Returning to Rehab ~

How can I express to you, dear friends, my overflowing heart

of gratitude for your visits and most comforting messages?

There are no words to describe what I feel within my heart.

You may never know just how sweetly you have touched my life

during this difficult time that I am going through with the health of mom.

I keep thinking that I will soon be back to writing regular posts

and be finished with so many up-dates on mom, but I'm just not sure

when that is going happen.

Of course I will be posting and sharing with my dear Stephanie as we share in her

Tea Cup/Mug Exchange~Reveal Party next week ~ Woohoo!!

So many of you have shared encouraging messages

and for the life of me I just can't get around to replying back to you, I'm so sorry!

Please, except my heart felt gratitude as I thank you here on my blog.

Last week I spent pretty much of my week in the hospital with mom,

and the hospital is two hours away, so that meant staying over a few nights.

This particular hospital has a Hospitality House that God so graciously 

led me to through a Christian nurse looking after mom.

What a BLESSING!!

A lovely place where you can find rest for your weary soul.

During the week when mom was in the hospital recovering from her brain surgery

I found myself deep in the Scriptures bathing myself in

 verses that pertained to God as my Rock.

God has truly been my Rock, whom I have held tightly to each and every day.

♡♡♡♡♡

"I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength."

~ Psalm 18:1~

Oh, how I love the Lord my God, Who is my strength!

♡

"The Lord is my Rock,  and my fortress, and my deliverer;

My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;

my buckler, and the horn of my salvation,

and my high tower."

~ Psalm 18:2 ~

My "buckler" meaning my shield.

What more could I ask for?

♡

"In my distress I called upon the Lord,

and cried unto my God: He heard my voice out of his temple,

and my cry came before him, even unto his ears."

~ Psalm 18:6 ~

 I will call upon my Lord, who is worthy to be praised!

♡

"It is God that girdeth me with strength,

and maketh my way perfect."

~ Psalm 18:32 ~

To gird, to equip ~ with God as my Rock, I know that I can have the confidence 

in preparing myself to meet each new day, knowing,

I must meet it with strength and endurance finding joy in everything.

♡♡♡♡♡

Mom's surgery went well, the surgeon is pleased and mom is in the healing process.
Mom returned back to Rehab just five days after her fall!
I'm amazed at how quickly patient's are released from the hospital,
even brain surgery patients. It's crazy!!
Mom has a long road with therapy, with now new conditions to deal with.
She has been remarkable!
Our trust is in God, our Great Physician and Healer.
 With one day and one step at a time, mom will reach her goals and cross her finish line
with an amazing victory and story to share with others
as God receives all the glory and praise.
Once again, thank you so very much for your love, care and prayers.

"As for God, His way is perfect"

Joy!
~ Debbie ~

From a Fall to Brain Surgery ~ Mom

The morning was cool and crisp with our gorgeous Colorado blue skies

as I headed down the road early Saturday morning making my way with Donatella

to see mom at the Rehab Center when I received the call

from the nurse stating that mom had fallen, or slipped, off the side of her bed

as she was getting up to brush her teeth.

Again, mom's legs became like jelly giving out on her,

down she went hitting the side of her face leaving her with quite a shinier.

An hour after the fall and after monitoring her, an ambulance was called 

with concern that she had a concussion, when in-fact, she had bleeding on the brain.

Once again, mom was taken "flight for life" to a hospital two hours away

where there was a Neuro surgeon on staff.

Mom had a very large bleed that was pressing on her brain

and there was concern that she would hemorrhage and die.

With mom's heart condition she is taking two blood thinners

and bleed out is always a concern, so it was important for the doctors 

in making sure her platelets were where they should be 

in order to perform brain surgery.

After a blood transfusion and some testing mom was given the green light

and brain surgery took place Sunday morning.

All went well and the surgeon accomplished all that he had hoped for.

♡♡♡♡

Once again, God's abundant love, grace and mercy

was evident in this whole situation.

As I look back at this past weekend that came and went so very quickly

I stand amazed, once again, at the Greatness of our God.

A simple fall that turned into brain surgery.

It almost seems unreal to me.

It is very evident that God has His loving arms wrapped around mom.

Her face hurts me just to look at it, yet, she has not complained once of any pain.

How can that be? Only GOD!

Mom is alert, answers questions perfectly and is in good spirits,

though she is extremely tired.

I am a firm believer that rest is the best healer,

and God is making sure that she sleeps so her body can heal.

As a family, we have many decisions that must be made on mom's behalf,

we have little bridges to cross, one at a time, as God leads the way.

♡♡♡♡

While I sat in mom's hospital room Saturday night I could hear helicopters 

coming and going and one of the nurses said that the ER was full with trauma patients.

