Daughter’s Health Update

Herb’s Blog, Herbdate 22242 – 771:

Here’s the haps:

I have a couple of regular posts in the drafts folder but before I start those I thought that since so many of you had expressed compassion and concern for my daughter and sent up prayers and good thoughts and well-wishes I should do this first. First, I would like to thank you all for your prayers and thoughts and encouraging words. It means an awful lot. I have some news to share. I am just thankful that someone is taking her seriously and really understands. I have not met her neurologist but I already really like the woman. Everything I have heard about her conversations leads me to believe that she is fiercely passionate which is something I admire and something that is needed. The intravenous (I just wanted to spell it out to see if I could, lol. One time I had a person ask me what the “four” was and it took me a minute to figure out they meant the abbreviation “IV.”) super steroid (is that like steroids on steroids?) infusion was late getting started so she had to take 15 pills. She had a full schedule of Physical/Occupational/Speech Therapies as well and I don’t even know what all. Since there are so many of you who are concerned I will do the best I can to post you on the news as it is available.

I had started this post on Sunday the 20th but had so much going on that I didn’t get around to it until now. This is the bad thing about not having the “daily post streak” thing hanging over my head. I just now realized that it has been 2 weeks since my last post. But, in my defense, a lot has gone on.

Daughter came home on Christmas Eve and was, of course, exhausted. My wife’s cousin was here visiting and picked her up because I was working (retail, you know…) and brought her home with a walker and a wheelchair and some other various accouterments. They had all of her prescriptions correct except one of the most important ones, the one for the steroids that taper her off the IV steroids. Fortunately, her friend Ashley was on the ball and got on the phone and drove all over creation and spent all day getting the situation fixed so that when I got off work at six all I had to do was go pick up the medicine at the 24-hour pharmacy. Christmas was fun. We have only been getting together with people we are regularly exposed to and that’s okay but as soon as is reasonable and restrictions are loosened we have some other people we plan to drag invite into our tribe.

She is more or less stable at this point, but far from out of the woods. There are many adjustments to be made in all of our lives. It’s very weird seeing her have to use a walker and getting worn out by simple activities. Using the wheelchair at church. Just a lot of adjusting. She is a strong-spirited person and has grit and determination. She told Pastor and his wife that they sent a shrinkiatrist (no offense, Susan) to see her in the rehab place and the person was amazed at her attitude. “I can’t find anything wrong with you. No depression or any reason to prescribe you anything.” There is something that none of these doctors or other professionals seem to realize and that is that there is a sovereign God who created all things including the human body. He miraculously healed her of Lyme Disease a few years back (for the details of her struggles with that you can click on the “Lyme/MS” category for all of the stories) and she trusts Him that He will do what’s best and in His own time and plan. Her main plan at the moment is to get back to teaching Sunday School. She has (I think) 17 stairs to go up and down. In order to do this, she plans to work on it every day while we are not having Sunday School. At the rehab, she was able to do 4 stairs and at the church, she did 3 and quit because she knows her limitations. But she has something to think about and work toward.

Mrs. Herb has her symptoms under control but not explained as of yet. They sent her home with oxygen on an as needed basis as well as a CPAP machine. We’re still waiting results to know what is causing the random shortness of breath and lack of oxygen. A phrase that kept coming up as we were sitting around discussing all of these situations was, “We have a God.” Who knows where we’re at, what we need and when we need it.