The best possible news we could have heard at this point about Dave’s health came over the phone today.  The Mayo neurologist called to say both his spinal MRI and spinal fluid from the lumbar puncture came back negative for MS.  90% of MS patients apparently test positive.  However his brain lesions are still consistent with MS, so though an official diagnosis can’t be made multiple sclerosis can’t be ruled out.  We will continue to be cautiously optimistic that no symptoms will ever appear and, more importantly, continue praising God through the ups and downs.  I told my close friend, Darlene, today that this whole thing has been a wake-up call.  I can’t expect God to be there for me if I only turn to Him when something bad is going on.  I have to be in communion with Him all the time, every day, good and bad ones.  How this experience has changed me is too detailed to describe in one short post.  I prayed with Dave in the kitchen that no matter what comes next we have to be committed to Christ, working on raising our children in a Christian home.  He will have another MRI at Mayo in three months.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 34

Dave, hunched over from last evening’s spinal tap, happily looked out the window to discover workers were putting in our driveway today.  It was a nice pick-me-up during a challenging week.  His procedure almost didn’t work out as one nurse explained while walking me back for his recovery.  Apparently my husband’s vertebrae are close together and his back muscles are big from working out, so extracting 13 vials of fluid was tough.  Three different injections of anesthesia followed by three different punctures got it done, thankfully.  Otherwise they said he would have needed to stay another day for x-rays.  So we wait to get the call from the neurologist about the findings from his tests.  And we’re hoping we can handle an official MS diagnosis as well as we have the unknown, but praying the doctor would say both tests showed no signs of the disease.  Of course we are thrilled to be back home with the kids.  They’re squeals of excitement and burst of energy around our legs washed away any emotional turmoil.  Thomas stepping into the freshly poured concrete this afternoon, however, didn’t elicit the same feeling!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 34

I am sitting in the same Mayo waiting room we were in Monday.  Just left Dave for his third and final test, at least for this visit, a lumbar puncture.  The nurse said she would need to take 13 vials of spinal fluid from his back, yet she some times takes as much as 30 so this is about half.  Still did not make him feel better.  Of course I have been saying that I had two spinal blocks for my C-sections and how surprised I was that both were painless.  The nurse and I agreed, though, that’s a very different procedure.  Last night’s spinal MRI did not go well for Dave.  His left shoulder is messed up from too much weight lifting, or perhaps too heavy weights, and holding it still for 45 minutes proved very painful.  Add to it the nauseous feeling he had when the contrast dye was injected through his IV and he thought he was going to throw up on himself in the tube.  So he started squeezing the emergency ball and saying, “Hello!  Hello!”  No one responded but fortunately the feeling passed.  Poor guy!  He’s been through a lot these last three days and yet his sense of humor is very much intact.  One more thing I love about him.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 34

Welcome problems as perspective-lifters.  My children tend to sleepwalk through their days until they bump into an obstacle that stymies them.  If you encounter a problem with no immediate solution, your response to that situation will take you either up or down.  You can lash out at the difficulty, resenting it and feeling sorry for yourself.  This will take you down in a pit of self-pity.  Alternatively, the problem can be a ladder, enabling you to climb up and see your life from My perspective.  Viewed from above, the obstacle that frustrated you is only light and momentary trouble.  Once your perspective has been heightened, you can look away from the problem altogether.  Turn toward Me, and see the Light of my Presence shining upon you. (April 26, Jesus Calling:  Enjoying Peace in His Presence, Sarah Young)

More perfect words could not have been written when I went to read the above entry in my daily devotional.  Sharing it with Dave allowed me to deliver God’s perspective to him much like I deliver news stories.  I am just the mouthpiece, but I am taking much comfort in this message.  And so, too, have the comments and emails and Facebook posts from many of you near and far lifted us up at a time when we could melt into sorrow.  Here I sit in the waiting area of another medical building as Dave undergoes a spinal MRI.  How quickly this ordeal is put into perspective when I look up to see a mother with no hair awaiting her procedure with her young daughter nearby.  Across from me is a 38-year-old Christian mother of 4 here with her mom as she preps to undergo another treatment for multiple myeloma.  There is no cure.  Her 8-year-old daughter has had tuberous sclerosis, diagnosed at age 2.  Only recently have her twice-a-week seizures been reduced, once her adnoids were removed and she could sleep soundly.  So  these experiences, perhaps once mundane moments, are so much more profound.  God has always been speaking to me, only now I am listening.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 34

