The Sweet Spot

Sunday morning I attended church for the first time in weeks and was moved by the sermon. As I faced my Monday morning I was reminded of God's amazing Grace.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
Ephesians 2:8
And His love will never waver or change, no matter what.
It is not dependent upon performance, status, possessions, beauty, feelings, etc.

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
1 John 4:10

While waiting to heal, I have been planning, processing and anticipating a new beginning.
Asking the Lord God to be my shepherd and guide me creatively, practically and a desire to dig deeper in His word.

My 5 year old staple prayer: To seek Him above all things and to learn how to worship Him in
everything I do.

'Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. 1 Corinthians 6: 19,20

These things I look forward to:
Just to open up my bible without propping it up on three pillows and soak in his word.....for as long as I want, without physical limits.
Writing in my prayer journal, playing my piano, writing & notating music, and to begin again the challenge and blessing of creating my flash card system to memorize scripture.
(this flash card thing I learned from my sister Jody)

To help me establish a starting point, I pulled out my prayer journals from 2006-2009 to see where I was with the Lord, what I was studying, learning, memorizing, who I had been praying for, answers to prayer, my struggles, my praises, etc.
I could see that in the memory verse department, it took me a year and a half to memorize 1 Peter 1:1-25- 1 Peter 2:1-12
This was tough for me....but the blessing was sweet.
I could see specific patterns in my journals when life was cruising along without a hitch, my time in the word sometimes seemed rushed and mechanical. It was humbling.

There were seasons of unbearable grief and brokenness.
These were the richest, deepest most profound times. God will not waste suffering or heartache.
For as deep as the heartache, His love will run deeper still.
As an artist, I can only describe it this way:
from these times of affliction
every pigment on my canvas will be richer, deeper, more beautiful.
Every melody written will be sweeter and each chord more colorful.
All because He will not waste anything.
He is a loving and compassionate God.
The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. Psalm 145:8

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

God is faithful to meet us, right where we are, loving us unconditionally, covered by His amazing grace and tucked safely in the shadow of His wings.


Today marks one month and 2 days since my surgery.
I had my appointment for a follow up Xray and met with my Doctor this afternoon.
My hardware is perfect, my healing is progressing perfectly and I am SO thankful.
My Xray will be the gauge for future follow ups and to keep an eye of a couple of other discs that have signs of degenerative disc disease.
Poo-poo. They don't scare me! ;o>
I have graduated from the soft collar and do not need it anymore. Yay!
(gotta come up with a colorful and creative line of collar covers for us individuals who need a bit of piZZazz while healing...I'll keep ya posted)
Friday I begin pt 2-3x per week (8 weeks) and I am also committed to walking at least 2x a week with a dear friend. Love the fellowship..and the exercise helps me sleep well.

Thank you for the prayers.
And for listening (reading).
Yadda, yadda, yadda.


Please pray for my dear friend who recently discovered her daughter's biopsy was malignant.
Also, her mom has just been diagnosed with colon cancer. Surgery was Tuesday and went well.
I appreciate your prayers for them.

Lesson #2 Slow And Steady Wins The Race

Okay, Dr. visit went well. Took him and his staff a box of chocolates.
I am healing well and had a good, healthy and stern warning from my Doc to do only what is on my list, which is very limiting and follow the rules anyway, no matter how good I feel, no matter what.
So, after being in the car running a few errands around town with the daughter, I have learned that my traveling limits are far more limited than I thought. Went right to bed yesterday afternoon....not sure what's worse, the pain or the pain pills. Today, I am sporting my sweats, and limiting my vertical time....gravity can work for me or against. Better off horizontally positioned. But, glad to learn this lesson now....looking toward Friday's graduation.
Anticipating dinner from a friend and then my SWEET and supportive husband who will come home from a difficult job to help me, do dishes, care for me, pick up the slack...which is everything. Starting Pilate's pt in 2 weeks with another follow up and Xray. We will see then how my hardware is doing. I am sure it will be perfect.
Praying this morning for a friend who's daughter is having a biopsy this morning...God's mercy on this sweet young woman and that this lump will be nothing. Peace for mom and dad and the siblings.
Also for my sister's in the Lord who are having a precious sharing day at WBS. What an amazing journey through Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther. Looking forward to the fall with a new start and what the Lord will teach this body of women (who I am honored to sit next to as we study His word an share what He is doing in our lives).

