Back Again

So sorry that I have not been able to update the blog in a while. To be honest, the last few weeks have really been a nightmare. My restless legs have kept me from getting more than about 3 hours of sleep a night and they are crazy painful. On top of the tiredness, my stomach is upset all the time. They gave me medicine for my nausea, but it hurts my legs. A few weeks ago, they told me to take 400 mg of Ibuprofen every 4 hours. This helped at first... however, last weekend the Ibuprofen made me retain a bunch of fluid, which made it difficult to breathe and I was vomitting so much that my cardiologist asked me to go back to the hospital on Monday. While at the hospital, they told me the Ibuprofen had damaged my kidneys; however, praise God that He made our bodies so that we repair our organs. By the time I left the hospital, the kidney specialist told me my kidneys were already returning to normal, but no more Ibuprofen. The emergency room gave me a shot of Dilaudid (stronger than morphine)... since I don't take any medication very well, you can imagine what that did to me. LOL! But the nice thing is that it made me sleep for hours.

Anyway, we started a new drug for my legs (Mirapex). It didn't seem to work real well the first night, so I saw a neurologist at the hospital. He upped the dosage and they let me come home from the hospital yesterday. When I went to leave, I was crazy sick to my stomach. By the time I got home, I threw up all night. My temperature was up and I felt awful. But I was finally able to keep some of my medication down last night before I went to bed. I was actually blessed with a good night's sleep last night. It's my first one in weeks. I am a different person today! I can't tell you how hard it is to function when you get no sleep and are in so much pain.

Part of the reason I haven't posted in a while is because it is hard to admit how tough things really are. It has really taken a toll on me and my family. My husband, Mom, Dad, and family have been amazing through this, but they are in so much pain as well. However, I know God has a reason for all of this... Every time I get most discouraged, the Lord keeps bringing the story of Joseph to my mind. Joseph was thrown in a well for 24 hours, not knowing whether he would live or die. Then he was sold to gypsies. Then he spent years in prison before God delivered Joseph into a place of influence. I know God is reminding me that although some times I feel my body is a prison, that God has a plan that He is working.

One other thing God keeps reminding me is that His grace is sufficient for me and His power is made perfect in weakness. Last night Ray and I were just praying and telling God that we didn't think we could take another rough night but that we want to be faithful to Him. God heard our cry and gave us our first good night. God is good. All the time.