Our Door Sign

Dave has had so many visitors during his hospital stay that I had to start keeping a list because there’s no way my Mommy Brain would remember them all. I’m beginning to understand why people feel called to visit others in the hospital. It’s not my usual M.O., but we’ve been loved by so many people, and the visits have been so appreciated, that I think God is working on my poor introverted soul about this.

We have a sense peace about this new adventure in our life, and truthfully, right now we are focused on his recovery from surgery so our family can live together in our house again soon. It’s quite a project, this recovery. Saturday was hideous, and most people who visited either found him sleeping or encountered his alter ego, Demerol Dave (more about him in another post). Sunday was a much better day, one with a lot less Demerol and a lot more Regular Dave. He got up and showered, and took several walks. We saw the kids. He actually got hungry. Monday started out great. I went home to get something I needed for work, and by the time I came back, he had already showered and dressed (and tied is shoes- that’s hard to do with a 12 inch incision in your belly) and was ready to go. We walked all over the hospital and found the little prayer garden so he could sit in the sun for a few minutes for the first time in a week. All was well until he broke out in a fit of hiccups that lasted SIX HOURS. Holy moly. He was having reflux with them, so his throat and chest were on fire, and after six hours of hiccups, his belly was sore, too. It took 2 doses of Valium, some Tums, and finally, a shot of phenergan to stop them – and knock him out. It was the nurse’s idea to try the phenergan because, “It sounds like he’s throwing up.” It did. I kept jumping up with the vomit cup, but I am very conditioned to react to that sound. I’m so glad I didn’t have to listen to that all night.

Through all this work of recovery, we’ve had plenty of time to discuss all that has happened since last Tuesday, usually in the middle of the flippin’ night. It was during one of these conversations that he told me that he really feels very positive about this whole cancer situation but he feels like some of his visitors are projecting their worry onto him. I decided then and there to make a sign for his door. This is what it says, but it doesn’t look this professional. I wrote it in marker, just like the old days when I was The Birthday Sign Maker at Lucky’s. I even signed it “Thanks, Management,” which apparently freaked out the hospital staff. Oops.

We can both feel the prayers wrapped around us. We know that God is working here. We can see it in every step of the process – the timing, the people - every little thing. With that sense of peace, there’s really no room for worry in our hearts right now. We aren’t dwelling on the tumors that the surgeon removed, but we are praising God for the pain that brought him here to find those tumors. He doesn’t feel or look sick, and he says that even with the pain from the surgery he feels better than he has in weeks. That’s a blessing! He told me last week that he just wants to be able to play with his kids and not be so tired all the time. Well guess what? Now we know why he was so tired. And we’re fixing it. So, though you may be worried, please bring your joy when you call or text or email or visit – because really, there’s no room for worry right now. We have work to do.

And, thank you to everyone who has prayed for and with us. It’s an act of kindness that soothes my soul and sometimes makes me cry. We have needed it; we still need it. Please keep praying with us. It helps us keep our joy.