Just a quick update to let everyone know what is going on:
Mike was released from the hospital on Friday to come home. The doctors have done all they can do and everything is in God’s hands. He will not be returning to Moffitt. We have the option to set up hospice if we would like to.
I feel a fire building on the inside of me – more intense each day. I cannot explain it or understand it completely, I am only confident that God is about to do something really big. When I heard the doctor’s report I was torn. I know God’s Word over our lives, but I also know that sometimes His Word is misunderstood, and His plan and thoughts are not our plan and thoughts. I wanted to stand in faith in my spirit but I was physically & emotionally devastated. I cried all night. By the morning, my faith had been renewed. I know it came from all of the prayers going up for us. Each day that has gone by I have felt stronger and more convinced that this is not the end for Mike. Some people may call it denial or a coping mechanism – but I know exactly what it is; it is the faith in the unseen. These are the kinds of moments that define true faith and I refuse to fail. Mike has determined in his mind that he is going to declare the Word of God over his life everyday and not give in to sickness. I am so proud of him. I know how hard it is for me to stand and keep believing, but how much more for him whose body has been trying to convince him daily otherwise. I am so honored to stand beside him during this time. For anyone that may be worried that I am not facing “reality”, I want you to know that I have accepted that God’s plan may be different from what I am expecting. I have full confidence that God will carry me and my family, no matter what and I will continue to praise Him for all that He is. Please do not mourn for us. Stand with us, agreeing that God is the author of life – He counts every breath and nothing can come to us unless it has passed through His hands first.
We love you all and are so thankful for your prayers and support. Now, more than ever, pray for God’s will to be done and for His glory to be revealed. It takes faith – and all of us coming together in agreement. (Matthew 21:21-22 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”)
Mike’s declaration:
I declare that I am a child of God, co-heir with Christ and I have been given all power and authority over the enemy. (Luke 10:19) I am clothed in the righteousness and the spiritual armor of God. (Eph 6) My struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. I stand firm with my mind covered with the helmet of salvation and I will receive only thoughts that honor and glorify God. I tighten the belt of truth around my waist that I will not receive lies, but God’s truth alone. I have the breastplate of righteousness fitted firmly against my chest, protecting me from the arrow that flies by day and the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, and the plague that destroys at midday. (Psalm 91) A thousand may fall at my side and ten thousand at my right hand, but it will not come near me. My feet are prepared with the peace of knowing the gospel of Jesus Christ and the readiness to share it with all who will hear and receive. I am holding up my shield of faith as the assurance of everything I am hoping for. I am not moved by what I see and feel physically. Everything that will be seen in my life will not be made from anything that is visible. My faith is stronger than my circumstances and everything that is physical, logical & tangible. (Heb 11) I take up the sword of the spirit which is the Word of God. It is life to my bones and health to all of my flesh. (Prov 4:22) The word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of my soul and spirit and of my joints and marrow. (Heb 4:12) I get all of my energy from His Word. I will use it to defeat the enemy, conquer him and show him powerless against the children of God. (Col 2:15) I will dwell in the shadow of the Most High and rest under the shadow of His wings, making the Most High my dwelling place. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Because I love Him, He promised He will rescue me; He will protect me, because I acknowledge His name. I will call on Him, and He will answer me; He will be with me in trouble, will deliver me and honor me. With long life He will satisfy me and show me His salvation. I will pray without ceasing, alert and persistent in my prayers for all believers everywhere. I boldly declare that I will live and not die and proclaim the works of the Lord! (Ps 118:17) So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. (Isa 55:11) He is the LORD, the God of all flesh. There is nothing too hard for Him!! (Jer 32:27)
Monday, March 28, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
grab your tissue box...
