So I thought I would be blogging about my last trip next time I visited here, but instead I am awake and blogging from a friend's computer as I sit up, sleepless from too much caffeine and too much going on in my life.
I am in Florida to spend time with a precious friend who has had some dangerous and unexpected surgery. She had been having palpitations, light-headedness and pressure in her chest, and her family m.d. completely missed the diagnosis. Thank God she and her husband pursued this further, or the world would have lost a very loving woman. She had a baseball sized anyeurism on her aorta that was about ready to rupture. After a trip to the E.R., several tests, and a transfer to a second hospital and more tests, she had life saving surgery. Her aortic valve was replaced, and the anyeurism was removed; she now has Dacron tubing in its place. However, she was still not out of the woods. During the hours after the surgery and into the night, she was bleeding. She had to have another surgery to seal off an artery that had been nicked during the first procedure. She was taken back into the O.R. at 3 a.m. for the repair, given blood to replace what she had lost, and closed up again.
I find that I cannot imagine at all what she has been through, or how we humans have been able to devise such strange and wonderful ways of repairing the human body. I am in awe of medical advances once again, as I have been many times before, like the life-saving shunt that Adam and so many others have, or the reconstruction of my own body after mastectomy, or the amazing prostheses that so many of our service men and women have needed in the last 10 years.
Anyway, I felt that I really needed to get down here and spend some time with her. She is one of my dearest friends. In fact, she is the one who shared Jesus with me. I haven't written in depth about my faith before, and actually I'm not going to do that now either. But my life was changed forever when I moved next door to her in 1977 and I'm so very glad it did. Somewhere along the line of our lives touching each others', a friend dubbed us "Laverne and Shirley". She thought we were exactly like the characters on the show. ( I am Shirley)
When I arrived on Thursday evening, she was very very sleepy and not too responsive. After so much anesthesia, so many drugs and such extensive surgery, I didn't really expect that she would be awake and talking. I came into the room and called, "Hello Laverne" She did open her eyes a few times and even made an attempt to talk, but having been extubated just a short time before I arrived, it was too difficult and her throat was too sore. She was also too weak to force enough air through her vocal chords to make any sound. But she smiled. And threw me a kiss. I promised to annoy her and keep her awake. I did my best. She did her best to wake up, but mostly slept. I prayed for her and blessed her and rejoiced quietly over her. She went back to sleep.
Today was a different story. She was awake when we got to the hospital and looked really good. The nurses had gotten her out of bed for a short time in the early morning. She was back in bed and glad to see us when we arrived. (Her husband, sister and me) She said "Hello Shirley", and smiled at me. She was able to eat, talk ,smile and almost laugh. She hangs onto her heart pillow for coughing and for comfort. She will do that for a while...
Her daughter and family have been spending so much time there, worrying and loving and watching over her. Her 15 year old grandaughter decorated the dry erase board that is hanging on the wall for the date and other info. I particularly like what she wrote.."hearts (insert little picture instead of the word) get broken, but (insert the math symbol for pi here...y'know...3.14to infinity) pi goes on forever. so I pi you." Kids are great. They speak right into what is going on if we listen. I have to admit that it took me a minute to get it..
So today I learned that doctors have come a long way in fixing broken hearts. I wonder how far the rest of us have come in fixing different kinds of broken hearts. You know, the ones that get broken when dreams are smashed, or hopes come crashing down. The ones that get broken when marriages fail, a spouse cheats, or a loved and cherished friend or family member dies. Hearts that get broken when a miscarriage happens, or we are betrayed by some one we loved, looked up to, or trusted. How long does it take for that kind of broken heart to heal? And are we willing to lay our lives and agendas down and step aside to see the one who is hurting and try to help? I know I can't fix a broken heart, but I know Someone who can. His name is Jesus. I met Him because someone stopped for the one, me, and told me about Him. I can't fix a broken heart, but I can listen, love and care about one at a time. And I can get better at it as I keep trying. I'm far from perfect, but I think I am closer to loving well. Ask Laverne the next time you see her. I think she will vouch for me. I will vouch for her for sure.
