March 25, 2008, Praises Along the Way-Two Steps Forward and Three Steps Back

The sky was beautiful this morning, the air a little chilly. We started for the doctor’s office on what I knew would be a long day. I had to choke back the tears as I drove. The Hillsong worship team kept me praising God. I kept checking on Danni beside me, she was bundled in her coat with a bandage on her head, her fingers pulled into the palm part of her fuzzy pink gloves to keep her hands warm.

We arrived at the doctor’s office in time and were directed to go to the building next door for a CT scan. When we finished there we walked the short distance back to the doctor’s office. Into the elevator and down to the basement for blood work, it didn’t take long before we were done and in the waiting room to see the doctor.

I was expecting to hear that she needed a shunt to control the drainage. The doctor came in and gave it to us straight in a humble kind of way - another punch in the stomach. There was infection and the only way to help her was to take out the bone flap and completely remove it!

“And leave her without anything to cover her brain!?” I said to the doctor. “You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” was the doctor’s reply. I looked at Danni’s step-mom standing across the small room. Her eyes were red and I could tell she was fighting to keep the tears from flowing. I’m sure I gave her a “deer in the headlights” look. We asked a few questions and waited for the nurse.

The nurse came in and gave us an envelope with the doctor’s orders for the hospital nurses and we were on our way to the hospital once again. This place is becoming my home away from home.

What would we do without God? How does anyone cope during something like this without him? I told Danni when we got in the car, “I’m glad God is in control or we’d be sunk!”

I’m sitting here in the little couch in Danni’s room and its 9:32 pm. She’s wrestling with her IV cord and the TV remote trying to scoot into her bed. She always wants to do things on her own. So I let her. She was blessed tonight with a movie on TV that she said she was thinking about today. She had wished she could see it. God hears even the desires of our heart. Danni hadn’t mentioned it to anyone, yet God knew.

I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but I do know that tonight I get to spend the night with her and God is very near. What an extraordinary spirit I’ve been blessed to care for and know.

She’s lying in bed, cup of ice in one hand and cell phone texts flying out the other. The grace she’s been given to endure this is amazing. Thank you, Jesus, you are so good.