Let me start with last week since I never updated everyone that Mike made it through brain surgery great and all of the pathology and infectious disease reports came back clear as of yesterday. (Thank God!) Getting home last week was a bit challenging. Mike was barely able to walk to the bathroom alone and did not have much of an appetite or ability to do much of anything except sleep. One morning I took him to a lab appointment and he was so sick, it just broke my heart. Watching his feeble steps, seeing his eyes sunken and yellow, his skin flaking off in sheets all over his body, his muscles reduced to skin hanging off of his bones, the 5” wound on the back of his scalp… it was all more than I could bear. The frustration and emotion had been building but that day I just broke. When we got home I sat in the car and just screamed at God – “WHERE THE HE** ARE YOU?!?!!” I had an all out venting session about how I have stood in faith and given Him all the glory for everything and it just didn’t seem like He was coming through. Of course I repented as soon as the words left my mouth but part of having a good relationship with God is knowing that He knows my heart and He understands. I can be real about my feelings – every part of me – and not hold back. You can judge me if you dare or be disappointed in my lack of faith, but I am not going to front like I am not human... I heard a tiny tap on the window next to me, but I couldn’t even look up. I felt somebody crawl into the car next to me and place a tiny hand on my shoulder, “it’s going to be ok Mommy.” I couldn’t do anything except collapse in lap of my 9 year old little girl and cry. She held me and sang one of her favorite worship songs, “so close I believe You’re holding me now in Your hands I belong, You’ll never let me go…” and she read me a story until I stopped crying. We pulled out of the driveway together to pick up Mike’s medicine and Zack called me, “Mom… are you okay? I just talked to Daddy and he is really crying. He thinks he is a burden to all of us and I tried to tell him he’s not. What can I do? (His voice was shaking and broken through his tears) I just want to help but I don’t know what to do.” I explained to both of them that we just need to trust God and really pull together as a family to enjoy the good times and love & encourage each other through the harder ones. Jadeyn spent the whole day with me, reading greeting cards at the pharmacy, encouraging me to smile and be happy. We all spent the evening talking and laughing and playing games. Sometimes God doesn’t remove the pain – he just strengthens your ability to endure it.
Over the past week Mike has appeared to be getting better. His appetite has increased a little and he has made attempts to get out of the house and do more. He had a bone marrow biopsy Friday which would tell us whether he needed to go through another round of chemo or if it would clear him for the path to transplant. I was prepared for news for either route – but not the news we received this morning… His labs were alarming. His white blood cells were at 188,000 – a normal person is between 4,000-8,000. The leukemia had completely taken over which is what happens in the final, most aggressive stage of the disease. They are going to “cleanse” his cells with a machine which will pretty much just buy him time. They have done all they can do as far as medicine is concerned. The doctor has not spoken to me directly about time, but I am getting the impression that they are thinking days…maybe weeks.
Honestly, I have been waiting for this moment. I knew it was coming…dreading it –wondering if I would have what it takes to hold it together and to keep faith… someone gave me a message several months ago that they believed was from God - the message was that God was not going to use medicine to heal Mike – but that Mike would be healed by the Spirit of God, that only God may receive the glory. I received that word. And though we continued with the protocol recommended by Moffitt, I knew deep down that medicine was not going to be the final answer for him.
We are physical, emotional and spiritual beings. People operate at different levels for each and fluctuate at different points of their life depending on the circumstances, but I personally have made it my goal to keep my spirit stronger than my flesh and my mind. I take it all in on a physical and emotional level by what is logical, tangible and by what is felt, but I weigh it heavily against what is in my spirit. My brain is calculating time, Mike’s condition and appearance, planning ahead; My heart is broken, smashed to pieces, overwhelmed by the thought of losing my love (I have never lost anyone in my life and I have no idea what that feels like); In my spirit, I am at complete peace. It is unexplainable other than in the Bible where it says that God will give us a peace that “surpasses understanding”. I know that God is totally capable of turning this around and performing a miracle in Mike. Jesus would not have raised people from the dead if we were not to hope in such things. I tell God all the time that I am not sure my faith is that big – and He speaks back to me saying, “It’s ok because it doesn’t depend on you. I got this.” :-D All I can do is speak life, pray and continue hoping that God’s will for Mike’s life includes keeping him here on Earth with me and the kids. Mike and I have always told God that when it was our time to go, we wanted to go together, when we are old and have lived a fully satisfying life, so that we would never have to spend one day without the other. I don’t know God’s plan. I don’t have some magical insight to what is ahead of us, but I do have Jeremiah 29:11 “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’”. I am standing on that.
