Houston

When I typed that title I couldn't help but think of the Gatlin Brothers song by the same name. There was no looking forward to the last day of the tour though! Plans changed from day to day but God was always sovereign.

In the middle of October 2020, my dad got a call from my uncle to tell him that he (my uncle) was in the hospital in Bryan but would probably be transferred to Houston soon and may need to have open heart surgery. Because of Covid policies at hospitals and my dad's upcoming surgery in November (more on this is the next post) my dad couldn't go to see him. The policy at the hospital in Houston was that a person could have one designated visitor for their entire stay. Since that couldn't be my dad, and since we knew he may be in the hospital a week or longer, it made since for me to go since my schedule is the most flexible. My mom's cousin and her husband had a house in Houston not too far from the hospital so I was able to stay there as long as needed. (I say "had" a house because it was on the market and was sold after I left.) I got to the hospital on a Sunday evening and was able to stay for a few minutes. The next day my uncle and I met with the cardiothoracic surgeon to talk about the needed open heart surgery to clear an infection and replace a valve which was scheduled to happen the following day. Bob had a few issues with fluid build up around his lungs and heart so the surgeon suggested a minor procedure to drain the fluid. This would give his body a little time to get stronger before the big surgery. It had to be done in the OR in case of complications so it was scheduled for Tuesday morning. That morning they allowed me to enter the hospital before visiting hours to see my uncle before surgery. I prayed with him and then they took him back to do this very minor procedure. Before I left the pre-op area I met with his other surgeon. His two surgeons were the chief of surgery and former chief of surgery at one of the top heart hospitals in the world! They told me they rarely work together but both were needed for such a complicated case. That news was both scary and reassuring all at the same time. They told me that there was something on the CT scan from the day before that could require this minor surgery to end up being the full open heart procedure.

Bob made it through the surgery without any major complications, but he was so weak from fighting the infection that he struggled breathing on his own coming out of surgery so he was moved to ICU and placed on a ventilator. The surgeons told me it would just be for a few hours, maybe a day at he longest just to help him recover. That afternoon when I was able to visit Bob in ICU I played worship music in his room and read Scripture and prayed over him. I think I played "Rattle" about 5 times in a row! His awesome nurse allowed me to use the computer in the room to livestream Lift Worship (91.3 in East Texas) so that when visiting hours were over and I had to leave there would still be worship music playing.

Bob spent most of the next three weeks on a ventilator. He came off for about 30 hours at one point and then went back on. Most of that time he was conscience. He couldn't speak though so we got to be pretty good at charades! I had countless conversations with doctors of many specialties. Those conversations were verbal, not in charades form :) They debated what the next step in the process would be and there were often lots of likely complications with each option. They debated if and when he should have the open heart procedure. The consensus was that Bob would not survive without the surgery and that he would not survive the surgery itself. It seemed pretty hopeless at times...but God!

I had many conversations with hospital administrators about the ever changing covid policies. The hospital was gracious enough to allow my brothers to come to visit my uncle (one at a time and I could't go those days). That was a huge answer to prayer because I needed a break, and I also needed their help. We were faced with a lot of tough information. I can't tell you how many times doctors told us that Bob likely wouldn't make it through all of it. Of course my dad was so helpful too, but to be honest, there were things we didn't tell him because of his upcoming surgery and treatment. We didn't want him to fear the worst for his situation. He knew the big stuff, we just left out the day to day details.

In all of the really hard stuff that happened in Houston there were also so many blessings. I was able to stay at the home of a family member and visit with them for the first week while they were in town. I was able to spend some time with one of my best friends and her husband. I had a really unlikely source of spiritual encouragement that was a huge blessing at that time. Because my Bible study was on zoom I was able to keep meeting with my sweet group of ladies. Because we were set up for zoom meetings at Encouragment Media Group I was able to attend board meetings from Houston as well. I'm so thankful for each one of those sweet blessings! God proved Himself faithful over and over in Houston!

Next up: The Lord still speaks to His people!