The Journey Continues

April 8 & 9
The last 2 days have been quite the journey. Here is my prayer request posted on the PRAYWAY Internet prayer line on April 9 at 11:40 pm.

“In one day from screaming in pain to sleeping peacefully ON HER SORE HIP!!! Even the nurses are amazed. When I left the hospital yesterday it took four big men to gently lift and reposition my wife. And this was not done without excruciating pain. Tonight when I left the hospital Marilyn was sleeping peacefully right on her diseased pelvis. She chose to position herself in a way she had not been able to lay for the last 2 months, and did it without anyone’s help. This is a miracle!! She has also not needed any breakthrough pain medication all day today. The verse that God gave me today was "Be still and know that I am God".
Thank you Lord for answered prayer!!
Please continue to pray as the battle has just begun. Marilyn has the most crucial test of all tomorrow (Monday). She must lie absolutely still while an X-Ray guided needle is placed into her thigh and pelvis bone. If the needle goes astray good tissue could be damaged and infected spreading the disease. Marilyn will be doing this without general anesthesia because her asthma causes too much of a risk. Please pray for a successful test and for wisdom of the doctors as they piece all of the information together from her tests to prescribe a treatment regime. Marilyn is very afraid and still somewhat confused, not knowing what is happening to her. She needs to be calm and trust in the medical staff as this procedure takes place.
Also please pray for me. The last few days have been hard leaving me totally exhausted and sick with strep throat. I went to a clinic early this morning and now have penicillin and already I am feeling much better”.

April 8 Saturday
I slept in until noon, hoping I could rid myself of this awful fiery sore throat. The pain subsided somewhat so I decided I had better hurry up and get on to the hospital. When I arrived Marilyn’s dad was already there. He had driven down by himself, as Dorothy was still quite sick with a bad cold. Marilyn was quite quiet and seemed much more at peace. This was quite a relief to me. For most of the day I watched and tried to discern what Marilyn needed and wanted to make her comfortable. Every hour or so she would get quite restless and quietly moan in pain. The medical staff was trying to reduce her narcotic intake so were reluctant to offer much in the way of breakthrough meds and are trying out a new non-narcotic pill for this. Marilyn seems to want to move her legs and change their position quite regularly but when I try to gently help her do it she often gets upset at me and writhes in pain. I can never seem to get her pillow just right. She won’t let me use the anti stress cream that so often has helped in the past. About 2 pm Marilyn’s dad left to go back to Olds and Stephen showed up. We sat with her then for a while until the nurse needed to do vitals etc. Soon after Don & Dolores dropped by and Marilyn seemed glad to see them although she could hardly even whisper their names. Dolores brought me a large Saskatoon pie and huge Lasagna that I could never eat without lots of help. I guess I will have to save it for Marilyn’s coming home party. Don prayed a beautiful prayer (as usual) and they left. Around 4:30 David and Tracy arrived and soon after that Faith. When Faith came in Marilyn’s countenance instantly changed to one of joy. This was not surprising, as Marilyn had been calling out for Faith the day before. I really appreciated the way Faith had with Marilyn and how she responded so positively to her attention. I was so happy when she said she could stay for a bit giving me a chance to go out for a wonderful dinner (paid for by David) at the Keg. I had Florentine mushroom chicken and it tasted great. This was a good opportunity to relax and unwind a bit. At 10 after 6 David remembered that he had promised to play volleyball with some guys so we rushed out and I drove David and Tracy to Davis car which he (of course) had parked way off in a residential area to avoid the parking fees. Faith was still there when I returned and she had taken time to sing, pray and quote scripture with Marilyn. She noted that when she faltered with the words of the 23 psalm that Marilyn picked it up and quoted along with her. I hope and pray that Marilyn is grasping on to the scripture that she has hid away in her heart and that it is giving her the strength she so desperately needs. Marilyn also let Faith rub her back and thigh with the anti stress cream and seemed quite calm when Faith finally left. The pain seemed to rise drastically in the next 2 hours and Marilyn was quite uncomfortable not able to find a position that suited her. I called the transfer team in and they re set her position but even then I could tell she was in pain. My throat was just burning up so I knew I needed to get home and get some rest. At about 9 I said good night and left. Marilyn was not too happy that I was leaving but didn’t put up much of a fuss this time.