As always, I appreciate everyone’s prayers and support. It is still very important to me that everyone speaks positive, good things about Mike’s health, or to follow up a negative sentence with “but God is bigger!!” We are blessed to have both of our childhood best fiends visiting with us this week. They have been a huge help to us already and I appreciate all of the running that the dance moms are doing on our behalf!! We love you all – and we are grateful for your love for us. I guess now, we just wait prayerfully and see what God is going to do! Keep your faith up!!!!!
Over the past week Mike has appeared to be getting better. His appetite has increased a little and he has made attempts to get out of the house and do more. He had a bone marrow biopsy Friday which would tell us whether he needed to go through another round of chemo or if it would clear him for the path to transplant. I was prepared for news for either route – but not the news we received this morning… His labs were alarming. His white blood cells were at 188,000 – a normal person is between 4,000-8,000. The leukemia had completely taken over which is what happens in the final, most aggressive stage of the disease. They are going to “cleanse” his cells with a machine which will pretty much just buy him time. They have done all they can do as far as medicine is concerned. The doctor has not spoken to me directly about time, but I am getting the impression that they are thinking days…maybe weeks.
Honestly, I have been waiting for this moment. I knew it was coming…dreading it –wondering if I would have what it takes to hold it together and to keep faith… someone gave me a message several months ago that they believed was from God - the message was that God was not going to use medicine to heal Mike – but that Mike would be healed by the Spirit of God, that only God may receive the glory. I received that word. And though we continued with the protocol recommended by Moffitt, I knew deep down that medicine was not going to be the final answer for him.
We are physical, emotional and spiritual beings. People operate at different levels for each and fluctuate at different points of their life depending on the circumstances, but I personally have made it my goal to keep my spirit stronger than my flesh and my mind. I take it all in on a physical and emotional level by what is logical, tangible and by what is felt, but I weigh it heavily against what is in my spirit. My brain is calculating time, Mike’s condition and appearance, planning ahead; My heart is broken, smashed to pieces, overwhelmed by the thought of losing my love (I have never lost anyone in my life and I have no idea what that feels like); In my spirit, I am at complete peace. It is unexplainable other than in the Bible where it says that God will give us a peace that “surpasses understanding”. I know that God is totally capable of turning this around and performing a miracle in Mike. Jesus would not have raised people from the dead if we were not to hope in such things. I tell God all the time that I am not sure my faith is that big – and He speaks back to me saying, “It’s ok because it doesn’t depend on you. I got this.” :-D All I can do is speak life, pray and continue hoping that God’s will for Mike’s life includes keeping him here on Earth with me and the kids. Mike and I have always told God that when it was our time to go, we wanted to go together, when we are old and have lived a fully satisfying life, so that we would never have to spend one day without the other. I don’t know God’s plan. I don’t have some magical insight to what is ahead of us, but I do have Jeremiah 29:11 “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’”. I am standing on that.
As always, I appreciate everyone’s prayers and support. It is still very important to me that everyone speaks positive, good things about Mike’s health, or to follow up a negative sentence with “but God is bigger!!” We are blessed to have both of our childhood best fiends visiting with us this week. They have been a huge help to us already and I appreciate all of the running that the dance moms are doing on our behalf!! We love you all – and we are grateful for your love for us. I guess now, we just wait prayerfully and see what God is going to do! Keep your faith up!!!!!
Monday, February 28, 2011
the latest - surprise surgery tomorrow
Okay, so here’s the news….
