Good morning friends!
Bill here....a little late today due to network problems here at the hospital. All in all, Erin had a pretty good day yesterday and last night. She walked a full mile (21 laps), ate well, and received two units of blood. They reduced her pain meds and she is still feeling pretty good so that's a praise!! We watched Ocean's Eleven and numerous Friends episodes to while away the time yesterday afternoon.
By the way, thanks to Dr. Butz....I now know what the technical name is for the "visions" I have at night....it's called hypnogogia or hypnogogic hallucinations and now Cindy Collins, my brother Rick and daughter Amanda and I can start our own support group!! Erin can be an honorary member since she thought Amanda and Kyle were hiding presents under her bed the other night.
We have now been at Emory for a full month and are at day 24 of treatment. Please continue to pray for complete healing for Erin and for her strength and spirit as she continues to fight the fight! Thanks, as always, for your continued support, encouragement, and most of all for the unceasing prayers... you have been such a blessing to us!!
Thought I would close with this scripture that Amanda put on our white board: "God is our refuge and strength, an everpresent help in trouble" - Psalm 46:1
Have a blessed day! - Bill
15 comments:
"Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love and his kindness go on forever."
-1Chron. 16:34
What was the daily challenge today and/or yesterday? I'm interested to hear which one you pulled out!
-Monica
Please add Leah and Greg Foster to that support group for night whatevers as they have a tendency to beat up innocent pillows in their sleep. Let me tell ya... it ain't pretty.
And maybe add a support group for their family and friends who are frightened to occupy the same room with them at night.
And Erin - I home you get to come home soon!!! You are inspiring to us!!!
Erin!
I am so glad to hear that you are heading home soon. Remember, as Odysseus says, "Where shall a man find sweetness to supass his home and parents? In far lands he shall not, though he find a house of gold." ( I guess you can figure what we are reading in class right now!)
Thinking of you always,
Joanna Feldman
MOOOOOOOOOOOO!
That's all I have to say!
Hello Erin and Bill,
Glad to hear you had a good day yesterday. It was good to see Bill leading the praise band in church. You are both missed greatly every Sunday morning that you aren't there.
Now again, for all the doubters, naysayers and general disbelievers of the medical credentials of The Dr. Butz and Dr. Ken Team... What Say You Now?? If Dr. Butz can provide Bill with the correct diagnosis of a lifelong sleep condition, who's to say that curing Erin with M&M's is that far-fetched? I've been working on an I/V solution consisting of M&M's, along with a few other secret ingredients, that can be fed to Erin 24/7. I mean, what's another bag hanging by the bed?? She did seem to enjoy "taking" the M&M's by mouth though.
It will be interesting to see what Dr. Butz creates as a cure for Bill, Amanda, Cindy and the others with that sleep condition. It may take time, but I believe he can do it. Just keep in mind that Dr. Butz is a Proctologist. I hope that doesn't affect the treatment options and methods he will be considering... :) :)
All Our Love and Prayers!
Dr. Ken, Angela, Nic & Nat.
Hello Erin and family!
I just have to state for the record Bill I personally would be little scared of any diagnosis given by the "great" (and I use the word loosely) medical team of Quack and Quack...I mean Butz and Moore or is it Moore-Butz medical team????????
Erin I'm so proud of you. What an inspiration to us all! If I only had an ounce of your endurance I would be doing well. Keep up the good work. You are making great progress!
Love you all!
Margaret, Pete, Kara and Kate
Hi Erin & the Blonshines,
I'm impressed...a whole mile! You, go girl. Keep up the good work and praise God for all small victories that will add up to going home sweet home.
I received a weekly e-News today (from Carter @ The Way) and it made me think of you (and Bill, too...the worship song part). Of course, just about everything makes me think of all of you these days. Anyway, here is Carter's "Thought for the Week"...
