A little more progress...

My secretary, Teddy Graham, emailed me this thought this morning from The Daily Bread...

God’s whisper of comfort quiets the noise of our trials.

It's Wednesday and day ten of mom's stay in ICU. Tuesday she tried to talk more, but it was still hard to understand everything she said. We tried writing, and although her penmanship is quite nice, the messages and words just weren't coming through. Speech therapy is working with her each day and I see a little progress each day, but we are a long way from being back to normal.

This morning the doctor said that he consulted with the docs who do the arteriograms and advice is not to proceed with any other procedures at this point as it would just be too risky. The anuerysm appears to be small and might not respond well to the type of treatment they were proposing. We need her to eat more, but the food choices here are not always very appetizing, so I have been bringing her other food in an attempt to eat more. Sometimes it is more successful than at other times.

They are going to move her sometime today to what is called intermediate care. It is the step between ICU and being on main floor. There they will try to do more in terms of therapy, etc.

Mom is still sharp. She wants to know what is going on and I am being very honest with her although that upsets her at times. I want her to be a part of decisions that are being made. She keeps asking about going home and I am honest with her about it in that I don't know or if she will be able to go home. Right now that would be most impossible.

Pray for her not to get too frustrated as we work through her speech problem and pray for my patience as well. I was quite exhausted after being here a whole day yesterday. It was very hard trying to decode her messages without causing her too much frustration.

Thank you for praying.

Walter

One Week in the Hospital...

It was last Monday afternoon that my mom was brought into Mercy Hospital with a stroke. She remains in ICU. They did another MRI on her today and gave her some light sedative so it wouldn't hurt so much when they moved her to the MRI table, but the sedative seems to have really caused her to be sleepy this evening.

Earlier the day she did eat! And she ate some this evening! Her speech is still slurred and she gets frustrated trying to tell us things. She wrote on some things yesterday and her handwriting was remarkably good, but we could not make out what she was saying in her writing as some of thet words didn't make sense.

We are praying that her speech returns in time. It is Monday evening and I have left for the day, and still don't have a lot of answers, but her regular nurses are back on duty and we feel good about that. Don, a male nurse, has been particularly caring and helpful.

It looks like it will be a day-by-day affair. We are praying that tomorrow might yield more improvement in speech and perhaps more direction from the doctor. Dr. Mikawa is a good doctor, but not a talker, so we have received limited info from him.

Thank you again for prayer support. We would all be undone without it. I am also grateful to my family who have been stepping in and helping. You know who you are and you are greatly appreciated not only by Kathy and I but by mom.

More tomorrow perhaps,

Walter

Saturday morning update...

It has been a tough couple of days. Mom had a cerebral arteriogram on Thursday morning and since then she has not been able to talk clearly and has not been eating. I had hoped that by this morning, Saturday, that if the medicines they gave her for pain prior to the procedure were cauisng this problem that they would have had time to clear her system. I am beginning to wonder if the arteriorgram did not cause this. They said there was a 6-7% chance this could happen. Last night she had lots of family to see her which made her happy. My niece came and spent the afternoon with her and took good care of her while I was at the Beast Feast. Again, I am grateful for your prayers and all your concern. It has been a tough week, but God is good, and God is in control. We continue to trust in Him each day.

Walter

Good morning...

Let me begin by thanking everyone for their continued prayers and support of our family during this difficult week. As you know by now, Maddox did not have his surgery on Wednesday as scheduled. Dr. Honeycutt, his surgeon, saw some things in the physical exam of Maddox on Tuesday that prompted him to postpone the surgery until further testing could be done. We were all ready for the surgery, but so grateful to God for providing such a skilled doctor who detected that more testing needed be to done. We do not know when the surgery will take place as of right now.

Kathy took my mom to Shawnee for her regular lab work and doctor's visit on Monday, March 2. They returned to Bethany and were going through the Rink Gallery when my mother became unresponsive. 911 was called and mom was brought to Mercy Hospital where she was met by the Stroke Evaluation Team from Mercy. They are very thorough and it was determined by MRI that mom had suffered a stroke on the left side of her brain. It has affected her speech some, but not her motor skills thus far. PTL!

She is resting pretty well in the ICU unit at Mercy. She will probably be in the unit for a couple more days and maybe into a room this weekend. This morning, Thursday, they are doing a Cerebral Arteriogram to look at couple of small anuerisms the doctor spotted on the MRI. It is possible that something called a "coil" can be placed in these areas to prevent future strokes at least in those areas.

She had a CT scan with dye contrast yesterday afternoon to determine if she might have the beginning of pnuemonia in the left lung. Since she has a history of lung cancer, they wanted to look to make sure there was nothing going on in that way also.

I know most of the chaplains here at Mercy as I went to OBU with several of them, and they have been a great comfort to me and to mom. My family has been coming in the evening to visit with mom and stay with her. I have been staying during the day, and Kathy has been relieving me in the evening so I can get some rest. I am reminded of how exhausting being the care giver of someone in the hospital can be!

Yesterday, Kathy was reading the Daily Bread at the breakfast table with the kids. I have included the devotion below. This devotion spoke of knowing the depth of God's love for us. Kathy was telling the kids how true that was with Maddox and the doctor wanting to do more tests and with mom and her care. God had been revealing His love to all of us. She said something to the effect of that they should "march forth" with that true. Kristy said, "Mom, today is March 4th."

We pray that you could "March 4th" in this truth today. Read the devotion below and be blessed!

We love and apprecite all of you!

