Category: Marriage

I feel like our biggest prayers have been answered; however, it is stressed to me over and over that John is still very sick, and I learned quickly that things can change around here in a second. So we appreciate your continued prayers so very much!

Right now we are asking God for these things:

1. John’s white blood cell count has increased. This is due to one of three things: 1. an infection 2. some rejection from the heart 3. a side effect from the medications he’s taking. We pray that it is a side effect, and not due to anything serious. We pray that God protects his body from future infections.
2. John’s blood platelets are not at the right level. We pray that God corrects this without any serious problems or side effects.
3. John’s kidneys continue to heal fully and that he does not have any problem with kidney failure in the future.
4. All of John’s organs are protected and they continue to function completely without any problems.
5. John does not experience any further setbacks with his new heart and recovery.
6. John will have his first heart biopsy on Monday to see if there is any rejection of his new heart. We pray that there is no rejection, and if there is that the doctors have the wisdom to know what combination of medications he needs to treat it.
7. John recovers quickly and fully without much physical therapy. He has been laying down for 3 1/2 weeks now.
8. John’s brain continues to recover fully and very soon he fully understands what’s going on around him.
9. John experiences peace, safety, and comfort in the hospital. He is not afraid.
10. As John fully understands his surroundings, he also begins to fully understand from where God has brought him and it will encourage him to follow Christ even more devotedly as he did before.
11. God continues to draw us and the people around us who are a part of this journey closer to Him. He is glorified always, and He uses this experience to make us into loving disciples for Him.
12. Continued wisdom for the doctors and nurses.
13. That God will give me strength to be the wife He’s called me to be for John. I will continue to remember that He is in complete control and always taking care of us.

Thank you so much for praying for John!!

Today John’s sister and brother-in-law, Jamie and Will, are coming back into town, and tomorrow his parents are coming back. We are looking forward to a weekend with John interacting with him and loving him!

Today was a good day!

John is remaining stable which is a huge blessing! He is talking some. He tells me his name and my name, where he is, and that he’s in a safe place. He also tells us that he went to UGA!

However, he is a little delusional. This can be entertaining at times because he says some funny things, but it is also sad because he gets scared easily. The doctors say that this is completely normal. John is known from past experiences to not come off of sedation easily. He has had these side effects before.

I also found out today that when John was in surgery two Wednesdays ago getting hooked up to ECMO, he coded. That means that his heart stopped beating. They did do chest compressions to get it started again. I’m so glad I didn’t know!! Once again this is a true testament to our Almighty God watching over us, and the miracle that is in John. The doctors today told me that the delusion may be because he lost some oxygen to his brain during this time.

I made my way to the Duke bookstore today for the first time. I wanted to get John some get well gifts. He likes to hold something in his hands, and he’s just been holding this hard breathing device, so I wanted to get him something soft. I found a Duke pillow. I also got him a hat. He loves hats! I thought about taking a picture of him with his glasses and new hat on, but I don’t think he’s ready for pictures. I will, however, post the pictures of his gifts in the “Photos” section. I took a few of the Duke Chapel which is right next door, too.

The day ended wonderfully for me! I met and had dinner with some new friends from Durham! A friend on mine from college connected me to a friend of hers who lives in Durham and had a heart transplant 20 years ago! His sweet wife invited me to their house for dinner, and I got to meet them and his mother who was in town, hear their amazing story, play with their baby who is the friendliest baby I’ve ever met, and enjoy a wonderful homecooked meal! They are a wonderful family who is such an awesome example of how to live life to the fullest! They were a true blessing to me tonight, and again, I’ve said it a million times, but another example of how God is taking care of my every need. I feel so very, very blessed!

I do have a slew of prayer requests, and I typed them out a little while ago, but of course lost them. So . . . I will type them again tomorrow. I am so exhausted right now and haven’t been going to bed on time all week.

Please continue to pray for John, and if there’s one thing to pray for him tonight it would be peace and comfort and of course that he regains all of his mental ability very, very soon.

Thank you so much again for all the time you spend in prayer for John!!

I had such a fun time with John today!

Even though he still had the breathing tube in, I talked to him, and we listened to GA music like “Glory Glory”, the “Battle Hymn”, “Glory Glory Dixieland”, and “Hail to Georgia”. I also showed him some Georgia videos on my phone and read to him from the Georgia Dogs website. He was intense as he listened and watched!

He would get upset sometimes because they were not ready to take the breathing tube out. It is very sore on his throat, and he is tied down so that he can’t pull it out, so that is naturally uncomfortable, too.

However, today right before shift change, John was extubated!! He had a hard time talking at first because he hasn’t spoken for a week and he’s had the tube in his throat for a week. But when I told him again that he had a new heart he smiled real big and started to laugh!!

I couldn’t have a good conversation with him yet because the medications make people a little delusional, which is normal, so we had to keep reminding him why he was in the hospital and that the people were there to help him.

I am hoping that tomorrow he will understand more. I have so much to tell him!

Tomorrow I am going to find out from the doctors what our biggest concerns are now with John’s recovery. He is still on dialysis, and he’ll be on it until his bloodwork shows improvement from his kidneys. There are always things they are watching, and nothing is ever “perfect”, so I want to know specifically what I can pray for him next.

Right now, however, we aren’t asking God for much! Tonight was are just praising Him!! Not only did he give us a miracle with John’s new heart, but He also heard our prayers for John’s brain to be protected and answered them.

Also, the Lord has blessed us with amazing friends who support us constantly! Tonight my friends from Bible study came to visit and have dinner with me! It was such a wonderful time!

Thank you, again, for praying for John each day! He will need it throughout his time in the hospital because every day brings it’s own set of concerns. Thank you!!!

