A Beautiful Recovery

Well...

IT has been quite some time since I last posted. The Lord continues to work in my life and teach me numerous lessons as the days go on. I love being able to come back and recount some of these times for you all as a testimony to His faithfulness and wonderous ways.

I will share a story about my dad... a few years back, my dad became extremely ill with what was supposed to be a terminal illness called primary schlerosing colitis. The doctors at Mayo told him that he probably would not ever get better and we even discussed the possibility of my dad getting on a list for a new liver if it came down to it. After a few more tests and a procedure that helped to return my dad to a somewhat healthier state, we elisted many prayers for him and my dad came home.

During this time, my dad started reading a book (I believe it's called God's Way) about eating healthier according to what our bodies were created to enjoy, such as raw vegetables, barley, etc., as well as juicing vegatables to get the full nutrional value. He started juicing and made a glass of carrot juice every morning. He also started taking barley pills, as well as eating raw vegetables for lunch and overall changing his diet.

With this change in diet as well as many prayers from loved ones, my dad recovered into a wonderfully healthy state, and during his yearly check-up at Mayo Clinc, the doctors were astounded at his come-around.

"Whatever you are doing, just keep doing it," they told him. This usually did not happen.

I have always thought of my dad as a very healthy, strong individual who takes care of his body and is always in excellent shape. My dad is the power figure in our family; not because he overpowers people or tries to control others, but because in his quiet, gentle, and friendly way, he is the pillar of strenth that glues our family together. He has always been my knowledge base- whenever I have a question, I got to him, and he will always have the answer. He is also a fountain of wisdom with spiritual matters.

Anyway, 2 weeks ago, my dad was schedulded to go to Mayo Clinc for his annual check-up. About a week before his appointment, he started to feel sick. My dad has a high pain tolerance, so usually it takes something pretty painful in order for him to admit to any sort of problem. When he readily admitted to not feeling well and looked it in return, we knew something as amiss. We continued to pray and just hoped that it was not him getting worse, but knew it was rather grand timing as his appointment was coming up, anyway.

My parents left for Mayo's on Sunday. That night, I got a phone call from my sister telling me that my dad was not doing too well.

What happened is this: My mom and dad arrived at Mayo's Sunday evening, and checked into the hotel. They were going to meet up with some friends of theirs that happened to be there at the same time, but my mom nixed the idea when she saw how sick my dad felt. Shortly after eating a little supper and then going to the hotel room, my dad layed down for awhile. My mom looked over after awhile and noticed my dad was shaking all over. He was white and clammy, and his pulse was very weak. She promptly got my dad a wheel chair and wheeled him down to the car, as he could hardly walk. She took him to the hospital, which was not far, where my dad got checked into a room.

The doctors checked him over and kept him overnight, not sure what the problem was but guessing that it was one of two things: either the return of his earlier illness, which could mean major complications and even cancer, or it could be his appendix. They were leaning more towards cancer, which was not looking good.

On Monday, the surgeons immediately decided to do exploratory surgery. Once they were opened him up, they found that his appendix had ruptured. There was puss and infection everywhere, and they had to clean him up extremely well. They guessed that they had ruptured the night before, and the pain he had been experiencing all week long made sense.

As the doctor told my mom the news, she was relieved in that it coud have been worse, but the doctor also expressed how serious this really was.

"He is a sick, sick man," he explained. "He will only get worse before he gets better, and will take at least 3-4 weeks to heal."

One of the head doctors that has dealt with these cases before said that in all his years, he had never seen an appendix rupture that bad. He expressed that we were lucky that a hospital had been near- otherwise, my dad could have gone into shock and died.

The doctors had him stay at the hospital for a week. They said that there was a 50% chance of him developing an infection, but he never did. Because of this, he got to come home the next weekend. He has been home for a week, and now him and my mom are in Florida (a trip that had already been planned) and he is recuperating in the balmy weather. He will probably be home for at least 2 more weeks from work after that.

The many prayers that went up for my dad were definitely felt by him and our family. So many caring individuals sent cards, gave gifts, and stopped by. It is so humbling and comforting to know that we are surrounding by such a caring body of loved ones that is there at your side right when you need them. And just as my dad has always been able to do, he is recovering at a miraculous speed. I account this to none ofther than our Great God up in Heaven who hears our prayers and heals in bountiful ways.

This story is just a testimony of God's amazing healing powers and his workings of placing people in the right place at the right time.

Thank you for letting me share, and I apologize for the length... I love you all! T