I am in Florida to spend time with a precious friend who has had some dangerous and unexpected surgery. She had been having palpitations, light-headedness and pressure in her chest, and her family m.d. completely missed the diagnosis. Thank God she and her husband pursued this further, or the world would have lost a very loving woman. She had a baseball sized anyeurism on her aorta that was about ready to rupture. After a trip to the E.R., several tests, and a transfer to a second hospital and more tests, she had life saving surgery. Her aortic valve was replaced, and the anyeurism was removed; she now has Dacron tubing in its place. However, she was still not out of the woods. During the hours after the surgery and into the night, she was bleeding. She had to have another surgery to seal off an artery that had been nicked during the first procedure. She was taken back into the O.R. at 3 a.m. for the repair, given blood to replace what she had lost, and closed up again.
I find that I cannot imagine at all what she has been through, or how we humans have been able to devise such strange and wonderful ways of repairing the human body. I am in awe of medical advances once again, as I have been many times before, like the life-saving shunt that Adam and so many others have, or the reconstruction of my own body after mastectomy, or the amazing prostheses that so many of our service men and women have needed in the last 10 years.
Anyway, I felt that I really needed to get down here and spend some time with her. She is one of my dearest friends. In fact, she is the one who shared Jesus with me. I haven't written in depth about my faith before, and actually I'm not going to do that now either. But my life was changed forever when I moved next door to her in 1977 and I'm so very glad it did. Somewhere along the line of our lives touching each others', a friend dubbed us "Laverne and Shirley". She thought we were exactly like the characters on the show. ( I am Shirley)
When I arrived on Thursday evening, she was very very sleepy and not too responsive. After so much anesthesia, so many drugs and such extensive surgery, I didn't really expect that she would be awake and talking. I came into the room and called, "Hello Laverne" She did open her eyes a few times and even made an attempt to talk, but having been extubated just a short time before I arrived, it was too difficult and her throat was too sore. She was also too weak to force enough air through her vocal chords to make any sound. But she smiled. And threw me a kiss. I promised to annoy her and keep her awake. I did my best. She did her best to wake up, but mostly slept. I prayed for her and blessed her and rejoiced quietly over her. She went back to sleep.
Today was a different story. She was awake when we got to the hospital and looked really good. The nurses had gotten her out of bed for a short time in the early morning. She was back in bed and glad to see us when we arrived. (Her husband, sister and me) She said "Hello Shirley", and smiled at me. She was able to eat, talk ,smile and almost laugh. She hangs onto her heart pillow for coughing and for comfort. She will do that for a while...
Her daughter and family have been spending so much time there, worrying and loving and watching over her. Her 15 year old grandaughter decorated the dry erase board that is hanging on the wall for the date and other info. I particularly like what she wrote.."hearts (insert little picture instead of the word) get broken, but (insert the math symbol for pi here...y'know...3.14to infinity) pi goes on forever. so I pi you." Kids are great. They speak right into what is going on if we listen. I have to admit that it took me a minute to get it..
So today I learned that doctors have come a long way in fixing broken hearts. I wonder how far the rest of us have come in fixing different kinds of broken hearts. You know, the ones that get broken when dreams are smashed, or hopes come crashing down. The ones that get broken when marriages fail, a spouse cheats, or a loved and cherished friend or family member dies. Hearts that get broken when a miscarriage happens, or we are betrayed by some one we loved, looked up to, or trusted. How long does it take for that kind of broken heart to heal? And are we willing to lay our lives and agendas down and step aside to see the one who is hurting and try to help? I know I can't fix a broken heart, but I know Someone who can. His name is Jesus. I met Him because someone stopped for the one, me, and told me about Him. I can't fix a broken heart, but I can listen, love and care about one at a time. And I can get better at it as I keep trying. I'm far from perfect, but I think I am closer to loving well. Ask Laverne the next time you see her. I think she will vouch for me. I will vouch for her for sure.