Last Thursday I took the kids to see Mike in the afternoon so we could try to take him for a walk and get him some fresh air. Unfortunately, it had been a really rough night – his port stopped working and the nurses struggled all night to find a good vein for him to receive meds which resulted in sleepless night and a lack of proper medication, including his pain meds. He had been having a lot of pain in his right shoulder so they sent him for several tests. The final verdict was severe arthritis, but that doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense to anyone. I honestly don’t think anyone really knows what is causing the shoulder pain. I was hoping that bringing the kids to visit would brighten his day and turn things around a bit… but Thursday was not the day to try to do that. Just seeing how much pain he was in made me cry, which upset the kids, so we decided not to stay. Just as we were about to leave, Mike received a visit from the neurology team. They very quickly explained that the bleed in his brain had started to digress, but the last MRI showed something lighting up under the contrast. They feel strongly that it could be a cancerous tumor but would not be sure until they go in to remove as much as they can and do a biopsy. Just like that, he was scheduled for brain surgery.
All weekend the nurses have been working to get his platelets over 100 so that he would not be at risk for uncontrolled bleeding during the surgery. He has received several platelet and blood transfusions. At this point, his labs look good and he is scheduled for the operation at 1:00 tomorrow. I do not want to get into all of the risks associated with brain surgery – as I am sure you know, it can be a very complicated procedure. I am just trusting God to guide the surgeons hands and to hold Mike (and me) through the entire thing. The process is about 3 hours and then he will be in recovery for about 5 days. During that time, they will be running tests to find out what was in his brain and if it requires further treatment. Please do not bombard my inbox at 4:00 and ask me how everything went. As soon as he is in recovery and I receive an update from the doctor, I will let everyone know. I promise.
Honestly, when I heard the news on Thursday, I was crushed. I cried all the way home – even in front of Zack & Jadeyn (which I always control). But after about an hour of processing it all, praying and talking to the kids, I felt a relief that could have only come from God. I had such a peace in my heart and we spent the evening working on a puzzle and singing songs together. Since then, I have not picked up worrying again. I have been very peaceful and I’m just continuing to trust God. I know there are many people who want me to be realistic and face every “what if” with full preparation of the worst, just because they want to protect me – and I understand that. There should be balance in everything. But I honestly believe that Mike has an amazing life still yet to live and I am pushing him every day with that in mind. I fully expect good things to come from this entire process, that honestly, not one day, not one pain, not one tear will have been wasted. God is going to use it ALL; in this I am confident.
I do need prayer warriors lined up through the evening, tonight and especially tomorrow afternoon. I am not so foolish to think that we can get through this without prayer coverage and that is where I need YOU. I depend on each one of you to help us get through this if you really care – that means encouraging messages, positive words, prayer commitments, fasting, etc… whatever God lays on your heart to contribute will be greatly appreciated! We are ALL a part of Mike’s victory over cancer. I hope each one of you realizes the vital role that you play. Actually, I am collecting cards, messages, emails, etc to put in a book for him, so if you would like to send me something, I will make sure it gets added. Just email me or send it on FB; if you want to send a card to my house, just text/inbox me for the address. I want to fill it with letters from all over the world, so please include your city & state.
Please be careful about what you speak!!! I have said before and I will say it again, words have creative power! Proverbs 18:21 says that the power of life and death are in your tongue. Please speak that Mike is getting better every day and no weapon formed against him shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17). Speak only life and blessings and healing for him. Speak that he is BETTER EVERY DAY (2 Corinthians 5:7) even if we have to walk by faith and not by sight. It IS happening!!!
And in all things I will continue to give God praise, because He is still good – He is still able and He continues to carry me every day. He deserves all of the glory and honor – and when Mike comes through all of this – it will be because of His goodness, grace & mercy; so I am thanking Him in advance! I’m actually really excited about what is about to unfold!! I hope that you all can share in that faith with me or at least support our beliefs with your encouragement.
Love and blessings to you all! Please keep us lifted up – especially this week!!! <3
Last Thursday I took the kids to see Mike in the afternoon so we could try to take him for a walk and get him some fresh air. Unfortunately, it had been a really rough night – his port stopped working and the nurses struggled all night to find a good vein for him to receive meds which resulted in sleepless night and a lack of proper medication, including his pain meds. He had been having a lot of pain in his right shoulder so they sent him for several tests. The final verdict was severe arthritis, but that doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense to anyone. I honestly don’t think anyone really knows what is causing the shoulder pain. I was hoping that bringing the kids to visit would brighten his day and turn things around a bit… but Thursday was not the day to try to do that. Just seeing how much pain he was in made me cry, which upset the kids, so we decided not to stay. Just as we were about to leave, Mike received a visit from the neurology team. They very quickly explained that the bleed in his brain had started to digress, but the last MRI showed something lighting up under the contrast. They feel strongly that it could be a cancerous tumor but would not be sure until they go in to remove as much as they can and do a biopsy. Just like that, he was scheduled for brain surgery.
