Monthly Archive

I don’t have a lot to report today. Lea woke up!!

Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God!

Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God!
Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God!

Lea was sleeping when I arrived this morning, so I let her sleep. Shift change would be coming soon, and I knew that the oncoming nurse would do an evaluation, and she would have to be awakened for that. So, when Christina arrived and turned on the lights, Lea began to stir, saw me standing by the side of the bed, and mouthed, “Hi, baby.” My heart soared, and my soul sang!

We “chatted” quite a bit while the nurse did her inspection, and then I washed her hair, which she thoroughly enjoys. After washing and rinsing, I wrapped her head in a towel to warm up the hair and expedite drying. Meanwhile, I reminded her that we were in the hospital, and that she was getting better every day, and those types of things. Christina told her it is September 30, and Lea looked real puzzled for a few moments, and then Juanita came in to see Lea before starting her shift.

The word spread quickly that she was awake, and several others came to say hello, and then hurried off to their assignments for the day. Dr. Mah came in a little later, and asked Lea if she was in pain. Lea mouthed, “Not really.” He asked her where she hurt, named several body parts, and when he said belly, she nodded yes, and mouthed, “A little.”

She was communicating with us, and trying to speak to us, so Dr. Mah asked the staff to find a Communication Board, which is a 2X3 foot printed chart with various categories of responses on it, so she can indicate her needs or desires. Things like Bathroom, Read to Me, Lights Off, etc. It is designed so that she can point at what she wants to communicate to us.

In a couple of days she may be able to handle a speaking port on her ventilator tube, if she gets her lungs strong enough. We’ll just have to see how the tests go over the next few days. We will also have to be vigilant while with her, because she is going to become more and more aware of her condition, and is likely to try to remove tubes, which is a common reaction.

I am SO glad to have this next problem! It is a baby step, but it sure seems like a big one to me! It is so wonderful to see those big blue eyes focusing, to watch her smile at all our new “friends,” and to see her reacting to comments. My brother came into the room, and said, “Hi, Lea, it’s David.” She mouthed, “I know,” and rolled her eyes up to the corners to let him know how silly he is. What a joy!

I can’t tell you what a huge relief it is to see her reach this point. I know it certainly isn’t the end of the challenge we face, but it sure does make it a lot easier to face each new day. I am SO excited about seeing her again tomorrow, and to help her work on the ventilator, and overcome her remaining barriers. I know it won’t be easy, but at least, we’ll be doing it together. Thank you, God.

Thank you, loved ones, for your continuing support. Please continue to remember Lea in prayer as we go through these next several days of ventilator trials, and hopefully, getting her back to breathing on her own.

Lea just continues to delight us! She was awake most of the day today, smiling when someone came into the room, sometimes responding to kindnesses by mouthing “Thank You,” other times responding with, “OK” when asked if she was okay, or “Not really,” when asked if she was in pain. She was in and out of the fog of withdrawal, and definitely has the “shakes” more when she is afraid or agitated in any other way, but rests quietly when she has the chance. She definitely does not like to be turned or moved, though!

She was focusing her eyes much better today, and actually had both of them pointed at the same object a lot of the time. She smiled at me when I entered the room a couple of times today, and puckered up real big for a kiss. She melts my heart, but I don’t kiss her, for fear of giving her some sort of complication. She has enough going on! But, once she gets well, look out!!  I’ve been storing up all the kisses everyone has asked me to give her.

Dr. Mah came in this morning to check on her status, and stated that all the reports have indicated that she is once again getting better. Her nutrition levels are up, white count is holding, and she is taking off fluid very, very quickly all on her own. She is really beginning to look like herself again for the first time since she got so sick back in July. He ordered two units of red cells for her today to help her oxygenate, and ordered the respiratory department to try to wean her off the ventilator again.

This will be her third try at getting weaned off support, and we feel that she has a good chance of getting it done this time. She has less fluid on her body overall, and has a drain in her chest to keep fluid from building up around the lungs during the trial, and she appears to be getting past the infection she recently had. All indications are that she should be ready to go. We pray that she will be able to make it this time, and get back to breathing on her own.

She was started on the first stage at about nine this morning, which means that she was allowed to breathe at a rate that feels comfortable to her. The machine was set to force a minimum if she didn’t make that, but she took right off as she always does, and began working hard enough to work up a substantial sweat. I spent all morning putting a damp cloth on her brow and dabbing sweat from her face and shoulders.

As she gained strength in her lungs, and breathing became easier, the ventilator support was reduced. This was done several times during the day, as she gained each new plateau, and she was finally allowed to rest at six this evening when she could no longer make any progress. I’m certain she will sleep well tonight, and then she will be started on work mode again tomorrow morning.

Two longtime friends of Lea’s flew in from Indianapolis today to spend the weekend visiting with her and assisting with her care. She recognized them instantly when they entered the room, and gave them both a smile. Several times during the afternoon and evening she mouthed responses to them, and at other times was drifting off into delirium. The delirium tremors are decreasing every day, and should be completely gone by early next week, if her body is ready to get to the next level.

We are about two weeks behind our projected schedule of a month ago, when Dr. Mah said that we would go to step down if she didn’t have any set backs, which of course, she did. We think we are getting beyond that problem, and should be able to get back on track for getting out of ICU in a couple more weeks, depending on how her body reacts this time.

By the way, a mixed-joy thing happened today. I was chatting across the bed with Lea’s nurse, Janet, who was asking about how we ended up in the hospital so far from home. Naturally, my comments included the details on Pat and Joe, and I was telling her about Joe’s difficulty in getting his medicines regulated, that his heart is still in defibrillation, and the whole story of his illness.

Suddenly, the warning horns on Lea’s ventilator went off, filling the room with a racket designed to get immediate attention. The normal scan pattern when the alarm goes off is to look at the monitor to see what alarm is displayed and then visually check the hoses from the machine to the patient. We both looked immediately at Lea, who was lying between us; her face was beet red, and she was silently bawling, with crocodile size tears streaming down her cheeks!

I was very sorry to upset her, but it was over in a matter of minutes, and she is unlikely to remember any of it. We are, however, going to have to be careful what we say around her, because she is beginning to emerge from the fog, and can be easily upset. I later played a home movie with the granddaughters in it, and she seemed to enjoy it more than ever, although she was in and out of the fog.

It appears that her memory is working well enough to remember friends, to remember her affection for our friend Joe, and to be sad for his condition. Her smile is certainly working! And, there is a feeling of cheerfulness in the ICU as everyone watches with anticipation her latest battle for the next baby step toward recovery. She isn’t alone in her battle. She has a lot of support!