"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever." Psalm 136:1-2
"Sometimes, you read the Psalms and you just sort of skim over them and say, "Oh, yeah, nothing too deep there. Sounds like a happy little praise song." Well, it is a song. We sing one on Sundays sometimes called "His Love Endures Forever." But, to believe this passage is anything but shallow and easy. To believe that God is good is a powerful thing. To believe that God is good is not always easy when you're struggling through financial difficulties, illness with a loved one, lost employment, disappointment, despair. It's hard to believe God is good when the world is full of need, hunger, war, and hate. But to believe that God is good is also very powerful. It is to believe that God will overcome all that heartache. It is to understand that there is a vast difference between God being in control versus God controlling everything. It is to hope upon hope that there is a better way and a better day ahead. It is to have faith, and this is what following Jesus is really all about. Because we know, deep down, that those hardships won't last. That are temporary, but we believe that His love endures forever. His love has overcome hardships. His love has defeated hate. His love has fed the hungry. Whatever you're going through, never forget that the love of the God of gods endures forever." ~Carter McInnis / Lead Pastor / Church of the Way
Thanks, Carter for your inspiring words. And, hang in there Erin...your hardships won't last, they are only temporary, because His love endures forever.
Love, hugs and blessings to all the Blonshines,
The Petersons
It's too bad Kyle and Amanda weren't REALLY hiding presents under your bed. That might have been a fun surprise. Our dreams and sleep habits can be strange. I had my first day of school today which means I had a semi-panicky dream related to school last night. I went to my first grad class, and only people from high school were there...
Enough about me; I am so glad to hear that you are feeling better, walking a lot and eating:) All great things! Thank God! I prayed for you this morning and reflected on something that we have been talking about in church lately. The topic has been the 1O Commandments, and so far, we have gone through the first two, regarding worshiping God alone and not false idols and images. Throughout the last few weeks, it has started to click with me that God is NOT boring. If he was, he wouldn't be worth worshiping! He is unique and holy and pure and righteous and just and jealous and omniscient and so worthy of our praise. I like this God better than the one I sometimes construct. This God is taking care of you and providing strength for you and healing you. This God, THE God loves you and has a plan for you.
I'm so glad we worship Him. I love you Erin!
Brittany
Good Evening Blonshines!!!.....I pray that you have all had a great day...I went shopping with my Mama today....
We do that once a week....It's our girl day....we have lunch...run a few errands...just a "spend time together" day...
We have been doing that for 7..wait, maybe going on 8 years now.....it all started when my mother was in the
hospital....she had open heart surgery.....we didn't think she was going to make it....they had given her a
20 percent chance of surviving the surgery.........it was a long...torturous 21 days in the hospital.....I remember on
the night of day 5 standing in the parking lot of Piedmont hospital in Atlanta....screaming at the top of my lungs..
"LORD, if YOU need her more than I do then take her....but please GOD please do not let her suffer"...........she made
it through the surgery.....she's still "ticking" away today........it was one of those "moments' in life...where we didn't see
the miracles that GOD was performing at the time....but we are sure of all the many, many miracles today...in that
hindsight is 20/20 kind of way...............we started this "girls day once a week thing" after she got to where she could
walk again, without the walker...without the oxygen tubes and tanks and such...when she could actually stand up for
more than a few seconds at a time...Daddy had to have at least one day a week to do the deep housecleaning, and
she could not be around the chemical smells...she had to walk to help in her recovery....and she was always willing to shop...
it started out as something she and I could do together...and it kind of stuck....I think sometimes, that at the time...God
was trying to teach me patience...............see...when I was young....much much younger than I am now...I used to say..
"Oh poo...patients are for hospitals...and I am not a doctor"...I was NOT a patient person at all in my younger days.....
now, I have changed my thinking on patience.....I now, associate it with shopping...so it's kind of strange that God used
shopping of all things to teach me to be patient.....You know how you stand in the line at the store...and sometimes it's
a busy shopping day...and you have to wait a few minutes....or..even better...it's Christmas time...and the line time can be
un-nerving it's so long.......and then, there are those times when you only have a few items...and you can get through quick
in the self check out lines......or better yet...someone is in front of you ...with a huge buggy , just overflowing with purchases...
and they let you go first.....I love that!!...I love to be that person that let's someone else go first too!!.....It's that long line........,
one of those long Christmas lines...when everyone has that huge buggy...and it's so full that it is flowing out onto the floor......
it's that line that I see in my head when there is someone special....or with an especially urgent need....that I am praying for...
