Any last requests?

The other day a friend asked on Facebook what song would you want to be the last song you would hear if you were told your time was up. I generally scroll right passed those kind of questions. This time I didn't. 

I LOVE music. What an interesting question. I looked to see what other people posted. The typical answers you would think were there: Amazing Grace, I Can Only Imagine, It Is Well With My Soul. All of those are great songs. And this is a very personal question with no right or wrong answer of course. 

So for me I don't think I can pick just one song. I think immediately of three songs. I know, breaking the rules even when I'm dying. Lol. 

First--I think of Somethin In the Water by Carrie Underwood. That's me. I don't know how it happened. I was blind and now I see. Things growing up for me were crazy. I think I was in survival mode most of my life. And then Jesus came in and I started living. Must have been something in the water. 

Second--How He Loves by David Crowder is next. It is really important to me that people KNOW that Jesus loves them. Plain and simple. Raw and beautiful. Broken and bleeding. In their sin. He loves them. Like a mother loves her child that she begs God to save on her knees is how Jesus loves us. That whole ugly cry with snot and red puffy face thing. Yet while we are sinners doing everything we know is killing us. He loves us. Yeah. I have to add that one. 

And last, third, Thank You by the Katinas. Oh man. How do I thank Him for all of this? For my kids, for a husband who is ever patient with this hot headed wife, for parents that tried and loved me thru some crazy times. For all of my family that I have laughed with. And my best friends who will hold my secrets even when I'm not with them anymore. Because I have truly known love. And though I haven't had the easiest life, I have had the best life for that, Let my last words be Thank You Jesus!!!

A Minor Surgery

For the last 15 months we have been dealing with a perforation in Addison's ear. And when I say dealing, I mean lots of doctors visits, four surgeries, more bottles of ear drops and goop than I care to remember and lets not talk about the amount of popsicles that I--I mean she has eaten. Through all of it, Addi is has been a trouper. Rarely complaining about what she has to do unless the medicine is yucky.

We have remade her ear drum twice, then had her tonsils and adenoids removed. Today was just supposed to be a minor surgery. Just go in and clean everything really well and get a good look around while Addi is asleep which would let Dr. Beck see where the hole is. A MINOR SURGERY. Five minutes. Put her to sleep do the procedure and wake her up. No intubation. No IV.

Getting into the operating room is always a challenge. After walking this block a few times you find the best route. For us it's taking Versed. It makes her loopy enough that though she doesn't go totally out, it makes her not remember. She is fine as she rides her chariot (gurney) and waves to her subjects as she's taken to the operating room. Addi uses her magic powers to open doors by just waving her hand over the buttons. She is the princess. And all is well until they turn the corner into the operating room. Then, the sweet princess turns into Atilla the Hun. No one is quite sure how so much power is packed into a six year old. I sincerely hope that those in the room get their hearing back soon.

Then as Frozen's Elsa belts out 'Let it Go' over the sound system the mask is placed over my screaming child's face as she screams and gasps large gulps of air and is out cold.

About ten minutes later she's brought back to us. Dr. Beck comes with her and explains how the graft is bowed in the center with the hole and that it was good we caught it before it bonded to the middle ear.

Just as she is saying this she looks at sleeping Addi and asks the anesthesiologist what Addi is trying to do. I look over and she is slightly laboring in her breathing. They say she is gunky and come over to suction her.

That moves to Addi starting to kind of jerk in a motion trying to cough but she is asleep and nothing is happening. And the worst part is she has a terrible purple color. The anesthesiologist starts to get a green bag out to bag her and suction her. When he asks for an oral airway, I ask if maybe we should step out. Not that I don't want to be there for my child but my time working in the emergency room I know that medical people are much better and more efficient if the family aren't in the room. And lets face it, not a chance I am ready to watch my child be intubated.

They say "Yeah, maybe to give us more room."

The next 10 minutes was a flurry of 5-7 people going quickly in and out of our daughters room as they got more equipment and called this person or that person and as they flew by us asking us if we needed coffee or anything.

In the end, they got her cleared and accidentally over inflated her to about nine months pregnant (oops) and then had to get some of the air out. She got her favorite, an IV, incase they needed to give more meds and mommy got the scare of her life.

Or did I? While this was all happening I knew that we had a village praying. I knew that God had the best people STILL in the room when the crisis happened. Dr. Beck AND the anesthesiologist were still there to quickly take action.

Even now it seems scarier than what it was. God was totally orchestrating everything from what was happening in the room to my peace. Giving me what I didn't know I needed. There is something about God that is more than just going to church and reading your Bible. It's more than just stepping in in a crisis. It's truly this calm assurance this, like curtain that comes across that makes you know that God has this handled. Good or bad. And that you will be ok with whatever His outcome is.

Captain Phillips

CAPTAIN PHILLIPS

Passing a soldier in an airport in their ‘basic dress uniform’ and I always feel like I should say something. Thank you! I appreciate you! I see you and want you to know I don’t take you for granted! But, rarely I do. Maybe I need to change that.

Last weekend I watched the movie “Captain Phillips” which I thought was AWESOME! The movie follows the true story of Richard Phillips, the captain of Maersk Alabama that becomes overtaken by Somali pirates and how he ends up abducted by the pirates and then ends up rescued by our US soldiers.

Throughout the movie Captain Phillips is beaten and at times it looked like they were going to kill him. All of this because the pirates wanted ten million dollars for his ransom.

The military was alerted and moved to come help. Including the Navy Seals. Watching them parachute in I was cheering. THAT’S THE USA BABY! They are coming Captain! Hang on! And then watching the plans to get the Captain to safety, watching them negotiate with the pirates, watching the Captain try to have hope, all of it showed me, what would we do without our military? Who would swoop in?  

Then they finally were able to make the rescue. It was gruesome but in the end was the only way. It was either the pirates, or the Captain. Without our military, there is no one to help. At night when we go to sleep, the military is on it. When Captain Phillips wife went to sleep, the military was on it. Before she knew there was a problem, the military was devising a plan to save her husband. Because our soldiers have chosen to put their life on the line not knowing what the future would hold. They just said yes and then kept going for more and more training.

The next time I pass a soldier in the airport, or the store. I’m not going to feel weird. I’ll just say it. “I see you. And I am so grateful. Thank you.”