My Thoughts - My Journey

  “On a wing and a prayer” is a saying that people add when they want to emphasize how little chance of success something has, and that the person is relying on basically luck to be successful. This expression originated during World War II. A pilot in the military had lost one wing of his plane, so he was trying to land using only one wing and a prayer. Well, we don’t base our hope on luck, but rather faith; however, we find ourselves living “On a wing and a prayer.”   I’m not going to give a complete recap in this post as to the journey we have been on since early September as it has already been summarized in other writings on this blog. I do however want to give an overview of where we currently find ourselves. So many of you have so graciously offered prayers on behalf of Larry, myself, and our family. Those prayers are great treasures and we pray they will give some hope and relief from our current situation.   Larry is suffering immense pain every-day that ...

Yes, Father, I praise You in this storm.  We never walk alone and Your love ever blankets me. You, precious Father, are leading my journey.  Your Spirit fills me with hope and cries out for me when my words don’t come. Your Son has lifted me above this world of sin and has saved me.  When I tread through the valleys of dark despair, Your Light shines to bring me safely through. I am Yours...forever Yours. Your promises I believe and will forever cling. I will praise You in the storms and in the light of a new day. Natalie Grant...."Praise You in the Storm." https://youtu.be/4fo0A7jpLsk

There is a cross and an empty grave in our story.  Be Kind, Be Generous, Be Forgiving, Be Thankful, and Be Loving.  Give the grace and mercy that you have received.  Be His Light in the middle of this very dark, tragic world that we are currently living in.  Share Jesus!  Love!  Amen!  🙏🏻

I have had several of you ask for an update on Larry. The past few days have been very hectic between starting radiation treatments, nurses coming, Wound Vac issues...and so on. He is walking so well with the walker and he gets exercise going to treatment everyday, so his Physical Therapist decided that she wasn’t needed. We also decided not to use the Occupational Therapist as he is capable of doing all that they were going to help him with. We have had ongoing issues with  the Wound Vac having alerts day and night and it not working properly. If it doesn’t work, his leg doesn’t heal. Also, he has had only two full nights sleep since he came home from the hospital. And, when I say “full nights sleep,” it is still limited/restless sleep because of the pain in his leg. Larry is weak and his emotions are elevated. It takes up much of the day just getting to radiation and back. He has had issues with his Prostate being in the right position for radiation; therefore, there are certain ...

  It’s time the Church became known for what we are FOR instead of what we are against.  I want to see our neighbors thrive, connect, and most of all, be introduced to Jesus. We are to be Disciples who make Disciples.  Be His Church outside the Walls!  Praying for our world and each soul that they may learn of Him and surrender to Him.  Amen!

Update on Larry:  Yesterday, he went for the Prostate MRI and then went to the Bruno Cancer Center. It was a nightmare for him! He has just started walking without the walker, but his left foot and leg is still swollen almost twice its normal size and is still occasionally seeping the yellow fluid from the incisions.  There was a delay in the MRI because they had to find out for sure if his stents used to block the leg aneurysms were metal or not. The MRI machine at St. Vincent’s is double the strength of the one used in Montgomery. The stents are metal, but they worked it out to use it. After a failed attempt to put in his IV, they finally got started on the hour long test.  He then was an hour late for his Radiation Mapping appointment at the Bruno Cancer Center. They first did a CT scan and after an hour+ decided they could not do the mapping and make the body cast mold yesterday. There was a huge pocket of air in the Prostate area; therefore, they had to postpone unti...

In August, I was diagnosed with Mycoplasma. I felt better in September, but started feeling bad again a couple of weeks ago. I’ve had bad headaches, severe sore throat, choking coughs, sneezing like crazy, runny nose, drainage, watery eyes, tiredness/low energy, and swelling. I tested negative for COVID last Friday, but have continued to feel bad and have these symptoms.  Today, I went to my doctor and she said I have an Upper Respiratory Infection, and Sinus Infection. She isn’t sure what is causing my fluid retention, but is probably going to increase the milligrams of my fluid pill. She is also calling in additional medicines to the pharmacy that I pray will start clearing up all these symptoms. I have done little more than sleep for the past few days. These aren’t what I would consider serious issues, but they sure make you feel terrible and with my immune system, I have to be careful. I’m sure once I pop a few drugs in me, I will be feeling much better very soon. 😊 Larry con...

