A dear Brother texted me at 5:30 this morning reminding me of a verse on his heart-Romans 12:12 "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer". Be assured God hears our prayer and we rejoice in His hope of healing for Belinda! This morning I am rejoicing with her as she is feeling a great deal better than yesterday and we are eager to get her up and walking today.
Last night we were blessed with a restful evening where we could both sit and talk as we overlooked the beautiful night sky of Baltimore, it was our "date night" and we truly were blessed as we reflected on God's grace and provsion in our lives. Belinda was able to share with me her emotions as she stepped up onto the operating room table. I won't expand on this but will allow her to when she has the strength to post her own post. Be assured it was an amazing time as she was able to proclaim everyone's prayers over the medical team in the room, she said there was a very positive response and they were clearly grateful to have hundreds praying for them.
I need to back up a bit because, in my fatigue, I realize there are gaps in the blog. I was sending lots of texts and did Facebook posts as well, it got confusing and I missed things in various places. Thursday night Belinda was transferred out of ICU, we rejoiced in the upgrade but it took a toll on Belinda as well. The move was exhausting and the orientation to the new staff wore her out. New meds were introduced and the chemical changes created hallucinations and stress on her body. In the early morning hours her BP elevated, breathing was labored, and her oxygen levels diminished so the team needed to restart her oxygen assistance. On top of this her pain levels, because of the stress, were requiring much more pain meds. It was a long night.
Dr. Cameron stopped in Friday morning. This was definitley God's perfect timing, Kairos Time, as he was able to encourage and affirm Belinda. He explained that the hallucinations are normal because of all of the steroids and the pain meds. He said in fact, at times, they have had to send security into rooms to help restrain patients. I am glad she was only delivering pizza, seeing dogs on the floor, sailing on a boat and other not so scary things. She was frustrated because she couldn't control the situation. He assured her she is days ahead of other double transplant patients. His calming nature and confidence was very reassuring. They adjusted some meds and changed some things around.
Shortly after these changes Belinda's parents arrived with our daughters. We had to cut their visit short because Belinda was again exhausted and not really able to communicate, she clearly needed more rest and the new pain med was going to allow that.
She fianlly slept for 3 hours! By 4 PM the nurses were able to get her out of bed and transferred her to a chair again. She began sipping water and ice chips and her kidney really kicked in and she started passing water again!
We were able to sit up and talk into the evening and then she slept for several 3 hour periods through the night. This morning when the doctors checked in they are really excited. She will have more tubes removed today, she will be allowed to get washed up and she is encouraged to be up and walking today! We are pumped!
If today goes as anticipated we are hoping to see a few visitors tomorow and in the coming days. People have been asking about cards and flowers. We cannot accept any flowers. The potential for bacterial is too high and Hopkins will not allow them in the rooms and advise us against them in our home. Instead of flowers an email or card to the house would be fine. Thanks everyone, we treasure you joining us on this journey.
