"...He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything." (Acts 17:25)
"Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live." (Ezekiel 37:5)
At the end of February I contracted bronchitis. Three days later I was diagnosed with the flu and pneumonia. Yes, somehow I managed to get sick with all three at the same time. 😕 Two days after that I was admitted to our local hospital into a step-down unit of the ICU which ended up being a 9 day stay. I have been home for two weeks and am thankfully doing pretty well!
Last week I unexpectedly got an email from my Doctor's office with a forward of a summary of the hospital's analysis of my illness. I was surprised to see that in addition to the above 3 issues, they diagnosed me with Acute Respiratory Failure with Hypoxia and Mediastinal Adenopathy. These are just fancy words to say I was really, really sick. While I felt wretched all over, the biggest symptom of concern was my shortness of breath. The Docs had to put me on the highest flow of oxygen possible to keep me from getting worse. There was even a discussion about putting me in ICU and intubating me (didn't end up happening). Mostly I was tethered to an IV pole on one side and an oxygen machine on the other and was not able to wander more than 4 steps from my bedside. I will spare you any more details of my hospital stay except to say that I couldn't have been better cared for by the doctors and nurses who attended to my needs.
My recovery has been surprisingly slowwwwwww, but each day I feel more strength returning and I cough just a little bit less. I'm back in action as of tomorrow, and I can't wait to see all my friends in both sections of Women's Bible Study. And then Wednesday I will retreat back to my couch. hahahaha
For those of you who knew about this, thanks for all your prayers and support and cards and texts and emails and gifts. For those of you who were not aware of what was going on, I humbly ask that you might pick up the baton of prayer for my continued recovery. There are some after-effects that I am experiencing, and I'm hoping that they cease quickly.
It is such a cliche' to say that we are dependent upon God for every breath. But the reality is that it is true not only for our bodily lungs but also for our eternal souls. May God breathe life into us continually so that we always remain aware of His kindness, love, and grace.