Dave and Dottie are here, as are her friends from Indianapolis, to help me provide around the clock support if needed through the weekend, and David will be remaining here in Hartford for a few weeks, if necessary, to ensure that we can always be available to her whenever she needs encouragement or support. Thank God for those who are able to help her directly right now, and for those who plan to help when we get home. She will need a lot of help during that stage of recovery, and we look forward to meeting the challenges as they are presented.

Thank you for the many kind responses to last night’s update. Lea and I have always had a blessed union. We made God a part of our courtship, wedding, and marriage, and everyday activities. I can’t remember a time when He wasn’t guiding our lives, and He has always blessed us beyond our desires, because we placed maximum value on love, honesty, respect and charity in our relationships with each other, and with others. The relationship I share with her is much more valuable to me today than anything else in this world. I owe her every chance for recovery I can give her.

Glory to God for Lea’s victories today! Praise God for the miraculous healing! I pray for more good days ahead, and to be able to report daily progress to you. Please keep Lea lifted up to God for His healing and protection, as we go into these next few nerve-wracking days.

The following email arrived today, and comes from anguished family members, who, I’m sure, have to be very weary of the ups and downs of the trials Lea is going through, and are venting some frustration with the unknown. It is difficult to be separated by long distance and to be unable to provide support for a loved one. I’m sure this is a big part of the emotions expressed here.

“Larry, Just wanted to ask you a question. You say God is doing his work, but God made his choice to take Lea back on July 16th. You and the Dr. have been changing what God intended. Please explain to me what you mean what is God’s wish for Lea?

I worry when and if she pulls through this and has physical and mental problems what is she going to think of you not honoring her wishes as she has put in her living will. Will she resent you for not doing as she wished or will she thank you for not doing as she wished? I guess this will depend if she returns to a normal life and can resume what she was capable of before.

I really hope for your sake she will be her old self. I just can’t stop thinking what Dr. Mah would do if this were his wife.

Would he leave her to suffer so long or would he have let her go when this started in July. Please help me to understand why you feel the need to keep trying and not do what God intended to happen.

Larry thank you for taking the time to read this and I look forward to you answer explaining this so I can understand what you are thinking. I believe in God and say a prayer for Lea many times a day and also one for you that she won’t be disappointed in what quality of life she will have.

Larry I sure hope things will turn around pretty soon because I don’t know how long Lea’s body can keep fighting. I hope and pray it will be soon. I know you hope the same thing. I printed out the picture that you emailed and really appreciate you taking the time to attach it.

Larry have a good night and I look forward to your next email. The phone updates seem to be getting fewer all the time.”

a. ” Please explain to me what you mean what is God’s wish for Lea?” I believe God’s plan for Lea is to have her reach the hearts and souls of others who read of her plight, rethink their relationships with others and with God, and move them closer to the ministry He has planned for them. His plans for Lea? I don’t know about right now, or for the next few years, but I can tell you that she is going to get a whopping heavenly reward!

b. “her wishes in her living will.” Her living will says that she wouldn’t want her life sustained by a ventilator if there was no chance for recovery. Dr. Mah, and his boss Dr. Kirton, have both stated that she is likely to recover. They are required by law to advise us if there is no hope of recovery. If we should ever reach that point, I would let her go to her reward. It would be murder to turn the ventilator off right now.

c. “I really hope for your sake she will be her old self.” Me, too! So far, all tests, including the brain scan, indicate normal conditions. There is no reason so far to feel that she might not return to full normal activity.

d. “I sure hope things will turn around pretty soon because I don’t know how long Lea’s body can keep fighting.” Me, too! The nutritionist reported today that Lea’s nutrition level is improving, so her body is getting better. She also returned to working on the ventilator today, made eye contact with several of us, actually focused on us, and smiled at several people as they came in to say, “Hello.” (Praise God!) She puckered up when I arrived.

e. You know what? If God wanted to take her on the 16 th of July, or any other day, there is no force in the world that would have stopped Him. I am merely a pawn in His great plan, and am guided to do His will.

I didn’t have time to request permission to use the following information, so I am only going to say that it comes from a minister who provided counsel before I responded. I thank him for his insight and wisdom.

He stated, in part, “(Larry)’s accountability in this matter is before God.

What he knows for sure at this point is that he has entered into a covenant with your mom, before God, to love and care for her. That’s what he’s doing. He also knows that God DID NOT take your mom on July 16th. Quite the opposite, he put her in a position where her life could be preserved. Your dad is simply continuing along the path that the Lord set before him.

While I’m sure there are many situations where artificial life support means
should be discontinued, it seems to me that we’re to use all the means we
have at our disposal – provided by a sovereign God – to preserve life. If
there’s any doubt about which way to go in a situation like your dad’s, I’d
say it’s in the direction of honoring his marriage covenant and honoring
life. It comes to mind that . . . the friends’ advice (in the email) sounds a lot like that of Job’s friends!”

Thank you for the above email message from within our family, because it gave me a chance to do some soul-searching before I responded, and reaffirm my position on these questions. Thank you, too, to the minister for his wonderful insight that helped me gain another perspective on my service to Him by honoring my wife.

Thank you, God, for the guidance I have received from so many loved ones in Christ, and for the strength to follow the path you have laid out before us. Thank you for the blessings we have received; for the healing for Lea; and for always being here to answer our every need. Amen.

Good night, baby. Keep smiling!

Lea had a fairly stable day today for a change. In fact, she slept most of the day. Her blood pressure dropped late this morning, and nurse Chris put her head down and her feet up, trying to avoid having to restart her on medication, but she had to have a little help. It may be because she has been taking off fluid so quickly for the last couple of days, and just needed help to bridge the gap.

Dr. Mah came in early this morning and pulled her abdominal drain out another half inch, with no immediate visible affect. Chris changed her abdominal dressing early afternoon, and she had the electromyograph done mid afternoon. The EMG took about an hour, and Dottie and I had to leave the room so all the required equipment could be set up around the bed. I’m not certain when I will hear the results of the EMG test, but am sure Dr. Mah will be around to see me when he has information to share. Although he was in the unit for a few minutes tonight he did not stop by the room.

