I am sitting in the surgical waiting room at a hospital in Greenville, SC. Right now my dad is undergoing quintuple bypass surgery. If you read one of my earlier posts, you saw that my parents were coming out to visit us. They did, and we had a wonderful time with them. They left last Tues., and Thurs. night into Fri. morning, life changed dramatically!
To give some background: My dad had an incident at the beginning of the year where he was making a delivery at a plant, a chemical vapor was released into the air right at my dad's level, and he was knocked to his knees. He was taken by ambulance to the ER, but he was told that the effects of the chemicals shouldn't be long-term. That has turned out to be not so. He has just been diagnosed with RADS. Over the last many months he has had episodes of pain, breathing issues, etc. when cutting the grass, walking around the neighborhood and other various things. He saw a pulmonary specialist who thought he may also need to see a heart specialist to be sure that not more was going on. He had a stress test about a month ago, had trouble finishing it (but did at the prodding of the techs and/or dr.). His heart rate/vitals were good, and they wanted him to press on through the "episode" he was having. They felt it was from his lungs, not his heart. The test result turned out to be "inconclusive," and the dr. suggested a heart cath. to be done just to be definitive that nothing was going on with the heart. Well, Dad told the dr. about his big trip coming up the next month, which included CA :-), and decided to hold off since the dr. was not thinking there was an urgency.
This past Thurs., Dad saw another pulmonary specialist for another opinion on the lungs. That dr. told him that he had reviewed my dad's records and said, "Let's cut to the chase, Mr. Johnson, you don't have a heart problem. I believe you have a specific lung disorder from the work-related incident." The dr. did a test that proved this and my dad was told to take 5 days off of work, take some meds., and come back on Tues. to discuss the future with work and stuff. Well, Thurs. night Dad had a terrible episode that came on so suddenly and intensely that he felt like he was maybe having a heart attack. He thankfully was not (it was most likely a reaction to Advair), but the ER drs. wanted him to have a heart cath. after hearing about all that he's been going through. My parents told them that just less than 24 hrs. before, they were told he had RADS and no heart problems. They did not dispute the positive diagnosis of RADS but believed the heart could still be involved. Praise the Lord for their convincing my parents to have the heart cath. There was obviously a heart problem! One artery was dead, which means my dad did have a heart attack sometime in the past. The other four arteries were blocked too badly to have stints put in--2 were over 80% blocked and 2 over 90%. Now, my dad has been all about nutrition and good health for years, so this just didn't make sense. The drs. agreed and said his cholesterol, blood pressure, heart muscle and vitals, weight all are good and this just must be genetic or something.
Obviously our great God has not been taken by surprise. He is sovereignly working in every part of this situation. What a blessing in disguise that Dad had this episode on Thurs. night to be forced to see he has advanced heart disease! God is always good and has a bigger and better plan than we ever could. As I sit here knowing what is going on in the OR, I am not without emotion, but I have a wonderful peace that only comes from my Savior. His grace IS sufficient and I rest in Him. I am so thankful that I found a ticket for a decent price yesterday morning and got here by 2 AM to Greenville this morning. I am sleep-deprived but do not care. I had a very special time with my dad before he went back today. That was priceless! Thank you for your prayers for my dad and our family.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Saturday, October 04, 2008
It's Fall! (or so the calendar says)
Well, Fall in CA is just not the same as it is in MI. Where's the beautiful color around here??? Also, we've had so many days recently that have hung in temps. around 100 degrees--another clue that we've left MI weather behind. Today though, the high is only in the 70s here! Kris was out earlier today and said that people are wearing sweatshirts. Ha ha--Maybe I shouldn't laugh. Our blood will change too, and next year, we may be doing the same thing. I don't know though. . . On avg., since we moved here, we've seen temps in the low 90s for the high each day, and the lows have been in the 60s, maybe occasionally going down to the upper 50s.
I am still around. I keep thinking, "I have to get back to my blog!" I don't post current happenings (except the occasional "Works of God Monday") because I never really caught up on the story of our trip West, and that has been first on "my list" of things to blog. Well, that way of thinking just has made me further behind. Oh well! I continue to learn how silly I can be, and then I work on changing my thinking. :-) So okay, here goes. . .
The last month or so has been full of change still. We've had fun, exciting times and sad, difficult times as well. The growth of the church is very slow, but the people at Heritage have been a true blessing to us, and we are thankful to serve with them here. We are averaging in the low 20s for attendance. We've had as low as 13 and as many as 33 people on Sun. mornings. Soon we will have church brochures/materials, which we believe will make a huge difference for us. Only one other family that currently attends our church lives in Riverside. Most others drive 30 to 45 mins. away. We need to blitz this area with info. and get our name "out there" so people even know we exist. Kris has been working on a website for our church. It's in early stages of being developed. If you have any website advice, I know he would welcome it. :-) You can contact him through the site. We are certainly not about numbers and know that this is the Lord's work. We do want to reach people for Christ and would love to have a growing church body for Him.
One of the things that has been sad and difficult for us is Kris's aunt having a heart attack within a week of our being here, getting an infection and being in the hospital for a long time, and then being diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer a couple of weeks ago. She is still in the hospital and not doing well. She has suffered a stroke(during surgery), and so far she has not been able to speak, respond well, move all that great on her right side, or eat. There is a lot to the story, but we ask for your prayers for her. We know God is sovereignly working in the whole situation.