I've been seeing that "long line" in my heart a lot lately Erin......and as I pray .....I ask GOD...please Lord, ....my list is not that
important today....could YOU please scoot Erin to the front of the line today?......my prayer needs are long standing...they have
been there a while...and may be there a little longer...according to YOUR TIME LORD, but for today Father.....could YOU let
Erin go ahead of me .....................................Father, This precious girl is supernaturally loved.....not only by her mother and father.
...not only by her precious sisters...not only by her extended family.....but she is supernaturally loved by her other family....
.those of us who do not share her biological blood.....but do share the blood of CHRIST..which flows through our veins
as strongly as it does hers........LORD, collectively we ask YOU to please...please....scoot Erin to the front of the line today.....
Father, her needs are in need of greater attention than anything else I could ask of YOU today........she's only got this one
thing.......and Lord, we love her and her parents and her sisters so much......Lord, bless them......clamp YOUR mighty hands
around them........and keep them safe...and at peace...and in YOUR will........................Lord, please....Erin can go ahead of us today...
please lift her blood numbers and continue healing her body.....please continue to be with her doctors and nurses...and continuing
guiding them in her care......Lord bless her friends who continue to lift her spirits and cheer her on through the days ahead.....
IN JESUS' MIGHTY MIGHTY NAME...............AMEN.......
So proud of your mile walk Erin! Each step gets you closer to home.
Much love,
The Stills
Great work, Erin! So glad to hear you made the full 21.
Hey, Dr. MOORE/BUTZ...WHAT'S THE NAME OF THE DISEASE WHERE YOU CONSTANTLY KICK OFF THE COVERS AFTER YOU'VE BEAT UP THE PILLOW?!
WE NEED HELP AT OUR HOUSE, TOO!
KISSES,
Susan Kirkman : )
hey erin!! I have thought a lot about you today and I'm glad you are doing better and I know God is watching over you right now! So, Becca and I decided to run a mile every other day so that you won't have to walk by yourself everyday! Love you! Jessie
Good Morning Erin, Janet & Bill;
I've started researching for our next Hawaii trip! We for sure must see Maui this time! I picked up a travel magazine, so much to see and do! So Erin keep doing your laps, we've got places to go, people to see and things to do this year! The lake this summer, skiing this winter and next summer either Acapulco or Hawaii. And we can do it all on a budget, two out of those three trips we can stay for free!! Alright team, we all have work to do, LETS DO IT! Or as we in the south like to say, GIT R DONE!
Love you bunches! Aunt Debbie, your personal travel agent, nurse and pal.
P.S.
When we move to Georgia, maybe I could get a job with the "Moore-Butz" team, I totally qualify for that!
Hello Blonshines. Bill, we had a wonderful weekend in Toccoa 9 days ago. We all missed you, but understood why you couldn't be there. You'll remember the phrase "what's said on the mountain, stays on the mountain". Well I am getting kind of tired of that saying and what follows came down with me. Saturday evening (Jan 19)sometime after 7:00, close to 125 men from FUMC Lawrenceville said prayers for you individually and simultaneously. Very good stuff. Yeah, there were putz's like myself involved, but we learned during the weekend that God's likely not too concerned with how beautifully a prayer is stated, but more with the sincerity of which it's delivered. Erin, we are still with you and in the words Winston Churchill, "We will never surrender". Re: Dr Butz, seems like with a name like that, he should have been a proctologist. Reminds me of a Seinfeld episode, but I digress. And Doctor, if I ever need your assistance, please remember that it was only a feeble attempt at humor on my part. Like you haven't heard that one before!
Hi Erin: I'm not sure if this will work but it has taken me this much time to try. I have been keeping up with your blog and all of you guys are amazing. Sorry I haven't been up to see you lately but maybe I can come visit when you get home. You are in our prayers and we love you all. My favorit four word are Let Go, Let God. He will sustain you in all things. 2 corinthians 4:16-17 therfore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. Love to all. In Christ's Love. Dolores & rick
Post a Comment