The drain installed in her chest yesterday has drained over 1100 CCs of fluid so far. The fluid being taken off is a watery red color, and doesn’t appear to have infection in it. Only a culture, though, will be able to tell us whether there is anything growing in it. The drain will remain in place until her nutrition level improves to the point that her vessels quit leaking fluid through vessel walls into surrounding tissues. Right now, it is a matter of trail and error to find the right balance of medications.

It is difficult to deal with the hour-to-hour ups and downs, and I get so focused on the challenge she’s fighting at the moment, I forget how far we have come. As I look back through the updates at the beginning of the month, I remember that we almost lost her twice in two days when her heart gave up, and twice in the next two weeks when her lungs collapsed from fatigue.

She is still very, very sick. She is still delusional, still shuttering with withdrawal symptoms, still on the ventilator when we hoped she would have been off it for at least a couple of weeks by now. But, she has been pretty stable, clinically, and seems to be busy building up her body’s systems again. I expect her to kick the fever in the next day or two and get back to work on the ventilator. Hopefully, we will see some real improvement by this weekend.

We will keep praying for that miraculous healing, according to God’s will, and that the healing will return her to full health and vigor. Please know that we are extremely appreciative of your emails, eGreetings and greeting cards. It gives me great pleasure to read them to her each morning, and I am sure she enjoys hearing them. I am certain she will enjoy reading them when she is able.

Lea’s fever hung on throughout the day today, although it seemed to drop to low levels more frequently, indicating that she may be gaining ground. Her tremors, however, seemed to worry the medical team more than I liked. They are being very cautious not to let anything slip by unnoticed, and are watching her very closely. I knew the tremors were something we were going to go through, and Dr. Mah should have told them so they wouldn’t have to worry so much! 

They keep evaluating her to make sure that what we are seeing is “just” withdrawal symptoms, and not symptoms of something more serious, like an impending seizure, etc. I did get worried once toward the end of the evening, just after Lea had been turned and situated in her bed. She had a high pulse, 128, and was breathing at 43 breaths per second, all the while twitching and trembling fairly aggressively.

It took me about 45 minutes of talking to her, soothing her, telling her to slow down her breathing, “take, slow, deep breaths,” and rubbing her arm and cheeks and forehead to get her to calm down some. I might have defeated my purpose a little by starting to sing to her, but it was my next best idea, and besides, they say she won’t remember any way. 

So, in the middle of all this trying to get Lea calmed down, the X-Ray team showed up and wanted to take a chest X-Ray. Well, bless their hearts, it just wasn’t the right time to agitate her again, and I asked them if they had checked with the nurse. So, they went to check with her, and she ran them off until later. It’s a good thing! I just don’t think Lea was in any condition to be moved around again.

She had already had a tough day. Her night nurse last night and tonight, Lynn, had given her a bath at around 5:00 this morning, and Lea had slept quite well after that. In fact, she was so asleep when I got there about 6:15 that she didn’t respond to me. So, I let her sleep until about 8:00. Her day nurse, Adam, came in and did a gentle evaluation, and was letting her rest before getting the day started.

Once she woke up a little, I washed her hair and combed it out, and Adam finished up his evaluation of her, gave her medications, and got her out of bed into the cardiac chair for the first time in a week. What a joy it was to see her up again! She looked quite comfortable in the chair, but who can tell? She went to sleep right away, and pretty much slept until being moved back into bed.

She had quite a bit of delusion today, although she wasn’t as active as a couple of days ago. I think they are getting the medication mix closer to where it needs to be. She seemed to be mouthing words in conversation, but also having some uncontrollable mouth movements due to the withdrawal. It was pretty tough to connect with her today.

She had a surgical procedure done this afternoon to remove fluid from her chest cavity around the left lung. This time, rather than just draining it, the decision was made to leave the tube in as a continuous drain. 950 CCs of fluid was drained off again, about what has been drained off each of the four times she has been tapped. I asked the surgeon if we could just install a spigot. Seems like it would be easier!

Later, I assisted nurse Liz, who replaced Adam when he was pulled off to care for an open-heart patient, change the bandage on Lea’s incision. It is healed well enough that the surgeons don’t have to change it. The procedure can now be done by the nurse on duty. The incision is starting to close up and a series of skin grafts from her thigh will be placed in that area as soon as she gets over this infection.

Then, it will be back to work on the ventilator, building up those lungs, and getting them strong enough to work on their own again. When she gets strong enough to come off the ventilator entirely, I feel that she will start the official recovery process. By that time we will be able to start physical therapy, and probably will be in a step down unit for a while before going to a regular hospital room. What a blessing that will be! Glory to God!

She is going to have an EMG (electromyograph ) done tomorrow, bedside. This is a test used by the neurosurgeon to convert the electrical activity associated with functioning skeletal muscle into a visual record to diagnose neuromuscular disorders. The test is another step in ensuring that Lea’s tremors are only drug related, and not anything more serious. We would appreciate your prayers as we take this next important step.

“We are praying for you and Lea. I appreciate the updates on your wife. Your updates are a blessing to all that read them, I am sure. I receive the updates from your Uncle Jack and Aunt Ro. Don’t you worry about answering all emails to everyone who has written. We just want to let you both know that we are praying for you and love you, in Christ.

Our God will take care of His own. And this means you and Lea. He promises to never leave us or forsake us. He loves us so much. It is wonderful to hear how much you love God and the wonderful love He has given to you and Lea for each other. May God continue to bless you and Lea and restore her health in His time. Sincerely, Merna”

God bless you all for your wonderful support. It has been a tremendous blessing to me to witness the power of your prayers for Lea, and for our friend, Joe. Please accept our humble thanks, until you’re better paid. The boss is taking notes, and He’s calculating rewards).

Lea’s fever rose again during the night, and her blood pressure dropped low enough late this morning that she had to be given some medicine to get it up. Later, as her temperature dropped, the need for the medicine declined, and she was eventually taken off it. She is setting a pattern of high temperature/low blood pressure that may be a significant clue into what ails her.

She slept quite a bit today, although she was somewhat alert early this morning. My sister-in-law, Dottie, and I washed her hair this morning with baby shampoo, and she seemed to enjoy the washing and combing, as usual. She was not, however, making as much contact with us, talking mostly to those unseen (by us) persons with whom she has been talking for the past few days.

Dr. Mah’s associate, Dr. Kureshi came in early this morning and said that indications are that Lea is getting over the infection, and the brain scan yesterday appears to be negative, although the staff psychiatrist will do a more thorough evaluation tomorrow to make sure there isn’t a stroke or seizures involved.

