Home from the Hospital

For those who didn't know (I hadn't posted it to my blog!) Jim is now home from the hospital. We went in to the ER on Thursday morning at 4:30am. He had been vomiting for about 24 hours at that point and experiencing terrible pains and cramps. We thought it was another one of his colitis episodes. Judy, Jim's mom, met us at the ER just right after we got there and took the kids back to our house so I could stay with Jim. Jim's dad later joined us in the ER. I was thankful to have him with us.

When we were leaving our house Rebekah stood at the front step bewildered. She kept saying that it was still dark and still night-night time. She couldn't figure out why we were leaving the house while it was still dark. The kids were all good troupers and did amazingly well with little complaint. They knew Daddy was in pain and that we were going to the hospital so he could get better. They lit up when Grandma walked through the ER doors. I think I probably lit up too!

After we were admitted to ER, it was an HOUR before they even tried to give Jim and IV and pain medication. By this point his appendix had already punctured. I really didn't know how much pain Jim was in. I now realize that he has such a high pain tolerance level. His moans would have been screeching wails coming from me! After 30 minutes they got an IV started. He was so dehydrated that his veins kept collapsing. After an IV and some pain medication, things were much better. The Dr. wanted a scan of his abdomen to find out more clearly what was wrong. It took 4 hours more for that to all take place. The scan was quickly read and it was determined that Jim had appendicitis. We were actually relieved it was his appendix and not complications with his colitis like we thought. Crazy, huh?!

He went into surgery around 1:00pm and was admitted to the hospital around 3pm. The surgeon who took care of him was great. He did a laproscopic(sp?) surgery which will be much easier to heal from. The appendix did puncture, so there was quite a bit of cleanup involved. He even fixed a little hernia Jim had in his belly button.

So, after 4.5 days in the hospital, we're now at home, continuing to recover. My parents came in town and took care of the kids so I could be with Jim at the hospital. Friday we celebrated Rebekah's third birthday with Jim in his hospital room. Judy made a princess cake with a Barbie stuck down in her cake dress. We ate yummy cake and opened some presents. That morning Elijah and I had hung streamers all over the house. She didn't know what to think when she came down stairs. We made a big deal all day of it being her birthday. Then on Saturday her little friend, Abby, and her mom took her to a tea room and to the library. She had an absolutely wonderful time and felt so special.

Saturday evening the kids all went home with John and Judy and we let my parents go home for a quick break. If I need help this coming week, they'll be able to come down and help me. We've had friends bring us meals, our neighbors weeded our front yard for us, several friends have visited Jim in the hospital, and the emails of encouragement have flowed in. Thank you to all of you. We feel so loved and cared for.

Last night I laid in bed alone thinking about all of this. The Lord has been so gracious to us! Things could have been absolutely crazy, but they've been orderly and fairly peaceful. I had a feeling on Wednesday that we were going to be going to the ER with Jim this time. The Lord helped me mentally prepare for the event and come up with plans of how to take care of Jim and the kids. Jim and I had sat down two days earlier and written out a schedule for our days and what meals we were planning. My parents were able to follow that schedule with our kids while I was away. I had already taken care of online billpay scheduling of all our current bills so that stress was taken care of. I had completed my Safequip required work on Tuesday. This usually doesn't happen so early in the week! Jim's work schedule was fairly open and his coworkers were able to complete his tasks. Both of our parents were free and able to help us during all of this! I'm also thankful I've been on my PPD medication for about 4 weeks and was mentally able to handle this stress. The Lord timed all of this perfectly and we are SO THANKFUL! How could we have gone through all of this not knowing who holds our tomorrows? Knowing that God has a plan and has orchestrated all of this is so comforting. Last night I was reading some scriptures that really encouraged me in all of this. It seems like our little family has been going through tons of medical things lately. But, the Lord has taken care of each one! We are greatful!
"We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:3-5