When I got home I decided to catch up on wrapping an eBay parcel but I felt so terrible I couldn’t even do that so I went off to bed. Sleep wouldn’t come and I tried several hot drinks, gargling, cold FX pills, vitamin C and consumed about 2 packs of Halls but all to now avail. Finally at 6 in the morning I got up and drove to emergency at South Calgary urgent care centre only to discover that it didn’t open until 7. I decided to just sit it out in the parking lot as I was the only car there I figured I would be the first patient and not have to wait. Was I ever wrong about that!! Just before 7 the parking lot began to fill up and there was a mad race of “sick people” all wanting to be first in line. I managed to make it in 4th so didn’t have to wait too long. The doc gave me a double dose of penicillin and a special mouth gargle that numbs the back of the throat.

As I drove back into the garage thinking I could maybe get a couple of hours before heading out I noticed that I had a message on my cell phone. It was the hospital nurse asking that I come in ASAP because the last x ray hadn’t turned out and they needed to do it again. They had decided to break the policy of no one but authorized personnel in the X ray room because they wanted help to calm Marilyn down. I know that I couldn’t take the chance of infecting her or others with strep so I decided to call the boys in to help out. Stephen (as usual) was quiet and co operative and David (as usual) had difficulty with someone else planning his day. I then called in Ardith for backup and (as usual) she was more that happy to be of assistance. (We are so lucky to have a friend like her) This gave me some breathing room and I went about the day resting, drinking lots and doing a few household chores that had been piling up. The phone rang about 2 in the afternoon and it was Ardith reporting that Marilyn was on her way to x-ray with both boys and Tracey in tow. According to Ardith Marilyn was having a good day and had been calm right from when she arrived. I told her I would try to make it up in the evening depending on my throat. Within the hour Ardith called back again with the news that Marilyn had slept through the entire x-ray and seemed totally fine. Another big relief. My throat had begun to feel a bit better so I hopped in the van and headed off to the hospital stopping at the golden arches on the way. At about 6 Ardith called again to say that Marilyn was lying on her back (of all things) and resting peacefully, and smiling. I could hardly believe it. Stephen was still there and would sit with her until I arrived. When I got up to the hospital I could not believe my eyes because there was Marilyn lying right on her sore hip without a complaint. This was way more than I could expect or ask for. I thanked the Lord for answered prayer. Her supper arrived and I asked her if she would like to try to eat. – To my amazement she answered yes. I cut up a small piece of beef smothered in BBQ sauce and offered it to her. She promptly opened her mouth and chewed it up; unfortunately it was the usual Hospital cuisine that quickly ended her appetite. If this had been one of Dorothy’s good dishes or even one of my attempts at cooking I think she may have actually enjoyed her first meal for a few days. Too bad Hospitals and schools have to all have the same yucky menu. At 7 Marilyn started to get restless and so I naturally thought “well it was good while it lasted” However, I noticed that it was time for her pain meds. I called for a nurse and two arrived thinking they would have to help Marilyn move to a more comfy position. Marilyn simply wiggled around on her own and seemed to do it all by herself. She then fell back asleep and I sat watching her and quietly reading while the noisy hospital hubbub continued outside the room. From then on the nurses came and went checking this and that and Marilyn hardly stirred at all. At 8 when the night nurse came in she was totally amazed to see Marilyn lying on her back. I suggested to Marilyn that she should try to roll on her side for comfort when she seemed a bit restless but the verse “Be still and know that I am God” kept coming to me so I just said. If there is anything you wan me to do just say the word and I will. She just gave a faint smile and said ok.
Monday is biopsy day and I know she is very fearful for the news. I can say that so am I. It is hard to keep trusting God even with all that has happened so far. I will pray for strength. I need to sleep now by throat is quite a bit better now – Thank God for that.

Good night