When my alarm went off this morning, at first I wondered what it was going off so early for! My perfect time to leave was 4:45, which would put me through San Antonio before rush hour and to Houston after rush hour, or so I thought. I hit traffic about 15 miles out of San Antonio just after 6; I was sure it wouldn’t be bad that early. I was still past downtown 2 hours in, so it was still not bad, but I should have backtracked my new route I used coming home. I was still a little early to miss the Houston traffic, too. Not sure there is a perfect time to leave to miss traffic in both cities. Five hours from my driveway to one of my usual parking spots in the parking garage, all in all, not too bad.
On the drive, I heard a quote from a DJ on the Message station on SiriusXM. “Jesus knows the full extent of the battle you are fighting.” No matter how new a battle is to us, Jesus knew the end and what we’d need before we even started the battle. Whatever battle we are fighting, if we’ve put our faith in Jesus, we are fighting it from a standpoint of victory. I know that if we try to fight this battle we are facing for victory, we’ll fail and be miserable trying. If we fight this battle from victory, we know it is already won. I don’t say this from a boasting of ourselves but of Jesus and what he has done for us. He provided for us before we even had a glimpse of what we were facing because he knew the full extent of our battle long ago. I can see his hand on our relationship from the start. Every battle we’ve fought has refined us to what we are today, allowing us to withstand what stands before us today. It all started when we put our faith in Jesus and nothing else. That’s where the personal victory began for us, even though He won that victory on the cross long ago. John 16:33 says: I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. He is an overcomer, and we put our faith in Him to get through this battle, knowing He’s gone before us.
I knew Amanda would be happy to see me this morning, but it would be short-lived if I didn’t have some Starbucks in hand. So I wasn’t about to show up empty-handed! I was in the store a bit when I heard a loud “Hi Barkley” from the opposite side of the store! As I looked beyond all the patrons’ eyes now fixed on me, I saw one of the employees waving big at me! I waved back, feeling like a VIP! Amanda looked visibly better when I saw her. She had lost fluid, I could tell. Her legs were “skinny” again, she said, but much of the fluid had redistributed to her hips; they were hard to the touch. She seemed to be feeling better, too. It was positive to see the change from when I left.
The team assembled in the hall outside our room; we could hear them chatting about Amanda’s case. We listened intently, and it felt like we were sneaky! It was a different doctor, they change on Mondays. I heard him question the Bumex drip. I thought, No, sir, you better not take that off; we’re finally getting some fluid off. As he looked at and felt Amanda’s leg, he spoke of how good they looked. We told him how she was holding it in her back and hips. He said you hide the fluid well. She does, and they are finally realizing that. He wanted to add another medication to help the Bumex work, but not the new one the other doctor had mentioned. This is one Amanda had taken a few weeks back, but her kidney tanked after taking it.
The social worker came by to follow up on my housing question. I told her I had looked and found a few options. We will get an apartment once a new heart is in the works, for sure. I plan to tour a few options to get a short list. There are some reasonably priced short-term apartments. If money weren’t an option, I’d get one tomorrow. It would make things so much easier, even if we were back and forth like we were. There’s just too much unknown, like how long she will be on the list, how often she is going to be hospitalized, and so on. I think an unfurnished unit is the more feasible option. We can scrounge most of the furniture we need. When I’m home next, I plan to gather what we already have and put it all in one location that anyone can grab. We have plenty of men raring to help that could bring things up and help me get moved in. We will be so much more prepared this time around.
As one of the nurses grabbed the door to shut, Amanda gave a forceful, for her, and a loud “Leave it open, please.” I told her you’re getting good at that; I can tell you’ve been alone. She needed a shower and took too long; she was hurting when she got out. I was tattling telling on her to the nurse, saying she was in there too long. The nurse said, “Somebody is looking out for you; the boss is here!” As we talked, the doctor came in and asked Have you peed? Amanda mentioned that she had a little but not much. He didn’t say another word, turned, and unhappily stomped out of the room. Amanda said if he were Tank, he would have snorted, too!
It’s been a big day, and I have a lot of notes from the rest of the day. We had some news from Dr. Nair, too, but you’ll have to wait till tomorrow because it’s been a long day. I’ll try my best to give you part two in the morning or by lunch.
Response
I look forward to your updates. They are much appreciated. We pray daily for both of you.