Disappointing News
I spoke with Geoff about a half hour ago. They had just let him know that four surgical patients came through the ER overnight - all higher priority than his knee surgery. The good news is that Geoff is absolutely the only surgical patient on standby whose surgery didn't get outright cancelled for today. The bad news is that it would take a minor miracle for his surgery to go ahead today: no more surgical patients being added to the list, every existing surgery on the schedule going perfectly without complications or delays, etc. There is a tiny glimmer of hope that surgery could happen late this evening. But as I said, it would take a minor miracle.
So we're officially praying for a miracle today.
Labels: Prayer Request, The Boy, The Great Knee Catastrophe of 2010
Strength + Courage
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength. Loving someone deeply gives you courage." (Lao Tzu)
I'm kind of a mess today. It's hard to manage client deadlines when you know that your best friend is on her way to go say a final goodbye to her dad. My heart hurts. If you're visiting my blog today, please say a quick prayer for Emily and her family so they're covered in the strength and courage they need to get through this very, very tough day.
Labels: Emily, My Friends, Prayer Request
Prayer Request
I just read something on my friend Nicole's blog that brought on immediate tears because I so completely relate. Some friends of hers need prayer this week. If you're prayer-inclined, please pop over and read
this post - and then get to work! Thank you :)
Labels: My Friends, Nicole, Prayer Request
Leaving On A Jet Plane
Geoff, Briony, and I leave for Vancouver in the morning and we'll be out on the west coast until May 20. I'm really looking forward to it... Of course, it will be tough to be away from my family for that long - especially my mom - but it will be really good family time for the three of us.
We've had so many answered prayers about this trip, from finding a really amazing seat sale to having a friend offer to let us borrow a jolly jumper, an exersaucer, and a gym for Briony to use while we're there (and another friend dropped it all off at Geoff's parents' place last night so it's ready to go when we get there). They are her absolute favourite toys, but they're all slightly different than what we have at home. She's going to be *so* excited! I can hardly wait to watch her explore these new toys :)
Here's my list of things you can pray for:
- That Geoff and I will stay healthy-ish (he's experiencing some serious allergy symptoms after working on the yard on Wednesday and I'm fighting an RA/fibro flare-up)
- That all our packing, etc goes smoothly today
- That Briony will do really well on the plane again
- That we'll arrive safely and without incident in Abbotsford tomorrow
- That Briony will adjust well to her 'new' surroundings (and the time change!)
- That Marilyn will travel safely out east
- That Geoff and I will have lots of grace and patience when dealing with his dad
- That we'll have lots of warm and sunny weather, of course!
I'm specifically concerned about my own health, outside of the RA/fibro junk that's been going on. I've been seeing a massage therapist here in Winnipeg who's been trying to help with all the damage done to my back, shoulders, and arms as a result of having such a big baby to take care of. I'm hoping that we'll be able to find someone good in Abbotsford so I can continue my treatment, because I'm just starting to feel some benefit now. I'm also waiting for test results to find out what's been making me so sick over the last two or three weeks. My doctor ordered a massive blood test this past Tuesday to check all kinds of organ functions, etc but I won't get results until *next* week Tuesday - and I won't be having the abdominal ultrasound he ordered until June or July. I know these are all just precautions, but it's hard not to worry sometimes. I just wish that I felt better. And I want to find out what's causing me to feel this way so that we can fix it. But I'm a little concerned that - if the blood work identifies a problem - there's likely nothing that can be done before we get home at the end of May.
We don't have a whole lot planned for the next two weeks - just hanging out in Abbotsford and taking care of Geoff's dad while Marilyn is away. We have a few friends we'd like to see, but I think that we'll mostly just occupy ourselves with lots of walks and family time. Marilyn returns on May 11, which is also the day that my two new courses start, so we'll be a lot busier after that. We're planning to spend four days in Victoria with Rob, Vicky, and baby Ava around May Long Weekend, which will be one of the highlights of our trip. Oh, and of course, there's the big Ikea shopping spree for Aaron & Cait's shower. (They really wanted to be registered at Ikea, so we've collected money from the shower guests ahead of time and they 'registered' by marking up a catalogue, so now I get to go to Ikea and get as much for them as I can and wrap it before the shower on May 31. They are *so* excited.)
In the meantime... We're already checked in for our flight tomorrow morning and my dad has graciously volunteered to do an early-morning airport run (we had a heck of a time fitting all our luggage + baby gear into a taxi last time, and we're bringing along a play pen this time). All we really have left to do is to pack and time care of a few last-minute details.
The stress I'm experiencing right now is totally my own doing - trying to pack and spring clean at the same time. Yesterday was Laundry Day, but I also managed to top-to-bottom clean the kitchen and bathroom, and I dusted and cleaned all the non-carpeted floors in the house. Not everything I'd hoped to accomplish, but probably the most important stuff. I just really, really hate knowing that I'm coming home to a dirty house. It's positively magical to come home after a trip and walk into a sparkly clean house. But I know that I'll need to let go of some of the things on my 'want' list... The people who are housesitting and checking in here will just need to deal with a little bit of dust :)
Labels: Family, Prayer Request, Travel
Request
I just got home from my moms group, and found out that one of the moms lost her home to a fire this past weekend. They're a family of six and they're looking for a house to rent for 6+ months - starting as soon as possible, and preferably furnished. The house could be in Niverville, Winnipeg, or anywhere in between.