Bro. Walter and Kathy

The following is from The Daily Bread for Tuesday, March 4, 2009

To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge. —Ephesians 3:19

The words of the hymn “The Love of God” capture in word pictures the breathtaking magnitude of divine love:

Could we with ink the ocean fill
And were the skiesof parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry,
Nor could the scrollcontain the whole
Though stretched from sky to sky.

These marvelous lyrics echo Paul’s response to the love of God. The apostle prayed that believers might “be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge” (Eph. 3:18-19). In reflecting on these verses about God’s love, some Bible scholars believe “width” refers to its worldwide embrace (John 3:16); “length,” its existence through all ages (Eph. 3:21); “depth,” its profound wisdom (Rom. 11:33); and “height,” its victory over sin opening the way to heaven (Eph. 4:8).
We are admonished to appreciate this amazing love. Yet as we expand our awareness of God’s love, we soon realize that its full measure is beyond our understanding. Even if the ocean were filled with ink, using it to write about the love of God would drain it dry. — Dennis Fisher

God’s love cannot be explained—it can only be experienced.

I always look forward to a New Year. There is a chance to begin again in certain areas of our lives and there are new opportunities ahead. Of course, none of us, know the future, but we do know the Oone who holds the future. One goal I accomplished in 2008 was reading through the Bible in my quiet time. I did it! I read through in the New Living Translation and it was great. I also kept a journal throughout 2008 and that was a real blessing.

This year I plan to read through the Bible in the Holman Christian Standard translation. I have also started another journal. I gave a journal to each member of my family and have encouraged each of them to read through the Bible in 2009.

In my new devotional journal there are thoughts from various writers on each page. On the first page the journal were these great thoughts from Gary Smalley and John Trent.

Loving God, loving others and finding value in ourselves--without a doubt, these three aspects of love are the most effective weapons against the destructive power of low self-worth. Genuine love is a gift we give others. It isn't purchased by their actions or contingent upon our emotions at the moment. It may carry with it strong emotional feelings, but it isn't supported by them. Rather, it is a decision we make on a daily basis that someone is special and valuable to us.

It is my prayer that you have a blessed New Year. Get in the Word and get the Word in you!

New Year's Day 2009, Bethany, Oklahoma

I received a Dave Ramsey email newsletter yesterday and he had some great tips related to spending at Christmas. In these current economic times we all need to practice greater wisdom in how we spend our hard earned cash! So I have included Dave's tips below. I have always appreciated the practical nature of his teaching. These are ideas you can put right into practice...

Here are the top 10 Christmas shopping mistakes and how you can act differently:

1. Not prioritizing.Instead of getting stressed out with all the parties, baking and shopping, in addition to your normal daily life, set some priorities before you’re bombarded with a million requests. Think about which things are “must do” and which are “would be nice to do.” It’s all right to say no to keep yourself sane. Shopping for gifts is more fun when you’re not completely stressed out.

2. Not using a budget.Before you make a gift list and head to the mall, set aside a reasonable amount of money for gifts. Make a commitment that you won’t add $20 to the fund every week just because you saw something cute that your niece would love. Get budgeting advice here.

3. Using credit cards.Once you have your budget finalized, stay away from credit cards! You will still spend 12-18% more if you use plastic, and you’ll be paying it off come 2009! Doesn’t paying with cash sound more freeing than having a credit card balance looming over your head? You bet.

4. Buying for everyone.Do you really need to buy gifts for every family member and friend you have? That can get overwhelming and expensive for everyone. Talk with them and work toward an agreement to draw names for gifts or donate money to a common cause.

5. Not listening.Listen to the hints your loved ones drop about what they need or want this year. Maybe your Aunt Sally mentioned that she would love someone to help her in the garden, or Cousin Bob keeps losing guitar picks. A thoughtful gift like this will mean a lot.

6. Not having a thought-out list on paper. If you think you can spend time in “Christmas retail world” without getting distracted by all the shiny toys, you’re in for a big surprise! You’ll be more likely to buy impulsively if you do it that way. Write down what each person you’re buying for would like and stick to the list. Stay focused!

7. Not shopping around.“Shopping around” doesn’t mean you have to spend 24 extra hours running from store to store to save 10 cents. Take a look at your gift list and do some comparative price-checking online before you head out into the retail and traffic madness. This will save you money, time and stress!

8. Waiting until the last minute.Procrastination is not the most appealing gift out there. Don’t find yourself stressed out on Christmas Eve just because you didn’t invest a little bit of time to plan.

9. Forgetting to plan for next year.Throughout the next year, look for outrageous sales on things your loved ones will need. If you time the sales just right and clip some coupons, you could land a major discount on something you were going to buy in a few months for a birthday or wedding gift. Remember to have a list and budget for this, too.

10. Forgetting why we celebrate.If this season becomes all about shopping and gifts, you’ve missed the whole point. People—not things—matter. The miraculous birth of a baby who changed the world is what matters.

(from Dave Ramsey's November 2008 enewsletter) Go to daveramsey.com

My favorite Christmas line every year is: Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

Going to the OU vs. Texas Tech game tonight in Norman with two of my sons. I am pumped up about that. Go Sooners!

One of the great joys I have in ministry is baptizing people who have come to faith in Jesus Christ. Last Sunday I baptized five kids and it was awesome! Most of them had just finished a nine-week new Christian's study led by some great senior adults in our church. I baptized one brother and sister which was neat to see them together in the baptistry. One little girl had a bit of fear of the water so she got a "death grip" on my robe, but we made it just fine. One girl was from our student ministry and one young lady drew a picture during the service of her baptism. I didn't know I looked like that when I baptized! One of these day I think I will write a book about my experiences as a pastor with baptisms and weddings, and the such! The joy is always in the journey! I can't wait to see what is around the bend!