Twas the Night Before Surgery

Twas the night before surgery
And all through the land
God's people were  praying,
Some hand in hand.

The prayers were sent heavenward
To our Great Savior there,
Having Only Positive Expectations
He would answer their prayer.

Their prayer of great faith
For one who is sick.
Was asking the Lord
To please heal him quick!

His wife and his children
Don't want to give him up yet.
Please show us, Dear Lord
The answer we'll get.

They are trying not to quake
With fear or with worry.
Bless them, Dear Lord
Answer quickly, please hurry!

If it be Thy will, Lord
Please grant our petition.
Heal his brain and his body
As the True and Great Physician.

He has suffered a while
But never complains
About the disease that he has
Tim Day is his name.

But if healing is not in
Accordance to Your will
Thank You for each blessing,
We will only love You still!


Tim developed diarrhea and double vision today, so the doctor ordered a CT of his brain.  However, there was no change from the one done on Wednesday in the ER, praise the Lord!

Our girls came from Carroll, OH and Salisbury, NC to be with me tomorrow through the surgery.  I was going to spend the night with them at the house, but decided to stay here with Tim through the night to help him in whatever way he needed me.

I will be so glad when this surgery is over!  The wait is beginning to get to me, especially as more and more problems crop up!  Lord, please heal Tim's body!  Thy will be done!

We had a beautiful sunrise over Winston Salem this morning!

Cafeteria style breakfast.  It was pretty good!

I will keep posting updates tomorrow as I get them regarding Tim's surgery, which is scheduled to begin at 8:45!  Keep praying!

Love,
Vicky and Tim

Praising the Lord Tonight!

What a difference 24 hours makes!  Thanking and praising the Lord for that difference!  Tim has really felt better today, even laughing and cracking silly jokes!  Does my heart good!
 
He got some much needed sleep last night, even with the nurses coming in.  He has been eating some today, too.  He had 2 bananas!  He also drank some of the chocolate Ensure.  He has been eating, drinking, peeing and pooping.....you are welcome!  :D  I was praying for all of those things earlier this week!

We had a bit of a set back this evening, however.  The rule is that the patient is responsible for requesting the pain pills and the nausea meds.  Well, we missed a dose of the zofran for nausea and when he took his pain medicine for his head, he threw it right back up.

The morphine today was not helping Tim's headache at all.  So, they tried something different.  A combination of narcotic, tylenol and caffeine.  It worked like a charm!  He can take it every 4 hours, as long as we ask for it.  The only problem is that it didn't keep the headache away the entire 4 hours.  Unfortunately, that is the medicine he threw up tonight, so they had to give him a dose of morphine again with the zofran.  So far he has not thrown up again.

Thank You, Lord, for Your answers to prayer we have seen already in the process of getting our Tim back!

First banana.  Food!  Yay!

My bedroom.  It certainly wasn't home, but it was OK.

I loved the scenery tonight as the sun set behind me and glistened off the buildings in downtown Winston Salem.

And the clouds were pretty cool, too!

OK, time to retire!  Have a blessed day in the Lord's house tomorrow!

God is so Good!

UPDATED WITH PICTURES FROM MAY 5th:

Every time I hear or think of that song, I think about a man who sang that song frequently as a special  at Buffalo Baptist when we ministered there between 1997 and 2008. I don't remember the exact year Bob Huff showed up at the church, but he quickly became a staunch supporter of Tim. He let everyone know that he was Tim's right-hand man. Everyone loved good, old Bob!

Bob's body was laid to rest today, but I am confident that he is singing his praise song in person to his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ as we speak! Bob may have had a learning disability, but he knew Who his Savior was!  He went to another church in town before the Lord brought Bob to us. He was talking to Tim one day and told him that he was saved in a Baptist church and he needed to be a Baptist, Amen! He was still there till the day the Lord took him to his heavenly home. And I'm sure he was still the pastor's right hand man! A simple man with a simple faith. All who knew him counted him a friend. He will be missed, especially at the Buffalo Baptist church.

And, yes! God is still so good! Many prayers have been answered today! We had the pre-op appointment today. We told the doctor all that has been going on with Tim this week. I asked, "would dehydration keep Tim from having surgery on Monday?" He said absolutely, but if Tim didn't get better, I could bring him back for fluids before Monday. I said, "actually, we were hoping we could get you to go ahead and admit him to get him back in shape for Monday!" He said, "absolutely, if you are ok with that!" Tim was ready! Thank You, Lord! We had to wait around for a couple of hours, but at least Tim will be ready for surgery on Monday!

After the on call doctor went over his plan of attack, I went home to get Tim's pajamas, toiletries and pillow. And the same for me as I am staying here with him.

When I left for home Tim was sleeping. When I got back he woke up. IV fluids were started and tummy meds were given so he could take his cancer meds and hopefully keep them down! But he had not been given anything for the headache yet. I gave him some Tylenol only to learn later that it was included in the treatment plan. Also, morphine is part of the plan for headache relief and rest, but we found out it isn't automatic. He can have some every 4 hours, but he has to ask for it. I am happy to report that he has probably had more sleep at one time today than all week! Praise the Lord!

