Slooow Progress

Patience was never one of my virtues, and it still is not!! I want to be better yesterday, and this is going very slowly. I am still wheezing a lot, get very short of breath if I walk across the room, and weak in the legs. The visiting nurse said on Saturday my heart rate was irregular. I break out in a cold clammy sweat all the time and just feel lousy. I just want to be normal again, what ever that is!!

I go the to hematologist tomorrow to see how many IV iron treatments I will have to have. In the past I have had to have 10 to 12 , so we will see.

The visiting nurse will be here on Wednesday, and I have a Dr's appt. on Friday, so we will see what this week brings. Just trying to hang in there and wait on the Lord.

Long hospital stay

Psalms 46:1-5

I got great comfort from the Psalms these past couple of weeks laying in the hospital bed trying to breath and wondering if I was ever going to breath normal again. Wondering why my asthma is such a puzzle and so hard to control, thanking the Lord we didn't get to the hospital a few minutes later than we did. Trusting Him, knowing that He is still in control, and I can have peace in the midst of the storm.

I was going into cardiac arrest when we got to the hospital this time, so I was put on heart monitors and the heart unit for the first 3 days I was in to make sure there was no damage done. Thankfully, all clear!! Because of the mega doses of steroids I was on it made my blood sugars go haywire and they had to put me on insulin. Thankfully, that came down once they dropped the dosage of steroids. I have had those doses before, and they haven't effected me, it seems everything that could have gone wrong went wrong this time. My normal IV site not lasting 24 hours before they have to change that, so they ended up putting a PICC line in, which they sent me home with. I have to start IV iron treatments next week again, so they will use the PICC line for that.



They could not get my asthma under control, get my breathing stabilized so they started me on an old asthma medication that is not without serious side effects. They put me back on the heart monitor from Tuesday until I came home. One of them is it is going to increase my risks for having seizures, since I already have them, it is a concern. Another is it can cause heart problems, high blood pressure, etc. It did cause me to have irregular heart beats and my blood pressure went up some. It is something they will watch closely, but at this point they felt I needed to be able to breath!



We have some decisions to make on options they have given to us. I can't have another attack like I just have and survive. Normal asthma control medications do not work for me, so one option is a chemo drug that they have found that works on asthma. Along with that would be the normal side effects of chemo. Another is one that they would go down and put medication in my lungs every so often and "warm" them. They don't know how much of an option this really is because it requires anesthesia and when I had a procedure last year that I had to have a little, it set off an attack and I had to stay in the hospital because of it. They would also like me to go see a Dr in Pittsburgh that is world renown in the advancement of asthma. Dr. Sally Wenzel. We will go this route I feel for sure, we just don't know how long to work out the details of insurance, appt, etc. In the meantime, it is trying to keep me from having another attack, as I am coming up to my worst 6 to 8 months of the year. Please pray for us in wisdom in making wise decisions, for the Dr's in knowing how to treat me and for Gary and the family. This has been especially difficult on Gary. He is trying to hang tough, but he is not as tough as he wants everyone to think he is.



I know this is a lot of info, I tried to describe what my past two weeks were like, but again I can say I have peace in the midst of the storm!

Happy 13th Birthday to Garrett!!

Garrett had his big 13th Birthday on March 26th. He is here from IN this week visiting on spring break so it was neat he got to be in for a BIG milestone birthday. I didn't get to see much of him being in the hospital pretty much the whole time he was in, but hopefully, when him and Brooke are in this summer, I won't be!!!

Garrett, a teenager now!! WOW, where has the time gone?? I remember Pap-pa and I coming out to Colorado to see you when you were born just like it was yesterday. You were just like your Dad then, and you still are today! We love you and are so proud of you, you are becoming a wonderful young man. We can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for you!!

Love, Pap-pa nad Nana

Happy 8th Birthday Blake!

Blake turned 8 on March 16th and I missed wishing him a Happy Birthday on here because of being in the hospital, so here it it----Blake---late, but sent out with much love!!!

We can't believe you are 8 years old already. You bring us so much fun and laughter, and some of the things you say I can't believe you think of!! I know the Lord has BIG plans for you, you are a special young man, and we love you very much.

Love, Pap-pa and Nana

recovering

It seems there is still all kind of sickness going around here. Mom just over a bad cold, Dad now has bronchitis, Mason has the flu, and I am just getting over a kidney infection, and now am getting a cold and starting wheezing, so here I go with my asthma!! I was counting myself pretty fortunate to make it through this season without a hospital stay with it----so pray with my nebulizer and steroids I can still make it! We have a busy next several weeks, things I really shouldn't miss, and things I don't want to miss!

Happy Birthday Rick

Today is Rick's----dare I say ---37th birthday!!( Gary is getting old! ) My first born----we love you and are so proud of you!! Hope you have a great day!!

Love, Dad and Mom

Amish Friends

Saturday we had our get together with our Amish friends that Dave and Deb had introduced us to. We get together every 4 to 6 weeks for a meal, fellowship and Bible study. It is one of the highlights of our month. Dave and Deb were introduced to Sadie and Ike through a Doctor at Hershey because of losing a baby of the same cause. He thought Dave and Deb could help them get through the grieving process. As they shared their faith, a real friendship developed, as well as a hunger for God's word. They were asked if they would start a Bible study with them, and Ike's cousin Malin and Ruthie joined in. Dave and Deb asked if we would like to come along too, so we did and have had a blast. In April they are coming here. Gary will have to get a 15 passagner van from work so they won't have to hire a driver. I think hitching a horse and buggy up outside would draw some attention!! If we were still at the farm it would fit right in! I am praying for nice weather so the kids can be outside. There are five of them, a 9, 7 4, and two 2 year olds. Ruthie announced Sat. that is is expecting in Sept, which is exciting. In June we are going to a cabin Sadie and Ike have in upper Pa for the weekend, so looking forward to that! We just studied the rapture and resurrection, and now we are going to study the book of Job. Pray for us as we witness to them. They are so open to the things of the Lord and ask so many questions. We praise the Lord for this open door into a whole different culture, but people just like us. We have learned to love them so much, and thank Dave and Deb for including us.