All weekend the nurses have been working to get his platelets over 100 so that he would not be at risk for uncontrolled bleeding during the surgery. He has received several platelet and blood transfusions. At this point, his labs look good and he is scheduled for the operation at 1:00 tomorrow. I do not want to get into all of the risks associated with brain surgery – as I am sure you know, it can be a very complicated procedure. I am just trusting God to guide the surgeons hands and to hold Mike (and me) through the entire thing. The process is about 3 hours and then he will be in recovery for about 5 days. During that time, they will be running tests to find out what was in his brain and if it requires further treatment. Please do not bombard my inbox at 4:00 and ask me how everything went. As soon as he is in recovery and I receive an update from the doctor, I will let everyone know. I promise.
Honestly, when I heard the news on Thursday, I was crushed. I cried all the way home – even in front of Zack & Jadeyn (which I always control). But after about an hour of processing it all, praying and talking to the kids, I felt a relief that could have only come from God. I had such a peace in my heart and we spent the evening working on a puzzle and singing songs together. Since then, I have not picked up worrying again. I have been very peaceful and I’m just continuing to trust God. I know there are many people who want me to be realistic and face every “what if” with full preparation of the worst, just because they want to protect me – and I understand that. There should be balance in everything. But I honestly believe that Mike has an amazing life still yet to live and I am pushing him every day with that in mind. I fully expect good things to come from this entire process, that honestly, not one day, not one pain, not one tear will have been wasted. God is going to use it ALL; in this I am confident.
I do need prayer warriors lined up through the evening, tonight and especially tomorrow afternoon. I am not so foolish to think that we can get through this without prayer coverage and that is where I need YOU. I depend on each one of you to help us get through this if you really care – that means encouraging messages, positive words, prayer commitments, fasting, etc… whatever God lays on your heart to contribute will be greatly appreciated! We are ALL a part of Mike’s victory over cancer. I hope each one of you realizes the vital role that you play. Actually, I am collecting cards, messages, emails, etc to put in a book for him, so if you would like to send me something, I will make sure it gets added. Just email me or send it on FB; if you want to send a card to my house, just text/inbox me for the address. I want to fill it with letters from all over the world, so please include your city & state.
Please be careful about what you speak!!! I have said before and I will say it again, words have creative power! Proverbs 18:21 says that the power of life and death are in your tongue. Please speak that Mike is getting better every day and no weapon formed against him shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17). Speak only life and blessings and healing for him. Speak that he is BETTER EVERY DAY (2 Corinthians 5:7) even if we have to walk by faith and not by sight. It IS happening!!!
And in all things I will continue to give God praise, because He is still good – He is still able and He continues to carry me every day. He deserves all of the glory and honor – and when Mike comes through all of this – it will be because of His goodness, grace & mercy; so I am thanking Him in advance! I’m actually really excited about what is about to unfold!! I hope that you all can share in that faith with me or at least support our beliefs with your encouragement.
Love and blessings to you all! Please keep us lifted up – especially this week!!! <3
Thursday, February 24, 2011
count your blessings
Hello everyone,
I hope this update finds you in good health and good spirits. :)
Mike was admitted to the hospital last week due to a fever that went over 104, caused by 2 bacterial infections: e-coli & c-diff. When admitted his white blood count was .02 which means that he had only about 20 white blood cells, where a normal person has 4,000 – 10,000. They have basically set him up with an artificial immune system between 6 antibiotics, vitamins and fluids. Over the weekend I was told that he might be able to come home within a few days, but last night I was told very differently. After a full week, the infections are gone, but his wbc count has only come up to .09. Tomorrow he will have intrathecal chemotherapy which will compromise his counts again and he will need to be monitored closely for up to several weeks in the hospital. At that time, they will also check for leukemia cells in his spinal fluid. After his counts stabilize a little, (wbc need to be over 1000) they will send him for another bone marrow biopsy to see if this round of treatment has killed all of the leukemia cells in his marrow. His marrow has to stay clean for 60 days after that point to even be considered for transplant.
