Persevere

We have been really seeking the Lord this morning. He promises that His "burden is light" and His "yoke is easy". This burden has been feeling heavy for all of us and we just want to continue seeking the Lord. We have been asking Him if there is something else that He has for us - a different way to do this? Are we relying on our own strength instead of His? What do we need to do?

I did my daily Bible reading after asking Him all of these questions and the verse in bold print in my Bible was

"And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you." Luke 11:9

So we are going to persevere. We are going to continue to ask for healing and for the Lord to move this mountain.

Dad had a pretty quiet night. He was stable this morning. His white cell count had been slowly inching up and had reached 25 (normal is closer to 10). It did not move today so we are hoping it has peaked and will start to go down. They took a culture of his sputum yesterday. It is growing something already but they have not identified it. They are hoping to find that out today or tomorrow so they can tailor the antibiotics to whatever infection he has. They are doing a "shotgun" approach right now with 3 or 4 different ones. They put his catheter back in while he is on the bipap (which is 24 hours a day currently). They have been giving him more lasix to get the fluid off of his lung. He may also get some blood because his hemoglobin dropped to an 8. They also put him back on the insulin drip.

We were so excited a few days ago that all of these things had been taken away and here we are again. We are trying to find things to be thankful for in the midst of all of this.

We are thankful that he can talk again. He was getting so frustrated at not having a voice.

We are thankful that his incision is healing very well.

We are thankful that he is strong. He moves himself around in bed. He just finished with leg and arm exercises.

We are thankful for his sense of humor. He is joking with the nurses and therapists.

We are thankful for all of the cards and encouraging words as he has been receiving. They are keeping his spirits up and reminding him how much he is loved.

We are thankful for the care he is receiving. The majority of the nurses and techs have been wonderful. Many of them are outstanding!

Thanks for standing with us during this time. Thanks for persevering with us!