Dr. Mah stopped in mid-morning to change Lea’s dressing, and said that he was going to have one of his associates, Dr. Gomez, a neurologist, stop by to see Lea tomorrow, just to make sure nothing is being missed in evaluating the combination of drugs she is getting, and how to medicate her as she withdraws from the narcotics. He is pretty confident there is no problem other than the withdrawal. Right now, if she is allowed to be alert, she has the shakes real bad. If they sedate her enough to control the shakes, she sleeps all the time. It would be good to be able to find a happy medium, and the neurologist can help.

One of my favorite photos of Lea is a profile shot of her taken at Christmas time. She was dressed for our annual family Birthday Party for Jesus, which we do on Christmas Eve. Our celebration includes a family prayer in which we encircle the dinner table, holding hands with the person next to you, and we each take our turn thanking Jesus for our many gifts received during the year. The evening then continues with a candlelight dinner and fellowship, and concludes with a fireside reading of the Christmas story directly from the bible.

Our Christmas Day starts with opening of small gifts stuffed into oversized stockings hung by the fireside with care. If we don’t have a fireside, we hang the stockings on a special floor stand brought down from the attic once a year. The stockings are great fun and contain small items; sometimes fun, sometimes useful, sometimes edible. When those are done, we take a short break for breakfast of Lea’s Christmas casseroles, then on to the gifts under the tree.

One of the traditions we have found ourselves creating over the years, is that we always put the “best” gift for our best guy or gal clear in the back of the tree, so it gets opened last. There is always a great conspiracy between those who are handing out the gifts and everyone else; hand signals, winks, almost imperceptible nods or frowns to guide them as to when to hand out each of the special gifts to the recipient.

A few years ago I was having problems during the Christmas season, and wasn’t physically able to do a lot of the shopping and normal gift preparation for Lea. Since I knew when my surgery was scheduled, I arranged to get some instruction from a good friend on how to make stained-glass panels. I then secretly created a piece of stained glass for Lea well before Christmas, stored it at my friend’s house, and then installed it during the night on Christmas morning.

My “big” gift for her that year was my first stained-glass project, installed in her front door, and a (grand)children’s story written for her about the glass. The funny thing was that everyone in the family had come down the stairs and passed the new glass panel in the front door on their way to the stockings, and no one had noticed it. It was quite a hit after the reading of the story, though, and everyone ran back to the front door to see the glass panel! Granddaughters first!

A few “inside” clues to the story: Eugene is my middle name, Marie is hers, and the friend who taught me to do stained glass was Clint Haley, who is O’Haley in the story.

The Story of the Front Door Glass
A Christmas Story Written for Lea, by Larry
Christmas 1999

There once was a kindly, bespeckled, old Grandfather Elf, named Eugene, who lived happily with sweet Grandmother Elf, Marie, in a big gingerbread house on a country lane. Eugene loved Marie very much. And, he loved the old gingerbread house on the country lane. They were especially happy when their children and grandchildren came to visit the big gingerbread house.

But, Eugene was troubled. Christmas would be coming soon, and he had no money to buy Marie a gift. Eugene wanted a really special gift to show Marie how much he loved her. But, he looked through all his pockets and found nothing but a few coins. He looked under the rug in the parlor, where he sometimes hid money for special occasions, but found nothing. He looked under the big rocking chair, but there wasn’t anything there, either. He even looked in his best Sunday suit! But, alas, there was nothing there either.

“Oh my, oh my,” he thought. “I need some money! But, where can I get enough to buy my sweet Marie a really special gift.” He thought really hard. “I know,” he shouted out loud, “I’ll get a job!.”

But, Eugene couldn’t find a job any where. Santa’s workshop already had all the elves they could use, and it seemed no one else had work for a grandfather elf to do. So, after looking and looking, Eugene started to walk home, feeling very sad. On the way home, he stopped to rest in the shade under a large tree, across from the home of an mischievous old leprechaun named O’Haley.

O’Haley saw the sad old grandfather elf resting under the big shade tree in front of his house, and saw that Eugene looked very, very sad. O’Haley felt sorry for Eugene, and thought to himself, “I’ll bet Eugene would like something cool to drink. I’ll take him a glass of nice, cool water.” O’Haley filled up a big glass with fresh water, and took it to Eugene. Eugene was very grateful, and said, “Thank you Mr. O’Haley. This water is most welcome.” O’Haley asked, “Eugene, why are you so sad?” Eugene replied, “Because I want to give Marie a very special gift for Christmas, and I have no money. I have searched every where, but can’t find a job to earn some money for a gift”

O’Haley replied, “But, Eugene, don’t you know that a gift you make with your own hands, is a better gift than any you can buy with money? Why don’t you make something special for Marie? Maybe something real special. I’ll bet she’d really like a beautiful stained glass window for her front door! It would make the front door very pretty in the mornings when the sun shines on your house, and she would receive the gift of beauty every morning.”

“But, I don’t know how to make stained glass windows!” replied Eugene. “That’s not a problem, ” said O’Haley. “I can give you the knowledge. But, I want something in return.” Eugene was cautious, because he knew leprechauns can play mean tricks.

“What is it you want in return for this knowledge, you mischievous old leprechaun?” asked Eugene. O’Haley laughed, “Don’t worry, Eugene, my days of playing tricks are pretty much over. I’ll make a trade. I will give you the stained glass knowledge, if you give me your secret recipe for shamrock muffins.”

Everyone knew that Eugene’s shamrock muffins were the best in the land, and he had kept his recipe secret for years. But, now, Eugene quickly wrote down the ingredients and gladly gave the recipe to the old leprechaun. O’Haley jumped up and down with joy, laughing loudly, and began to disappear in a puff of smoke.

“What about my knowledge!?” shouted Eugene. “Here it is,” replied O’Haley, throwing a pinch of magic dust on Eugene. “This looks a lot like Magic Reindeer Food,” Eugene thought to himself. As O’Haley disappeared into his puff of smoke, Eugene thought he heard very faintly, “Hee hee! Don’t get cut on the glass! Hee hee, haw haw haw!”

All of a sudden Eugene realized that he knew how to make stained glass windows. The perfect design for Marie’s favorite purple flower made of colored glass popped into his head; it would be beautiful in the front door! And, Marie would be able to see it every day. This would be a really special gift!

So, Eugene took the few coins he had in his pocket, and went to the colored glass store, and bought pieces of pretty colored glass to make Marie’s favorite purple flower. The colored glass was very expensive, and Eugene only had two coins left when he left the store. “But”, he thought to himself, “Marie will be so happy with the new front door glass, I would have gladly spent ALL my coins to make just what she would like.”

