The PA was satisfied with what he saw yesterday. Lungs clear, oxygen sats good while on O2. Haven't heard about labs yet. He also liked how we were managing Lasix and potassium. Nice reassurance. After the doc we had lunch and I dropped TJ and his oxygen tanks off and Barnes and Nobles and did some grocery and sundry shopping (also got side tracked at Coldwater Creek- the store in Bozeman still has lots of stock). Tim had a consult online in the evening. We were done in by the end of the day. I donned all my ankle and knee contraptions to bring up the groceries,after sending Tim to rest over his objections, and am not overly sore today! Go stiff nylon and Velcro! Thank you for your continued prayer as we continue to climb back to health. Blessings and Gratitude, Mary Ann
Tim continues to be super fatigued and quickly gets short of breath. He will do a long phone or skype call with someone then basically sleep the rest of the day. He was coughing more again over the weekend- could just be the extremely high pollen count. Still on O2 and we are so thankful that we have that. Today he goes to see the Internal Med PA again. It feels like good timing. I am grateful that I am not trying to figure everything out with my "x-ray eyes". They don' really do it so good. My joints are getting less painful and I am less tired- but still in pain and tired. I have had some wonderful times of listening to worship music on the deck overlooking the mountains. "By the streams of still water, restoring my soul." Prayer items: Safe and helpful visit to the PA. A long drive up the canyon with road construction to get there. That the portable oxygen concentrator and supplies get to HERE. Addresses and the post office are weird out here so there is a good potential for misdelivery. Continued improvement for both of us. That we would not miss what Papa God wants to whisper to us in the midst of trying to cope and recover.
It seems a relief to be responding every few days with updates and changes verses every few hours because the needs were so urgent and great. We are continuing the "upward trend" but it is in the "slow and steady" pace verses the "fast and furious" (tortoise and the hare). Indeed, we are thankful for that "slow and steady" because the "fast and furious" can lead to lots of iradic turns, ups and downs, and wasted energy.
Bullet Points of our Faithful Father hearing our prayers:
Allina Medical, our Minnesota medical supply company overnighted a loaner CPAP for Tim with all his correct settings. When we return home they will take a look at his CPAP and assess it for repair. This cpap has been around the world a couple of times. Excellent service, thank you Allina Medical!
Through our network of friends, we have seen first hand how the Holy Spirit guides and directs the body of Christ. A gigantic prayer request was what to do re: an Oxygenator (a machine that makes concentrated O2 from room air...and that is portable...and FAA certified, etc). These machines run about $4,000. Soon after we reached out, we got a message from a friend of a friend who had a gently used portable oxygenator. The tenderness of this story is that it was used by my friend's husband in his battle of mesothelioma. But, even more so is the fact that he gave his life to the Lord as an adult, went back to school & seminary, and then worked as a missionary in Haiti for five years and then in Kenya for 15 years. His journey on this earth ended and he is getting a head start in eternity with Jesus! Thank you to this new friend for sharing a piece of equipment that supplied the sacred breath of a life well lived. May you tenderly feel the touch of the Lord as we have.
Sacred friends are arranging their return from Montana to the midwest so they can drive us and the required medical supplies home. No small task since we seem to have enough to start mobile clinic!
Life in the little details. My joints are still pretty painful but the less I have to go up and down the stairs or haul things the better. I was able to do water exercises at the pool today and had the whole beautiful pool to myself and Jesus.
Tim is three steps forward and two steps back. He was pretty shot today. Good news is that his lungs are clear. But, he still he needs the O2 although SATS are not dropping as far. The encouraging news is that he can do a long consulting call before he crashes. I am encouraging him to keep the oxygen turned up because I am sure all his cells were in deficit after a recent call. No reason to push it. It would also be good to increase the O2 to hopefully decrease the 'bounce back' time needed. Tim's arm continues to really hurt him.
We see our PA in Bozeman on Monday for follow up. He is very sharp and will help us navigate/coordinate the future plan home ward. I don't think Tim will be on oxygen long term but I also don't want to be in the middle of North Dakota and discover the need for it.
