Rob is at the hotel now and had a reasonable night sleep. He ate very well last night. The most he has eaten in almost eight weeks. Marla is making sure he takes his medications and gets his rest. How blessed Rob is to have such a loving wife and friend. She has been an example of strength and kindness throughout the entire time Rob was in the hospital. She has been the one person who has been with him each and every day. She is the one that Rob asks for and longs to be with. She is truly the “best medicine in the world.”
Thank you all for your prayers, thoughts and comments. They have made us feel like a part of a large family of loved ones as we have been away from so many of you. As I heard the doctor tell us that Rob looked like he would be released a few days ago, I was nervous at the fragile state he was still in. As the next day or two passed, we could see him getting strength and having various medical support lines taken away. As he improved he felt excited to leave the hospital. Yesterday when he finally got out - he was soooo ready to leave. Before we left he had various nurses come and visit him from the ICU. They were very attached and so excited to see his great progress. They were happy for him and were excited that he could go home. The night we left -he enjoyed our little ride to Sonic, for a foot long chili dog, fries, and a smoothie. He ate ninety percent of the chili dog. I was amazed. He slept only one half hour during the day yesterday, compared to a typical day of six to ten hours of resting each day in bed.
We were kept at the hospital because the echocardiogram taken yesterday morning showed a couple items of concern. They wanted various doctors to review the film. We were told to follow up with another echo in six weeks and it is their hope that the main item of concern will take care of itself. He also had a CT scan that showed an ongoing collection of fluid in the upper right chest area, which they hope will dissipate over the next few months also. Rob says that he feels like he can breathe better now than prior to his surgery. He says it is hard to get his chest muscles back for breathing since he slept for so many weeks sitting up and hunched over. He has been trying to stretch the chest area. He feels that will help him keep his O2 levels up when he lays down.
We picked up Robs detail billing from the hospital and his surgical reports relating to the main procedures he has had down here. He truly is a million dollar man and a miracle of modern medicine. During his first surgery on the 23rd of August the surgeons had so much trouble controlling the bleeding that they called in additional specialists. The reports show that he had 87 different units of blood products during just that procedure before they got his blood levels stabilized. One of the doctors later told us how one of the intern doctors was crying because she did not think Rob was going to make it. They told us that for the first three days, none of them knew if he would make it through. We thank the doctors, staff and each of you for all your prayers. You really find that we are not in control in this life. It is such learning experience to try to do all you can and then put the rest in the loving hands of our Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for the gift of health and strength that Rob is now experiencing.
As we reviewed the other surgical reports it was amazing to us to see how many times the medical expertise and all our prayers helped bring Rob back to health. During this past couple months it has been difficult to be at peace and know that what ever happens will be able to be dealt with wisely. I often remember the statement that C. S. Lewis made when someone told him that “The Lord heard your prayers!” , intimating that the prayers had changed the mind of the Lord. He responded, “I pray to change me, not the Lord.” I pray that my heart and mind can be changed to be in line with the Lord’s.
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