Our Recent Turn in Life

These past few months have been rather interesting while I have been on leave from work. It's been a definite turn in direction for our life. God is good and He has protected us and brought us through a new year of events.

My wife has several medical issues that have been dealt with and caused her to go on disability. She has not been able to return to work since before the first of this year. Between diabetic wounds and a diagnosis of cancer in her leg we have spent many hours in surgery, recovery, wound care, home care and Doctor visits. We are still doing recovery and wound care but, we are making progress.

There is a treatment for wound care called hyperbaric oxygen treatment which is a process of sitting in a hyperbaric chamber—an enclosed space filled with high-pressure oxygen— and breathing. This allows your lungs to take in more oxygen, thereby increasing circulating oxygen in your bloodstream. This was prescribed for her as a treatment for her wounds.

We drive 37 miles to the hospital wound center each morning so my wife can receive this treatment. The treatment takes about 2 hours with 1/2 hour on each end for prepping and dressing. Everything about the chamber is pretty high-tech and includes the option of video or audio for my wife to watch or listen to. Some days she catches up on sleep. This treatment will last till September 18th. It reminds me of a diving decompression chamber since it is pressurized and must be regulated going in and coming out.

None-the-less, we get up at 5:30am and return home about noontime. Once we are home we start an infusion treatment of antibiotics to address a staph infection in her toe. We did this once before for 6 weeks but staph is hard to deal with and we have had to repeat the process for 8 weeks this time. It requires a PICC line being installed in the arm and the introduction of fluids for clearing the lines and the application of the antibiotic fluid. This takes about an hour every day.

Included in our daily regimen is the changing of bandages on my wife's leg and feet. She had two surgeries for a mass that formed in her leg last year and then was diagnosed as cancerous. Her second surgery was on June 10th at Baptist Hospital in Memphis. This was performed by a sarcoma cancer surgeon. He is a  specialist since this type of cancer is tricky to remove. He was able to remove all of the mass but of course this left a pretty hefty incision which he nicely stitched up. We are still seeing quite a bit of weeping from the incision as it slowly heals. We change the dressing every day.

The week of July 15th we had a scare as the surgery incision became infected with cellulitis and we ended up in emergency at Magnolia Hospital Monday morning. This progressed into a hospital stay the rest of the week. Cellulitis is a common, potentially serious bacterial skin infection. The infection happens when a break in the skin allows bacteria to enter. We were able to get this under control with more medication and then Friday she was released to go home.  

My wide's feet represent a different challenge since she has to walk on them to function each day. It's somewhat better now as it has been in the past. Prior to our meeting she went through a trying time of life with an appendectomy's which led to a staph infection and the amputation of her right foot little toe area. This required her to recuperate and sent her into a series of wound treatment years for ulcers that formed in both of her feet. 

She has suffered the need for orthopedic shoes, inserts, a medical boot, offset "duck shoes" (that requires a walker for balance), required wound care visits and daily bandaging of her feet, all while trying to earn a living by standing and walking in a retail sales environment. Until the beginning of this year when she had to take medical leave and disability from her job. It's been a painful and trying few years.

So, now I have to say that in and through all of this process my wife has an awesome testimony of faith and perseverance in trusting the Lord for healing and comfort. She publicly prays with other patients when ever we are attending appointments. Her friendships with so many past customers leads to meetings and more prayer and testimony as we travel to appointments, in the hospital and in the parking lots of grocery stores. God has used every one of her ailments to bring honor and blessing to so many people, known and unknown, and given so many others the blessings of praying with and for her. I'm not trying to put her on a pedestal because we know and confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is the provider and spiritual supply of her very life.

Our exact future is not known but we do know that through it all we are blessed with the life of our Lord and Savior. God is good all the time. We love our life in Him and know He is eternally with us through it all.