great is thy faithfulness

Wendy's progress has been slow and steady today. She slept well last night, resting for two hours at a time on three different occasions, totaling six incredible hours of sleep!

Her PICC line is working well and the dressings covering the line were changed successfully today.

The GI specialist saw Wendy today and said her belly sounds good. Her bowels were working better today.

Wendy's white blood cell count is down from a 19 to a 14.6 today!

Wendy was seen by an OT and PT today. The OT had Wendy up washing her face and brushing her teeth. Wendy experienced an extreme amount of back pain while up. The pain was so great that they had to give her extra pain medicine through her iv and calm her down with anti-anxiety medicine. The OT said the back pain is not a surprise because she is laying down so much during the day. The pain isn't as great or obvious when she is walking.

Wendy walked well today and continues to break her record. She told her Grandpa Henry on the phone today that she would walk her farthest for him. It took her awhile, but she did it. She added five feet to her last total feet walked.

Marissa, one of Wendy's best friends sent a pair of soft, pink booties for Wendy to wear. These pink booties have cause quite a stir, gaining much popular attention. Everyone comments on the pink booties when they walk in the room. Wendy's new nickname in the ICU is "the gal with the pink booties."

One of Wendy's nurses inquired about Skyler and Jadon today. Wendy shared stories about the boys, without tears. Wendy's mom was happy that she was distracted while talking about the boys and pleased that she got to experience some much needed "mommy mental time."

The milk of magnesium that Wendy is taking made her extremely nauseas today. They had to get anti-nausea medicine into her immediately. Vomiting and aspirating is still NOT an option.

They are still using the procedure, debridement to rid the smaller incision site of dead cells, excess liquid, and infection. The gauze continues to be packed and repacked after full saturation.

A nurse approached Wendy about starting up an all liquid diet again. Wendy is very anxious and is hesitant to eat. She shared with the nurse that she thought the liquid diet had caused the CDF, the extreme stomach pain, the distension, and bowel trouble. The nurse assured her that the food did not cause the CDF and stomach pain, but that in fact the infection in her body was the problem.

Wendy's mom heard her making little sounds today. At first she thought she was trying to tell her something. Wendy was in fact humming the chorus to "Great is Thy Faithfulness." She could only remember some of the words and ended up singing a few lines for her mom. Such beautiful words that came to Wendy in the midst of this tremendous trial. Purifying her heart, mind, and soul.

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father
There is no shadow of turning with Thee
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been, Thou for ever will be
Great is thy faithfulness
Great is thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed thy hand hath provided
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me
Great is thy faithfulness

Pray...

• Wendy isn't scared or anxious about eating again. Pray the liquid doesn't upset her, but brings her good nourishment.

• Her back doesn't hurt and she eases into simple jobs like brushing her teeth and washing her face without pain.

Praises...

• White blood cell count is down.

• She continues to walk farther every day.

• Her bowels are starting to wake up.

• The PICC line is doing well.

• The words to "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" filled her mind today.

I will be with you always. Matthew 28:20