When he got home, he tried to remove the old faded glass in the front door to make a pattern for the new colored front door glass with the purple flower. As Eugene gently lifted the old glass, he heard a loud “snap!” and saw a crack in the glass go all the way from one side of the window to the other! This was terrible! How would he ever explain to Marie how the glass got broken, without ruining his surprise?

Eugene thought and thought. He knew he would have to make another new window glass for the door! But, he didn’t want to give away his secret surprise, because he didn’t want to ruin Marie’s Christmas. Besides, making a new window would take several days. And, you have to be really careful not to get cut. Eugene decided to leave the old cracked glass in the door, and hope that Marie wouldn’t notice it right away.

Then he hurried back to the colored glass store, to buy more glass, to make a new window for the front door. “How much glass can I buy with just these two coins?” Eugene asked.

“Only this old white glass,” the shopkeeper told him.

Eugene looked at the glass. “Well, it isn’t very pretty,” he thought to himself, “But, maybe I can make a window that will be nice enough for now, and then I can replace it with the beautiful purple flower glass on Christmas Eve night. Then Marie will really be surprised!

Eugene worked and worked, through the evening, and all night, trying to make a pretty window design out of the old white glass. He was hoping to have the white glass window ready to put in before Marie found the broken glass in her front door. But, before he could finish, he heard Marie shriek, “Oh me! Oh my goodness! The front door glass is broken! Come quickly Eugene!”

Eugene was worried. He didn’t want Marie to know about the secret front door glass with a purple flower design he was making for her. But, he didn’t have the window of old white glass ready, either. Oh, my! What a terrible fix!

Eugene said, “What’s wrong Marie?”

Marie pointed to the front door glass and said, “It’s cracked all the way across! It’s such a big glass, I’m afraid it will fall out and hurt someone. We need a new window right away!”

Eugene didn’t like telling fibs to Marie, but he knew that he would give away his secret surprise if he didn’t answer carefully. “I’ll go see O’Haley,” he said. “Surely he still has a trick or two up his sleeve. Maybe he can fix the glass” So, Eugene went carefully out the door, and headed to O’Haley’s house, where he found the old leprechaun stirring up some frosting to put on the shamrock muffins he had just made from Eugene’s recipe.

“O’Haley,” Eugene began, “I need another favor from you, but I have nothing left to trade.” “Sure, me boy!,” the old leprechaun smiled, “And, this time it won’t cost you anything! The shamrock muffins are truly delicious! They will make a wonderful gift for my grandchildren. I’m making some for all of them! What is it you want?”

“Well,” Eugene started, “I need for you to help me keep a secret from Marie.” He then went on to explain the broken front door glass, and his plan for the two glass windows he was making; one to replace the broken glass until Christmas, and the secret front door glass with a purple flower. O’Haley agreed to help keep the secret, and chuckled, “This is as good as some of the old tricks I used to play as a young leprechaun! It’ll be fun!”

Eugene returned home and told Marie that O’Haley said he would help out with repairing the broken front door glass. It would, however, be a day or two before the repair could be made. “Oh, dear me!,” Marie said. “Well, I guess that will have to do. I will have to tell everyone not to come for a visit. That way no one will get hurt by falling glass.” She picked up the welcome mat, from outside the front door, and hurried it off to the storage room.

Eugene rushed to his workshop and worked all the rest of that day, and through the night, to finish making the front door window made of the old white glass. Later that day, after Marie left to go to market, Eugene took the old, cracked, door glass out of the front door, and carefully threw it away, so it wouldn’t cut anyone. Then he installed the new window, made of old white glass, just as Marie returned.

Marie liked the new front door glass, and was once again looking forward to having visitors. She cheerfully hurried off to the storage room, gathered up the welcome mat, and placed it cheerfully just outside the front door.

Eugene then went back to his workshop, and worked and worked on the beautiful stained glass window with the purple flower in the middle. When it was all completed, he held it up to the light, and was amazed at its beauty. “This is beautiful,” he thought to himself. “Marie is going to be very pleased!” He then carefully wrapped it in a blanket, and took it to O’Haley’s house, where they hid it until Christmas night.

Late that night, after Santa Claus had visited all the elf’s homes, filling stockings and placing gifts under the trees, Eugene went to O’Haley’s house and got the stained glass window wrapped in a blanket, and took it home. He quietly installed it in the front door, and tiptoed off to bed, with a big, happy grin on his face. “Marie will be very pleased,” he smiled to himself.

On Christmas morning, Eugene found a gift for himself under the tree; a big, fuzzy, warm, scarf to protect him from the cold wind. But, there was no gift for Marie under the tree! She pretended that she really didn’t care, and told Eugene how handsome he looked in his new fuzzy scarf. Eugene said, “Oh, my! Look up there high in the tree!” There was a little white envelope just barely peeking out of the boughs near the top of the tree. Eugene said, “I wonder who this could be for,” reaching up to rescue it. Eugene handed the card to Marie, and said, “Merry Christmas, Marie. I love you very much.” Marie said, “Thank you, honey. I love you, too.” She then opened the card, and read it aloud. “To Marie: here is a gift to bring you joy every day the year; your favorite purple flower, in the front door glass. Love, Eugene.”

Marie was just getting ready to ask what it meant, when the sun rose above the trees, and sent a brilliant ray of light through the front door glass, which made a faint purple flower on the floor in front of Marie. She was very surprised, and looked toward the front door, where she could see the new front door glass all lit up in the sunlight. It was brilliantly aglow with dazzling colors, pretty patterns, and her favorite purple flower right in the middle!

Marie couldn’t have been happier, and said to Eugene, “This is the best present I’ve ever gotten!” Now I can see my favorite flower every day, even in the winter!” Eugene smiled, very grateful that he had been willing to give up something that was special to him, that secret recipe, to be able to give something very special to Marie.

And, in the glow of that favorite purple flower made of colored glass, they lived happily ever after,

The End

What a special romance we have shared throughout our years! Praise God!

Lea’s fever appears to have peaked, indicating that the antibiotics are knocking out the infection, wherever it is. She was able to come off the blood pressure medications overnight, and was awake, though delirious. She has been “talking” non-stop, although she can’t make a sound. It would be interesting to know who she is talking too although the nurses tell me that isn’t necessarily so. I am told that you sometimes learn what they REALLY think of you, and that it isn’t always pleasant! 

