Anniversary

Anniversaries are interesting things.  They invite you to celebrate today by looking back at yesterday.  Anniversaries are the stopwatches of our milestones – they help us mark time and determine progress.  Over the past month, we have had a few anniversaries as a family:

• On August 18, we celebrated the 39th anniversary of my birth.  This year marks a tipping point in my life.  I have now lived 20 years away from “home,” as I moved away to college right at the time of my 19th birthday.
• On August 24, we celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary, and really the 20th year (give or take those awkward “break-up” months in 1993-94) of our being together as a couple.  We have seen God do so much together and I am so blessed to have such a wonderful wife and best friend.
• Today, August 30, we are celebrating our one month anniversary of kidney transplant.  In some ways this past month feels like it has flown by.  In other ways, I feel like time has moved like cold maple syrup — so much has happened.  On a day like today, we cannot help but look back to “yesterday” as we celebrate God’s faithfulness.

“Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable.  One generation shall commend Your works to another and shall declare Your mighty acts.  On the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works, I will meditate.  They shall speak of the might of Your awesome deeds, and I will declare Your greatness.  They shall pour forth the fame of Your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.” (Psalm 145:3-7)

Here is hoping the fame of God is spread through His work in our family over the past month. . . we have tried to meditate on His wondrous works and mighty acts and commend them into words for all of us now, and for Joshua and his family in future generations.

As we reflect on this anniversary, we still have a few of His awesome works to proclaim and a few prayer requests to offer for both Kimberly and Angie post transplant:

His Awesome Works:

• Initially, we were thinking that we wanted to have the surgery after school started.  Sitting here on the verge of September with the surgery in the rearview mirror, I can honestly say God was SO GOOD to allow us to have the surgery when He did.  As an added bonus both Kimberly and Angie were able to help see their children off to school for their first days.  God’s plans are always right on time!
• Both Kimberly and Angie are feeling much more “like themselves” now.  They are both able to take walks, are gaining more energy every day, and just feeling more normal.  Praise God this has happened so quickly!
• It is still amazing to me that Angie’s two kidneys are providing more than adequate coverage for TWO PEOPLE!  I know this is the whole goal of a transplant, but it still amazes me when I think about it.
• Angie is cleared to pick up her two year old again tomorrow for the first time since surgery . . . a major milestone!  What a great thing that will be for mother and child, and it will also allow Darrell and Kaye (Kimberly and Angie’s mom and step-dad) to head home after providing support the past month.  I know they will LOVE sleeping in their own bed again.

Continued Prayer For Kimberly

• Pray for the hematoma (the blood that pooled in her abdomen in the bleed right after surgery) would dissipate over the days and weeks ahead.  It still causes some discomfort and we look forward to the time that this is no longer a problem.
• Pray for the trach site to fully heal and to look good after it heals.  The trach was removed two weeks ago, and the wound has been closing naturally over the past 14 days.  Please pray that it fully heals soon and does not leave a large or problematic scar.  Pray that no scar revision surgery will be necessary this time around.
• Pray for continued good kidney function and no rejection events.  So far so good in these areas!  Pray that it stays that way.
• Pray that everyone in our family would not get sick this fall . . . especially Kimberly.  With her on immun0-suppression medications, she is much more susceptible to getting sick.  This is the reason for her isolation right now.  Pray that Josh and I would stay healthy and not bring illness into the home, and if we do that God would protect Kimberly from catching anything.

Continued Prayer For Angie:

• Pray for her pain. She still has back pain, some phantom pain in the kidney site, and is still not able to stand comfortably completely upright.  Pray that this goes away very soon.
• Pray That God would greatly bless Angie and her family for the sacrifices they have made.