It has been eleven days since “The Call”. In that eleven days life has changed for the worse and for the better, back to the worse and to the better again, not one time or two times, but countless times.

And for each time the tide changed, for each time life became unpredictable and steady again, God was sovereign.

This has been my overall gift and lesson – God’s sovereignty. Even though I did not know the course God had planned for John’s health, He did.

“He replied, ‘The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere — in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ ” (Acts 1:7-8)

He knew that on August 1st at 11:30 I would get a call from the hospital to come quick because John’s heart wouldn’t stop beating fast and he was very sick. He knew the agony I would feel as I drove the 66 miles to get to John. He knew I would sit at John’s bedside all night in the ICU with my head on his bed crying and begging Him to save my husband’s life. He knew that I would be up for 36 hours between those two days. He knew that He was going to have to sustain my body because it could no longer sustain itself.

Then, after a good day on August 3rd seeing John’s eyes, hearing his voice, and believing that the worse was behind us, God knew that the very next day, August 4th, John’s brewing infection would bring him down again – deeper this time. He knew that I would watch as the doctors rushed together to make a plan to save John’s life. He knew that I would see them run John to surgery to put him on life support not knowing whether his sick heart would give up forever. He sat with me in the waiting room as again I cried out and begged, reading Psalms over and over, and He held me up when the doctor came in to tell me that John was stable.

God knew that John would be on life support before he had his transplant. He knew that this life support had huge risks including strokes. He knew that John needed a heart, and He knew the exact date and time he would receive it. God knew that on August 6th He was going to answer our prayers. He knew that it would be His perfect timing. Even though John wasn’t conscious and following commands like the doctors wanted him to, God knew it was time. He orchestrated the perfect time when most of our family and friends would be in town. He knew that around 8:00 p.m. we would hear the news that John was matched with his perfect heart. He knew that we would get to pray with John before he went into surgery. He knew that He would have to give us courage every two hours to pick up the phone and hear the update of the surgery. He knew that we would all be waiting at 4:00 in the morning to see John coming out of surgery and coming down the hall. He knew that He was not going to let me be alone.

As we celebrated our answered prayer, John’s new heart on the exact weekend we asked for it, God knew there would still be a question mark. Would John wake up from his surgery? God knew that I would have to continue to surrender and lay down John’s and my life at His feet once again. He knew He was going to give me hope that John just needed some more time. He knew that He was going to give me peace. However, He also knew that the doctors were going to come to me and tell me that John could have had some brain damage. He knew I would once again go to him in prayer, begging, to please once again save my husband’s life. Not his physical life this time, but the life that would allow him to experience the joy of his new heart.

God knew that on August 10th, after a long day of prayer and concern, the nurse would call me and tell me, “John nodded his head! He’s responding to commands!”

God knew. He always knew. It was unexpected for me, but never for God.

This is what the Holy Spirit has taught me and reminded me of throughout this week. And that is how I can experience “the peace that surpasses all understanding”.

God’s never surprised. He’s always sovereign. Thank you, Lord, for your sovereignty so that all I have to do is lay at your feet.

“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” (Hebrews 4:16)

Tonight I saw John awake for the first time since last Tuesday! I was overwhelmed with joy!

He tracked me with his eyes and looked at me. He also nodded his head when I asked him questions. I prayed for him, and I asked him if he liked that, and he tried to smile and nodded his head several times. I also told him how handsome he is and that he was blessed with good genes because he’s hot no matter where he goes, and he shook his head no! I told him where I was staying and that I wasn’t walking back at night but getting the shuttle to come and get me, and he nodded his head to that, too!

He is on dialysis, and he will be on it continuous until his bloodwork shows that his kidneys are better.

His gall bladder X-ray did not show that there is an obstruction which is great! He will not have to have any type of procedure for that.

As soon as he’s more alert and stable they will hopefully extubate him and take out his breathing tube. He is already breathing on his own. It’s in now just as a precaution. Then he will be able to start talking and very soon learning to walk again! They like to get heart patients up soon after surgery, but he will probably need some physical therapy because he’s been laying down for three weeks now.

I can’t wait to share more great news about John! I have so much to tell him and share with him about this past week, one being how much he’s loved!!

Thank you for your continuous prayers, and please continue to pray for him!!

What a day!! This is a recap of today’s events. I have been told that every day is different around here, and that is very true. Today wasn’t a good day, but before you read this I’ll go ahead and tell you that it’s gotten better!

This morning when I called the nurse she told me that John still was not following commands which means he was not “awake”. (He really is awake b/c he is off of sedation and moving, but that’s just what they say to mean that he’s not fully conscious like they want him to be.) The doctors were convening to decide what to do next. I knew this was coming.

They said it was one of three things:

1. He’s had a stroke or seizures, so they did a CT scan and an EEG to check his brain function. Both of these have so far come back negative and o.k. Praise God!!! This was the biggest fear!

2. He is very yellow now (skin color), so his gall bladder is obstructed. They did an X-ray, but this hasn’t come back yet. If there is an obstruction he will have it removed without surgery through a tube or something I can’t remember. I’ll get more details if they need to do it.

3. His kidney function is low, and he hasn’t had much urine output, so his body hasn’t been able to get out all of the toxins in his body from the past week. So they did begin dialysis tonight to clean out his blood. I have always thought this was the case and that John just needed more time! He has been through so much this week!

But . . .

Just now the nurse called, and John nodded his head consistently!!! Praise God again!! Hopefully with the dialysis John will get cleaned out and his kidney function back and be ready to talk and get up soon!

Please continue to pray for John. Every day is different and he is still very, very sick. However, we know God loves us and is taking care of him. We are continually blessed!

I am going to see him at 8:00!! I can’t wait to see his eyes looking at me for the first time in a week – hopefully!