Mike has had a very rough week. The nurses are in and out of his room almost every hour so he is not able to get consistent sleep. He has been unable to swallow easily because of the infection that caused sores & layers of skin to peel off inside of his throat and his mouth. He has lost almost 70 pounds since the first of the year. At times his body goes into some type of shock and will begin to shake violently and he feels like he is freezing. The nurse said this happens because his body recognizes that he does not have a natural immune system and tries to fight. He had almost a full week of upset stomach and uncontrollable diarrhea. His body has been very weak, so to even turn over in his bed takes all of his energy, much more trying to stand or get a shower. He has been in and out of consciousness, talking in his sleep and not remembering much. On top of all of that he has been unable to move his right arm. No one is really sure why, but he has had an x-ray and sonogram to check his bones and make sure he did not have a clot. Last night he was sent for an MRI, but we have not gotten the results yet. This has been causing him a lot of pain. When I called to check on him this morning he told me to call his nurse because he was too weak to talk. The nurse said they had problems accessing his port last night and he has been unable to receive all of the meds that he needs – including pain medication.
I tell you all of these things so that you might thank God for your health or take a moment to count your blessings. Mike has been through Hell and every time I talk to him all he wants to know is how everyone else is doing… and if everyone else is ok… He cares so deeply for people, so much that he looks past his own situation and offers prayers for the ones he loves. I am so broken by this because I’m seeing, more and more, the man that he truly is. One day when I laid across his lap on the hospital bed crying, and even in the midst of being barely awake, he spoke very clearly to me saying, “I was just talking to Him and He said not to shake in your armor”. I know that God is with us. I know that we are in a war and I can tell you that we will continue to fight with all that is within us. I believe that God is doing something amazing through this entire thing and not one day will go to waste. Mike is going to come out of this with such a tremendous testimony – it is going to amaze and inspire everyone who hears it.
I hope this update finds you in good health and good spirits. :)
Mike was admitted to the hospital last week due to a fever that went over 104, caused by 2 bacterial infections: e-coli & c-diff. When admitted his white blood count was .02 which means that he had only about 20 white blood cells, where a normal person has 4,000 – 10,000. They have basically set him up with an artificial immune system between 6 antibiotics, vitamins and fluids. Over the weekend I was told that he might be able to come home within a few days, but last night I was told very differently. After a full week, the infections are gone, but his wbc count has only come up to .09. Tomorrow he will have intrathecal chemotherapy which will compromise his counts again and he will need to be monitored closely for up to several weeks in the hospital. At that time, they will also check for leukemia cells in his spinal fluid. After his counts stabilize a little, (wbc need to be over 1000) they will send him for another bone marrow biopsy to see if this round of treatment has killed all of the leukemia cells in his marrow. His marrow has to stay clean for 60 days after that point to even be considered for transplant.
Mike has had a very rough week. The nurses are in and out of his room almost every hour so he is not able to get consistent sleep. He has been unable to swallow easily because of the infection that caused sores & layers of skin to peel off inside of his throat and his mouth. He has lost almost 70 pounds since the first of the year. At times his body goes into some type of shock and will begin to shake violently and he feels like he is freezing. The nurse said this happens because his body recognizes that he does not have a natural immune system and tries to fight. He had almost a full week of upset stomach and uncontrollable diarrhea. His body has been very weak, so to even turn over in his bed takes all of his energy, much more trying to stand or get a shower. He has been in and out of consciousness, talking in his sleep and not remembering much. On top of all of that he has been unable to move his right arm. No one is really sure why, but he has had an x-ray and sonogram to check his bones and make sure he did not have a clot. Last night he was sent for an MRI, but we have not gotten the results yet. This has been causing him a lot of pain. When I called to check on him this morning he told me to call his nurse because he was too weak to talk. The nurse said they had problems accessing his port last night and he has been unable to receive all of the meds that he needs – including pain medication.
