Update...thanks for praying!

Greetings!

First of all, I just wanted to thank everyone for their encouragement and prayers. It has been a tiring week, but we are seeing some improvement and are grateful for God's gracious provision through our friends here. One of my friends, Beth, arranged for us to have dinners delivered to our house every night so I wouldn't have to cook! Thank you to all who volunteered to feed us!

And Bea has been over everyday this week to check up on me, help me with some household chores and ensure that I am not doing anything I am not supposed to....like bending over, carrying Promise or overworking myself. Despite her busy work schedule at the clinic, she has selflessly given her time and friendship....she is one of the most amazing women I have ever met.

Saturday night is now a blur thankfully, though there are times I can still taste the bile in my mouth from throwing up 11 times as a result of the pain...makes me a little nauseous. I do, however, remember how amazing Bea and my doctor, Dr. Estuart were in taking care of me. They spent many hours assessing my condition and discussing the possibility of still having a natural homebirth despite the obvious concern of my femoral nerve compression.

So the neurologist's diagnosis was that my left femoral nerve was severely compressed causing the excruciating pain and immobility. He said that the pain would not be relieved until this little baby boy came out. He also said that permanent nerve damage was likely and that postpartum therapy would be required. He suggested that we not have more children. Sorry, buddy, I think I will just rebuke everything you said and trust that God will take care of it, thanks. :) But I was grateful he was willing to give me the straight goods.

The anesthesiologist gave me some heavy-duty opiates - tramadol and dolcet - that totally worked, but backed up the bowels for 5 days...but Bea packed me with psyllium husks, flax seeds and papaya, so we are on a slow road to recovery leaving behind the mother of all hemorrhoids. The pain has subsided some, though nights are rough, as baby boy is most active then bashing into the nerve causing the pain though I am thankful he is moving despite the strong meds. :)

The other concern as of late is the massive and painful edema in my feet and legs. We noticed it after about 12 hours in the hospital. Though I have been elevating them several times a day and increasing my water intake, my legs resemble an elephant's and if I spend more than 20 minutes on my feet, they throb and ache. Mmm.

Caring for Promise and doing simple household chores have become extremely difficult and Tim has had to carry a much larger burden than ever before. He is doing great, though.

So we'll just wait and see what happens over the next couple weeks as the onset of labor gets closer and Tim and I try to juggle work, Bird time, and adjusting to a new living space. The other tenants of the house have been so gracious and understanding of our circumstances. They, too, are praying for complete recovery.

Bea and I have agreed to do a trial of labor here in the house and if things get dangerous, we will pay Dr. Estuart at Brokenshire Hospital a visit. The alternative there is an epidural and a possible operative delivery. We're praying that it will not be necessary. Only 2 more weeks and this boy will be full term and able to make an entrance into the world. We are hoping that labor will begin in about 3 weeks. If not, we may look into alternatives or natural induction.

At this point, I am trying to wean myself off of the dolcet (the stronger of the meds) and have successfully gone a full 24 hours without it. :) It has not come without an increase in pain, but the pain is now tolerable. We will see if I can wean off of the tramadol before entering into labor. :)

Thank you again for all your prayers. We wish we were close to our families during this time, but have been amazed at God's gift of surrogate family members. Rick and Sherry came over last night and prayed intensely over us, our new home, and our family. They leave tomorrow and I can honestly say, their presence will be deeply missed. They have ministered to us in this difficult time more than we could possibly express and saying goodbye to them will be quite painful. They will be forever friends, but as a result of the life God has placed us in, we say "goodbye" more often than "hello".

So we press on. I guess that's about it. Thank you again for your incredible and faithful prayers and support, everyone. We are so thankful and know that God is doing something bigger than our earthly minds can comprehend. Be blessed.