Keep Your Eyes Open And Don't Miss A Thing

Here we are at good old Vanderbilt.  Nick has been doing great.  He has just had some issues with headaches and dizziness over the last few days.  So, we came to the clinic yesterday, and are back today.  There are two theories about what might be going on:  either a drug interaction, or simple hypovolemia (dehydration.)  Even though we have been making sure that he is getting at least 2 liters of fluid per day, it may not be enough for him.  The doctor described it to Nick as if his body were a well oiled machine.  Chemo kind of threw a monkey wrench into the machine, and some spots may have gotten dented.  So, it takes a while for the dents to pop out.

This morning when he got up to leave, Nick nearly fainted. (Amanda fainted one time after an appendectomy.  It was all that I could do to bear her approximately 125 lbs.  If Nick actually faints I will just have to slow his descent to the floor and guard his head...no way I'll be able to keep him upright.)  When we got to the hospital they did what are called orthostatic vitals.  They checked his B/P & pulse in three position:  lying down, sitting up, and standing.  Lying down, everything was normal.  When he sat up his B/P dropped and his pulse went up.  When he stood up his B/P was not being registered on the machine and his pulse was in "danger danger Will Robinson" range.  The machine was registering his pulse at 216.

Let the scurrying begin!  A mass of people descended upon his room to do further assessments and hook him up to the heart monitor.  His heart was beating in a normal sinus rhythm, but it was just so very fast.  Within about a minute of him lying back down, his pulse was back to about 60 (normal, healthy range.)  This really does sound like hypovolemia.  So, we are going to have to keep him full to the brim with liquids.  He is getting a liter of normal saline as I type.

I have had a number of people ask if we were already at home because of the good reports.  The answer is, no.  He still has to be in Nashville until April 25th.  He is taking a number of medications...some of which lower his body's immune response so that his body does not reject the transplant.  Even though he is already completely converted to Amanda's DNA, his body was used to being Nick for 23 years.  So, we are staving off any rouge rebellions.  Because of this he needs to be close to Vanderbilt until the 100 days are finished.  He may get some furlough days at home before the 100 days is up, but only a few at a time.

We have witnessed, first hand, the glory of God in Nick's body.  I don't care one bit what anyone else might think to the contrary.  We have experienced miracle after miracle...no other way to explain it.  However, going through the last couple of days has been kind of odd.  Why is he having these new difficulties?

As I prayed about this this morning, I had a picture of Peter, James, & John on the Mt. of Transfiguration.  So I looked it up and re-read the scriptures.  We have to laugh at the antics of the disciples because they are no different than us.  Jesus led these three guys up to a mountain top to witness a miracle, but as soon as stuff started happening they began thinking with their carnal minds instead of just witnessing something that no one would ever get to see again.  Peter starts feeling uncomfortable and asks Jesus if he and his buds really need to be there.  (Like Jesus had made a mistake in inviting them.)  Then he starts trying to earn their presence by offering to make each of the three Prophets his own tabernacle.  They are obviously feeling out of place.  So, when they actually see what they came there to see, they fall out with terror. (Remember, these three guys had been actually living with Jesus for quite a while before this, and had seen Him do miracle after miracle for them and for others.)  Here are the scriptures that I am talking about:

     Matthew 1: 1-8 NKJV

      17 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by   themselves; ² and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. ³ And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. ⁴ Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us^[a] make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

⁵ While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” ⁶ And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” ⁸ When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

This is what I believe that God was speaking to me through this.  This little bump in the road does not diminish the miracles that we have already seen.  When God shows up in our lives and invites us to see something supernatural, it does not require us to earn it or even question it.  In fact, if we don't just choose to keep our eyes on Him, we may miss the experience while we think...or work...or fall on our faces in fear.  For reasons that I can not explain, we have gotten to witness so much.  So, from now on, when I sense the Lord saying," Come over here and watch this, "  I'm just gonna keep my eyes open, keep my mouth shut, and not miss a thing.  My goal is to not question the good ...or the bad...just believe.

I, you, and everyone else  needs to just BE STILL at times while He lets us KNOW that He is GOD.


It is well!  (So very well!)