Life on the other side....

Well, this is what life on the other side was like for us this week:
Beth's mom left Monday afternoon and things were pretty quiet after she left. We continued on the road of recovery and resting. We began to fully understand what life was going to take in regards to slowing down in the pace of life.

Tuesday, we saw Beth's new primary care physician. We were thankful because she seemed very gracious and understanding of Beth's condition. She answered our numerous questions about the various drugs she is on and the potential interactions with each other and food. She also was able to prescribe something that helps more long term to help with Beth's episodes of anxiety. The doctor also changed her coumadin dosage per the results from the blood test the previous Friday.

Wednesday was her first day back at work. Beth's principal has been gracious and allowing her to return only for half days. The kids definitely missed her, but they began to get reacquainted with her. She came home and slept. Before doing this she took one of her new meds from the previous day at the doctor. Later that evening, after I had left for rehearsal, Beth had to call a friend to come over and sit with her for a while. She was feeling very drowsy and didn't trust being alone. We certainly are very thankful for our friends who have been gracious with us during this process and helping us out in the various ways. There was no more concern the rest of the night.

Thursday and Friday was the beginning of our somewhat busy weekend, which we realized is too much energy for one weekend. Thursday evening we went to her end of the year school program. The Freedom School is such a blessing to those kids where they hear about the Lord Jesus Christ and His love for this world. The program was on the character of God. It was quite interesting at times, but what a blessing to be reminded of who God is by those kids. Truly...How Great Is Our God! Friday evening, we went to our second graduation. We saw several of our good friends graduate, especially our cousin Tim Jones. CONGRATULATIONS! It was a blessing to see our Covenant family again at the reception and the little party that evening at a friend's house.

Today was filled again with excitement. Beth's school's Field Day got canceled, so we enjoined staying home and resting. Around 12 noon Beth proceeded to get anxious and tried to eat something in order to take some medicine. However, this time she proceeded to be troubled again with pains in her esophagus as she ate. We suffered through this and the anxiety attack by rubbing her back and attempting to decipher what was going on. She took some Xanax to help calm her down a little bit and took a nap for the afternoon. Upon waking she was not much better in regards to the pain. After deliberation, we ended back in the ER earlier this evening, attempting to figure out what was going on. The doctor reviewed all the records from the hospital visitations before and concluded that there was not much else they could do for her at this time without her seeing the GI doctor again. They did prescribe a carafate drink for her, which was actually ordered for her while in the hospital but never given. This drink is for patients who struggle with ulcers, however Beth does not have an ulcer. So, at this point she is a sleep for the night, resting quietly. Unfortunately, the events of the day have prevented us from attending two graduation parties, which included Tim's, our cousin, and some time with Beth's prayer group for one final reunion. Tomorrow will be a quiet morning for us here, hopefully working on staying pain free.

One thing is for sure we both are mentally and emotionally exhausted from this endeavor. Beth and I both are longing for her to be free from this and desire for her to be healthy again. You all have been so gracious to continue emailing, praying, calling, and hoping for the best in our situation. Sometimes it is very hard to answer the question, "How are you doing?" Speaking for myself, I don't even know which end is up. I listened to myself respond to Beth today and I began to question if I am the right person to be helping her through this. I was able to speak with our uncle this afternoon and was remarking at how I believe after everything we have been through with Beth, my sister and her tragedy, and other things in the past three weeks I have shut myself down emotionally because I seemingly have nowhere to turn. I am unsure of how much more I can take. It is definitely harder when you feel isolated by all this pain.

So, we ask for you to continue to pray. Thank you for being with us in this, reading these posts, and encouraging us along the way to hold fast. Please pray for God to bring healing, restoration, and hope into our midst.