Differently

Jer took this amazing shot on the day of the Ski Trip.  Since I was unmotivated to bring out my camera today, I thought I would borrow his picture, so that my post was a little more visually fun.

Today turned out differently than I expected.  I woke up early and motivated, ready to call Dr. Carter, the orthopedic surgeon that we had our hearts set on.  After finally getting through to the receptionist, and hearing the words, "Oh, we don't take that insurance," I realized that things weren't necessarily going to to the way that I had planned.

I then spent the next 30 minutes desperately scrolling through our insurance's directory, and hoping and praying that each call I made might result in a doctor who would be awesome and an appointment that would get us in as soon as possible.  After quite a few, "Oh, we only deal with hands, or hips, or knees," I finally came in contact with an orthopedic doctor that specialized in ankles and got an appointment set up for tomorrow morning at 9:00am.  

Then I lost it, called a friend and cried somewhat hysterically for a good ten minutes.  I cried because I was worried that I didn't find the right doctor.  I cried because I wasn't sure how this weekend and our retreat was going to work out.  I cried because my husband's ankle was crazy broken and painful and it just hurts when someone you love hurts.  Thankfully, my mom beeped in, and after comforting me for a bit, finally told me to stop crying because it would all work out, so I did.  Thanks Mom.

A lot of good things happened since this morning, and I'm definitely working to refocus my trust in God and not on my "own understanding."  Jer's ankle seems to be a bit less swollen, but his foot seems to be a bit more swollen, and I'm not sure what that means, but I suppose that I don't have to know.  We have a wonderful couple who is coming this weekend with us and the husband will be able to drive our church's bus, so that is a tremendous answer to prayer.  Thanks to our dear friend who is a top nurse at Stony Brook, we got another appointment on Thursday with another surgeon, so I feel like we'll have options if we need them.  And tonight, we found out that Jeremy's brother is flying out to help us at Breakaway this weekend, and that was a blessing that nearly brought me to tears in seeing the amazing ways that God blesses us, even in the midst of tough times.

I'm really praying that tomorrow's appointment goes well.  I'll look forward to sharing about it and am thankful for the prayers of so many of our friends and family.

Finally, in an incredibly wonderful turn of events, I'm so excited to share that my Dad will finally be going home in a few days!  His levels are good, his kidneys are filtering and most likely, he will not have to do dialysis again.  He's transitioning to one final medication, but the doctors have finally given my parents a date for discharge.  I thank and praise God for His wonderful love and care for my Dad!  And I thank all of those who were willing to pray for him over these past weeks.  It has certainly made a difference and I am just so very excited about how God has worked.