Monday, May 24, 2010

We should be forwarding our mail...

...to the hospital's address. Yes, we're still here. Livi kind of had a rough patch around the weekend but seems to be on the mend now. Only time will tell. They have discovered via chest x-ray that she does not have pneumonia, but atelectasis. The treatment will still be the same, but it is good to know anyway. I think she has had this before, but they just called it a slight collapse in the upper left lobe. She is currently breathing well on 3/4 of a liter of oxygen. For those who are not well acquainted with how much that is...they have to bring in a special smaller gauge to measure it in the room. Even though its more than her usual, it is not more than a whiff. Just an FYI, at home is usually on 1/8 to 1/4 of a liter.

We have also found out that RSV (which in any healthy adult can just be seen as a cold) is very high this spring. Livi had VERY expensive shots during RSV season (Oct to March) to ward this off, but its hitting after its usual season this year. Therefore, since she is pretty sick this close to the surgery we will be rescheduling it. I was pretty upset about this at first, but we were informed by the attending physician that a lot of kids who have congenital issues requiring surgery have gotten rsv and are having their surgeries pushed to the fall. It somehow feels better being one of several. Though now, any time she gets a cold we will probably be in the hospital for at least a week and she will require longer and longer to recover as her heart gets sicker. We are speaking with a cardiologist today as we have gotten some mixed messages as to the urgency of this surgery. Hopefully we will get things clarified and the viruses will stop circulating so we can have a great summer!

I also went to the doctor today for a check-up and found that I have a nodule on my thyroid that is big enough to be visible. They drew blood today and depending on how that comes back I will have an ultrasound. Results will probably be in around the end of the week. We're not really too worried.

Our big celebratory news is that Brian is finished with seminary as of this weekend. He is graduated and happy to spend some time relaxing and hanging out with his family, though we hoped it would be at home, we're trying to make the best of it.

I did also have a bit of a spiritual epiphany yesterday morning. I have known for a long time that the greatest good is God's glory, but somehow it is really difficult to see that through circumstances. Even if just for a short while, I finally really understood that for the first time yesterday. Though we hate for Olivia to be sick, her suffering has brought Brian and I closer to God, to eachother, and to our community of friends and family. We understand things about the Bible we did not before simply from having a new perspective. Olivia's suffering is not ok for me--in fact, it is the furthest thing from that, but perhaps if so much good comes to so many others souls, perhaps brings them to the Lord, then how can we not be grateful? Understanding is coming through time and through trials in the Lords way. We are always thankful for His love and provision.

3 comments:

  1. that is hard to say and i love that you can say it with such love and confidence.

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  2. Hello to the Keys! This is Amanda, remember me? I love what you wrote about the spiritual epiphany. I was wondering, can you expound on that? I deal with situations like yours so often and sometimes it can be so hard to walk in this partial understanding. But I can see that He has given you special grace and would love to hear more about it. You can also email me: Cranberry_Dawn@hotmail.com

    Hope all is well with little Olivia!

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