Rough Night and Day

Early this morning I sent a text to Larisa and asked her how her first night in her new home was. About 5 mins later my phone beeps with a response...."Not so good. Been a rough night. I have have been throwing up." At first they were thinking it was nerves and anxiousness, but since it continued through the night, the doctors are not sure where it was coming from. By late this morning, it had stopped and by dinner time she was able to eat a little something. She is still feeling nauseous, but at least keeping food in.

It has been a rough day. They have checked and cleaned everything again today. They have not re-inserted the drainage tube and pump in her leg yet. They have opted to "wet pack" it. When they wet pack, they take gauze and soak in in saline then pack the wet gauze in her leg. We are not sure if and when they will set her back up on the pump. I think they are just watching to see how everything settles.

The wound on the top of her foot and front of her ankle is not healing as quickly as they would like. It has a spot that does not look good, however, no infection has been detected. They are watching it very closely.

We are asking that visitors hold off coming by until Tues or Wed to allow her some time to adjust, get settled and feel better. Right now she is not feeling well and would probably not be very good company.

Chantel commented that being at the rehab center is a bit different than at the hospital. At the hospital, Larisa was checked on very frequently -- every couple of hours or more. Today she did not see anyone come in for about 5 hours. She is a little worried about it, but understands that this is a different setting and if Larisa needed anything all she would have to do is ring for a nurse. It will just take time to adjust, if not she can always talk to someone in charge. They really like the doctor and was happy to hear he was a UVA graduate...

Yesterday, Larisa was asked by the nurses what her goals were. Most people would responded with, eat by myself, use the bathroom by myself or even roll over. Larisa simply said, "I just want to run..."

Tonight was a night of tears for Larisa. Anyone who has ever experienced a challenge that they don't understand, the question "Why did this happen to me?" always arises - and Larisa is no exception. She knows she will overcome this trial, but it doesn't make it easy while you are in the thick of it. Chantel reminded her to pray for strength and courage to fight this battle. Larisa knows that and will do it.

One of the greatest truths I know, and I know Larisa knows, is that we have not been left to fight any of our challenges alone, nor has anyone else. We have a loving Father in Heaven who is very aware of who we are. He knows what we need, when we need it and that it will only strengthen our character. We have been told scripturally that "thine afflictions shall be but a small moment.." and if we endure it well, " all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good." Not something we always think about when things seem really tough.

I think of a diamond -- when found it is covered in dirt, jagged edges, and unpolished. But, once taken to a diamond expert, it is cleaned, shaped and polished to be something beautiful. Our lives are much the same. It may be days, weeks, months or even years later when we will look back at the trial and see how we have been cleaned, shaped, and polished leaving a more refined person. Larisa will look back and learn some of the reasons why. In the mean time, she will continue to look forward and step by step will climb the ladder to the top.