Friday Morning July 11 REHAB!
11 July 08 - 07:38
Friends, Sorry I have not updated. To be quite honest I was to tired to write. I was at the hospital until late on Wednesday & then very early on Thursday. Jim saw the Neurosurgeon yesterday. We dressed him in his own clothes instead of a hospital gown for the visit to the doctor's office. Everyone at the hospital had to come in & see Jim all dressed up & it meant a lot to him.
The doctor did an exam & asked that he we get more films with the neck flexed so he can be sure the fusion is complete before allowing the collar to be removed. This "simple" visit to a doctor's office, only a few miles from Promise was a three hour ordeal counting the dressing time. The ambulance crew, including an ICU nurse stayed with us this whole time.
The good news is, Jim goes to Rehab today at Banner Samaritan. The neck films will be done there & sent to the doctor for review. Now, nine weeks after the accident, Rehab! I am excited for Jim yet wondering what comes next. How long will he stay there? What will the results be? How do I bring him home? What care will he need? I know I will get the answers to these questions & more, but it is hard not to begin now to think about the beyond.
I opened PC Study Bible to find some comfort from the Word & on the opening page there was Spurgeon's Daily Devotional with these words:
After that ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." 1 Peter 5:10
Seek, O believer, that every good thing you have may be an abiding thing. May your character not be a writing upon the sand, but an inscription upon the rock! May your faith be no "baseless fabric of a vision," but may it be builded of material able to endure that awful fire which shall consume the wood, hay, and stubble of the hypocrite. May you be rooted and grounded in love. May your convictions be deep, your love real, your desires earnest. May your whole life be so settled and established, that all the blasts of hell, and all the storms of earth shall never be able to remove you. But notice how this blessing of being "stablished in the faith" is gained. The apostle's words point us to suffering as the means employed--"After that ye have suffered awhile." It is of no use to hope that we shall be well rooted if no rough winds pass over us. Those old gnarlings on the root of the oak tree, and those strange twistings of the branches, all tell of the many storms that have swept over it, and they are also indicators of the depth into which the roots have forced their way. So the Christian is made strong, and firmly rooted by all the trials and storms of life. Shrink not then from the tempestuous winds of trial, but take comfort, believing that by their rough discipline God is fulfilling this benediction to you.
I believe God had that there just for me today. This accident is not just a suffering for Jim, but for me also. God uses any circumstance to mold & shape us - Jim & me - into the worthy vessels He desires. I have found this experience to be a time of deep soul-searching, a time of cleansing before the Lord, a time of crying out to Him who longs to hear our voices. I found these scriptues to be a comfort to me:
Ps 25:16-18: Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, For I am desolate and afflicted. The troubles of my heart have enlarged; Bring me out of my distresses! Look on my affliction and my pain, And forgive all my sins.
Ps 86:2-7 Preserve my life, for I am holy; You are my God; Save Your servant who trusts in You! Be merciful to me, O Lord, For I cry to You all day long. Rejoice the soul of Your servant, For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive , And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You. Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; And attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, For You will answer me.
The beginning of any healing - physical, spiritual, emotional - begins with cleansing. Just as in my work with Dr T, we would never "sew up " a dirty wound for all the bacteria would be trapped inside to later erupt as an abscess. The wound must be thoroughly cleansed, and old, useless, dead tissue must be clipped away so healing can begin. Sometimes a wound must be left open to heal, with dressings applied several times every day, and the wound will heal from the bottom up, producing new, clean, healthy tissue. This analogy can be applied to spiritual & emotional healing as well. I pray that this time of healing for Jim and me will be a time of cleansing, a time of removing the dead & useless, a time of daily dressings of God's Word & prayer, that new, healthy, Godly attributes will grow to fill the gaps left from the cutting-away by His Spirit.
Going to Rehab is truly the beginning of our future and what shape that future will take. Please pray.
Marilyn
three comments:
Hey Girlfriend :), I’m praying specifics for you & Jim! With much love thru Christ your friend always
friend - 11 07 08 - 11:40
Marilyn,
Thanks be to our God that Jim is finally going to rehab. You both are daily in my prayers. May God fill you with His strength and peace.
chris
chris daigle () - 11 07 08 - 20:36
Dear Marilyn,
I learned of the circumstances surrounding your husband’s illness from Jim Hipp. I am a Physical Therapist in Trussville, Alabama. My heart goes out to you both but more than that I am praying for you. If you don’t mind I will ask my Sunday School class to pray for you and James.
As I have been preparing to teach a lesson tomorrow on Shadrach,Meshach,and Abednego I am reminded of this: Truly believing that “The Future is in God’s Hands” will have an incredible impact on the way we live. These three Jewish exiles expressed confidence in God’s power to deliver them from the fiery furnace but also acknowledged that God does not always miraculously intervene in human affairs.They knew that God could, not necessarily that He would, save their lives. Mo matter the outcome , they courageously declared that they would not forsake their God. We know from scripture , that God did indeed deliver them from that fiery furnace and sent a divine being to protect them in the midst of those trials. I pray you will feel the presence of God in the midst of your trials. I pray that James will be healed if that is God’s will and that you will be sustained with that peace that passes all understanding. I am very sorry for what you are going through. Thank you for the witness you are giving in the midst of these difficulties. Reading your blog helped to redirect my thoughts from concern over minor difficulties today and allowed me to redirect my energies toward hopefully providing some support for a fellow Christian that needs prayer. Do cast your cares upon Him because He does care about you. Debbie
Debbie () - 12 07 08 - 17:06