I tell you all of these things so that you might thank God for your health or take a moment to count your blessings. Mike has been through Hell and every time I talk to him all he wants to know is how everyone else is doing… and if everyone else is ok… He cares so deeply for people, so much that he looks past his own situation and offers prayers for the ones he loves. I am so broken by this because I’m seeing, more and more, the man that he truly is. One day when I laid across his lap on the hospital bed crying, and even in the midst of being barely awake, he spoke very clearly to me saying, “I was just talking to Him and He said not to shake in your armor”. I know that God is with us. I know that we are in a war and I can tell you that we will continue to fight with all that is within us. I believe that God is doing something amazing through this entire thing and not one day will go to waste. Mike is going to come out of this with such a tremendous testimony – it is going to amaze and inspire everyone who hears it.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
videos of our journey on youtube
I am not sure who is on Facebook and who isnt, but I have made some videos of our journey and just wanted to share them with you. If you are on FB, make sure you join our group to get all of our updates!
Just click the link to see each one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4najOpTv4c (While I'm Waiting)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrLf4qhOpZU&feature=related (Praise You In This Storm)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYH45qI22gc (Because You Loved Me)
Just click the link to see each one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4najOpTv4c (While I'm Waiting)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrLf4qhOpZU&feature=related (Praise You In This Storm)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYH45qI22gc (Because You Loved Me)
Friday, February 18, 2011
fighting a bacteria infection - the full story
It was Thursday night…. I was looking forward to our Thursday tradition – a nice family dinner – Family Game Night & watching American Idol together. Mike started feeling ill around 4pm – by 10:00 he had spiked a 104.2 fever. We were told to call if it went over 100.4, so I was concerned, to say the least. I was advised to rush him to the closest emergency room as quickly as possible. We checked in at Community Hospital at 11pm and finished the paperwork somewhere around 1am. By 4am they determined that his WBC was 0.02 and they should start antibiotics. As stressful as the situation was, Mike and I actually enjoyed some quiet time together, talking and making fun of all of the crazies that were coming through the ER all hours of the morning. Sometimes we don’t always see the answer to our prayer in test results, but just in a more peaceful perspective, which makes ALL the difference in the world as we walk this out. They decided that he was going to be transferred to Moffitt first thing in the morning, so I drove home to get some sleep. Between my mind racing & the phone ringing every hour, it wasn’t much. The nurses were just calling to keep me updated as I requested, but every time the phone rang, my heart would race and my mind would run through all of the “what ifs” before I could even get out a groggy “hello”. He was transferred to Moffitt early this morning and has since received several platelet and blood transfusions, 2 x-rays, a sonogram of his abdomen & a CT. His blood cultures are showing bacteria in his blood stream, yet to be identified, so they are continuing to treat him with antibiotics. He is extremely weak and having a lot of pain. The doctors have done well with pain management, but it is difficult for him to make even the slightest movements. His fever has been going down slowly, then back up, and back down again. Right now he is at 100.4. His blood pressure has been very low 90s/40s so they are keeping an eye on it to determine whether he needs to be transferred to critical care overnight. I really hope that he does not have to move. I am here beside him tonight, glad to have the opportunity to help if needed and not have to be anywhere in the morning. He has been resting most of the evening and I am staying busy with work and emails. Thanks to everyone who keeps up with all of our updates and prays accordingly. We know when people are praying because we feel it all around us. Never doubt that God hears your prayer.
Fighting a bacteria infection
I'm sorry I am too exhausted to type a full update, but Mike has been battling a fever since yesterday - today was up to 105. Many tests came back fine but the blood cultures are showing a bacteria they have not identified yet. He has received several blood and platelet transfusions and they are keeping a very close eye on him. He is extremely weak and if he does not improve soon, they are going to transfer him to SCU. I am staying here with him tonight - we appreciate everyone's prayers and support!
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