a painful blessing

Well hello there! How are you all? I'm sorry it's been a while since I posted. I've got so much to tell you, but let me start by saying...

God is so good, & His timing is so perfect.

To make a long story somewhat short (I'm not very good at this) Nick had a severe gallbladder attack 2 (or so) weeks ago. He went to the ER in D.C. with extreme abdominal pain. They did a CT, & blood work, but found nothing. They sent him home with 2 perscriptions, & told him to rest. I was worried sick, & just wanted him to get home right away. Something was very wrong, & he needed to see a doctor. Thankfully he got a late flight out of D.C Wednesday evening, & I almost cried when I saw him. He looked pale, sick, & very weak. We should have gone right to the ER, but he refused, & just wanted to go home to sleep.

Wrong answer.

At 2 am the next morning, he was in even more pain. I knew we needed to get to the hospital quickly. Once we got checked in, they began to run more tests. Finally they did an ultrasound, & discovered his gallbladder was in bad shape. It was full of stones, & severely inflamed. By 9 am, he was admitted, on heavy antibiotics, & on a morphine drip. They kept him through the weekend, & scheduled his surgery for Monday. He was inoperable until the inflamation subsided.

Come Monday, amazingly Nick wasn't in any pain at all! Huge relief, but agreed that surgery was the best decision. After a healthy dose of "happy juice" I kissed him goodbye, & watched as they wheeled him back to the OR.Y'all, I admit, I was a little emotional. This was the first time Nick had ever had surgery, & I was just being a wife. They gave us a number to follow his progress on the big T.V.'s in the waiting room, & I anxiously awaited an update. About an hour into surgery, I got a call from the OR saying that there was a lot more damage than anticipated. He would be in for a few more hours. Then I just began to pray.

3 hours later, Nick's surgeon, came to talk to us. He explained that he had never seen such a thing in his life! Nick's gallbladder was black, completely dead, & gangrene had began to set in to his bile ducts, & the side of his stomach. They inserted a drainage tube into his side to monitor any remaining infection in hopes that they removed it all during surgery. If he had not had that attack in D.C. things could have been bad. Really bad.

The following days were just a blur. I stayed with him for two nights dozing off & on in the little hard recliner by his bedside. It was in those nights that I just watched him breath, & silently thanked our great God for sparing his life, & his health. I smiled when his eyes opened long enough to squeeze my hand, & say, "Thank you, Kris. I love you." He won't ever remember the sweet names he called me on those nights, but I will never forget them.

Last Friday he was released to come home, & we were both crazy excited! I'm so proud of how well he is doing, & thankful that each day is better than before. His staples came out yesterday (he is going to have one wicked scar) & has been cleared to resume regular activity (in moderation) NO lifting anything heavier than a gallon of milk for 1 month. Funny how the other night, I noticed his backpack had mysteriously moved from the floor to the top of our huge ottoman in the living room.

Me: "Um, yeah, how did this get up here?"

Nick: "Huh?"

Me: "Nick!"

Nick: "Cowboy helped me get it up there. He's the best little dog."

It's going to be a long few weeks...
Thank you all for all your prayers, sweet friends. Y'all are amazing!

All my love,
K