I am so happy! Lori saw me come home and said, "Vicky could probably use a hug," so she came over while I was packing the suitcase. I gladly accepted the hug but told her I was actually ok because Tim was admitted and would be able to get better now! I was so distressed through the week because I couldn't fix Tim's problems. It's a mother thing all mothers are aware of.

Thank you all, again, for the prayers! May God bless you!

I wanted to add some photos but can't figure out how to get them off the iPad to the blog, so I gave up! I had a nice picture of Tim receiving get well flowers from our son, Michael and family. Then the nurse took the flowers away and left only the Mylar balloon. She said flowers are not allowed in the cancer patients' rooms. Weird!

His head was killing him at the pre-op appointment.

Waiting in the lobby of Admissions for a room.

He even slept a bit.....snoring and all!  I was glad!

He was surrounded with puking aids when I left to pack a suitcase.  When I got back, the fluids had begun!

The beautiful flowers Michael and family sent.  Too bad the only thing that could stay in the room was the mylar balloon.

My little corner for sleeping.  The big lump is a quilt I brought from home to give me more padding on their rock solid "beds."

Our view, storm clouds and all.

Overwhelmed by Your Love

Tim and I just want to say THANK YOU to all of the prayer warriors who continue to pray with us and take part in this journey that we are on.  Was it a journey we chose?  No!  Was it a journey you chose to ride along?  Yes!  Every time you offer up a prayer on Tim's behalf, YOU choose to ride along!  You will never know how much that means to us!  We may never know the benefit we have received from those prayers!

It is overwhelming to think how far and wide across this planet of ours those prayers come from.  Every day making their journey to heaven's ear!  And from lots of people we do not know and have never met!  Our God is Awesome in giving us this family of sisters and brother in Christ to share our burdens with!  I don't know how people outside of Christ make it during HARD trials!  I don't want to know!  I don't have to know!  How could I go back to a Christ-less life?  I couldn't!

Tim continues with the terrific headache and the nausea.  He is not able to eat.  He was able to keep all of his meds down this morning, however!  And the Tylenol eased his headache some.  But, the headache came back in all it's glory this afternoon and the Tylenol did not help and he threw up.  We have a pre-op assessment tomorrow.  I am praying they can give us something stronger to ease the headache and the nausea so that he can keep the steroid down that he is supposed to be taking to relieve some of the swelling and inflammation in his brain.  Actually, I am kind of hoping they will hospitalize him so they can get him strong and hydrated for the surgery on Monday.  That would ease my worry a hundred fold!

But, even as badly as he is feeling, he was able to give me a weak smile.

During all of his cancer journey, this Lazy Boy has been his go-to place.  We bought it in 1997 when we moved from Cincinnati to Buffalo, WV.  It has seen better days.  When he lays it all the way back, the left side is lower than the right side.  He probably spends more time in this chair than he does in the bed, mainly so he doesn't disturb me with his tossing and turning at night.  Just another example of his selfless love for me.  Thank You, LORD, for this man You put in my life!  Thank You, LORD, for the many, many Christians across the globe who are praying for Tim!  Even if You choose not to answer their prayers, Your will be done!  We have been blessed and are blessed daily!

Surgery it Is!

Well, I made the phone call today.  The problem causing the MRI to not be rescheduled is that Tim needs sedation.  They only do sedation with an MRI in another building besides the hospital.  EXCEPT for the emergency room!  When I called and explained what was going on with Tim, the doctor suggested I take him to the ER.  I didn't figure Tim would want to do that, however, when I told him he said he was willing to do the MRI without sedation if they could do it today!  That tells you how badly he really is feeling, even though he never complains about it.

And, we were blessed, because we went right back to the ER without having to wait hours in the waiting room!  AND, Tim got his sedation for the MRI!  Thank you, Lord!

He threw up this morning before we left for the hospital and he threw up several times while there.  I hope he doesn't have to suffer through a lot of that before the problem can be taken care of.

The spot of bleeding had increased significantly.  And then I learned that the spot is actually not just blood, but a melanoma "mass."  I read on Tim's MRI results that it is 3.5 x 3 cm in size.  I didn't understand much of anything else that was said.  So, the problems he has been having are a result of the tumor growing bigger, plus the bleeding causing irritation to the motor control center causing that to swell.  All of these factors in the confined space of his brain, having no where else to go, is disrupting the control of the left side of his body.  I think that is the basic idea of what is happening.

Since the melanoma is getting bigger, instead of just drilling a hole in his skull and inserting a needle to cold cauterize the bleeding spot, the radiology oncologist and neurosurgeon thought it would be better to cut the tumor out.  This does not go without risk.  He could become very weak on his left side, or worse.  I'm trusting the Lord that the surgery is going to be better than a successful surgery and will bring our Tim back to us!  And I know all of you are praying to this end, too!  THANK YOU!  THANK YOU!  THANK YOU!!

