Saturday, September 2nd - Hello and Good Afternoon -
"Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefuts." Psalm 103:1 & 2 I started this message out with Praise the Lord, cuz' I feel like I can't Praise Him enough for where he has taken me in 7 weeks. The blood analyst has literally saved my life and I feel alive again. I have decreased my blood pressure medication 2 times already, my blood sugars are more normal now and I have lots and lots of energy. I weeded my front yard for the first time all year yesterday (in shifts), but I got it done. That felt awesome. I sleep much better at night at night and feel amazing. Thanking the Lord every day for putting Darrell Wright into my life, cuz' what a difference. Anyway I feel alive again, I feel amazing, I feel awesome, well I think you get the picture. So hey the new spunky Barb is back and around Lord willing to harass and give everybody a hard time. Hee, hee, hee!!! I am so thankful for the amazing husband I have who has supported me through everything that has taken place this year and has never doubted me, but stood by my side and wanted something better for me, so that we could continue enjoying our live together in future years. Take care and God Bless - Barbara (-: (-: (-: (-:
Tuesday, October 19th - Greetings - It has been awhile since I have sent updates, so here it goes. Not interested please delete. I also know I am sending this to several people who have been updated. Again please feel free to delete. I have a centerpiece on my kitchen table that I put together celebrating Thanksgiving. The Thanksgiving message on it is,
"GIVE THANKS" - Unto the Lord we offer now our Praise, for bounties never ceasing, and goodness all our days. Underneath that - Faith, Family, Friends, for these we give thanks. This Thanksgiving represented so much more to me I believe than any other year this holiday has been celebrated. As I look back over the year and what God has allowed to take place in my life. I can only say Thank you for all I have been through as it has definitely defined my relationship with my Savior and brought me to a better understanding of who He is. I believe anything that draws me closer to the Lord and ends up glorifying His name is worth all the struggle. It has probably been the toughest year in my 49 years of my life. One new health issue after another and the challenges continue. On Sept. 22nd, Gary took me to emergency once again this year. I had been experiencing extreme pain on the left side of my chest and in my left arm. The most severe out of those six days I had an overwhelming sense of passing out; pain that was all the way around my chest and back like a band was being tightened causing me shortness of breath. My hand even went numb, but I still continued day after day kind of thinking that one day it would just go away. Anyway it was getting more uncomfortable to lie down and even to sit with my back against the furniture, taking anywhere from 3-5 hours to even pass. Okay so finally I thought maybe it was time to go to emergency and have this checked out. When you go to emergency presenting with chest pain they immediately take you into a room and treat you as if you were possibly having a heart attack. They talked me into staying for the night in emerg., and not really willingly I reluctanltly stayed after some encouragement from my amazing husband. The doctor also said we don't want to send you home if it is possible you are experiencing some heart complications and he would feel better if I could talk to the Cardiologist in the morning. So the pain seemed to pass over night and didn't start back up until dinnertime. I told the nurse about it, but told her I didn't want any medication for it. She immediately called the doctor that had been attending to me the night before and together with the Cardiologist they were down in my room within 5 minutes. Dr. Orvold explained in easy to understand words that he suspected I was experiencing Gastro Esophigial Reflux Disease. This is basicly a very extreme case of Acid Reflux. I have dealt with acid reflux most of my adult life and treated it with things you can buy off the shelf. The symptoms changed and I had no idea that this was coming from that. He explained that he looked over all the test results of tests that had been taken over the past year and felt very confident in concluding that I did not have coronary artery disease and that my heart was very good. That was a load off my mind and Gary and I were both very relieved. He wrote me a prescription for GERD and said that I may still have to tolerate pain for at least 4-6 weeks. I was definitely okay with that, knowing that the pain was not coming from my heart. He also said that the symptoms I was feeling are very symptomatic of heart disease that many people experience and are diagnosed with GERD. Both Gary and I thanked him greatly and were very impressed with the way he handled my situation. One of the most amazing doctors we have encountered along this this journey of mine. Anyway it has been 4 weeks since I started the medication and the pain still comes and goes, but has not become as severe as before the pills. In the meantime I also went to see Darrell Wright, my blood analyst and he has started me on a natural product to help control the acid levels in my stomach. Last week for the first time since this has all started back on Jan. 14th, I swept and washed all my floors in 2 shifts. As I was cleaning my floors I was thanking the Lord that I could do that again and feel a little more like the person I once was. I was able to start waling ouside yesterday, just around the block, but it felt amazing. I go around the block several times which turns into a 20 minute walk. I just can't stop praising the Lord for what He has taken me through. The year isn't quite up so the challenges could continue. But I know the Lord is with me through each one and is my strength especially when I am at my weakest. There are so many verses and passages from the Bible that come to my mind as I am so grateful and thankful for all my experiences. The verses that I am going to share at this point may don't express direct thanks, but they represent to me why those tough times come.
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him." James 1:2,3,4 & 12 May all the thanksgiving celebrations represent something truly amazing to each of you. God's richest blessing and He can get us through anything. God Bless - Love - Barbara (-:
Merry Christmas to you and a very Happy New Year. This has been the most emotional New Year I have ever had. Thinking back over the year and remembering that in March I thought I was living out my last days, possibly not making it to my 49th birthday and now welcoming in 2011. As Gary and I watched the countdown to January the 1st 2011 I told him this was very emotional for me. I made it until 2011 and I am here on earth and not in Heaven yet. I called my Mom and Dad to say Happy New Year and I said I made it, I am still here. My Mom responded back with a very jubilent, PRAISE THE LORD!! That I am doing continuously.
