Back In The Saddle... Hospital Again!

Last night, after three days of getting sick and not being able to sleep at night, Ray and my Dad convinced me to come back to the hospital. We arrived at the ER around 3:30 AM and were in there for over 14 hours. We are now in a room and a little more settled. They gave me some good stuff for my nausea and I am feeling much better. I am still really struggling with my restless legs and would really appreciate all of your prayers. But I am really looking forward to a good night's sleep tonight (assuming my roommate will turn down her tv :-).

The Pastor reminded me about something on Sunday. "Without faith it is impossible to please God." I don't kn0w about you, but I certainly want to please God. And I also know that He is going to carry me through this difficult time. So although we are walking through some valleys right now, I know we are going to rise above.

Blessings and Visitors

This week I have had so many blessings and visitors. There have been so many conversations this week that I have been so grateful to have. It has reassured me that God is watching over me and that He has plans to prosper me and not to harm me. (In fact, a lot of people - including me - are praying expecting God to give me a totally healed heart.)

The week started off with our water heater going bad. Poor Ray is trying to take care of me and the house and everything else so that I won't stress. We were so thankful our Dads were here to help put in a new one... did I mention it was $700?!?!?

Again, I had a wonderful conversation with Ray's Mom. Then with my Dad, Ray, my Mom, my sisters. It is amazing how God has surrounded me with love through this tough time.

My sister and her beautiful girls came to visit yesterday. Please pray for her family, as they are about to have some challenges ahead. But I have never seen any situation that she couldn't handle. I look up to her in so many ways and am so thankful to be a part of her life. I think it was God calling her back to Columbus so that we could grow our relationship.

Then one of my old trombone students and his mom stopped over for a visit. They have been wonderful friends through this (not to mention she is so helpful when we lock ourselves out of the house:-). I am so proud of my student, he is going to march with the Blue Jackets this summer. It's an absolutely amazing opportunity and I am so blessed to get to be a part of it. I wish I would have told him how proud of him I was... but sometimes boys get a little uncomfortable with an outpouring of emotions. :-) So, I think I'll send him a card. :-)

Well, if you read all this way to see how I am doing physically, I am pretty good. I went to the Heart Failure Clinic again on Thursday and they gave me more Lasix because my legs and stomach were still swollen. I had a little bit of a funny reaction to it, but am doing fine. Very surprisingly, my legs are still swollen, but I am breathing MUCH better. So, they said to just keep my legs elevated and hopefully the swelling will go down. My stomach has been a little nauseous lately and my restless legs have been really tough at night. I am taking medication for both, but it doesn't seem to be working. So, I will talk to the doctor on Monday. Hopefully they will have another plan of action.

Beautiful Weather

Today is a great day. This is the first day in quite some time that I have felt well enough to really sit and enjoy the beautiful weather outside. There are so many blessings around me that I have been a little negligent in recognizing. I know it's easy to do when you are feeling lousy, but you feel so encouraged when you remember all the wonderful things and people around you.

Yesterday I went to the Heart Failure Clinic because I had quite a bit of swelling in my stomach and legs, not to mention fluid in my lungs and difficulty breathing when I tried to lay down. They did a bunch of lab work and found everything to be pretty good. They gave me IV Lasix, which helped me to shed 7 pounds of fluid yesterday (yes, that is quite a few trips to the bathroom!!!LOL), which led to me feeling wonderful today. I will have to go back for a follow up visit on Thursday, but I already know I am doing so much better. In fact, I am going to make chicken enchiladas for dinner. (OK, my Dad is going to make them and I am going to supervise.:-)

Several people have asked me in the last week if I have had a difficult time holding on to my faith through this ordeal. It's a funny question, because I know my faith grows stronger with each day. I was telling my sister today that when the pain has gotten really rough, it is then that I pray for God's strength because I know I cannot make it on my own. Then I just watch as God carries me through the day. He gives us strength enough to overcome day by day. I don't enjoy those days coming, but they grow me and my faith exponentially because I realize how to let go and let God and I am able to see how it is God through me and not my own strength. I would encourage each of you to find a situation that you feel overwhelmed with, and pray for God's wisdom and strength to supersede your own... you'll be amazed at what He will do when you ask Him!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LULU!!

