Wednesday, August 19, 2009

a day of thanksgiving

so today . . . i spent the day in health care facilities. rollie is not well.

he has been feeling dizzy off and on for a few days now, but like most men, kept saying, "if i don't feel any better tomorrow, i will call the doctor . . . " yeah, right.

rollie takes better care of himself than anyone else i know. he tries to eat right, and has the self-control to do it (unless the devil donuts fly into his mouth under their own power,) he exercises every day except sunday, he gets plenty of sleep, he takes his vitamins, and he is rarely sick. unlike me, his health care providers would not recognize him if they saw him at the mall.

and when he does get sick, he is an easy patient to take care of. he is not one of these whiny crybaby guys who need constant attention and sympathy. thank goodness, because i am not one of those wives who is good at that. when he is sick, i put him in bed with a glass of juice (to keep him hydrated,) the tv remote (for entertainment,) and his cell phone (so he can call me if he needs me,) and then i close the door. he sleeps, drinks his juice, watches tv, and calls me on his phone if he needs anything. it works for us.

but the problem this time is that he wasn't really sick--i mean, as it turns out, he was very, very sick--but he didn't really feel sick, except for the occasional dizziness. he even preached on sunday! so each day when i would ask how he was feeling, and he would say, "a little better, i think," i believed him. i still told him to call the doctor, but since he seemed to be improving, i didn't push it.

i should have. because this morning he fainted while he was in the shower. and then there was no further discussion--he got dressed and we headed to urgent care.

i am thankful for so many things that happened today--
--that we have excellent health care coverage through kaiser, so there were no worries about "what is this going to cost?" it is going to cost us $5--which i already paid.
--that i heard him yell for help, through two closed doors and the floor (he was upstairs and i was downstairs--asleep, btw.)
--that diandra was home (usually by 9:00 she would be at work) to call 911, and then convince them that we didn't really need them after all.
--that he didn't pass out again on the way to urgent care.
--that the health care providers immediately recognized the severity of his issues and acted accordingly.
--that when i was writing the music set last week, i mysteriously (?) ended up with two. so when i looked at the clock today and realized that i was supposed to be at rehearsal in an hour, i had a set all written and ready to go that i could hand over to the band, and i could stay at the hospital with rollie. (do you think maybe God knew this is where i would be today?!?)
--that he was in good enough shape that his body could continue to function in a state where the rest of us would not have survived.
--that even when his blood pressure was crashing and his pulse was racing and his body was trying to function with half it's blood supply, my husband could still smile and make jokes and thank the people around him repeatedly.

tonight he is in the hospital, under the watchful eye of his night nurse, sarah. he has needles in both of his arms. he is getting 4 units of blood, (which is only half of what he is lacking!) he has had bag after bag of saline. he hasn't eaten since our late lunch at rubio's yesterday. but his vital signs are better--blood pressure is up, pulse is down, volume of blood coursing through his veins is increasing with each bag they drip into him. and while he is tired and hungry, he is still smiling and making vampire jokes and thanking all the people who are helping him. repeatedly.

so today i am thankful for my husband, who is still alive and kicking, and for my daughter, who was there when i needed her, and for doctors who know their stuff. but most of all, i am thankful for a God who has a plan and works it all out and knows what He is doing. even when i don't . . .

1 comment:

MITSTUDIO said...

Amazing...
So much to be thankful for!!!