The regulation of her medications seemed to be working out better today, and her nurse, Amy, was able to catch her breath once in a while. Lea has already started taking off some of the excess fluid she retained when the temperature began rising, indicating that her body doesn’t need that defense any longer. Dr. Mah stopped in early, and indicated that he was pleased to see her white cell count is coming down, and she is regulating her blood pressure without help.

He came back in mid- Day to do her dressing change, but decided not to remove the extra drain from her abdomen until after results of the CT Scan ordered for this evening are back. Removing the drains from her abdomen would move us one step closer to putting the skin graft over the wound to close it up. He won’t remove the drains, however, until he is pretty certain there is little danger of complications.

The psychiatric doctor was back to examine Lea today, and was asking me about Lea’s condition prior to the current illness, any history of mental disorders in the past, and other questions along that line. Boy, was I tempted to crack some one-liners! But, I refrained. They want a scan to make sure that the tremors she has are related only to the weaning of the narcotics, and no physical cause. They ordered a scan of her brain for early evening, and she was transported downstairs at six o’clock. We may learn the results from Dr. Mah tomorrow when he comes in to check Lea, although he will have to get reports from the psychiatric folks first.

Lea was awake for about six hours this morning, talking to persons unknown in a constant stream of delirious conversations. Her eyes were fixed on some distant plane and darted from location to location as she directed her comments to those spots. It was pretty funny, in that every time I thought she was looking and talking to me, she would then look at, and talk to, some invisible person standing to my side.

I didn’t want to agitate her, so I washed her hair with no-rinse shampoo, and combed it out to dry, and then brushed it and put it up with a nice white bow in it. I swabbed her down with damp cloths throughout the day, and constantly turned one over on her forehead to keep it cool. She got Tylenol periodically through the tube feed to battle the temperatures, but was still running a little over 100 degrees when she went down for the CT Scan this evening. Hopefully that fever will break during the night tonight.

We have come a long way from where we were on July 16 when we first entered the hospital. We are now nine weeks into intensive care, and are looking at a few more, evidently. We had been hopeful of moving to a step down unit by now, but have suffered some setbacks along the way that have lengthened our stay a few weeks. Once we get the source of this current fever under control and wean her off the ventilator, I am hopeful we will turn the corner and begin recovery, which will take another two to four months of treatment.

When we entered the hospital, we were told that we would be here four to six months, and so far, we have been pretty much on track for that projection. If we can make a few more positive steps in the next couple of weeks, we might be able to be home for Christmas. I hope by that time I can call somewhere other than this motel room “home.” Although, I must say, this room has been a blessing. It is right next to the hospital, so I can be there in just a few minutes if I am needed. That is terrific! And, it is another excellent service of the hospital. As you know, I have often complimented the medical staff here at the hospital, and grow more appreciative of them each day we are here.

I talked to our friend, Joe Stroup, who was traveling with us on vacation when all this started, and he is doing pretty well. He is still at home, working on getting the right mixture of medications to help him recover properly. He is having to contact his doctor by phone on a regular basis to get help figuring out how to adjust the medications to keep his water retention and blood pressure at proper levels.

He is continuing cardiac rehabilitation as he is able. Sometimes his blood pressure is too low for him to do any exercise, so he is having a tough time getting his strength built back up. As you will recall, his insurance carrier, Signa, has refused to pay for the air ambulance trip home, and forced him to leave the hospital before doctors wanted him to leave, “because he had been in the hospital long enough.” So, he is at home, with his heart still in A-fibrillation, he has the defibrillator installed but not started, and still has a slowly dissolving blood clot in his heart. The defibrillator can’t be started until the blood clot is gone.

Thank you for your continued prayers for Lea and Joe. We have gone through quite a lot trying to get back to normal after vacationing together last July. I’m not sure we will want to take another vacation trip, but I’m sure it probably won’t be together! 

Father, we thank you for the love and support of our family and friends. Please continue to bless Lea with the wonderful miracles you have worked in her and through her. Bless Joe that he might receive the support he needs to complete his healing process and return to his family full of the vigor and selflessness for which he is so widely loved. Be with the families of the sick, wherever they may be, to help them understand the importance of their love and support during the healing process. Bless each of us, Lord, with appreciation for the healing power of Christ’s sacrifice for us, and the ability to witness effectively for You. Amen.

Please find attached, a photo of me and my girl doing what we do best . . . having fun together! God bless!

Lea had a very tough day today, with the infection she is fighting causing her temperature to persist at the 101-102 degree level even with regular doses of Tylonel, and her blood pressure bottomed out again. She, of course, was not able to do any work at all on the ventilator. Barbara, her night nurse had another tough night trying to keep up with Lea’s worsening condition, as her systems reacted to infection and temperature increases, blood pressure fluctuations, and confusion and delusion.

Lea was in no condition for me to wash her hair today, or for that matter, give her a bath, or tend to many other needs. I was able to put a little lotion on the soles of her feet, but didn’t apply it anywhere else since it would just close up her pores and hold in the heat caused by her temperature. About all I could get done was a little oral care, as I cleaned her teeth a little, and applied lubricant to her lips.

Stacey, her day nurse, was kept very busy all day long, as Lea kept altering symptoms from high blood pressure to low blood pressure, delusion, Detoxification Tremors, and adjustments to medications. The mid-level nurse practitioners decided that all Lea’s IV and PICC lines should be changed to make sure none of them was the source of infection. They told Stacey that they would do the procedure “in about an hour,” to give Stacey a chance to prepare.

The mid-level nurses called in a doctor to consider Lea’s Detoxification Tremors, which were becoming quite violent and fairly continuous. The doctor recommended that she be given some Benedryl, since it has been shown to reduce the tremors, and within about 45 minutes her tremors were negligible.

Dr. Mah then came in to examine Lea, took a look at her numbers, the charted info on how she had performed overnight, and decided he wanted to do the IV changeover procedures right then. Well, naturally, the procedures didn’t all go well, and one of the A Lines would not go in at all because Lea is so swollen, so a specialist had to be contacted to do the installation using a special process. It was scheduled for later in the morning, and was successful.

During the early afternoon an X-Ray was taken to make sure the new lines were properly ositioned in the vessels, and then her abdominal dressing was also changed in the late afternoon. So, she has all new lines, and if any of them was the source of the infection it is now gone. The plan is to watch her battle with the infection over the weekend, to see how she reacts to the changes that have been made. Dr. Mah will be coming in to keep an eye on her over the weekend, too.