Waiting for his port to be accessed.

Taking him to get the MRI.

Waiting, waiting, waiting.

Lord, I beg you to guide the surgeon's hands during the surgery, that the melanoma will be taken care of and that Tim will be back to normal soon!  Thy will be done, O Lord!

Still Waiting on that Call!

YUP!  Have never heard from the scheduler.  Tim logged onto his patient portal for me and I sent a note to the doctor telling him we have never heard from the scheduler about a reschedule of the MRI that is currently set for next Monday, May 8 (our 41st wedding anniversary, by the way!).  I told him I know that is less than a week, but Tim is going down hill quickly and I fear something happening to him going into permanent issues with his health.  I also told him that I wanted my husband back.

Nothing.  We can only assume that maybe the doctor is not in.  However, I am going to call the office tomorrow!  I will have an answer, hopefully, before I hang up!

As you can imagine, I have not really had time to hang around outside and do any bird watching.  The ants have infiltrated the house and I am having to follow Tim around and clean up after him to keep the ants at bay.  But, that's OK.

Tim was restless again last night.  He laid down for a nap at around 1:00 and got up around 3:30.  I was sitting in his recliner listening for his phone to ring.  He was confused and thought it was the middle of the night and wondered why I was up already.  He was up for maybe an hour, was chilly, so went back to bed under his blanket so he could warm up.  It has been a bit chilly in the house all day today.....71.  It was a beautiful day outside after the storms went through last night.  The humidity was very low and the air smelled so fresh this morning!  I think it was supposed to be a high of 75 and a low of 55 tonight.  Nice!

Lori came over tonight to give me some recipes early this evening.  She went to the fellowship hall with me to get the dessert and drinks set up for the men's meeting tonight at 7:30.  So, after everyone got there, we left and she went home.  I went into the house and grabbed my camera just for a few pictures.  It was starting to get dark, too.

One little chickadee was busy tonight.....

Here's a few short video clips of the cardinal and the chickadee.

OK, time to do some reading!  Pray with me that someone will be able to help me tomorrow with getting the MRI done before Monday!!  Pray that Tim will be mentally capable to deliver his lesson tomorrow night for Prayer Meeting!

I Want My Husband Back!

The last several days have been a challenge.  Not only for Tim, but my stomach issues flared up this weekend.  Friday evening I went to bed at 7:15 with nausea.  Just kept on swallowing.  I hate to vomit!  I do everything in my power to not vomit!  I'm miserable during the process, however!  But, finally around 10:00 I fell asleep.  I felt better in the morning, but still iffy.  I only ate a hamburger all day on Saturday.  Sunday, I was still nauseous and only ate a small potato and a bite of carrot from the roast I had fixed for lunch.  Then, through the day I began to feel better.  I ate a BBQ sandwich and some fries for supper.  Today I seem to be almost back to normal.  Thank You, LORD!

Tim's problems continue to worsen, it seems.  He cannot eat anything correctly with his left hand.  The utensil ends up going upside down, yet he doesn't notice.  There were a couple of times at supper tonight when he dropped his fork, yet made the move to shove it into the food anyway, until he realized it was on the table and he picked it.  When he eats a sandwich he is constantly putting it all back together after he drops it.  I know it must be so frustrating for him.  I've noticed his walking is becoming more and more unsteady.  And he spilled one of his cancer meds in the floor and bent over to pick them up and ended up falling in the floor because he lost his balance.  Last night he was up and down all night, restless.  And, there are other things.  Oh, LORD!  Please!  Heal his brain!  I REALLY, really want my husband back!

Here are a few pictures over the last several days.

The pills Tim takes at night.

Down the hatch!

One of the last suet cakes had a malfunction!  I'm thinking a too-heavy bird  got on it and broke it.

We went to Ryan's soccer game on Saturday.  I love that they begin the game with prayer!

Ryan is #5.

Ryan made one goal.....the one that counted.....the winning goal!  The game was tied up with just a few seconds to go.  Ryan was awarded a free kick down by his goal.  The kick was good!!!  WOOHOO!!  Way to go, Ryan!

It was pretty hot while we were there.  Mom put Hanna's hair up in a French braid which helped!

Abby was being silly.

After the game, Brad and Liz treated us to lunch at Applebees.  That's where I had my one meal for the day.

This week's sign.

A note Tim made on the message board.  The "refill" was not too bad, but by the time he tried "steroid" it was pretty bad.  He has tried writing with his right hand, but cannot.

Here is a craft project I finally got done.  These 3 canvases are made to hang together or separately.

OK.  I think I'm caught up!  Someone has dropped the ball at the doctor's office and has never contacted Tim with a new MRI schedule.  I told him he needs to contact the doctor tomorrow because he is getting worse!  He needs to have corrective measures done SOON!!