Sunday, we were thrilled to hear that Dad’s ventilator use was now down to 35%. The next day, as seemed to be typical by now, we had bad news. Dad’s restlessness continued and he had actually rubbed his neck raw and had gotten an infection in his neck where the trach was put in. We were told he was on antibiotics and the infection could last for two weeks. That night in my prayer e-mail, I asked for prayer that God would take care of the infection.
That Monday marked four weeks since Mom dropped Dad off at the ER and she was discouraged and worn out. We also had several people ask about the possibility of Dad getting a plasma donor, but no real response from the hospital as to whether this was even a viable option.
The next day when we called the hospital, we talked to a really nice nurse who seemed happy to give us an update on Dad. She was surprised when Mom asked about the infection in Dad’s neck. She checked the chart and told us that there was no hint of an infection and his white blood count was good. What a praise! Even now, we have no idea what happened, but there was no infection and there were certainly a lot of people praying!
The other encouragement was that the kind nurse, who hadn’t treated Dad before, said that she noticed from his chart that he’d had a lot of ups and downs, but she thought that he was probably through the worst of it and had turned the corner! What an encouragement; God knew how much we needed to hear that!
The next day we were told that Dad had been put on the CPAP setting of the ventilator! More good news! This setting was a step closer to getting him off the ventilator completely. The nurse cautioned us that Dad might not be able to sustain this, so if he was returned to the normal setting tomorrow, we shouldn’t be discouraged, it was all a process.
I wrote in my daily e-mail. “I am reminded of the verse God gave me near the beginning of this whole journey, 'Though it tarry, wait for it.' We are waiting--often impatiently and sometimes with tears--but we are grateful that those who 'wait for the Lord will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint' (Isaiah 40:31). Even though it may be a long road yet, we know that God will give us the strength to keep going, and God is using your prayers and encouragement to strengthen us for the rest of this marathon. Thank you!”
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