Monday, March 27, 2006
Re: Foreign Correspondence
How crazy is it that Robert posted exactly what I was thinking? I e-mailed Rebecca almost immediately after receiving her last e-mail to ask her if it would be okay to post her story on the blog. As most of you know, she is in a pretty dangerous area and I don't want to do anything to put her in any more danger than she already is. Anyway, I just received the e-mail okay to post so here it is:
** Note: It's kinda long, and some things are written in code to cover herself in case the government checks her e-mail. I think most of it makes sense, but if you don't know what something is put it in the comments and one of us will translate! (Also, for some reason when I copied and pasted it took out all the paragraph spacing, so sorry!)
Update March 21, 2006:
I'm sure you're all wondering what exactly's been going on for the past few days. So I thought it important to let you guys know exactly what happened -to know that I'm ok and to know how good and sovereign He is. (Sorry this could be a lengthy one, and a bit icky in spots.)
I did have my tonsillectomy on Monday the 13th and it did go really well. I was due to see the doctor on the following Monday for a post-op check up. I had tried to shift it up to the Friday before so I could catch the evening plane and be home sooner. But our Father knows best and my request was denied.
So Friday night I was still in Nbo. The antibiotics were giving me a bit of indigestion and so I was having trouble sleeping. Eventually I dozed off around 2am, only to be woken up by my phone ar around 2:at. It was a text message from Mrs H that she had actually sent at 9pm the night before. (Isn't technology great?) However, as I sat up in bed, I noticed my mouth was filling up with saliva unusually quickly. I swallowed, but it continued to just fill my mouth. I got up and walked into the bathroom and spit into the toilet. It was blood. After only seconds my mouth had filled again. Before I could think I was leaned over the toilet spitting up more blood than I'd seen in a long time. I gathered myself and hurried down the hall to wake the lady I'm staying with (who happens to be a nurse). She came into the bathroom. "You've burst a vessel. Don't worry, it's not as bad as it looks." (She later told me that she saw more blood from me that night than she had during all her years as a cardiac nurse.) She gave me a cold rag to hold on my throat and a bowl and drove me to the ER.
In the ER my bowl was taken and replaced with a bag. The blood was coming faster. I began vomiting blood. Apparently I'd been bleeding in my sleep also and it had run into my stomach. I tried to will it to stop, to close my mouth, but nothing helped. My legs went numb. I realized I couldn't help me.
The doctor came in. An IV was put in each of my arms to replace the volume of blood I was losing. He lifted my head to look in my mouth. He needed to know where the blood was coming from, my mouth, throat, stomach; but every time he lifted my head my mouth filled again and I would choke. I felt bad for him. No one needed this at 3:30 in the morning. After a few failed attempts to locate the source he told me to calm down, stop coughing or spitting. I relaxed the muscles in my throat. An even stream of blood poured out. The doctor took a step back and placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. One of the nurses put a comforting hand on my arm. A chilling thought hit me- they can't help me.
My strength almost spent, I collapsed back onto the gurney. I was rolled onto my side and another bag was placed on the edge of the bed. My BP dropped to 80/50 my eyes closed. I couldn't move or feel anything.
Have you guys ever seen the movie Big Fish? I know in these situations most people see a tunnel or their lives before their eyes. I saw Big Fish. You know the scene where the main character is leaving the town of Specter for the first time and he's traveling through the dark woods and the evil of the forest begins to overtake him. It looks like there's no hope. He's about to die but then he thinks, "This isn't the way I go." That line flew to my mind. "This isn't the way I go!" my thoughts shouted. "L, I know this isn't the way I go!"
My eyes opened. The clock on the wall said 4:15. "She's stopped bleeding!" someone shouted. I rolled onto my back and closed my mouth, they were right. A peace that passed all understanding (most certainly my own) filled me and then joy. When no person, not even myself could do anything, I felt myself in the arms of the Great Physician, the Wonderful Healer. I looked at all the faces staring at the pale young woman who'd just lost almost half the blood in her body, and I smiled at them, actually laughed a little. I was going to be ok.
Soon the doctor was there and OR was ready. The vessel in my throat was cauterized and, after one transfusion and several liters of IV fluids I was released yesterday from the hospital.
