So we spent most of the day at the hospital. When that happens, it's kind of like watching reruns, only the faces change. The story is predictable, because we've seen it so many times, but then, every once in a while, something happens that we forgot about, and we get surprised. Sometimes that is pleasant, sometimes not so much. Today the surprise was good. We got to go home.
I could turn this into a rant about everything that did not go well, but that would be so ungrateful and unloving. Instead, I am thankful for the nurse who started Adam's IV with one stick of the needle. I am thankful for the doctors who patiently listened to him as he tried to speak with them. I am thankful for the technicians who thought Adam was a lady-killer and knew he liked the pretty nurses. They teased him and joked with him as they prepared him for the CT scan. Adam was laughing, and it made him relax and hold still so that the test did not have to be repeated. These young men were not much older than he is. As I write this I am tempted to go to the place of disappointment for all the things Adam doesn't get to do...like college and driving and dating, but instead I will turn my thoughts to the fact that he is graduating from his educational program in June. He is 21 years old. We have had a few times when we did not think he would make it to that birthday. And we are so thankful to the One who has made it possible for him to still be here with us. He stopped by this morning and made that possible again.
Adam woke up at 3:00 this morning and within a very few minutes began screaming in pain from a headache. There was absolutely no consoling him or helping him, and I knew we needed to get him to the hospital, and quickly. That kind of pain indicates that his shunt is not working and this can quickly become a life and death situation. I could not even put his braces and shoes on him, because the pain in his feet was unbearable. He also has peripheral neuropathy, and this time the pressure in his head intensified the problem in his feet. Paul had to lift him into the car when we got outside. Thank the Lord for his wheelchair...
As I was helping Adam get into his chair I prayed some quick battle prayers for him and for his life and we left. He began to calm down almost immediately and we did not have to go to the nearest hospital but were able to go to Stony Brook University Hospital where most of his doctors have priviledges. (normally a 30 minute ride but Paul made it in 15) I was so thankful as it makes the whole ordeal that much easier. Stony Brook has all of his records since the beginning of this journey when he was just 5 weeks old.
The CT scan was ok...things looked about the same as in his last scan. The shunt x-rays were good; no breaks in the connections. The decision was that he probably had a blockage in the shunt, preventing passage of fluid out of his brain, and that it had managed to clear itself. This has happened before. This is the type of rerun surprise that we like. The other kind we will leave unexplored tonight because I don't like to visit that scenario.
So why did I name this post Goliath? After we came home today, and I had some time to think about the events of the day and to thank the Lord for His intervention. He showed me that this issue is our Goliath. It is the giant that we face and have not yet defeated. I say not yet because I believe we will have the victory. It is ours and the battle is the Lord's. I Samuel 17 tells the story of David and Goliath, how a young man defeated a giant with a sling and a stone. He did not claim any glory for himself in that victory, but gave glory to God for his success. "You come against me with spear, sword and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty....this day the Lord will hand you over to me..." We wait for the day when the Lord will hand this enemy over to us, and we stand in His name until the day of deliverance comes. I saw the connection between the brook where David selected 5 smooth stones for his sling, and the name of the hospital. Stony Brook. With a play on words, the Lord was showing me the battle in a different light. I might select 5 stones for the battle, but just as David needed only one stone to fell his enemy, there is only One who will win the battle, and slay this enemy for us. His name is Jesus. Thank you, Lord. You are so good.
I could turn this into a rant about everything that did not go well, but that would be so ungrateful and unloving. Instead, I am thankful for the nurse who started Adam's IV with one stick of the needle. I am thankful for the doctors who patiently listened to him as he tried to speak with them. I am thankful for the technicians who thought Adam was a lady-killer and knew he liked the pretty nurses. They teased him and joked with him as they prepared him for the CT scan. Adam was laughing, and it made him relax and hold still so that the test did not have to be repeated. These young men were not much older than he is. As I write this I am tempted to go to the place of disappointment for all the things Adam doesn't get to do...like college and driving and dating, but instead I will turn my thoughts to the fact that he is graduating from his educational program in June. He is 21 years old. We have had a few times when we did not think he would make it to that birthday. And we are so thankful to the One who has made it possible for him to still be here with us. He stopped by this morning and made that possible again.
Adam woke up at 3:00 this morning and within a very few minutes began screaming in pain from a headache. There was absolutely no consoling him or helping him, and I knew we needed to get him to the hospital, and quickly. That kind of pain indicates that his shunt is not working and this can quickly become a life and death situation. I could not even put his braces and shoes on him, because the pain in his feet was unbearable. He also has peripheral neuropathy, and this time the pressure in his head intensified the problem in his feet. Paul had to lift him into the car when we got outside. Thank the Lord for his wheelchair...
As I was helping Adam get into his chair I prayed some quick battle prayers for him and for his life and we left. He began to calm down almost immediately and we did not have to go to the nearest hospital but were able to go to Stony Brook University Hospital where most of his doctors have priviledges. (normally a 30 minute ride but Paul made it in 15) I was so thankful as it makes the whole ordeal that much easier. Stony Brook has all of his records since the beginning of this journey when he was just 5 weeks old.
The CT scan was ok...things looked about the same as in his last scan. The shunt x-rays were good; no breaks in the connections. The decision was that he probably had a blockage in the shunt, preventing passage of fluid out of his brain, and that it had managed to clear itself. This has happened before. This is the type of rerun surprise that we like. The other kind we will leave unexplored tonight because I don't like to visit that scenario.
So why did I name this post Goliath? After we came home today, and I had some time to think about the events of the day and to thank the Lord for His intervention. He showed me that this issue is our Goliath. It is the giant that we face and have not yet defeated. I say not yet because I believe we will have the victory. It is ours and the battle is the Lord's. I Samuel 17 tells the story of David and Goliath, how a young man defeated a giant with a sling and a stone. He did not claim any glory for himself in that victory, but gave glory to God for his success. "You come against me with spear, sword and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty....this day the Lord will hand you over to me..." We wait for the day when the Lord will hand this enemy over to us, and we stand in His name until the day of deliverance comes. I saw the connection between the brook where David selected 5 smooth stones for his sling, and the name of the hospital. Stony Brook. With a play on words, the Lord was showing me the battle in a different light. I might select 5 stones for the battle, but just as David needed only one stone to fell his enemy, there is only One who will win the battle, and slay this enemy for us. His name is Jesus. Thank you, Lord. You are so good.