We have some awesome and amazing prayer warriors!!! Larry and our family can not thank you all enough. What a difference a day can make! Thank You Jesus!!! 🙌🏻  Larry has not been able to walk for a couple of days and then last night he, with John Franklin’s continuous encouragement, was able to walk further than he has thus far. Today, the swelling and redness in his leg and foot have gone down.  For the first time since surgery, he put on regular clothes today...and yes, even shoes. That is an amazing turn-around! Now, he is ready for the game. 😊 Thank you all for your prayers and please continue to lift Larry in your prayers. 💞  God is listening, God is moving, and God is leading! Amen! *****Larry took a walk during half-time.***** #Godisbigger #Godisleading #ThankyouJesus

  Larry is still not getting much sleep. His leg and foot are just so swollen and he has very little appetite. He has been in a lot of pain today....combination of bypass surgery and his Prostate Cancer. I talked with Dr. Redd’s nurse, Hillary, yesterday and she talked to Dr. Redd. Larry has been having his leg propped up, but they said it has to go higher. Luckily I ordered him a new recliner a few days ago and it arrived today.  The cadaver vessel has to learn/be trained how t o carry blood flow both ways. Propping back and then adding pillows should help him elevate his foot higher. He has 4 incisions....two that aren’t seen in the photos, but the one in the calf is the most irritated. If the redness and swelling doesn’t improve, he might have to go to the doctor next week. Otherwise, his follow-up appointment will be on October 14th to get stitches out so he can get his Prostate MRI and radiation mapping done on October 19th.  Dr. Redd warned us from the beginning tha...

Our precious grands are being the perfect little doctors and nurse to their Big Daddy. Every afternoon they spend time with him...talking, caring for him, and trying to make him feel better. This afternoon, John Franklin, our oldest grandson (8 years old) helped Big Daddy with his walking. He followed behind him, giving support, through the basement, into the garage, and back to the downstairs bedroom. Our grands are so sweet, thoughtful, and loving. They cared for me in the   same way during my chemo and radiation treatments and after my bilateral mastectomy. They are so full of compassion. So proud of them! Larry’s leg that he had the vascular bypass surgery on is swollen twice it’s normal size....and so is his foot. The pics and video really don’t show the extreme degree of swelling. I am going to talk to Dr. Redd about it tomorrow. It literally looks like it is ready to pop. He is really struggling to walk. He has multiple incisions from the groin to lower calf with staples use...

UPDATE on Larry: Very emotional time as we picked Larry up at Baptist South. He broke-down with tears of joy to see us. He is one happy man to be out of the hospital and with his family. He is very weak and has lost weight, but he is definitely on the way to recovery. Now, he will be petted and pampered. First stop will be a hamburger, fries, onion rings and a Chocolate Milkshake. 😁  We are just so happy to have him out of the hospital. It has been a tough experience for him in many ways....especially being away from family and feeling so alone. To give you an idea as to how much he missed his family, one day we had 21 phone calls between us and other days...almost as many. 😊  Thank you all again for your comments and prayers. 💞

Update on Larry: September 25th He has had another painful day; however, with pain medication he has had moments of relief. He still has the  catheter. It is causing its own issues, but he is still not able to have it removed.  He walked 100 feet with Physical Therapy today. Dr.Redd found that some of his incisions were bleeding today so they replaced his bandages again. To say he wants to come home is a huge understatement. We are praying that tomorrow his kidneys/bladder will function properly so he can come home. That problem is more associated with his recent Prostrate Cancer diagnoses. The surgery, however, did cause his Prostrate to enlarge even more.  I keep passing all the comments, well-wishes, and prayers to him. It has really boosted him and filled his heart with thanksgiving to know that so many care.  Continued prayers are great! #Godisleading #prayersforhealing Update on Larry: September 26th His pain level is much better. He is no longer on morphine, but i...