The plan is to just watch what she does. If she continues to get sicker, Dr. Mah may have to do a surgery. The CT Scan shows pockets of fluid around the pancreas, and they could possibly be pockets of pus. If that is the case, they will have to come out for Lea to get any better. They might be removed with a syringe if they can be reached that way, or surgery may have to been done though the almost healed wound that is still open. That would be a shame!

As I took a break to do laundry while Lea was sleeping this afternoon, I loaded my clothes into the dryer, and then went back up to the room and sat down at my keyboard. I haven’t spent any time playing it for several weeks, and I could sure tell that I had gotten very rusty! But, as I played from my collection of love songs for her, I thought of a recent Gaithers Homecoming Concert we attended in Indianapolis this past summer.

It was shortly after the passing of long-time entertainer George Younce, and they played a video tribute to George that night during the concert. One of the clips was a wonderful piece he narrated, called Beyond the Sunset, which I have heard many times over the years. It very well expresses how I feel about Lea, and I recall that we held hands as it played, and weeping silently together. It means even more tonight. Here is how it goes:

~ Beyond the Sunset ~

Should you go first and I remain
To walk the road alone
I’ll live in memory’s garden, dear
With happy days we’ve known
In Spring, I’ll watch for roses red
When faith the lilacs bloom
And in early Fall
When brown leaves call
I’ll catch a glimpse of you

Should you go first and I remain
To finish with the scroll
No lengthen shadows
Shall creep in
To make this life seem droll
We’ve known so much of happiness
And we’ve had our cup of joy
But memory is one gift of God
That death cannot destroy

Should you go first and I remain
For battles to be fought
Each thing you’ve touched
Along the way
Will be a hallowed spot
I’ll hear your voice
I’ll see your smile
And though blindly I may grope
The memory of your helping hand
Will buoy me on with hope

Should you go first and I remain
One thing I’ll have you do
Walk slowly down that long, long path
For soon I’ll follow you
And I want to know each step you take
That I may walk the same
For some day, some day
Down that lonely road
You’ll hear me call your name

Performed by George Younce & The Gaithers

These are beautiful sentiments, and very much how I feel about my wonderful wife. George’s deep, soothing voice, makes the words even more moving to me tonight. Lea and I have already agreed to watch for each other when we get to heaven, so I know that no matter what, we will be together for eternity. And, that is the best gift ever! No matter what, she’s saving the last dance for me.

Please keep Lea in your prayers this weekend as she fights this ferocious infection. We don’t know where it is coming from, and so we can’t treat it directly. It is a game of waiting to see what happens, and then trying to catch up with it. Without the miracles God has given us, we wouldn’t have gotten this far in bringing her back from the grip of this disease. It is the power of prayer that brings miraculous healing, and we have seen it work time and again. Ask the Lord to continue His healing of Lea, and the perfection of the works to be accomplished through this trial.

Lea had a difficult day today, with some good news and some bad news at the end of the day. She continued to run a fever of over 101 degrees today, and made several major swings in her medical requirements during the night. The night nurse, Barbara, had a pretty difficult time. Barbara had continued giving Lea huge doses of insulin to get the high blood sugar down, because that is what Lea has needed for the last two or three days, when her blood sugar suddenly bottomed out during the night!

Her blood pressure shot up during that time, requiring a medication to get it back down, and for the last several weeks all Lea has needed was something to get her blood pressure up! So, there wasn’t any medication available in the room, and it took a while to get her regulated once it was obtained. It varied quite a bit during the night, up and down, and Barbara was still tweaking it when my sister-in-law, Dottie, and I arrived this morning. Lea woke up this morning when we talked to her, and stayed awake for over an hour! A new record!

During that time we washed her hair, combed it out, and let it air dry on a towel. All the while Lea was letting us know by her eyelid action that she was enjoying it thoroughly. She was pretty sedated and worn out this morning, and indeed, slept most of the day, but during that morning period she mouthed words a lot, and then would fade off, as though dozing for a moment. Then, she would wake again, and start telling another story!

She wasn’t as animated as yesterday, but it still was very nice to be able to interact with her. Her day nurse, Leoni, told Lea to stick out her tongue, and after several seconds of trying, she finally did. She didn’t follow any other commands, however, for Leoni, nor Dr. Mah, who came in at 8:00 to check on Lea. He was not at all happy with the events of the night, did a pretty thorough examination of her, and requested an abdominal cat scan as soon as possible.

She was too sick to do much with today, and was not a candidate for getting in the cardiac chair. She could not work on the ventilator at all again, and probably will not until she is past this infection. All new cultures were taken today and sent off to the lab to see what bugs grow. We won’t know the results, though, before the weekend.

She was taken down to the cat scan room in her own bed, staffed by two transporters, a respiratory therapist, and her nurse, Leoni, at about two o’clock. She returned just before three, and we were allowed back in her room at about three thirty, after she had been “settled” in. That’s nurse talk for being cleaned up as necessary, and all medications and ventilator hooked up.

The good news was that the cat scan didn’t show any problems at all. In fact, those little pockets of fluid I mentioned earlier seem to have reduced in size. The bad news is that the cat scan didn’t show the cause of her current fever, nor any significant localization of infection. I didn’t see Dr. Mah after Lea came back to the room, but don’t expect that he’ll be very happy with the cat scan results.

Meanwhile, the Ativan medication is continuing to be reduced. We are down to .32 ml/hr now, while the Dilaudid remains at 1.5 ml/hr. Dilaudid will remain at that level for the foreseeable future, because it is the pain medication. The Ativan is the sedative, and Lea is suffering the DTs from withdrawal. Her body shudders uncontrollably as though she feels a deep shiver. Sometimes it starts at her head and works its way all the way down to her feet, and other times we just see it in her hands and feet.

So, she is coming off the narcotic sedative, and is being sedated with Thorazine to dampen the effects of the DTs. It will take at least a week to get all the Ativan out of her system after she is weaned completely off of it, and we will see the DTs get worse before they get better. We may experience those for a couple of weeks as they continue the weaning process. If necessary, she will be strapped to the bed to protect her from injury. Prepare yourself. Steel your nerves.

Lea is putting on weight again, as she is retaining water in her body. This is a natural reaction of the body when it gets a general infection, and she is getting visibly puffier each day. Her kidneys are working fine, but her circulatory system is letting fluid out through the vessel walls into surrounding tissue, in order to diffuse the effects of the infection. As I look at her pretty face puffing up again, my heart just has to go out to her.

