What a blessing it is to be able to tell you of good news on Lea’s continually improving condition! We have just completed her most recent visit to Dr Miller, and gotten back excellent lab results on her blood work. She has gained a total of ten pounds since February, and is now back at her original weight. Even her cholesterol and triglycerides were normal!

This is wonderful news, since she will be undergoing surgery Wednesday morning to receive a total right knee replacement. While somewhat apprehensive, she is looking forward to being able to walk without a cane again, and being able to resume many of the activities she enjoys. She will, however, need to be aware that she will still have some limits in order to protect the artificial knee from undue wear.

I think one of the benefits we will receive from this surgery, is that she will be able to stand tall again, and that will help her feel a lot better about herself. It also will reduce a great deal of her pain, which should help her back off on more of the pain medication and consequently, regain more of her mental acuity. She will probably also feel better about not being able to have her stomach surgery to close her hernia.

Her diabetes is still very erratic with wild swings in the amount of medication she needs to bring it under control. So far we haven’t been able to distinguish a pattern of cause and effect. It appears to us that the pancreas may just simply not be working as well as it did for the first year after her discharge from Hartford Hospital.

We are looking forward to being able to return to the Rehabilitation Center for regular exercise after she recovers sufficiently from her procedure. I feel that all these factors will combine to help improve her morale, reduce her pain level, and let her return to a more normal level of activity. When that happens, her healing should also improve. Perhaps someday she will get strong enough to get her stomach closed up.

Dr Miller had me take a nuclear cardiac stress test this past week, just to make sure I am physically able to go through another hospitalization and recovery with Lea. The test results came back “very good,” so I guess we’re good to go. The doctor earlier had adjusted dosages on a couple of my medications to reduce fluid retention, and that also helped with the stress test.

I am so grateful for every single day I get to share with her I am constantly thanking God for letting her return to us. And, as I pray, my thoughts travel back to the caregivers we were so fortunate to have nursing her, and caring for both of us. I keep them, and caregivers everywhere, in my prayers.

I continue to be grateful to Dr Mah for the care and extraordinary attention he gave Lea during our days in Hartford. I hope Lea’s continuing recovery is a source of great satisfaction for him. He took special interest in her treatment during those difficult days, and we are reaping the rewards today. I thank God for putting us in the right place at the right time to have been a part of Dr Mah’s career, and beneficiaries of his medical acumen.

We have been attending services at Harbour Shores Church a few miles north of our home, and really enjoy the sermons delivered by the minister. We haven’t yet gotten active with a bible study group as yet. Those groups meet at the church during Sunday School hours, and it is still very difficult for Lea to be able to sit comfortably long enough to attend both the bible study and church services.

We are firm believers in the love our Father has for us, and that He is always at our sides. We know that He will always rescue us from every evil attack, and that He works in all things for the good of those who love Him. We also know that much of our ministry obligation is to simply get the word out about how He worked so miraculously in giving healing to Lea in the face of disaster after disaster.

Father, bless your name! Glory to You, Father, for the many workings of faith that You delivered through Lea’s illnesses. We ask You to bless our friends, relatives, and others who are reading this right now. Minister to their spirit at this very moment; help them be witnesses to Your love and power as You revealed it in Lea’s recovery. Where there is pain, Father, give them your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence; where there is need, please fulfill those according to Your will. Bless their homes, families, finances, and protect them in their travels. In Jesus’ precious name, we pray. Amen.