God's Grace is Sufficient

"To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." II Corinthians 12:7-10 "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Galatians 6:14

Yes it is August 30th and I am finally getting back to updating my story. I posted this photo of Gary and I because it speaks volumes to me after everything we have been through the past year. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, or in our case 19 years of wedded bliss.

Let me go back to March 2nd - 13th where I was hospitalized for high blood pressure. After sorting out my medications I was able to be discharged from the hospital. It seemed like life was much the same at home the months following my discharge. Alot of patience waiting for my health to improve, others coming and cleaning, cooking and taking care of laundry and groceries, while Gary went to work. I am so thankful and grateful for my mother and her continued sacrifice of herself to look after us and our household duties. There were still plenty of doctor appointments, medication adjustments and me trying to figure things out. Little by little I was getting stronger and able to cook a meal here and there and even go downststairs to do a load of laundry. Eventually I was able to keep up with most of the household chores at my pace, and that wasn't very speedy. Washing floors, dusting and cleaning bathrooms required alot more strength and energy than I had, so I still had others doing that for me.

July started off a whirlwind of summer events that tested my strength, perseverance and confidence level in myself. Instead of our yearly summer Amendt family hottub party we tried a new adventure and headed out to Pike Lake. We had reserved cabins and campsites early in January for a three day weekend in July. Packing food, clothes, bedding and all the things needed for camping was only the beginning of the challenges for me. Starting to organize and pack well ahead of time helped to keep me from becoming overwhelmed with the whole camping process. Once to the lake I wanted to challenge myself with as much walking as I could do, which wasn't very much, but knew it would help with the healing process. Again success on so many levels. Up early and visiting late into the evening, going for small walks with the nieces and nephews, and sisters, helping out a little with meals and even packing all up again when we headed home. It turned out to be an awesome week for the Amendt family camping trip and looking forward to the Pike Lake adventure again next summer.

The 2 weeks prior to Pike Lake I was able to go on IV antibiotics for my lungs again, which in turn gave me an extra added boost to enjoy our time at the lake. Ten days was as many days as I could tolerate this time round with the meds. We had to go three times to emergency in ten days to get my IV restarted, so after ten days I pulled the last needle out and called it a done deal. My arms and hands were sore and bruised from IV's that failed within minutes of being tried and from the many tubes of blood that had to be taken from me on at least 4 different days in the ten day period. Finally enough is enough. It did help somewhat, but not as much as I was used to in the past.

In the months leading up until July I was getting stronger little baby steps at a time, but I started noticing I couldn't eat as much as I should be, because I felt full all the time. Eventually going to the bathroom was becoming more and more difficult. It seemed that I was feeling more pressure in my abdomen over time and then my clothes around my waist weren't fitting properly. Oh sure at first thought it sounds like I was just gaining weight, but I felt more like something was growing inside of me. Before you all start thinking wierd things let me clear your thoughts - No Chance of Pregnancy - didn't even cross my mind. Throughout the month of July it seemed like the pressure was getting worse and it seemed like I couldn't go to the bathroom anymore. Gary did not like the fact that I wasn't eating anything, or at least as good as nothing. My mom had given me the name of a blood analyst about a month earlier, so after alot of encouragement from my husband I finally agreed to call and set up an appointment with him. July 22nd I met with Mr. Darrell Wright who works with natural products and colon/liver cleansing here in Saskatoon. Thank the Lord for sending me to a man with his ability. After Gary and I felt the doctors had done all they could and were going to do I was basicly on my way to dieing. I thought I would never see my 49th birthday. A very hopeless, skeptical Barbara entered an office, but left with hope and a chance at living again.