Fasting

 Yesterday our family held a special fast for my dad. 

We prayed specifically that he would have relief from his vertigo, which has been so severe that he hasn't hardly been out of bed. The added pain of throwing up on top of all of his other injuries has been excruciating, and is surely hindering his recovery. 

Well... yesterday was the first day in 2 weeks that he hasn't had any vertigo symptoms. He was well enough to get up and go to church, and was even able to join the family for dinner last night.  

Miracles never cease! 

Thank you to everyone who fasted for him. We are truly grateful. 

(Thank you to the wonderful Young Women in the ward who "heart attacked" the front door this week. What a sweet way to brighten Bishop's day! ) 

One step forward, two steps back

Stephen has experienced some setbacks this week as far as his recovery is concerned. As some of you may already know, Stephen has suffered from severe vertigo attacks from both Meniere's Disease and Vestibular Migraines for the last 20 years. His attacks, which include spinning and violently throwing up, typically last a few hours... and the side effects drag on for days. In the past when we would ask him how he was feeling in the days following a vertigo attack he would say, "I feel like I've been hit by a car."

Unfortunately now he actually knows what that feels like. 

And on top of that, it turns out that being hit by a car, and THEN having a vertigo attack is even worse. 

Despite having rough night on Sunday, Stephen went to his physical therapy appointment on Monday where they hooked him up to 5 TENS machines. Towards the end of his session he was hit with a horrible vertigo attack. Throwing up isn't fun for anyone, but imagine violently throwing up with 7 broken ribs. I don't think anyone has ever seen my dad in so much pain. Ever.

After a truly terrible week of side effects my dad got to visit with the ENT on Friday who discovered that this attack was a whole new type of vertigo called Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo. His doctor described it as having loose rocks in his head. Everyone has little crystals in their ears that help them balance. But in my dad's case they are no longer where they should be, they are loose and rolling around causing all kinds of mayhem. We're not sure what brought this on, but the good news is this kind of vertigo is treatable. The bad news is, it has really set him back in his recovery. It has been six days since the attack and he has only managed to get out of bed a few times since, and he hasn't hardly eaten anything all week. He is in more pain now that he has been through this entire ordeal, and he's not allowed to get another pain block until we can get the vertigo under control. So that's the main goal now.

It has now been 3 weeks since the accident, and Stephen's recovery has truly been miraculous. This entire experience has been a testimony to us of how intricately involved our Father in Heaven is in our lives. He is infinitely aware of us. Each and every one of us. He knew that my dad would have additional trials to deal with this week. He knew that we would need extra prayers, and help. So He sent you, His earthly angels, to love and support us in His place. This week we had some dear friends show up out of the blue to do yard work and fix a broken sprinkler. And on some of the hardest days people will randomly show up at the door with a friendly smile and enough food to feed an army. We are truly blessed. 

We are so grateful to all of those who continue to serve and bless us, and offer up prayers in our behalf. There has been an outpouring of love from friends and neighbors, ward members, associates at USU, and members of the cycling club. 

We love you. 

Thank you for your continued support. 

GRATITUDE

A significant word- and yet suddenly it seems insufficient.

How can we possibly express our deepest heartfelt gratitude to the Lord for the blessings we have received, and the miracles we have witnessed over the past 10 days? Not to mention the gratitude we feel towards all who are still earnestly praying for Stephen’s recovery. You may have noticed that I haven’t posted an update in the past few days. It isn’t because I haven’t wanted to. I just haven’t been able to find the words to express what I have been feeling.

Gratitude.

Everlasting and infinite gratitude.

The phrase from Ether 6:9 keeps coming to mind:

"And they did sing praises unto the Lord... and did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to thank the Lord."

That passage of scripture beautifully echoes the feeling of our hearts. It has been a week of reflection and evaluation. A time to realign priorities and remind ourselves what is truly important in this life. I have truly loved watching our family grow closer together as we rally around Dad, cheering him on and trying to make sure his needs are met.   

Speaking of Dad- let’s hear the latest update shall we?

Stephen went in to see his pain doctor Thursday morning where they decided to do another pain block. Since then we have all eagerly waited for his pain level to subside… but it hasn’t. We’re not sure exactly why that is. It could be that his pain level was higher back when he had the first pain block last Saturday, so perhaps the relief seemed more substantial. He was also on much much stronger pain medication when he was in the hospital, which I’m sure makes a big difference. Also it’s important to note that the pain block doesn’t affect his back, scapula, or neck pain.

Did you know that? Because I didn’t, until today. Yikes.

The bottom line is- he is in a world of pain. And yet in typical Stephen fashion he continues to wear a smile and tries his best to “get things done” despite the best efforts of those around him to keep him safe in the comfort of his recliner.

For example: Yesterday Stephen’s son Matthew graduated from USU. Graduation is always a tremendous occasion, but Stephen had been looking forward to this particular graduation ceremony because he was supposed to be the one to award Matt with his diploma. Not wanting to miss out on a significant life moment, Stephen insisted on attending the ceremony, at least for part of it. With the help of some marvelous friends, he arrived in a wheel chair and was able to hand Matt his diploma. What a wonderful moment!

Please excuse the phone pictures, it is all my Mom and Linda had available at the time. 

 

I told him he was going to get me in trouble for this picture because he insisted on taking off his neck brace. Feel free to harass him about it, just don’t hurt the messenger. J

Today he held his weekly Bishopric meetings. Thankfully his counselors were kind enough to bring the meeting to him. 

He even came out on the deck and played card games with the grandkids for a while this evening where I overheard the sweetest conversation with his 5 year old granddaughter Olivia…

Olivia: Grandpa, do you know what my favorite day is?

Stephen: What is your favorite day?

Olivia: Any day when I get to see you! Because I love you!

I feel the same way Olivia. He definitely has the ability to make any day a good day- a unique attribute that has continued to carry him through this experience.

Yes, I think I can speak for all of us when I say that the overall emotion we are feeling at this time is GRATITUDE.