So once again I'm shown how sovereign He is. He kept me here in Nbo when I had done my best to go home early. He woke me up with a delayed message when I otherwise might have gone right on sleeping. And, when everything looked like it was finished, it was Him who rescued me, because it wasn't His time to take me.
** Note: It's kinda long, and some things are written in code to cover herself in case the government checks her e-mail. I think most of it makes sense, but if you don't know what something is put it in the comments and one of us will translate! (Also, for some reason when I copied and pasted it took out all the paragraph spacing, so sorry!)
Update March 21, 2006:
I'm sure you're all wondering what exactly's been going on for the past few days. So I thought it important to let you guys know exactly what happened -to know that I'm ok and to know how good and sovereign He is. (Sorry this could be a lengthy one, and a bit icky in spots.)
I did have my tonsillectomy on Monday the 13th and it did go really well. I was due to see the doctor on the following Monday for a post-op check up. I had tried to shift it up to the Friday before so I could catch the evening plane and be home sooner. But our Father knows best and my request was denied.
So Friday night I was still in Nbo. The antibiotics were giving me a bit of indigestion and so I was having trouble sleeping. Eventually I dozed off around 2am, only to be woken up by my phone ar around 2:at. It was a text message from Mrs H that she had actually sent at 9pm the night before. (Isn't technology great?) However, as I sat up in bed, I noticed my mouth was filling up with saliva unusually quickly. I swallowed, but it continued to just fill my mouth. I got up and walked into the bathroom and spit into the toilet. It was blood. After only seconds my mouth had filled again. Before I could think I was leaned over the toilet spitting up more blood than I'd seen in a long time. I gathered myself and hurried down the hall to wake the lady I'm staying with (who happens to be a nurse). She came into the bathroom. "You've burst a vessel. Don't worry, it's not as bad as it looks." (She later told me that she saw more blood from me that night than she had during all her years as a cardiac nurse.) She gave me a cold rag to hold on my throat and a bowl and drove me to the ER.
In the ER my bowl was taken and replaced with a bag. The blood was coming faster. I began vomiting blood. Apparently I'd been bleeding in my sleep also and it had run into my stomach. I tried to will it to stop, to close my mouth, but nothing helped. My legs went numb. I realized I couldn't help me.
The doctor came in. An IV was put in each of my arms to replace the volume of blood I was losing. He lifted my head to look in my mouth. He needed to know where the blood was coming from, my mouth, throat, stomach; but every time he lifted my head my mouth filled again and I would choke. I felt bad for him. No one needed this at 3:30 in the morning. After a few failed attempts to locate the source he told me to calm down, stop coughing or spitting. I relaxed the muscles in my throat. An even stream of blood poured out. The doctor took a step back and placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. One of the nurses put a comforting hand on my arm. A chilling thought hit me- they can't help me.
My strength almost spent, I collapsed back onto the gurney. I was rolled onto my side and another bag was placed on the edge of the bed. My BP dropped to 80/50 my eyes closed. I couldn't move or feel anything.
Have you guys ever seen the movie Big Fish? I know in these situations most people see a tunnel or their lives before their eyes. I saw Big Fish. You know the scene where the main character is leaving the town of Specter for the first time and he's traveling through the dark woods and the evil of the forest begins to overtake him. It looks like there's no hope. He's about to die but then he thinks, "This isn't the way I go." That line flew to my mind. "This isn't the way I go!" my thoughts shouted. "L, I know this isn't the way I go!"
My eyes opened. The clock on the wall said 4:15. "She's stopped bleeding!" someone shouted. I rolled onto my back and closed my mouth, they were right. A peace that passed all understanding (most certainly my own) filled me and then joy. When no person, not even myself could do anything, I felt myself in the arms of the Great Physician, the Wonderful Healer. I looked at all the faces staring at the pale young woman who'd just lost almost half the blood in her body, and I smiled at them, actually laughed a little. I was going to be ok.
Soon the doctor was there and OR was ready. The vessel in my throat was cauterized and, after one transfusion and several liters of IV fluids I was released yesterday from the hospital.
So once again I'm shown how sovereign He is. He kept me here in Nbo when I had done my best to go home early. He woke me up with a delayed message when I otherwise might have gone right on sleeping. And, when everything looked like it was finished, it was Him who rescued me, because it wasn't His time to take me.
