May 2 found me back home with my husband and boys. It was hard to leave Mom, knowing firsthand what she was going through. But my family needed me home with them. It took me several days to adjust to being back home and figure out a “new normal.”
And we had good news, Dad was beginning to wake up from the sedation! Looking back, it was actually pretty funny. I had been talking to him while the attendant held the phone when I heard a noise in the background like someone clearing their throat and there was a lot of rustling. Suddenly, the attendant came on. “He’s getting agitated; you have to get off!”
Panicked, I asked, “Is he OK?”
“Yes, I think so, he’s moving his legs…” she sounded upset, so I hung up, terrified.
I started crying because I was so worried that my voice had upset Dad because he could hear me but didn’t know what was going on. My husband came in and gave me a hug. When I told him what was wrong, he smiled and said, “Calm down. He recognized your voice. That’s a good sign!”
Not long after, the phone rang. I could tell it was Mom from caller ID. My heart went to my throat. “What’s wrong? Is Dad OK?” I asked in a panic.
“Everything’s fine,” she told me, “he’s awake!”
She went on to explain that Dad had been waking up all morning. He was obeying commands and nodding his head in answer to questions. And when she talked to him earlier, he was making sounds for her, too. “Oh good,” I said in relief. “I thought I broke Dad!”
But even as we had the good news of Dad coming out of sedation, we had another problem. Here is what I wrote to the 70+ people who were now praying fervently for Dad.
Dear Prayer Warriors,
Thank you for continuing to pray for Dad even as we rejoice that he is beginning to wake up! The nurse said he was much better today and the doctor may completely take him off of all the sedatives tomorrow! He is down on the CPAP setting to 30%! BUT here's the problem--he again tested positive for COVID-19. (Yes, after about 7 weeks of having it!) That means the hospital cannot bring the setting down any lower on the CPAP because (and I don't understand the technology) it will allow the COVID in Dad's lungs to get into the air and put the health care workers at risk. The nurse is looking at treatments for the COVID that Dad would be eligible for, and she's supposed to call Mom back. So what happens next? We don't know.
However, we do know that our Lord is the Great Physician and whether He uses medicine or whether He performs a miracle, He certainly able to bring Dad complete healing from this virus.
So today, we have one request--Would you please pray with us that God will completely clear Dad's system of the COVID so that he can continue to improve and get well?
I have become more aware over the last days of what a great privilege it is for us to "approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). To think that the King of the universe allows us to come before Him with our cares and concerns because He cares for us, is incredible. These past weeks have certainly been "our time of need" and He continues to listen and answer.
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