For those of you who have lost friends, coworkers, and perhaps family members to suicide… there are many unanswered questions. One of the primary questions, even if this person had lived their entire life as a faith-filled Christian, is whether their suicide condemned them eternally.  Then, of course, there are those who will almost eagerly jump in to judge and solidify the persons place in hell. Although my sister-in-law had been sick with Bipolar, Graves Disease, and Manic Depression for over 15 years, when she finally succeeded in taking her life...there with those who, even in the middle of our deepest sorrow and heartbreak, let us know that it was such a shame that she was lost eternally. sometimes people can be so cruel, ruthless, and free with their words even if they don’t have any substantiation behind them. Not for one moment have I ever questioned my sister-in-law, Tam, and her salvation. Tam was one of the most loving, giving, and Spirit-filled people of God, yet, she was...

UPDATE: September 24th AM He is still in severe pain. He had a full leg bandage from surgery, but it has been removed and replaced with a fresh one. He is given morphine every two hours in his IV and a pain pill every six hours. If it is dulling the pain, I can’t imagine how much more painful it would be without it because Larry is experiencing the worse pain he has ever had and he has been through a lot in the past so he has a high tole rance for pain. They have not given him any of his regular medications today except they did start him back on Flomax in order to help his urine flow. His Prostate is even more enlarged after the surgery than it was before. He is still not able to urinate without a catheter. Unless something changes, he will have to see Dr. Peter Shashy who is his Urology Specialist at Jackson’s Hospital. He hasn’t seen the Physicsl Therapist today, but I’m sure he will. He has heard the blood flow in his left leg and it sounds strong. Thank You Jesus!!! He just ...

Morning update on Larry: Larry is still in SICU this morning and is in tremendous pain. The  catheter has been removed., but is now having to be put back in. He is sitting up in a chair, but unable to walk on his own. He is supposed to have something to eat and drink around 8:00 this morning....first time since the evening of the 21st. Larry has multiple 4 inch incisions down his left leg from thigh to lower leg. He also had to have part of his calf muscle removed; therefor e, Dr. Redd said he will have a tough recovery. However, he will get past this stage and by the grace of God, his quality of life and blood flow will improve. This morning he was able to walk around the nurses station in SICU with the aid of a walker. Afternoon Update: Larry has had a rough day. The pain medication is just not working for him. He has not been able to urinate so they finally gave him some medicine and also put in a temporary catheter. He was finally able to empty his bladder. This is caused because ...

This is Larry's 3rd surgery in the past 10 days. After 2 failed surgeries, today, September 22nd, he will have Vascular Bypass Surgery from groin to lower leg...in his left leg.  Prior to this day, two years ago, Larry had surgery on his right leg. That left him with very little blood-flow in his hips and right leg. This has caused him extreme pain and very hard to walk. Larry has had a total of 6 aneurysms. He has had 3 Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms, 1 aneurysm in his groin, 1 aneurysm in his right knee, and 1 aneurysm in his left knee. Been sitting in the Baptist Hospital parking lot since this morning. I just talked to Dr. Redd. Larry made it through the surgery and will be in recovery for a while and then will be moving to SICU for the night. Dr. Redd had to remove part of the muscle in his calf. He will have a rough recovery. You are supposed to have three main vessels going down the leg. Two of Larry’s are chronically/permanently blocked; therefore, the only good vessel he has i...

Let’s be people of faith. Let’s be people of mercy because mercy triumphs over judgment.  To be a person of faith IS to be a person of mercy. Doesn’t mean that in the world there is never a cause for judgment, but as people of faith...we need to lean more into mercy and grace. We allow God to be the Judge.  It is not our position to make all the judgments in the world....although, some people act as if they were put on Earth for that very purpose. Give love freely, offer grace and mercy...then, have faith and trust that God will handle everything as it should be.  There is so much freedom in letting go of something that was never meant for us to begin with.  Blessings!