Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good: for his mercy endureth forever. Psalm 106:1
The following is a letter of update I sent out to my church prayer chain. I thought I would post it here as well in case others would like to keep abreast on my progress toward healing.
Dear Church Family,
As you know it has been a long and difficult summer/fall/winter, but I have much for which I can be thankful. I am thankful that God is good, regardless of the circumstances in which I find myself. I am grateful for God's protection and healing. I am so very thankful for you all: your prayers and concern.
"God never moves without purpose or plan
When trying his servant and moulding a man
Give thanks to the Lord, though your testing seems long
In darkness He giveth a song."
I have been very remiss in keeping you up-to-date on my progress toward healing and I shall endeavor to correct that now so that you may rejoice with me at the prayers God has already answered as well as know better how to pray going forth. I shall attempt to be clear and concise, but as it is nearly 2am at the time I am typing this, there are no guarantees. 🙂
As most of you already know, I have been attending physical therapy 2x per week for quite a while now (I have lost track of time so I cannot say how long with any degree of certainty). Unfortunately, the therapists I must visit are located in Twin Falls which is quite a drive. But they are hand specialists and an amazing group of people. Besides, I have to confess I am really starting to get used to the whole "days off work" thing 😉 so I really can't complain.
My hand has improved significantly since beginning therapy; I still don't have full range of movement (especially in the very end joint of both my pointer and middle finger; movement in that joint is minuscule) and I still run into things occasionally that I cannot do. But usually I can find a way around or just use my left hand. Thankfully, I have always been almost (but not quite) ambidextrous which has made this injury much easier to deal with than it could otherwise have been.
Honestly, I personally find it difficult consider it as anything more than an inconvenience (an expensive and painful one for sure); life happens, God is ALWAYS good and is up to something good, we learn from our mistakes, do what needs to be done, and move on. However, my opinion aside, my doctors, nurses, therapists have all frequently premised or concluded their statements with the qualifier, "considering the severity of your injury..." So all things considered the progress my hand has made is definitely an answer to prayer. In fact one of the therapists has said more than once that he is astounded at my progress; he did not think I would regain the use that I have regained (and he has seen a lot of injuries).
What comes next? I am not absolutely positive. I have another doctor visit on the 19th; I will find out more then; whether I will continue in a holding pattern with therapy or if we will be scheduling my next surgery(ies).
What I do know: I have to have at least one more surgery to repair the tendon in my middle finger. The doctor could not do this repair in my original surgery because he has to wait for the skin graft to heal completely. Now, he is waiting to see how my pointer finger progresses with the therapy. Depending on the movement regained through therapy, outlooks, etc. I may have to have a scar removal surgery to help facilitate healing/movement of my pointer finger. If this is the case, the doctor can repair the tendon and remove scar tissue at the same time. I am also very thankful for a very skilled doctor.
The doctor likes to wait 6 months from the original injury before determining if this scar removal is necessary. Obviously, a surgery to remove scars will also create more scars; it is a surgery that needs to be carefully considered... And avoided if possible (by means of the physical therapy). After this surgery, one must go to physical therapy every day for 2 weeks; I *almost* had myself convinced that a two-week vacation in Twin would be fun... until I heard more about what the surgery entails... but I won't go into that here.
Do please continue to pray:
We have basically hit the 6 month mark; slightly over I think. I assume we will be making decisions about the next steps/surgery at my appointment on Monday. Pray for wisdom for the doctors as well as myself.
Pray for strength and endurance. Part of my physical therapy involves wearing a splint at night... I don't think I have slept the night through for more than a couple nights since I started therapy. Every time my splint stops hurting my finger, they adjust it again. This is a good thing; it means my finger makes progress and is straighter than it was, but it sure makes life difficult and exhausting (hence the reason I am awake in the wee hours of the morning and am typing this now... I thought about knitting, but knitting with this splint on is not so easy...)
Pray for continued safety as I travel: I put a lot of miles on my car every week. Also, I am thankful for the way God paved the way for me to have a newer and more reliable vehicle than I have ever owned before, just in time for me to need it.
Pray that God will be glorified through all this. As Pastor Young likes to say "God is up to something good." I don't really know what exactly that is, but then I don't really need to know. 😄
"Through this dark and troubled land
You will guide me with Your hand
As I stand on ev’ry promise of Your Word.
And You’ve promised to complete
Ev’ry work begun in me—
So I’ll stand on ev’ry promise of Your Word.
Hope that lifts me from despair, love that casts out ev’ry fear,
As I stand on ev’ry promise of Your Word.
Not forsaken, not alone, for the Comforter has come,
And I stand on ev’ry promise of Your Word.
Grace sufficient, grace for me,
Grace for all who will believe—
We will stand on ev’ry promise of Your Word.”
