Day 8: MIRACLE MONDAY

This has been a Monday for the memory books! While Larry was at Methodist Hospital in Minneapolis awaiting more test results and praying this could be discharge day, I was at another hospital in St. Paul with Carly. 

Carly’s visit to Regions Hospital was for a long-awaited spot in outpatient surgery for dental work. We could not reschedule because the dentists only get one day a month in the OR and we’ve already been waiting several months for repairs on a couple of teeth that have become quite painful for her. 

Carly and I arrived at 10:45 am but her procedures got delayed and she didn’t go into the OR until 2:30 pm. She was incredibly patient with only a few moments of agitation that resolved with some music from her “calming playlist” (lovingly and geniously created by Larry several years ago for just such times as this). 

As I was drafting this, the nurse called me to come back because Carly was already in the recovery area. That was my first clue that things must have gone better than expected because they estimated what they expected to do would take a minimum of 3 hours and likely a fair bit longer than that. They suspected multiple teeth could need a root canal, and one was at risk of extraction. In the end, she was out of surgery in 2 hours 20 minutes with 5 fillings but NO extractions and NO root canals. PRAISE THE LORD! 

She was finished in recovery at 5:45 and home eating BREAKFAST at 6:30 pm tonight. She’s resting with her friend Katie now and I’m eating a quick dinner (THANK YOU Seth and Abby! and happy birthday Wren!) before heading over to bring Larry back to us.

Larry’s been working hard to get better (e.g., his heart working on overdrive to get rid of fluids, liver working hard to detoxify his body, immune system stressed). It has taken quite a team of specialists to get to the bottom of why and get comfortable that he is safe to go home. Although he has felt better each day since about Friday, it was explained that his situation was “stable but precarious.” 

After more troubling labs on Saturday, an upper endoscopy and ultrasound were done on Sunday. Mostly, those were to make sure that the low blood pressure he had when he was in septic shock had not made his portal varices too fragile. (Those enlarged veins between his esophagus and stomach can rupture, causing severe bleeding.) 

Finally, all the daily testing and consults with hematology, dermatology, infectious disease, gastroenterology and cardiology have resulted in confidence that he can do the rest of his recovering at home with lots of follow up to come. The hospitalist has already coordinated appointments with almost all of these specialists coming up this week and next.  

As of today, Larry is doing much much better, thank God! 

The entire situation — from onset to recovery — has been complicated by his complex medical issues ranging from heart disease, diabetes and a long history of lymphedema in his right leg to non-alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver and portal hypertension. It sounds like a lot, and it is. Thankfully, Larry has been very diligent in managing his healthcare over the years, so he has generally done well with all of this for almost two decades. 

Unfortunately, the last year has just been A LOT, on a lot of levels. Undeniably, stress and not enough time for self-care (sleep, fitness, rest, vacations) have also been factors. Needless to say, we are both eager to jump into the new opportunities coming — especially HEALTH.

Best guess at this point is that this was just a “perfect storm” of many of those issues not playing nicely with the cellulitis this time. And some of the medications he’s needed in the past might actually have inadvertently exacerbated the situation. The team has made several changes to his medication list as he is discharged tonight, and we expect more tweaking will come with the follow-ups and as they observe his recovery.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Your prayers have carried us through a grueling week. God and I have had lots of big talks, let me tell you. And I haven’t always had words, just groans, for Him. Jesus’ intercession and your walking with us in faith have been powerful for Larry and I (and our family) and encouraged us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfector of faith. Halleluia, Lord!

Now off I go to get my husband. :)

Lamentations 3:22-23
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Revelation 3:8:
See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.