Friday, June 11, 2010

Blessed Be the Name of the Lord

Hi everyone!

Yes, today marks the end of our one-month fast from electronics... and I have a lot to share. :)

Unfortunately, my dad ended up in the hospital again. For quite a few weeks he had been having some trouble with high blood pressure and extreme fatigue. Other than that, he seemed to be doing pretty well health-wise. Then, last Saturday (June 5) I woke up at 7:00am to my alarm going off. I quickly silenced it and rolled back over to catch some more sleep. Surprisingly, Sister #1 woke up soon after that and left to help Mom with breakfast and making orange juice for everyone. (She's usually the one who sleeps in late!) Next thing I know, it's 8:00am and she comes running in the room saying, "Tay wake up! We need to pray for Daddy; I think something's wrong." I shot right up and asked what was going on. She said, "I don't know. But Mom went in her bedroom to get Daddy up and she never came back. So I went in their room and saw her sitting next to Dad who was lying on the bed. His eyes were just wandering around the room. I sat down next to them and she told me that I needed to leave. I left and shut the door, but stayed close by listening. She was repeating his name over and over but he never would respond. Then she called "___" (who is a nurse) and asked if she needed to call 9-1-1." So, we both prayed and then ran to the kitchen. I won't go into all the details of what took place after that. But Mom did call 9-1-1 and the ambulance eventually arrived. The paramedics came inside, placed Dad on the stretcher, and then my sisters and I watched as they wheeled him out the door and down the ramp with our Mom following closely behind. As she went out the door we were all in tears and as her own tears began rolling down her face she said, "Just pray, okay? Just pray. I love you."

Long story short, after six long days passed... I am happy to report that Mom and Dad are now back home! They got here this afternoon and we are so happy to have them with us again. Our Nana took my sisters and I to see them in the hospital the day after they left, but it wasn't an easy visit. Daddy was lying in the hospital bed confused and unable to communicate with words that made sense. He didn't really acknowledge us or know who we were, and he was suffering from a bad headache. After a couple of hours we left. Needless to say, he still has not completely recovered but he is much, much better! Yesterday Mom called to tell us that Dad was asking about "the girls" and that he wanted to come home. He isn't as confused anymore and he usually makes sense when he talks. :)

As far as the results found on the MRI's go, he now has one very large lesion covering a lot of the left hemisphere of his brain and some other smaller lesions scattered in different places. The doctors are all pushing to do a biopsy on that larger lesion so they can hopefully finally determine a firm diagnosis for him, because they've never been able to give us one. Some of them say they're 100% sure he has MS, but others still aren't willing to rule out lymphoma. We're praying and seeking God's will on what to do about that. We know we still want to follow the diet therapy that we're on, but we're specifically praying for the Lord to show us what to do as far as a decision about the biopsy goes. We know it's all in His hands and we're trusting Him to lead, guide, and direct us--as we know He has been and will continue to do.

~

Now, I'd also like to tell you all how glad I am to be back in Bloggerland. :) I have to admit that I enjoyed the break quite a bit. It was nice to be able to take my focus away from so many electronics for so long. But I also enjoy hearing from each of you and getting to keep up with your posts as well. =) I do want to keep my time on the computer limited, though. (Just to warn you! :D) A lot of times I find myself feeling "obligated" to post something, but I'd really like to make blogging more of a special thing I get to do every now and then--instead of having it be a regular part of my life! I hope you all understand. Right now especially, though, I feel like it is important for me to concentrate my time on my family. (Don't worry I'm not saying that I'm leaving. Just that I'll be blogging in moderation. ;)

SoOoOo...

Anyway, I hope and pray that all of you are doing well (and that I didn't overwhelm you with too many details about my dad! I'm a very detail-oriented kind of person and it's hard for me to leave stuff out. Lol!).

Thank you for all your prayers. God is faithful and we know He continues to watch over our family. ...Have a very blessed weekend, everyone!


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"Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you."

Nehemiah 9:5b-6
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PRAISE THE LORD ALL THE EARTH!

7 comments:

Lindsay said...

Praise the Lord!!! I'm so glad your dad is back home, Taylor! I'm praying for y'all! And I completely understand about blogging in moderation. I am sooo glad to have you back though. ;-)

Anyway, I hope you and your family have a peaceful weekend!! I'm thinking about y'all! :-)

Love you!!
~ Lindsay <3

Unknown said...

Taylor, it's so great to have you back! I missed you a lot over this past month so I'm really happy you're back in "Bloggerland". :-)

I'm sorry to hear that your Dad had to go back to hospital. I can't imagine how hard this must be for your family. It's good that you want to continue the diet therapy though; I think that a nutritious diet is always good. :-)

Please stop by my blog when you get a chance and let me know if you'll be able to join our friendship afghans challenge. :-) It's going to be lots of fun and I hope you can do it with us.

Have a blessed day, Taylor! So glad to have you back. :-)

Shannon said...

Oh Taylor, I will be praying hard for both your Dad and the rest of your family! I can not imagine how hard this past week must have been.

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
-Romans 8:28

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
-Philippians 4:6-7

Hugs,
Shannon

P.S.
I'm glad your back to blogging! You were missed!!!

Kkly said...

Thanks so much for sharing this!

I was wondering- how do you feel like the electronics fast helped/taught your family? I think it's really neat that your family worked together on that!

Anna Katherine said...

I have awarded the I love your blog! award to you! Check it out here: http://akskorner.blogspot.com/2010/06/i-love-your-blog-award.html

Ridge Auto Sales said...

Taylor,
So glad you're back! I'll be praying for your dad.
Liz Darcy

Taylor said...

Lindsay: Thanks, dear friend! We're definitely very glad to have our parents home now. :)

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Eden: Thank you! I missed you too. =) I will do my best to stop by your blog and check out that challenge. It sounds exciting!!

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Shannon: Thank you so much for sharing those Scriptures with me. :) It wasn't the easiest week... but God is faithful and He got us through! Thank you for your prayers as well.

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Kimberose: Well, I definitely think that fasting from electronics helped our family to spend more quality time with each other. It also takes our minds away from wanting to be entertained with movies, music, computers, etc. and promotes more of a desire to read and study God's word. (At least, that's something I found that it helped me with! =)

... I hope that helped to answer your question. ;) Thank you for commenting!

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Katherine & Lizzy: Thank you girls! :)

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Thank you all for your comments! I'm glad to know I was missed. :)

Blessings,
~ Taylor