god on the mountain

Wendy has had two roommates in the last 24 hours. Debbie was admitted into Wendy's room at 1 am early this morning. Debbie was in a lot of pain. Wendy asked her what her name was and asked if she could pray for her. Debbie was grateful for the prayers because she understands the power of prayer and asking Jesus for help. Debbie, a mother of four and a grandmother is fighting lung cancer. She started running a fever after having part of her lung removed and had to be readmitted into the hospital. She will have to have more surgery and chemotherapy down the road. Wendy and GB loved the conversations they shared with Debbie today. She was a wonderful woman and rejuvenated their hearts and souls in the middle of a hard day. Your prayers for Debbie would be greatly appreciated. Wendy's second roommate is in a lot of pain. She is crying, moaning, and hasn't stopped making noises since she entered the room. Please pray she gets comfort soon and doesn't keep Wendy up tonight.

Wendy was in an incredible amount of pain ALL day. Her pain was at a 6 1/2, consistently today. The nurses don't want her pain to be above a 5. So once again they are reworking her pain medicine. They are increasing the strength of her Fentanyl patch and dropping the Norco. She will start taking Dilaudid, a narcotic analgesic every three hours.

Wendy went on three walks today. Her last walk was at around 9 pm. Her last walk was by far her longest and most successful walk. She was in so much pain today that she really had to fight and struggle to complete the first two walks.

There is talk that the Wound V.A.C. might come out before she goes home. Pray the wound closes up enough that she can go home without it. A nurse cut some extra tissue out of the wound today. It is looking so much better.

Wendy's TPN line is delivering an ever lower potency of nutrients. Wendy had a pretty good appetite tonight. She told one of her nurses, Nurse Jackie that she didn't think she would make it to dinner without a snack. It was pretty close to dinner time and "snack time" had long since passed in the kitchen. Nurse Jackie gave Wendy her own personal snack. Wendy enjoyed a pre-dinner snack of tasty strawberry cheesecake Yoplait and a granola bar thanks to generous and selfless Nurse Jackie. Wendy's nurses have been amazing and constantly go above and beyond to take care of their patients. She ate most of her raviolis and a tiny green salad tonight. Praise God for Wendy's returning appetite!

Dr. Calhoun's nurse, Nurse Valerie suggested Wendy take one of her walks in the ICU tomorrow. Visiting the ICU and getting to see the nurses will most likely give her a positive and much needed boost. She is trying so hard to stay positive but she is in a serious amount of pain right now.

Her hands, arms, feet, and legs are still extremely swollen. She continues to take potassium and Lasix to help relieve some of the swelling.

GB would like to send out an extra special thank you to Joella for giving her a tasty green salad and chicken. GB was in Wendy's room ALL day today because of the constant pain Wendy was in. GB was so grateful to have packed the salad and chicken for lunch, because there wasn't a moment for her to leave today.

While Wendy was working through her pain today with her eyes closed she quietly started singing a song. She could only remember a few of the lines. Her Uncle Kenny sang the song when Wendy was a little girl. The words brought her comfort today. He is still great, He hasn't diminished even though she is going through such a tough time. The words were from the song, "God on the Mountain". Enjoy the sweet words that brought an even sweeter Wendy comfort today.

God on the Mountain

Life is easy when you're up on the mountain
And you've got peace of mind like you've never known.
But then things change and you're down in the valley.
Don't lose faith for you're never alone.

For the God on the mountain is still God in the valley.
When things go wrong, He'll make it right.
And the God of the good times is still God in the bad times.
The God of the day is still God in the night.

You talk of faith when you're up on the mountain.
Oh but the talk comes easy when life's at its best.
But it's down in the valley of trials and temptation
That's when faith is really put to the test.

For the God on the mountain is still God in the valley.
When things go wrong, He'll make it right.
And the God of the good times is still God in the bad times.
The God of the day is still God in the night.

Pray...

• Wendy gets good sleep tonight.

• Her pain level is below a 5 tomorrow.

• She gets to take a walk in the ICU.

• The Wound V.A.C. comes out before she goes home.

Praises...

• The Wound V.A.C. is doing its job.

• The joy Debbie brought to Wendy and GB today.

• Nurse Jackie, Yoplait, and a granola bar.