Is it Tuesday already?!

How can it feel like time is going fast and slow all at the same time? I just can't decide which it is. Boy, am I on a giant learning curve. Here's the latest: Sunday morning at 2:00 am Tom began having diahrea (TMI, I know!). They turned off the feeding tube and ran saline to try to get the bowels to settle down. At 8:00 am they started the tube feed again and all was well. They decided to keep Tom over one more night. Yesterday the doctor said he was ready to go home and Tom practically bolted out the door! He (and I) were over joyed to get back home.

One of my first tasks was to figure out the timing of all the medications, bolus (in the stomach feedings) and extended jejunal (in the intestines) feeds. All was going well until we woke up at 5:00 to the sound of the pump alarm. It said that there was no OUT FLOW. That meant that something was blocked somewhere--I was hoping it was a kink in the line--no such luck. I tried doing a flush of the line and a method I had been taught to unblock lines BUT when I saw red in the tube that was it. I called our home health nurse who said to call our doctor who said that since radiology at Evergreen Hospital did the procedure I would need to go to the ER. So at 6:00 am we were back in ER. By 8:00 the tube was unblocked (I told the nurse I think I did her job for her since she got it to open so easily!), an exray said that everything was where it was supposed to be and we were on our way back home. Got all the 8:00 meds and food taken care of and now Tom is back on the pump feed to finish out what didn't get done over night. Phew! Tom has been sleeping but just got up and is doing his Tom-dance to show me how well he is doing! Oh, he decided he needs a little more sleep and is now snuggled down in his oh-so-comfortable bed. It really is the simple things in life!

Many are asking how I am doing and I so appreciate all the encouragement and support. I woke up the other morning in the hospital thinking, "for such a time as this." I am so glad I can be there for Tom and want to make this time in our journey all it can be. We are having wonderful confersations and laughing at all kinds of silly things. There are moments when I feel a wave of emotion roll over me but somehow it just keeps rolling most of the time. There are times when all I can do it say the name of Jesus over and over, knowing that there is power in his name. Most of all I just want to stay strong for Tom--I'm the healthy one (if I remember to take my vitamins!) and he needs me to take care of him just like he's taken care of me for all these years. What will I feel tomorrow? I'll tell you tomorrow. All I can do right now is take it a day (or a half day) at a time. I just don't want to miss anything.

Tom continues to beat me at cribbage. I won 2 games in a row and he called it a streak. I called it keeping me interested in the game!

Is there anything more beautiful than a yellow tulip with a black center? OK, I'll probably think that about many other flowers at other times, but right now yellow tulips with black centers are sitting on my dining table and I just can't get enough of their beauty.

If you are reading this and happen to be one of the ones praying for us, first of all THANK YOU! Please join us in praying that the pnemonia will be completely gone when we see the doctor next week. Also for normal bowels! (TMI again!!!) One more thing is that we could find a way to get Tom's saliva under control. OK, now that really is more than you wanted to know but it's at the top of priority list so we share it with you.

I'm going to go join Tom for a little more sleep. May we all find the hidden treasures of joy that are there for us today.