Have a great day....even if it IS windy & grey out- it is a beautiful day!

I am SO truly blessed.
I am grateful for the loving hands that have been preparing and delivering healthy
and delicious dinners, beautiful cards, flowers, precious visits, gifts, heartfelt
wishes and many, many prayers on my behalf. I am truly blessed.

I am healing so quickly, evidence of your prayers and that the gracious hand of God is upon me.
When I get to thinkin' about the next chapter, being in my 50's, I am thrilled about what is to come.

It's kinda like when you were an 8 year old kid on a warm summer day, slathered in sunscreen, equipped with nose plug, swimming cap and various pool toys waiting for your turn to jump off that diving board with gusto, finesse & style into a satisfying cannonball. Yahooo!

I am thankful for those individuals who have a calling to go into the medical field.
Dr.'s, RN's, etc. Bless you.

I told my Dr. (while I was under the influence of Valium) if "I was a millionaire, I'd give you 10 grand!"
Didn't really know what I meant by it, but I made him chuckle. :o)

Good Night!

Upside Down Pickle Brain (Sunday, May 15)

Firstly, Mia wishes all the well wishers well. We finally had a chance this evening to catch up on her emails, and she is very grateful for the loving and supportive comments. Mia is actually doing quite well, in many ways better than we expected. It's just hard for yours truly to blog and care for my honey at the same time. My apologies for keeping you in the dark.

Each day gets better and each day gets easier. Her pain is easing after each night's rest. They gave her Valium and pain killer and encouraged her to use both. A relaxed, stress free body heals faster. Initially she needed 2 Valiums, then one, and today she began weaning from that. It does have a slightly intoxicating effect. Nothing severe, but it makes for interesting conversation. She's maintained her sense of humor and says she has an upside down pickle brain. That's my girl. It also makes her drowsy, and she nods off regularly, usually awakening one notch improved over when she fell asleep.

During the week we managed to soak in some back yard sunshine, and today Mia took her first walk around the block. Too bad you couldn't see how cute she was in her outfit: a homemade, crochet hat, trench coat for the elements, and of course, every patient's perfect accessory, a soft collar wrapped in a lovely scarf.

Mia says, "Thank you!" to every one who sent flowers. They are lovely. The roses she cut from her garden last weekend were done and due for replacement. So today we tossed out the old and Mia took her gardening assistant/blogger along to cut roses for the home, which she had fun arranging. The picture is the cuts for her bedroom. Her garden is a refuge and soil is medicine for Mia's soul. Her herniated disk robbed her of this joy and we hold on to hope and prayer that she'll be able to feel the dirt in her hands again this summer.

Monday we enter a new phase as I return to work. Mia must be careful not to reach too far, too high or too low, and must turn her body, not her neck--all to protect the surgery and bring about proper healing. It's much like healing a broken arm or leg. So we're arranging objects in the refrigerator and other shelves for easy reach while I am at work. Again dinners are being delivered this week and it has helped enormously. Thank you so much, those at Mercy Ministry and WBS friends that have helped us in this way. (Please don't bring food, if you haven't signed up already. We're covered.)

God bless you as he has blessed us!

The Fun Begins

Tuesday, May 10th

Hello All - This is Bob signing in from K_R_H_M--that's the Russell Home on your dial. Just a brief update and a thank you for all the emails, comments and the facebook "likes." We "like" you too!