Papa God has been faithful in working out all the details. Thank you for your continued faithfulness in prayer. Please pray the next days would be added to recovery of long term health and stamina. I purchased a stethoscope and oximeter out here for the just in case...and have used it much more than planned! But, He knows our needs even sometimes before we do.
Our parting kiss...enjoy this song by Hillsong United called "Oceans".
Thank you for your support and prayer!
Mary Ann...maegan
Today could I ask you to pray about a couple of things?
TJ's cpap (sleeping machine that helps manage breathing) gave up the fight. We have an appointment today in Bozeman to get a check up or a new machine. Could you pray for good conversations with the insurance company? These machines are not cheap and sometimes even if they are covered it is a loooooong authorization process. This is a piece of equipment that is so important for TJ's rest and healing on a daily basis. It really is not something that he can wait a month for a replacement.
In re: to medical equipment. We are still trying to determine what to do with O2. When we go in to the medical supply place, pray that there will be someone that could discuss options with us and help us navigate insurance. Another option of buying a used machine has come up, pray that we would be wise in what to do. These machines are very expensive as well.
And, as always, pray for travel. If you have ever been to Montana you know that "running into town" could very well take the day. Pray for stamina for both of us.
Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord! Psalm 117:1-2
Tim had a doctor appt. in Bozeman Wednesday. We saw an internal medicine PA who was REALLY sharp. He thought that Tim looked good-actually a bit surprised because of how sick he had been. His lungs sounded clear and his vs were good. Ted (the PA) thought that Tim would be on oxygen for several more weeks. We have a follow up appointment with him on Monday, July 14, to check progress and if needed, start the process to arrange oxygen for the trip home. It is a very onerous process to fly with o2 so we may consider driving back. He also checked kidney function and hemoglobin but we do not have those results. He said that Tim is a very complex patient. (Insert Tj's little smirk). Another issue that has really been a problem is Tim's right arm. Ted examined that but said the only way to really know what is going on is an MRI and it did not make sense to start that process out here (we had already decided that). He did order pain medication for it- it is really very painful. It has been hard for Tim to use it even for typing so while we were in Bozeman we picked up an inexpensive typing table that makes typing possible because of his arm position. He still has profound fatigue which is not unexpected after a severe pneumonia, but is frustrating. My joints (feet, ankles, knees, back) did not appreciate the hard floors at the hospital and have remained very painful- hard to walk and stay cheerful (Sure honey, I will be glad to get that for you since you can't breath well or use your arm). Prayer items:
Continued and full recovery from pneumonia
The Father's plan for Tim's arm- as you pray if you feel that God is urging you to pray for miraculous healing speak up and lets see if others are hearing the same.
Understanding from The Father this event (is it an opportunity to see his mighty healing power again, is there a course change that he desires, is it an attack from the evil one?)
Pain relief for Tim's shoulder and arm.
Pain relief for my joints.
A restful vacation in spite of the exhausting start.
For security, please refer to "TJ", not, well, you know. His job is quite sensitive in some places. See A Little Blog Housekeeping for more information.
Calendar
For easy reference to what day a certain day was in 2007.
Some of the more important and popular posts (from December 2007): In and Out of the Fire: A basic timeline of TJ's entire stay in the hospital.
The Rest of The Story: A more detailed summary of how TJ got into the ICU in the first place, along with some of the bumps along the way. An Attempt At A Word Picture: What it's like to be in the ICU. Powerful Times: A bigger picture of the blog, the stay in the ICU, and TJ's comments on it before he knew what was going to happen. Genesis of a Blog: Why this got started, and why it blesses us.
What Are the Vitals?: An explanation of the vital signs we track and why they are important.
Sourcing Wikipedia
I'm sure that some of you have noticed that we link to Wikipedia quite a bit. There is a good reason for this, Wikipedia usually has the most complete information regarding whatever we are referencing. It generally pulls together many other sources that are considered "reputable" which are at the bibliography at the bottom.
So we do check out the article first and its sources, and it is usually pretty good. (If it's not we link to somewhere else.)
Glossary
Any words or acronyms you don't know? Look at our Glossary. Updated as often as necessary.
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