If you know of anything, please let me know! And keep this family in your prayers as they come to terms with their loss and begin the process of rebuilding all the material aspects of their lives. Thanks :)
Labels: Prayer Request
Urgent Prayer Request
This just landed in my inbox...
As many or all of you may know, in August of this year Jim Schapansky was hospitalized and was found to have a cancerous tumour located in his brain. Emergency surgery was performed to remove the golf-ball sized tumour, and later that month aggressive chemo and radiation therapy were started.
Recently Jim has been to the doctor and received the news that not only has the treatment been ineffective, Jim goes as far to say that the drugs were fertilizer for the cancer. His tumour has more than tripled in size. He has decreased movement in his left arm and leg as well as constant headaches which are only dulled by massage.
Jim has a appointment scheduled with the surgeon TODAY at 1:30 PM (Central Time for those of you in other time zones) to decide whether or not an operation is possible. If a surgery is not possible, which is likely, the cancer would continue its deadly and destructive course, something that Jim has "come to terms with". Unfortunately, many of his friends and family have not come to terms with this quite yet.
The purpose of this email is to ask you for your help. I ask not for money, nor food, nor gifts. I ask merely for your heart. I ask that you keep Jim, Helen, Joanne and Steven in your hearts and in your prayers throughout this very crucial and critical day. If you could please pray for Jim, his family, and his doctors, we can make a difference. No. I will rephrase that: HE can make a difference. The God that healed the lame, the blind, the deaf, the mute, the dead, the demon possessed, the sick; He can heal Jim.
If it is possible, at 1:30 if we could stop whatever we are doing and devote ourselves completely to praying especially for Jim and his surgeon, for as long as you feel necessary or better yet: as long as possible.Labels: From My Inbox, Prayer Request
In Need of a Prayer
In about 15 minutes, I'm leaving work to go give a 'motivational talk' at an Arthritis Society luncheon event at the Art Gallery - talking about arthritis research alongside the Chair of Rheumatology Research for the province and the Minister of Healthy Living.
Which is fine. Except that while I'm writing this, my parents are on their way to the hospital for an unscheduled visit to check out the swelling and complications my mom is having with her port that's installed in her chest.
It's overwhelming, and I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to wrap my head around both of those things right now. Which is why I need some help. If you're reading this today, please say a quick prayer for all of us. We really need for my mom to be okay today, so that they can go ahead with her next chemo treatment tomorrow morning as planned - so that she can finish treatment as quickly as possible, and hopefully before the babies come.
Labels: Prayer Request, The Arthritis Society, The C Word
A Bubble Kind of Day
I'm trying really hard to have a good day. But today is one of those days when that's hard. I'm not even sure that Starbucks will fix it (gasp!) - though of course, I picked up a half-caf caramel macchiato on my way into the office this morning anyway. (That little detail was totally for Mel... :)
We found out yesterday that Geoff will not be able to take the two months of leave in November and December that we'd planned on (lousy antiquated union contract that favours mothers and totally discriminates against fathers). If he wants any time off - other than the *two* days he'll be eligible to request when I go into labour - the only option would be to take that time as an unpaid leave of absence. Which is not really an option at all.
I'm glad we found out now, so I have time to adjust my expectations and my picture of what our first weeks as parents will look like. But it's a little hard for me not to feel scared. With my mom sick and my own health questionable at best, I'd been counting on the extra support of having Geoff at home - but I know that God cares about me, and about our little family. And no matter how this turns out, it's going to be okay. I might just have to get much awesomer at asking for help (sigh).
His boss is looking into what they can do to move around his vacation time to give us a little bit more time at home together in those early months. So if you're looking for something to pray about - please feel free :)
I've been working all day to gather up all my little worries about this, and - as Nicole so wisely advised yesterday - put them in a bubble and blow them away. It's been hard, though. I suppose that if it was easy to do that, we'd all be incredibly well-adjusted and self-sufficient (and boring).
Labels: Baby Talk, Prayer Request, The Boy
Surgery Today
Please pray for my mom as she has her surgery today. Her days begins at 09.30 with a
sentinel node injection at St B, then they'll be heading over to Victoria Hospital by 11.00 for her
surgery at 13.00. It's day surgery, so as long as there are no complications, she'll be home later this evening.
We are praying for:
- No complications such as blood clots or infection after surgery
- No cancer found in the lymph nodes
- Minimal nausea after anesthetic
- PEACE and JOY
Thanks for remembering my mom today. We can all feel everyone's prayers and positive thoughts coming our way, and we appreciate it so much.
Labels: Family, Prayer Request, The C Word
