Going Home

Tina took it very easy yesterday - lots of naps. We were surprised last night when the neurosurgeon informed us that we were clear to go home anytime. He even said if we wanted to go home last night we could, but given the fact that she still had a PIC line in her arm and it was 6:00pm and we wouldn't get home until well after mid-night, we decided to take it slow and wait until today to go home.

We're taking it very slow again this morning. Tina had her PIC line taken out earlier this morning, and she also needed a haircut. When she went into her last surgery her hair had grown so much that they needed to shave her head again, but rather than shaving her head they simply shaved around where her incision was. The part of her hair that wasn't shaved was about an inch long so, as you can imagine, it made for a pretty rough look. I told the neurosurgeon to stick to surgery because barbering was not his cup of tea. To which he said, "well if after four brain surgeries the worst thing that comes out of it is a bad hair cut, I'd say you're doing pretty good." I guess I'll give him that one. At any rate we just ended up shaved the rest of her hair off this morning.

The neurosurgeon's nurse came in this morning and gave us Tina's discharge orders and the epileptologist also stopped in to say good bye. The good news is that we're going to be able to do Tina's surgical followup with a neurosurgeon in Grand Rapids, and the epileptologist has also agreed to do Tina's neurology followup himself when he makes his visits to St. Mary's in Grand Rapids. Interestingly enough the neurosurgeon that will do Tina's followup in GR is the epileptologist's son who studied with Dr. Miller (the neurosurgeon who did all of Tina's surgeries) and Dr. Miller feels very comfortable turning Tina over to him.

As of right now we're clear to leave any time, but as much as we would love to bust out of hear right now we've decided to take it slow. Tina is feeling very tired this morning and so she's going to take a good long nap and eat lunch here at the hospital then we'll probably hit the road mid-afternoon.

Please continue to pray for Tina as she is very tired. After four surgeries, which means four times under general anesthetic in four weeks, Tina is pretty wiped out. Sitting in bed for four weeks with very little movement has also made her quite weak. Walking into the bathroom this morning, Tina got very dizzy and needed to get back into bed. Please also pray for her continued healing as there is still risk of infection and other complications over the next month or so. It's going to take a while for Tina to get back to a normal activity level which might be difficult for our kids to understand. Tina's mom is going to come and stay with us next week since I need to get back to work while I still have a job, so hopefully she can help out with the kids so Tina can continue to rest and heal.

It's hard to believe that we are near the end of this phase of our journey. Although we are going home without the solution that we were hoping for we don't feel like it has been a waste. God has used this time to deepen our marriage, deepen our relationship with him, and to shine truth to those that have cared for us here. Although we may never fully understand this untraceable path that we are on, we can see some of the amazing ways that God has done some very positive things.

As we head home we recognize that our journey is not over. As much as ever we remain on that untraceable path. We would not have chosen this path, we don't understand all of God's purposes in it, nor do we know why he wouldn't allow for Tina to have a surgery that would treat her seizures, yet we do know that God has proven that he is good, that he is loving, and that he is sufficient for us. His paths may be untraceable but we know that wherever it leads it is exactly where we need to be.

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!

Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?

Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?

For from him and through him and to him are all things.

To him be the glory forever! Amen.

- Romans 11:33-36

It is our great desire that through this experience we have brought glory to God. My hope is that you have seen God's glory through this blog and that your focus has been turned toward him, not Matt and Tina.

I will likely continue to post updates to this blog that may or may not pertain specifically to Tina and her health, but I did want to thank everyone who has followed our journey over the past month and offered their thoughts, prayers, encouragement, and wisdom - it has helped us immensely while we have been isolated here in Cleveland. Words cannot express our gratitude for you.