Hi faithful friends and family,
Today marks 5 months pancreas-free. I have continued to be surrounded by miracles
and blessings. Like an Easter egg hunt,
some blessings have been easier to spot than others.
A huge blessing: I got to enjoy 4 days in Chicago spending time with friends from college
and celebrating the marriage of a friend who has been, like Anne of Green
Gables describes, “a kindred spirit”.
Not only was I able to be present for the wedding, but I was able to
stand, dance, eat, catch up in person with friends who have been super supportive,
but whom I have not seen in years. I got
to hold a baby and interact with super cute children. I felt young again. I got to observe my husband be super amazing in
new ways. It was easy to fill my
gratitude journal, because I was on top of a very high mountain.
For the past month or so I have struggled with job
searching. To be honest, it has not been
pretty – I have become obsessed with
on-line searches, stressing over what makes financial sense, what am I
qualified for, what am I passionate about, and do I have “what it takes” energy
wise to do it well. Instead of staying
grounded in my trust of God and the peace the Lord provides, I was floundering
in distress. My mind became so
future-focused, that I had little energy or concentration for anything else.
It took an unexpected death of a beloved church member on
May 23rd to remember life is short. By
God’s grace, the funeral was 12 hours before we had to leave for the airport to
fly to Chicago . I was blessed to be present at the
celebration of one man’s life and then able to be present with my husband at
the celebration of a new life through marriage.
This past week literally and figuratively wiped me out. I anticipated being tired after a week of high
energy and emotions. However, I did not
anticipate pain and its forms. I started
having pain and passed out at our kitchen table early Tuesday morning. I attributed it to my sleep schedule being
off and my body tired from travel. Wednesday
evening I was at a church event and blacked out. I feel like I am back at the butchers with
knives jabbing my ribcage and abdomen.
Ready for the hidden blessings?
Both Tuesday and Wednesday, my husband was present. This would have been much scarier if I had
been alone. Wednesday night my husband
caught me, so I did not hit my head. A
week earlier and this would have occurred in Chicago .
I have been slowly decreasing a nerve blocking pain medicine in hopes of
increasing my energy. I saw a local
doctor on Friday who believes my pain may have been previously masked and now
my body is responding to the pain by shutting down. The cause for the pain may be scar tissue or
an adhesion that is affecting my digestion.
Good news, since I am not vomiting, I do not have a blockage. Also, good news I am able to be seen at MUSC
by my surgeon Tuesday morning, 24 hours before I fly North for a friend’s
wedding in my hometown.
Prayer request:
1) To hold on to hope and not be discouraged by this pothole
in the road to recovery.
2) Conclusive answers Tuesday and a simple solution to the
pain and ultimately the issue.
3) Another safe and joyful opportunity to celebrate and see
loved ones.
I will try and post something Tuesday once I know more. I am confident that this is a minor detour. Nevertheless, I REALLY appreciate your
continued love, support, prayers and encouragement.
Blessings, love and humble gratitude,
Becky
P.S. I wrote a 4 month update, but forgot to post-it. See below.