The bad news it looks like Dave has multiple sclerosis.  The good news he has not had any classic episodes or debilitating symptoms.  So the Christian in me is thanking God for a situation that is not fatal, but the wife in me is sad for my husband because he’s sad.  The lesions on the MRI led the doctors to say it’s likely MS at our long appointment today, but a spinal MRI and a spinal tap need to be done to confirm it.  Unfortunately we can’t get the MRI until tomorrow evening and the spinal tap Wednesday afternoon.  Fortunately my parents have the kids and they’ll bring them back to Iowa tomorrow to return to a normal schedule.  We plan to drive home Wednesday night and return to our normal life and if next week or next year symptoms appear that change are normal into a new one, so be it.  I prayed with Dave over breakfast before our appointment that if God’s will is for him to have MS please help us to cope with it and to stay strong.  Again, just as during the weeks leading up to this, I am amazed that my emotional and physical strength have been supersized.  I know it’s because of God that I can cope.  Again, I told Dave this doesn’t change anything for me.  I am still going to be his wife and his partner for life.  Will.  Never.  Change.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 34

We’ll be out of town with my family in Peoria for Easter, so tonight I’ve arranged for the bunny to come early.  The pair above at church on Palm Sunday has no idea the rabbit is rolling out four baskets from previous years for them to re-use.  Two news ones will be there, too, but they’re the store -bought ones wrapped in cellophane that appear to be packed with stuff until you open them and it’s a few things attached to a lot of cardboard.  This will be the first Easter EVER where I don’t gorge on Peeps and chocolate eggs and whatever I can scrounge from my kids.  Still doing high protein and avoiding all sugar and flour.  The interesting part will be hiding the eggs around the house late tonight when I can barely stay awake at ten minutes ’til 6pm.  But we have it so easy compared to our parents.  Pre-filled plastic eggs are nothing short of genius!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 34

I complain about the effort I have to put forth for my job, but it appears to be minimal compared to the output of some single ladies trying to land a man.  Being in a second session of extreme workout classes, I see daily how young women are going overboard to impress guys.  They are showing up to class in short shorts and full make-up, perhaps to get the attention of our 20-something co-teachers–single guys, I’m told.  But the topper, a friend in the 5:30am class said the other day one of the girls showed up with a Bump It in her hair.  You know, those plastic pieces you attach to your hair to give it a lift underneath?  Seriously, a girl was spotted in class wearing it with make-up like she was going to prom.  All this reminds me of why it’s nice to be happily married.  I don’t want to totally slop out, but I look like a scrub in class and on many weekends.  And Dave still comes around.  My thought on all this smoke and mirrors effort is if he’s really worth your time show up with no makeup and baggy sweats.  When he still calls, you’re good.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 34

Had to share the email in my in-box today:

 I don’t mean to be rude Tara,but I think we have looked at that hair long enough. If it is a wig get rid of it ,and if it isn’t ,get a different hair dresser.I think it just looks hideous.  sorry,M.A.K.

I did not reply.  However I will let YOU know that though my hair is very thick and grows tremendously fast, it is all real with no extensions.  My stylist was in my exercise class last week and I told her I need to get in for a haircut as it is getting too long and needs to be thinned out.  As fate would have it, the salon called today with an opening tomorrow morning.  So this viewer will be thrilled to know she wins.  I am changing my hair for her.  By the way, the above screen shot was captured from the 10pm news last night.  Apparently the look that set her off.  And to think I thought I was having a pretty good hair day!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 34

A week from today Dave and I hope to know some answers about his health.  We are going to Mayo Clinic, referred from his local family doctor, after he had two trips to the ER with stroke-like symptoms from migraines and an MRI that showed lesions on his brain.  The prayer support and caring words from so many have helped immensely.  A daily devotional book sent to me from a good friend since high school and her mom has been a constant dose of God’s word–it could not have come at a better time.  I have learned so much about myself since we heard something more serious might be going on in early March.  For one, I am way stronger emotionally than I previously ever believed.  I can count on one hand the times I have cried or felt sorry for myself.  Another thing, my love for my husband is deeper than even I knew.  The thought of Dave sick or hurt made me want to trade places with him instantly.  It should not have taken this health scare to bring me closer to God, but that’s what has happened.  I don’t ever plan to distance myself again.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 34

I’ve been around garage sales for years, as buyer and seller.  Lessons from my latest adventure:

1) Masking tape works way better for pricing than those colored circle stickers.  They are impossible to get off!

2)  Whatever you think will sell may not get a second look.  The stuff you planned to take to Goodwill will likely move.

3)  About 3 hours in, mark some items down.  Unless you want to look at them unsold come Day 2 of your sale.

4)  If someone asks you about it, they’re interested.  Offer a better deal to get it out of there.

5)  If you spot someone taking a hard look at something, tell them you’ll take less to sell it.

6)  Your husband’s once-prized sports memorabilia will not bring the bucks.  My friend sold her man’s framed and mounted Mario Andretti autographed picture for $4 when some guy talked her down from $6!

7)  No matter how crappy the weather, they will come!

P.S.-By noon I’d made around $375.  Thanks to my wonderful neighbor for hosting my sale when I couldn’t be there!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 34