My little sister has become one of my absolute best friends. There are so many things that I admire about her, that if I would tell of them, this would be a crazy long blog. However, I think some times my little sister thinks because she is the baby of the family, that we all view her as naive, irresponsible, and immature; but I think nothing could be farther from the truth for me. She has impressed me with her career (last summer she took an entire group of high school students to Costa Rica - she organized and led the entire trip - and no one died! BTW, Who does that?) She sings on her praise team at church, she cares so much for her friends and family, and she puts up with two crazy cats. She is incredibly talented. This year she decided she wanted to be a photographer. Now most of us get these crazy ideas but hardly ever to we bring them to fruition. But not her, she put her mind to it, gathered up the equipment, booked some jobs, and became a photographer.

And all of that pales in comparison to the encouragement she has brought me through my entire ordeal. Towards the beginning when I was having trouble sleeping at night, she stayed with me a few nights to give Ray a rest. She sat up at night with me when I couldn't sleep and talked and cried with me. She held my hair for me when I got sick. And she sat quietly by me through some of my toughest days when I was too tired to talk. You can never thank someone for the love they give you in your darkest times, you just have to trust that they know your heart. Little sis, I am so very blessed to have you in my life!

Code Brown

Tuesday night Ray and I tucked into bed around 10. We both fell asleep. Around 11, I awoke to Ray asking me if everything was okay... the next thing I know, I flopped off the bed and was on the floor. My mind was awake but I couldn't move. Ray and my Dad called the squad and had me brought back to the fateful hospital. When we arrived at Grant, I was conscious and waiting to know what happened. I was twitching on my right side and could not hold still. So they wanted to give me something to sedate me. I told them I shouldn't take anything :-), but they gave me a half dose anyway. It made me high as a kite, which actually was quite fun! While we were laughing and carrying on, the nurses called a code brown!!! Yuck! LOL!!

Anyway, after an MRI they were able to determine that I had a stroke. Five pieces of the blood clot from my heart broke off and went to my brain. I am okay now and do not seem to have any residual damage. Every doctor that has come in the last few days has said that I am doing great.

I am also starting a new drug because my restless legs came back. The drug is very strong and is making me incredibly tired, but hopefully I will get used to it. :-)

Congratulations to my sister Lesley and my new nephew, William Calvin Wallace!!! Love you and wish I could be there.

I should be getting out of here today, but we will see and keep you posted. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!!

There's No Place Like Home

Finally, I am sitting in my own home again. I was discharged late last night. Yesterday morning my nurse came to give me more rough news. I had two slight tachycardias over the night. That means that my heart wasn't beating... it's more like it was fluttering. Luckily, it stopped on its own and no damage was done. But of course, my doctors were very concerned. The cardiologist decided to release me last night though because the episodes were very short.

After arriving home late and getting some dinner, medicine, and a much needed shower, I was tucked in for a nice night's sleep.

As I reflect on the last week, it has been one of the absolute worst of my life, but you can't help but see God's hand in each step. If I hadn't been throwing up, I never would've gone to the hospital. If I hadn't been taking medicine for restless legs and had a reaction, they would've never done an echocardiagram and found the blood clot. If I hadn't had a reaction to the light anesthesia, it could've been awful if I have to have major surgery. And if I hadn't had a reaction to the nausea medicine, they wouldn't have hooked me up to the cardiac monitors that found the tachycardia. I would say God is taking wonderful care of Ray and I. I also believe God still works miracles, so I am praying for a healed heart.

Mother's Day Update (from Ray)

Happy Mother's Day!

After my post yesterday, there was a lot that happened. Missy woke up around 11:30pm with a queasy stomach. Our nurse came in and gave her some IV anti-nausea medicine, after which Missy's BP crashed very quickly.

After some frantic activity with several nurses and the on-call doctor, we moved up to the cardiac floor, which is a step below the ICU. As you've read already, Missy hasn't been sleeping well. Last night was even more extreme. She was so exhausted from being pricked and prodded, but could not seem to fall asleep. Finally, around 5:30am this morning, she was able to rest. Of course you never get a full 8 hours of sleep in a hospital because of the vital sign checks and blood draws, so she napped a lot during the day.

Her mom volunteered to spend her Mother's Day night at the hospital so I could come home and crash; as I was leaving, Missy was on her way to sleep.