2

  Once my scalp was numbed, the doctor made an incision on the top left of my head.  I felt this, but it did not hurt.  He then retracted the scalp so he could reach the skull.  This I felt also, kind of like the stretching that it was.  It also did not hurt, just felt weird.

  The position of my neck during this time was quit uncomfortable.  Although the team tried very hard to reposition me in a way that relieved my neck, it just couldn't be done. It felt like it was crimped in the middle making swallowing and talking difficult, though not impossible.  It also felt like a tickle in my throat was coming on, so I fought against that for nearly the whole surgery.

  Next a hole was drilled in my skull about the size of a nickel.  This is one of the more difficult spots in the 4 hours I was in surgery.  The whine of the drill was quite loud, but the "pop" sound I heard when he broke through the bone was a surprise.  Drilling went on for a very long minute and 45 seconds and then a very loud "CA-RACK" and he was through the bone.  The vibration the drill made was powerful.  I was glad for well rooted teeth.  That was side one, side two was similar.


When all around gives way,
He is all my hope and stay.

More next week.

Surgery, Ugly and To the Point

  Well, I told you that you would get a blow by blow account after DBSS I had on Monday 3/16/20.
First of all, forgive me that I have not been too regular of late with my postings.  It has been a bazaar couple of weeks...for all of us.

  It was only by the grace of God that I got the first surgery done.  Lockdown, because of COVID-19, came the very next day.  My surgery was not critical so it would have had to wait indefinitely.  After the first surgery was done, the second became a crucial part of the set.  If that one waited too long I would have had too much scar tissue surrounding the wires for the doctor to move them to the area where he hooked them up to the battery.  So on 3/20/20 I had the second surgery also.

  The first surgery to implant the wires into the "sweet spot" in my brain was an awake surgery.  I needed to be fully conscious to do the things they needed for proper placement; things like, say the days of the week, touch my nose, write my name and draw a spiral.  It was a very difficult thing to go through, fully alert to all the sights and sounds.

  A halo, a metal device that encircled my head, was first fitted, marked on my head where the screws would be placed and removed.  The doctor then numbed the four areas and screwed it into my skull.  The halo was then screwed onto a frame on the surgical bed.  I had a CAT scan to make sure the co-ordinates lined up with the earlier MRI.  Once satisfied that it all line up well and I was positioned exactly, I had novocaine injected into the areas where the incisions would be made.

  Enough for today?  This kind of thing isn't for the weak stomached.  I will continue next time.

Through EVERYTHING God is in control, sovereign and good.  He is the same yesterday, today, and for always.  He never changes.  My "GO-TO" during tough times is to count my blessings with a grateful heart.  Gratitude is so important to God.  If we are grateful to Him, He knows that we trust Him.  He gives use Hope and a future.

Dom's Baptism

  Dominick was baptized on Sunday February 23, 2020!  How excited I was, and a bit incredulous, to hear him say "I want to be baptized."  "I want fixed."

  For several years I had prayed that Father would move in his heart to make his commitment, to be a follower of Jesus, public.  I don't know why I was surprised.  I guess because he hates being in water so much.  During the church service the week before when he told me, I must have asked him at least three times if he wanted to be put under water and come up a man committed to following Jesus.  Each time, he told me firmly, "Yes, I do."

  So Jim and I and Dominick met with Pastor Larry and went over the details.  It was brief and to the point.  He was committed to going through with it.

  Dom has always been very in-tuned spiritually.  He lays hands on people and prays for them regularly.  Not only that, he remembers them, and asks about how they are doing the next time he sees them.  He says God talks to him.  He has vivid dreams.  He seems to understand so much of what he hears about scripture.  I love that his name is Dominick Israel.  He loves to hear his name in church.  He loves to have me pray for him, and prayer makes a difference to him.  Often I have seen him respond to prayers for a settling of his emotions, that can get out of control.  He is a tender hearted, gifted young man.


  1 Corinthians 12:18 But now God has set the members,
                                   Each of them,
                                   In the body just as He pleased.
                          vs.20 But now indeed there are many members,
                                   Yet one body.


PS.
My MRI went well on Monday.  God willing, surgery as scheduled, on the 16th.

One Interfering God

  After our first three children were born, we were so very content.  We were not at all interested in adding to our family.  Three children seemed just right.

  Enter, One Interfering God, and our plans began to change.  The Holy Spirit whispered in my heart each day, as I began to pray, that we should have another baby for Him.  So I asked Him to change my heart; to change our hearts.  Over the next weeks and months, as He whispered to my heart over, and over again, about the baby He wanted us to have, my heart was found by Him; softened, and drenched with longing for this child He so wanted us to have.

  And then we became pregnant.  I knew it was a boy, as the Lord had told me so.  While I was pregnant with this little boy, the Lord told me about his little sister!  Quite willing, this time, she was born 18 months later.  But while I was pregnant with her, again the Lord spoke to my heart, that there was another boy for us. Her little brother was born 4 years later.

  Our fourth child, Dominick, and our sixth child, Charlie, were both born with microcephaly, an extremely small brain, causing cognitive delays and various other possible disabilities.  There are many, many, adventures we had because of their problems.  Some of those adventures I will be sharing in the future.