She has been amazingly resilient through this whole thing, and has strength and reserve strength that just keeps welling up to carry her further through this battle. I know that if we switched positions, she would be doing the same thing for me that I am doing for her, doting, tending, supporting and caring. And, yet, as I look at her face while she is so heavily sedated I wonder if there is anything else I can do for her. The delusion she feels when she awakes is heartbreaking. The periods of panic are worse! What to do? What to say? How do you calm?

The Lord is teaching me some pretty tough lessons right now, and I know that I am up to learning them, or He would let Lea get well right now so we could go home. I just hope I’m not too thick headed, and learn quickly, for Lea’s sake. Thank you for your continuing prayers and good wishes on our behalf. Please know that every single note and email is appreciated. When we get past this experience we will make it a point to respond to everyone individually. Please forgive us that we don’t respond until that time.

Another day of mixed blessings. We had a glorious moment this morning, amidst a day of trials and problems. When I arrived at the hospital room, Lea was laying on her bed, eyes wide open, looking at the ceiling, eyes darting from side to side, and she was mouthing words so fast, it was like she couldn’t say things fast enough. I was elated. As I entered the room, I did my usual, “Good morning, darling, How’s my girl?” She fixed her eyes on me, mouthed something that might have started with an L (such as Larry?), and then puckered up real big!

Before I could catch myself and bend over to kiss her, she was off mouthing a whole string of things again. It didn’t matter; I was overwhelmed with delight. I have a pretty low entertainment threshold.  It was then I began to realize that she was in panic mode. She was breathing on her own, with the ventilator in support mode if she needed it. Her pulse was up above 135 and her breathing rate was 35-43 breaths per minute. Both are too high. She was sweating, and her body was hot to the touch.

The night nurse, Moira, was with her other patient, so I tried the tricks I have learned to help Lea calm down. I began talking to her in a steady stream about anything that came to mind, put a cool washcloth on her forehead, and used another to swab down all exposed parts of her body. I removed the stockings from her calves so I could cool her legs, and turned the fan on her continuously. After working with her for about 30 minutes, she began to slow down very slightly. Her pulse dropped to 128 and she was breathing about 30 breaths per minute. Still not good enough.

I began to realize then that she was delirious. I hadn’t seen it before, so I didn’t know what it was, nor what to do about it. I started to sing to her, since I had run out of things to talk about, all the while keeping her swabbed down with a cool cloth. About fifteen minutes later her day nurse, Leoni, came in to do her regular start-of-shift analysis of Lea’s condition. She and I discussed Lea’s condition, and agreed that she needed to come off work mode, although she had started less than an hour previously.

She talked to the nurse practitioner on duty who authorized changing the order for work mode from Dr. Mah to rest mode. Once Lea was in rest mode, I was able to coax her into a calmer state in about another hour of talking/singing and reading to her. Because she was running a fever in excess of 101, her pulse rate remained high, but her breathing rate returned to just above normal with full ventilator support.

I just imagined what she must have felt like, coming up out of a sleepy stupor, in relative darkness, with no one around, to find herself having a hard time breathing. It probably feels like having a boulder lying on your chest, and certainly must be an extremely frightening and lonely feeling. I just had to silently weep. Silently so I don’t upset her. And, then, pile on top of that the delirium she feels coming through withdrawal from the narcotics. I am SO sorry for her! I am just absolutely devastated when I think about all she is going through. I am amazed that she can do it. I’m not certain I could.

She continued to have a rough day for the rest of the day. She is receiving antibiotics to battle the latest infection induced fever, additional albumin to keep her fluid levels up, and medication to reduce the fever. She was too sick to get into the cardiac chair today, and was heavily sedated at the end of the day to reduce her agitation and let her rest during the night. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day. (Please, Lord).

This morning, as I was talking and singing to Lea, I realized at one point that I was singing a tune I was writing for her a few years ago and never finished. It surprised me that I was singing it, because I hadn’t thought about it for such a long time. In fact, I couldn’t even remember all of it. But, I wondered if I still had a copy on the computer somewhere. I had started writing it one summer a few years ago but got proposed Christmas gift for her, but got discouraged. My purpose in writing it was to get it recorded as a song and give it to her as a tribute on Christmas morning.

I’m not a poet, nor a musician, nor a vocalist, so I had set out for my self an impossible task. Nonetheless, I thought I would go back and look on an old hard drive I had in the drawer to see if I could find that old text and maybe revise it. Long story short; I found it. I had left it on the hard drive, and even, unknowingly, created a backup of it. As I read it, I realized that I need to share it. Lea has not seen it yet, as it is just a work in progress that never got finished. But, still, it expresses a lot about our relationship with each other and through each other.

Whispering Truth

I loved you when you were fifteen,
Pretty little girl, right out of my dreams.
Pony tails, bubble gum, and high heel shoes,
We shared a love that still is true.

You left your dolls to become my girl,
And filled my heart with laughter and curls.
Drive in movies, the old camp, and root beer floats,
Made sweet memories that we still boast.

You were my prom night teenage queen,
That’s when I heard wedding bells ring.
We joined together to become just one,
To brave the world and raise two sons.

It’s the whispering truth,
Love you in a hundred ways.
Whispering truth,
I love you more each day.

We struggled through life’s many twists and turns,
Our children taught me to love unreserved.
And gave back joy and gladness times ten,
God’s gift to those who love and serve Him,

Our sons have now grown to proud young men,
and, darling, you’re more beautiful than then.
You’re still that pretty little teenage queen,
Your love has fulfilled my heart’s dreams.

Thank you my angel, for a life divine,
All life’s bounty that you made mine.
You have always given me love, love, love.
I thank our loving God for the gift of you.

It’s the whispering truth,
I love you more each day.
Whispering truth,
Love you in a thousand ways.

I whisper in your ear . . .
I love you in every way.
Whispering truth,
I love you more each day.

I know it isn’t particularly good, but it’s an old romantic’s declaration of love for a person who has been the center of his life for the biggest part of his life. In case you can’t tell, she still wows me.

Father, thank you for the glimpse of the wonderful spirit in Lea You gave me this morning! Thank you, Father, for putting her in my life. I pray for the privilege of serving You with her in the years to come, and I also ask You to bless my friends and relatives who are reading this prayer. Show them a new revelation of Your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through Your grace. Where there is need, I ask You to fulfill their needs. Bless their homes and families with the peace and love that come from inviting You into their hearts and lives. In Jesus’ precious name. Amen. Good night, angel!