A Noteworthy Note

Ten months ago I was sitting in a hospital bed fighting for every breath, and for life itself. God placed the right people in my path, and through His grace, their skill, and the prayers of countless family members and friends, I'm still here today. Two weeks ago I had a pre-scheduled appointment with my doctor in Pittsburgh. He saw how I was doing (or rather how much room there was for improvement), and prescribed me a new pill to add to my assortment. I've written about how rough the past two or three weeks have been for me - not feeling well. The pills finally arrived by mail (they're not something you can just pick up at CVS). So, I started them last Wednesday evening, and by Friday I was feeling so much better! Praise God for "easy fixes"!

This past week I also received in the mail a letter from the doctor discussing our appointment, and our game plan for the next several months. Also included were the results of the blood work I had done that day. Here's an excerpt:

"Your cell counts were normal and your hemoglobin was normal. Your BNP which is a reflection of the pressure in your heart is low which is excellent. The electrolytes were all within normal limits as well as your liver function tests. ... I am glad to report that all these tests were within normal limits and many of them have actually improved."

During the visit he said that the pressures in my lungs were still quite elevated (which is bad), but that I AM NO LONGER IN HEART FAILURE! My heart had been hurt so badly because of the problems in my lungs. The fact that my heart is healing is an indication that my lungs are healing too, even if my lungs are still "very sick." I praise God for every step in the right direction!

My Angel

So, this has been a rough week. I've been exhausted a lot again, and doing less and less around the house. Some days even getting a shower has been more than I could handle - and I have two little ones not only to care for, but also nurture. Recently I had been so tired that I didn't do any tidying at all for the better part of a week. Needless to say (with a toddler, a crawler/cruiser, and a busy husband) the house was a wreck! You couldn't find the couches, counters, table, etc. It was just disgusting. But it was either clean up or care for the kiddos - I chose the kiddos. (Side note - I'm starting a new pill tonight called Tracleer that's supposed to help take care of this problem. So, please join me in praying it works.)

Every December I get together for a long weekend with two college roommates and celebrate Christmas and our friendship. This year it's my turn to host it. To the outsider it might seem like extra work for me since I want the house to be tidy, and plan the meals & activities. But considering what our lives look like right now it's actually easier for me this way. Otherwise I'd need to get an oxygen system delivered, and lots of other things too. But considering how messy the house has been lately I was stressing a bit. The girls who are coming really don't care about that type of thing - they'd probably roll up their sleeves and help get it in order. But it's supposed to be a fun time, so I didn't want them to have to do that.

Then ........ out of the blue, on Monday, I received a text message from the girl who introduced me to Aaron (and also played the harp at our wedding). She had a couple free days and wanted to drive the two hours to come help me. I almost cried! So, a couple hours later she showed up and got right to work! And work she DID ... basket after basket of laundry, vacuuming, dusting, piles and piles of dishes, grocery shopping, taking out the trash, baby care, cooking, helping me run errands ... I could go on and on!

So, I wanted to say thank you to Melissa for being my angel this week. "THANK YOU!" I don't have any recent digital photos, but here's two oldie but goodies.

Melissa with Sonya, her parents former dog.

Repelling in Wyoming with Aaron.