Mia is sleeping as I write this, and I'm very glad for it. I've noticed that doctors like to downplay the recovery process when promoting their surgery, and this is no exception. She's over the nausea, but the pain is increasing. So are the phone calls, and I don't mean to imply anything. Mia's needs are still pretty immediate, so I hope you'll understand that she hasn't had a chance to read the emails or take calls. I'm planning to read all those lovely comments to her tonight.

Now that the bandage is off, the incision on her neck is obvious, and shows some expected swelling. She's my little zipper neck now (Young Frankenstein), but they promise it will heal so well you'll never see a scar. More obvious is the yellowish-orange stained skin from the antiseptic used during the surgery. I'd take a picture and post it here while she's sleeping, but...well, you know. Sleeping with the dog gets old after a while. So pictures will have to wait until after her first shower and we apply the isopropyl alcohol to remove the stain from her skin.

We still need your prayers for healing, for the pain, that no infection sets in, and that it was all worth it. Mia feels the improvement in her hands, but there's some tingling in them. She's says that it's different than before, though, and may just be poor circulation from lying in bed so much. The site of all the surgery is the most sore today. We have muscle relaxers and pain killers and she took something before sleeping, but was at the edge of tears from the pain before nodding off.

So far she can swallow with little pain, and came home very hungry. We added noodles to that chicken broth at lunch, aka chicken noodle soup. Within an hour she wanted oat meal, then a second cup followed.

That's all we have for today. I'll keep you posted until Mia can do it herself. Meanwhile, I can safely predict that Mia would like me to share this Psalm: "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song." (Ps 28:7)

Bob

Monday, May 9th.

Dearest Friends - Thank you for your prayers today. We sensed God's peace throughout the day & knew others were praying for us. Mia held up well and the surgery went off without a hitch. Mia's personality shined through it all, asking everyone for their name, making sure she thanked each one several times, and worrying if she was inconveniencing anyone along the way. That's my Sweet Mia.

She is currently resting, getting over some nausea and was beginning to tolerate sips of apple juice. They are giving muscle relaxers and limited pain killer as soon as she can keep them down. Tonight's entree was chicken broth. She managed a short nap early evening and seemed much brighter when I left.

The prep and anesthesia took about an hour, the surgery itself 90 minutes, followed by 2 hours post-op before I could see her again. The picture you see is NOT her, but shows exactly what was done today. The disk material was removed at C5 and fused to C6, and the disc was replaced with cadaver bone (also visible in the picture between the screws). There were also severe bone spurs that had grown due to poor alignment and they were pinching the nerves that run to the arms. The doctor ground those down.

Everyone was exceptional in their care, and patient with our questions and my slightly over protective behavior. I appreciated the operation assistant visiting Mia's room afterward to chat about the surgery. She affirmed that the surgery was definitely necessary and the disk itself was worse than what could be seen in MRI's. Part of the procedure involved removing the remaining good disk material, which, we were told, usually involves some scraping. Mia's just slid right out, indicating the disk was in bad condition and would only get worse.

Whispering was more comfortable than talking, but she only has light soreness (so far). We anticipate throat pain from the muscles being stretched out of the way by the surgeon, normal pain from the incision itself, and some soreness on the vertebrate. It seems they haven't been properly spaced in so long that it hurts for a while to put them back and keep them there.

If all goes to plan, she'll be released tomorrow. We covet your prayers for continued recovery and especially that the surgery will provide dramatic improvement in neck and arm use. It's just a matter of healing properly now, much like a broken bone. We expected a hard plastic neck brace, but were told she will only need a soft collar. We're thanking God for many blessings today--the skilled hands and modern medicine, and loving friends to carry us through.

Thank you so much for caring! It matters! - Bob

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The purpose of this blog is to keep you informed with updates etc. by my sweeet husband, Bob. Thank you all for your prayers and encouraging emails!

Psalm 16:6-8
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance .
I will praise the Lord who councils me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.