Going back to the doctor :-(

We are going back to the doctor tomorrow. Jason is in too much pain, and things just don't seem right. We are not sure if he has developed an infection or an obstruction or something else. Basically, we are without a doctor, for now. The surgeon is still in the hospital, himself, and apparently, there is no backup or on-call doctor for him during this time. His medical assistant called the internist who saw him in the hospital before. She wanted him to be seen today, but they couldn't get him in until tomorrow. We are expecting an ice storm tomorrow, too :-0 It is possible we could end up at the ER before tomorrow afternoon. Please pray for us to wisdom/discernment as to whether or not we should wait or go to the ER. Also, that nothing terrible happens in the meantime.

The Joneses Are Pleased to Announce. . .

that they are expecting a new little bundle of joy due October 5th :-) Yesterday, we got to have an ultrasound and see the baby's heartbeat! With our history of miscarriage, we are not out of the woods yet, so please pray for a healthy full-term pregnancy for mommy and baby.

Jason is still in pain, so that is our number one prayer request right now. Also, for quick healing with no more complications. Jason's best friend is going to try and come down next week. He was an Army medic/EMT and there have been many times over the last few weeks that we could have used his advice and counsel. We are hoping and praying that this works out.

Thursday afternoon

Jason had his staples removed at the doctor's this morning. He is still hurting quite a bit. They are surprised at the level of pain he is still experiencing. They said it will probably be four to six more weeks before we can expect him to be back to normal. If he can get to the point where he is moving better and doesn't have to be on pain meds, then he can be released for light duty activities. Right now, I think it would take a miracle for this to happen. Also, Jason has thrush and the medicine that the doctor prescribed is no longer being made, so that has caused a delay for him. Please pray for continued and quick healing and for pain relief. Jason hates pain medicine, and we would both love to see him be able to handle things without it.

I am feeling puny today. I think I am just overtired and need to catch up on rest, but I don't see this happening any time soon. The kids are after me all day, and Jason is keeping me up all night :-0 I keep reminding myself that the Lord will give me what I need, including rest. I just pray that he will give me the superhuman strength that I need to endure in the meantime.

Thursday morning update

Jason's pain patch wearing off yesterday made for a very rough night. I slept on the couch, but he woke me up a couple of times needing more pain meds. Around 4am we were awakened by gunshots at the carwash behind our house :-0 We called 911, but never did find out what had happened. I have heard this noise several times over the last couple of weeks, so we think it may be drive by shooting. What fun!

We will leave for the surgeon's office in less than an hour. Please pray about this. Jason is hurting so badly, that he just wants to lay in bed, so this trip is not going to be easy on him. I'm glad the hospital uses valet parking. We will definitely be taking advantage of this today. I will update later.

Also, please pray for one of my fellow MOMYS families. The parents are Amy and Ty. They lost their 7 month old baby daughter, Emily, last Sunday :-( A few weeks ago, Emily had the same type of surgery that Jason had. After suffering several complications and setbacks, she seemed to be doing much better, but died unexpectedly on Sunday. Her funeral is at 10am today in Stafford, KS. She is survived by her parents and 4 older siblings.

Thank you for praying.

Wednesday Update

Today has been a fairly good day. Jason's pain patch wears off today, and as of right now, the oral pain meds seem to be holding him. It has been pretty outside today, so we took a family walk part way up our street and back. Jason used his rolling walker. The kids got to play outside quite a bit today. They have needed to burn off some energy. I'm keeping them close to home, right now, because of all of the germs going around. I do not want either them or Jason getting sick! Now I'm trying to catch up on the mounds of laundry that have piled up since we've been gone. Things are topsy turvy around here, but I am still so tired, that I have decided to take things slow and steady, rather than trying to get it all done in one day. Praising God for a beautiful day and for the progress Jason is making. Please keep him in prayer as we follow up with the assistant surgeon tomorrow morning. We are uncertain what to expect.

Tuesday Update

So far, Jason seems to be doing well at home. It is hard for him to get up and down once he is lying down. The hospital bed which could be raised and lowered made this much easier prior to coming home. Right now, "Eenie" and I are having to pull him up when he needs to rise. He is using his walker to get from room to room. His muscle tone is very low and his balance is off. He spent most of his day today sleeping. His pain is tolerable right now. His pain patch will expire tomorrow afternoon (it is only supposed to last 72 hours and he had it put on around 3pm on Sunday). After that, he will have to rely on oral pain meds.

Today, we called Jason's surgeon's office to schedule his post-op appointment, and we received some distressing news. His surgeon had a minor heart surgery last Friday and was expected to be off of work for a week and a half. Jason was going to see him in-office next week (two weeks post-op). Apparently, Dr. Hemric's condition is much worse than they realized, because today he had open-heart surgery. Right now, they don't know when he will be returning. Because of this, Jason is going to have his post-op appointment this Thursday (Happy Valentines!) with the surgeon who assisted Dr. Hemric during his procedure. They told us that seeing anyone next week was not an option at this point. We don't know if Jason will be getting his staples removed as early as this Thursday, or not. He has about 20 - 30 staples that will need to be removed at some point, but we are not sure whether his incision is healed enough to allow for their removal. We are praying that there will be no additional complications during this time of uncertainty.

Jason is Home!!

Jason was released from the hospital today :-) We still have a long recovery ahead of us, but he is home and resting comfortably. He has a rolling walker so that he can move around. His balance is off and it will take some time for him to rebuild what he has lost. Our number one enemy right now will be another blockage forming. They have given us some practical diet tips to reduce the chances of this happening. We are both exchausted and have spent the afternoon napping, but it is wonderful to be back home with the children.