Another difficult thing that set us back for a couple of weeks is that Kris ended up at the ER a few weeks ago with diverticulitis. That was a shock! Hmmm, similar to the appendicitis he had in the spring--what is going on? He is doing fine now, but he was so sick and in terrible pain. Then, when the infection got better, he had the medication side effects to deal with for 10 days. The Lord allows all things for a reason, and we've trusted Him through this situation as well. I am really glad that Kris is better though!
The girls and I continue to learn the ropes of homeschooling. We've had a great time, for the most part. There have been a couple of difficult days. :-) I have been trying to find the balance of how to make everything in life run smoothly--teaching, cooking, cleaning, ministry, etc. God has been teaching me much, and I thank Him for how He continues to stretch and grow me. I am also thankful for the kind of support I have out here with our homeschooling groups. What a blessing so many have been to me with advice, ideas, etc.!
The girls and I went to the LA County Fair with some people from our homeschool group. That was a lot of fun! Daddy was supposed to come too, but that was during his time of being sick. I have never been to a fair that huge in my life. It was like farms, museums, shopping malls, amusement park and more rolled into one. I believe the website states that the whole thing is over 500 acres. I cannot believe how much we did in one day.
The girls are both enjoying gymnastics each week. They are in noncompetitive classes. Olivia is enrolled in Kindermusik here too, so I get to take her once a week to that. I am so glad we have a teacher somewhat near us--25 mins. away. I have missed teaching and attending Kindermusik with my girls. Emma is too old now. :-( I am teaching her piano though. We are on hold with violin. To take lessons here is extremely expensive--way more than in MI! Hopefully we'll get something worked out and get her back into it.
Well, I would like to post more, but I should get going. My parents are coming in this week for a visit. We are all so excited! I just have a lot to do to be ready for them. We will be having so much fun while they are here. A few things on the agenda are: going to Huntington Beach the day they fly in (we'll be so close), visiting Disneyland for the first time, going up to the mountains for apples, and possibly seeing the San Diego Zoo! I am sure I will have lots of pics to choose from for posting. :-) Off to cleaning I go for now though!
I am still around. I keep thinking, "I have to get back to my blog!" I don't post current happenings (except the occasional "Works of God Monday") because I never really caught up on the story of our trip West, and that has been first on "my list" of things to blog. Well, that way of thinking just has made me further behind. Oh well! I continue to learn how silly I can be, and then I work on changing my thinking. :-) So okay, here goes. . .
The last month or so has been full of change still. We've had fun, exciting times and sad, difficult times as well. The growth of the church is very slow, but the people at Heritage have been a true blessing to us, and we are thankful to serve with them here. We are averaging in the low 20s for attendance. We've had as low as 13 and as many as 33 people on Sun. mornings. Soon we will have church brochures/materials, which we believe will make a huge difference for us. Only one other family that currently attends our church lives in Riverside. Most others drive 30 to 45 mins. away. We need to blitz this area with info. and get our name "out there" so people even know we exist. Kris has been working on a website for our church. It's in early stages of being developed. If you have any website advice, I know he would welcome it. :-) You can contact him through the site. We are certainly not about numbers and know that this is the Lord's work. We do want to reach people for Christ and would love to have a growing church body for Him.
One of the things that has been sad and difficult for us is Kris's aunt having a heart attack within a week of our being here, getting an infection and being in the hospital for a long time, and then being diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer a couple of weeks ago. She is still in the hospital and not doing well. She has suffered a stroke(during surgery), and so far she has not been able to speak, respond well, move all that great on her right side, or eat. There is a lot to the story, but we ask for your prayers for her. We know God is sovereignly working in the whole situation.
Another difficult thing that set us back for a couple of weeks is that Kris ended up at the ER a few weeks ago with diverticulitis. That was a shock! Hmmm, similar to the appendicitis he had in the spring--what is going on? He is doing fine now, but he was so sick and in terrible pain. Then, when the infection got better, he had the medication side effects to deal with for 10 days. The Lord allows all things for a reason, and we've trusted Him through this situation as well. I am really glad that Kris is better though!
The girls and I continue to learn the ropes of homeschooling. We've had a great time, for the most part. There have been a couple of difficult days. :-) I have been trying to find the balance of how to make everything in life run smoothly--teaching, cooking, cleaning, ministry, etc. God has been teaching me much, and I thank Him for how He continues to stretch and grow me. I am also thankful for the kind of support I have out here with our homeschooling groups. What a blessing so many have been to me with advice, ideas, etc.!
The girls and I went to the LA County Fair with some people from our homeschool group. That was a lot of fun! Daddy was supposed to come too, but that was during his time of being sick. I have never been to a fair that huge in my life. It was like farms, museums, shopping malls, amusement park and more rolled into one. I believe the website states that the whole thing is over 500 acres. I cannot believe how much we did in one day.
The girls are both enjoying gymnastics each week. They are in noncompetitive classes. Olivia is enrolled in Kindermusik here too, so I get to take her once a week to that. I am so glad we have a teacher somewhat near us--25 mins. away. I have missed teaching and attending Kindermusik with my girls. Emma is too old now. :-( I am teaching her piano though. We are on hold with violin. To take lessons here is extremely expensive--way more than in MI! Hopefully we'll get something worked out and get her back into it.
Well, I would like to post more, but I should get going. My parents are coming in this week for a visit. We are all so excited! I just have a lot to do to be ready for them. We will be having so much fun while they are here. A few things on the agenda are: going to Huntington Beach the day they fly in (we'll be so close), visiting Disneyland for the first time, going up to the mountains for apples, and possibly seeing the San Diego Zoo! I am sure I will have lots of pics to choose from for posting. :-) Off to cleaning I go for now though!
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