On Sunday during mom's surgery two of my sister's and I sat 

in the ICU waiting room with two other groups who

were waiting for a loved one who was also undergoing surgery.

It was evident that their loved one was in critical condition.

Thoughts ran through my mind wondering if they had the Hope and Promise

of an Eternal home in heaven through Jesus Christ?

When we have that Hope, we have a peace that passes all understanding 

and difficult times don't seem so difficult.

During these times we can be of good courage knowing God will strengthen our heart.

"Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart,

all he that hope in the Lord."

~ PSALM 31:24 ~   

♡

"Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord,

and whose hope the Lord is."

~ Jeremiah 17:7 ~

Prayers matter ~ thank you, once again, for yours!

Glory to God!

~ Debbie ~

YIKES! Winter is a comin'

~The road leading to our home ~

Autumn is still showing forth her beauty

but we have already had two incredible snow storms

here in the Rocky Mountains.

Our first storm started with rain and thunder

and then through out the night it turned into a heavy and wet snow fall

bringing down a number of the aspen trees around our yard.

What a shock when I looked out of our bedroom window

that over looks our back yard! 

I could hear in the night some noises 
that I thought may have been thunder in the distance

and then rustling on the back deck that I figured was just the bear. 

NOT!!

All those noises were trees snapping and falling to the ground.

What a sad sight...

We are still cleaning up the mess, all the while hoping that those trees that are leaning

will pop back up with time.

Just like that, our grounds were changed without warning.

Nothing stays the same, does it?

*******

God has His ways of keeping us from getting too comfortable with life.
One of my daily prayers is that I never become complacent in life
 or in my walk with the Lord.
I pray that God, through the Holy Spirit, will help me to learn 
what His Word says, what it means, and what it means for my own life.
James compared the Bible to a mirror (James 1:22).
As we gaze into the Word of God, we see ourselves reflected in it.
"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only,
deceiving your own selves."
I pray that I will never walk away from God's mirror without making
the needed changes through the help of the Holy Spirit.
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty,
and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer,
but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in His deed."
(James 1:25)
Is God's Word written on your heart in such a way
that you have fallen in love with Scripture?

*******

Well my dear friends, life has certainly had its changes here with mom.
Mom was working diligently with her physical therapy
and pressing forward towards the day when her and I would leave for Arizona,
only to find herself  at "ground zero" and back in rehab.
Mom was given the flu shot and 12 hours later thought she was experiencing 
flu symptoms only to find out that she had urosepsis, an infection
that spreads from the urinary tract to the blood stream, causing a systemic
infection that circulates through the body through the bloodstream.
Her blood pressure dropped and is still low, and I believe she was in septic shock
when her legs became like jelly giving out on her, 
as well as her confused mind.
How grateful I am that help arrives quickly through calling 911.
Over the past four weeks with mom's illness she has become very weak and frail.
Arizona, mom's winter home, still awaits her.
"The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry" By Robert Burns
No matter what our expected plans may be, something can still go wrong.
Once again I had to fall back my own words,
"Trust in the Lord, and rest in that trust."
God is in complete control of our lives no matter what our expected plans may be,
and life is all the sweeter when we give Him control.
You have been so faithful in holding mom and our family up in prayer
over these past three months and with a grateful heart
I want to express to you how very thankful I am.
FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART, THANK YOU!!
God in His grace and mercy touches the hearts of His people
and moves them to their knees on behalf of others.
I may never meet you face to face this side of Eternity,
but our spirits are joined together through the power of God 
and the working of the Holy Spirit.
Because of Christ ~ life is beautiful!
♡♡♡
Sending you all my love and {{hugs}} 

Joy! 
~ Debbie ~

God is Merciful~

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
yea, our God is merciful.
* Psalm 116:5 *

♡******♡

Hello to you, my dear and sweet followers!

I'm popping in to leave you with a little up-date on mom.

She continues to jump over each hurdle that is placed before her

and is getting stronger each and every day. 

God is merciful!

Mom was in ICU a total of 27 days ~

that is serious cause for substantial physical impairments

muscle loss and weakness that can have a lasting effect,

but by the grace of God she is doing extremely well. 