  For now, I'd just say, each of us is made exactly as God so chooses to make us.   We really don't get to pick and choose.  We need to embrace, and rejoice over our differences, respecting all, as a God given individual, unique and precious His sight.

  1 Corinthians 13:12
For now we see in a mirror dimly,
But then face to face.
Now we know in part,
But then I shall know
just as I also am known.

Computer Lockdown but Big Investment

  Two weeks without a running Mac Book to Blog on and I am so sorry you've had to wait and wonder.

  Last week was spent at the Wade household taking care of four delightful children, a great, as in both large and well behaved, dog, and a wonderful gal from Columbia.  iStefani is a real dear who teaches at the Spanish Immersion School, in Clearwater, where the kids go to school.  She is just like a sister to the kids.  I don't think they know just how lucky they are to have her for the year.  She is wonderful in so many ways; intelligent, companionate, artistic, creative and understanding, are some of her qualities that pop into my mind.

  The first day we were with them was a day off of school.  Fun, yes, but, I learned I would not be able to keep up the pace I needed to, in order to keep the peace and harmony.   The next day, Jim moved a recliner from home into the dining area, and after that I did much better.  I was able to be with everybody, but not on my feet.

  On Tuesday I received a call to let me know my first surgery is scheduled for March 16th.  Before that I must go to Abbott-Northwestern in MPLS and have an MRI of my head.  The Doctor is extremely picky about some things.  I guess I like that in a surgeon.  He has the MRI crew at Abbott well trained to do the procedure just the way he wants. It is scheduled for the 9th of Mar.  I must also get a pre-op physical on Mar. 6th.  So the ball is rolling.

  I must say that I have had a deep residing peace about the surgery.  I am still certain the Lord is leading me in this direction.  But yesterday I had a bit of anxiety about it.  Lydia was here and she talked me through some of the issues I had.  I will probably need some hand holding and hugs again.  It is major surgery, with someone digging around in my brain, after all.

  My big deal is not so much having to be awake during all this, nor having to live through holes the size of nickels drilled in my skull, but the recovery period.  How very little I want to be on my back again in a recovery mode.  I want to be up, doing my writing, and being involved with the grandchildren, and living life fully able.

  The time will come.  I am certain of it.  Jesus had many years when He was learning to trust in His Father for all things.  If I want to be conformed to His image, I need to learn to depend on Father for all things too.  His investment in me is amazing.  I am so humbled by it.

  Philippians 4:6  Be anxious for nothing
But in everything
By prayer and supplication,
With thanksgiving,
Let your requests be made known to God

Await the Date

  We spent over an hour with Dr. Kyle Nelson, a Neuro-Surgeon, on Thursday afternoon.  He was very thorough in explaining DBS surgery and its results.  We drove home pretty excited about going ahead with it.  The results patients get are truly remarkable.  The shaking ceases immediately upon finding the "sweet spot" in the brain from where it originates.  So dramatic is the change that one member of the operating team frequently tears up with emotion when she sees the patient go from extreme shaking, to drawing a smooth prefect circle, signing a legible name, and making as though they are drinking, all with no shaking.

  The first thing I will need to do after I get approval and an appointment, is to go to Abbot-Northwestern Hospital to have an MRI of my head.  That will give the doctor a "road map" to use for the wire to follow.  

  Until then, I am doing my exercises at home with PT visits every week.  I feel like they are helping. The past two evenings I could be up yet at suppertime, making our evening meal.  Nice change up for both of us.  I do have to sit frequently to give myself a break.  I find that the more I try to do, the more I shake, drop things, forget to snatch things from the pantry and just mess up in general.  But it is sooo nice to be able to cook a meal again.

  Next week we take care of the Wade children, Ida, 13yrs, Marcus, nearly 12, Levi, 8 and Casey 5.  It should be a wonderful and fun week.


Ps 27:14  Wait on the Lord
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!



 

 

Humility

  I know that God hates pride in any form.  So do I.  More than once I have cried out to Him to keep me humble.  There is nothing like having to use a walker, inside and outside, to humble me and slow me down even more than I was previously paced.  Because of my many falls over the past year, I had a Balance Test last week.  It showed that I was indeed walking in the danger zone.  So the immediate solution is using a walker.  A longterm fix is to do exercises that will eventually balance me so I can walk more confidently again.  I am told that it is not a fast solution, but will benefit me enough to leave my walking buddy behind, eventually.

  My first and immediate response to this news was to take a big bite of humility and chew on it for a moment.  After I swallowed, I was able to make the decision to embrace the advice, leave the clinic, and dig out the walker from the depths of the basement.  Our durable medical equipment closet has become rather extensive, so I didn't have to go out and buy one this time around.

  At first it was slow going, as I figured out how to get around the house, the car, etc., but it is getting easier.  I find that the doors inside the house are just wide enough to get through with the wheels still on the ground, another inch wider would be waste space. :)

  So, on we go.  Entering His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise,  humbling myself in the sight of the Lord.  All in due time.  All in due time.