God takes care of His children

I know that God takes care of His children because I have gotten to see how He has taken such good care of me over the past two days (and the past 34 years of course!).

On the health news front basically me & my doctor here were right & the ER doc was so very wrong. I imagined that would be the case. I just returned from the OB-GYN appt that my IV doctor set me up with today. There is no real uterine bleeding. He said he thinks I had a stone as well and it was probably already in the bladder by the time the ER did the CT scan. That would explain why my urine was completely clear 2 hours after I left the ER. The ER doc was so focused on the "lab reports" that he did what so many other doctors do - he paid no attention to the actual physical symptoms. Again, God is reminding me why I am seeing this brilliant doc in Kansas City instead of being bounced from specialist to specialist back in Alabama. I love that even though my IV doc knew that the Heparin was not the cause of the blood that she took me off of it for 2 days just to "make me feel better". She wants me to know that she listens and she knew that my ordeal at the ER was a scary one and she would never force me to take a drug that some doctor told me to stop immediately, even when she knows that doctor is ignorant about her type of medicine she practices.

The OB-GYN also told me that a build up of Heparin would have been causing nose bleeds or my gums would be bleeding when I brushed my teeth - it wouldn't just cause blood in my urine. He thinks it will be fine for me to get back on the Heparin. I also researched more about that aPTT test that was done in the ER and found that if they draw the blood for that test from your PICC line it will have more Heparin in the sample since that's where the Heparin is injected. I wish I had known that when I was at the ER in order to explain that to the doctor because he clearly didn't know about that.

My abdominal pain is still here, but not as bad and the OB-GYN thinks it might just be that I am carrying some extra fluid because he didn't think the CT scan showed any sign that a cyst had ruptured. I didn't think one had ruptured either. I thought I had a stone & just wanted to make sure it wasn't stuck and causing too much bleeding. Funny thing is that the ER doctor still wrote me prescriptions for pain meds and anti nausea meds AFTER telling me he didn't think I had a stone. So you tell me, if the doctor didn't think it was a kidney stone but rather bleeding due to a high dose of Heparin, why on earth would he prescribe me narcotics??? Ladies & gentlemen, that's what I'm beginning to refer to as "band-aid medicine". They'll whip out a prescription pad in no time just to get you out the door. Sad but true.

Now, my sweet husband arrived safely last night & he is trying hard to get into the routine that mom & I had going so well for the past 4 weeks. It's a learning curve as to when I take what supplements, when I eat & what I eat, when my pain is at it's worst (usually right when I wake up & then immediately after treatment), and when I am having to go to bed which is around 9:00 p.m. these days. I'm just thankful I'm sleeping again, even if it's still interrupted by pain.

Thank you all for your prayers and your wonderfully encouraging comments about my last entry. It meant the world to me that God was able to work through me to reach others who have their own pains whether they are physical, emotional or spiritual. It was amazing to me that I actually did not want to write that post yesterday morning but I did because I knew God was wanting me to really grasp what was going on around me. He was wanting me to see that He has taken care of me so far, so why start questioning Him now! I was humbled by the fact that when I started writing yesterday I was already in tears but by the time I was done I felt such a wonderful peace and promptly took a good nap. My friend Christy uses a Bible verse that says something like, "And when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet." God gave me that sweet sleep as soon as He made sure I saw what He was trying to teach me.

I am so in awe of God and how He works in my life and in the lives of those around me. He continues to show His hand in so many things that happen in the lives of people I know and in my own life. He is concerned with even the smallest details of our lives - how amazing is that? I am praising Him today for carrying me through yet another "trying time" in my life and I am asking forgiveness for how often I question if He will carry me through yet again. He has yet to fail me & I must focus on all the things He has done for me - both big and small. God takes care of His children. We just have to allow Him to do so - we must trust in Him and follow in faith in order to feel His strength when we ourselves are oh so weary.

I'll be headed to afternoon treatments in about 40 minutes and I'll be able to tell the nurses to let my doctor know that the OB-GYN has cleared me for the Heparin again! THANK YOU LORD! It was helping so much by getting more blood to my brain and of course it was helping my cardiac issues for my heart to not have to work so hard to get that thick blood pumped through my body. I am happy to report that I will be able to start back on it. I should have trusted my instincts to begin with! I know my body better than any other human on the planet. I know I had a stone. I should have trusted my gut and not allowed myself to get scared by some ER doctor who doesn't know a thing about me or my whole situation. God is teaching me to trust my judgement again. It's been awhile since I have because I have had such trouble thinking clearly, but He is letting me know that He's working on my body, my heart and my head and that I should trust myself more and not allow the worry to get to me. God did not give us a spirit of fear!

I'll sign off with these two verses that seem quite fitting for today:

"Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and mind. For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in faithfulness to you." Psalm 26:2-3 (NRSV)

"Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 (NRSV)