While our days have been filled with therapy, doctor visits and just plain rehab

the spring and summer months have come and gone so very quickly

taking us into those cool autumn days and bringing with them 

the changing colors of our aspen leaves here in the Rocky Mountains.
I was beginning to think that it wasn't going to be a colorful year,
but oh my, each day has brought with it such glorious beauty.
Some of our doctor visits are a three hour drive,
but I'll take those drives any day just to see God's creation and beauty.
As of now, mom and I will be heading to Arizona October 9th.
I will stay with mom until the end of October and help with getting her settled
 then return home just in time for Stephanie's Tea Cup/Mug Reveal Party

♡******♡

Over these past three months you have so graciously gone before the throne of God
and prayed over my mother and our family
and for that, I am truly grateful!
Your many prayers have been heard and our Great and Loving God has been merciful.
He has bestowed His grace upon our family and carried us through 
Some difficult hours meeting our EVERY need.
May I ask for your prayers again on behalf of the surgeon who
did the Mitral Valve Clip procedure on mom?
Last week at mom's follow up visit this amazing Doctor (and Believer in Christ)
shared with us that he has pancreatic cancer. :(
My heart sank as I sat there looking and listening to this man
who has a young family and a life ahead of him now facing the battles of cancer.
His testimony of the Lord was awesome and he had a joy 
that was contagious.
He was one of the Instruments God used in saving mom's life,
now I wish to reach out on his behalf  to the many prayer warriors
and ask for prayer and a miracle in the healing of this wonderful Doctor.
When I say "miracle" I believe that what ever the outcome will be,
whether God heals him or calls him home to glory 
that will be the miracle God has in His marvelous plan.
Thank you, and God bless you!

"But we will give ourselves continually to prayer,
and to the ministry of the word.
* Acts 6:4 *

Be Gracious!
~ Debbie ~

Day Away ♡ Up Date on Mom

 Today is the day which the Lord has made,
I will rejoice and be glad in it!
I took yesterday and rested knowing that mom was doing the same.
My husband and I took the four-wheeler out for a lovely ride and
it felt good to be out in the open air soaking in God's beauty
as we headed up the mountain forgetting about the cares
that remained back home. 
I'm sharing with you some of the beauty we enjoyed, but
of course photos with a cell phone do not do justice of this beauty
so hopefully you can picture the beauty with what I've given you. 
We were up 9,000 feet looking down on the valley.

I've been waiting for the best time to share an up date with you on mom,
but it seems like every time mom makes a little progress
we come across another hurdle to leap over.

The plan is for mom to have the "clip procedure" where they will
go in intravenously and repair her leaky valve as
open heart surgery is not an option for mom and may never be. 
There has been one hurdle after another that prevents the doctors
from moving forward.
Mom is now in A-Fib which is not surprising
 since the bottom of her heart has been damaged and cannot be repaired,
therefore the top and bottom of the heart are not coordinating.
I stand amazed at the power of medications
and all that they are able do...but mom is tired.
The clip procedure was scheduled for last Thursday, 
but at the last minute God intervened and it was cancelled. 
It would be easy to wonder why and walk away discouraged,
but from the onset of mom's illness I have trusted in God and purposed
 that I will rest in that trust and claim the peace which God offers,
knowing and believing that God's ways are absolutely perfect
no matter what the outcome may be.
We were told last Thursday that the procedure would take place today, 
but now due to some other issues it may or may not happen this week. 
Mom is still in ICU with a team of amazing doctors and nurses 
who are doing an awesome job looking after her,
while we, as her family, continue to live out our days moment by moment
grateful for the goodness and grace of God.
You my dear friends, have come along side of our family with your
many prayers, love and concern, and we wish to thank you
from the sincerity of our hearts.
We know that we are not alone, for God has graciously showered us with
His grace and mercy time and time again.

On one of the days as I sat at mom's bedside I read from her book

" Jesus Today" and on one particular day when I opened it up
this message was waiting for the both of us.
Our hearts were greatly encouraged by our loving God,
and my prayer is that you too, will find encouragement in these words.
♡♡♡
I am taking care of you. I know how hard this is to believe

when conditions that are troubling you get worse instead of better. 

It's easy to feel as if I'm letting you down ~ as if I really don't care

about change in your circumstances,  and you can't understand

why I seem to be so unresponsive to your issues. 

But I repeat: I am taking care of you. 

To become aware of my living presence, you need to relax

and stop trying to control things. 

Give up your futile efforts to think your way through your problems. 

Fall back into my strong loving arms and rest with a sigh of trust.

Cease striving and simply enjoy being in My presence. 

Though there are many things you don't understand, 

you can rest in My unfailing love. 

This love is independent of all circumstances, 
and it will never be taken away from you. 

Although My ways may be mysterious, My love is perfect and everlasting. 

Watch in hope for Me, remembering that I am God  your Savior. 

Jesus Today
By
Sarah Young
♡

Jeremiah 17:7-8

Do not look to your how, 

but in Christ, the source of your how

~ Charles Spurgeon ~

Rejoice in God!
~Debbie~