Joy and Endurance

On By vickleaIn Uncategorized

I don’t know that I can say that I counted today as joy, but I can say that I am happy that it is over! My nurse/technician was a real sweetheart named Tammy. She did everything she could to insure that I was comfortable and without pain, but to no avail. You see, my body did not cooperate at first. She tried inserting the two foot tubing into my right nostril and got stuck near where my hernia is. So, she had me change my position on the chair, which seemed to help. She was very happy when she was able to get it into the 46 cm position at which she needed it to do the measurements ordered by the surgeon. Unfortunately, she got the tubing in and her computer crashed. No, I am not kidding! I had already prayed my way through that first insertion and was feeling pretty good that the torture part was over. But she had to pull out the tubing and restart her computer, apologizing that it had never happened before. So, she started again, giving me a minute or two to take deep breaths and be ready for the pain that I knew was coming. The second time, Tammy could not get the tubing all the way into my stomach which was where she needed it to be. I was tearing up at this point, still praying, but beginning to cry because she was manipulating the tubing and couldn’t get it into place. So, once again, she removed it and said that my option was to try again, with the supervisor inserting the tubing, or to quit and schedule an appointment under anesthesia. Well, since I had to wait two weeks for this appointment and I just wanted this whole ordeal over, I told her that I wanted to try again. This time when Tammy removed the tubing, my nose poured blood. I used tissues to take care of that problem while she went to get Donna to try to place the tubing. Donna, the supervisor, came in and took about 10 minutes to get the tube in place. Then, she left Tammy to finish the test which consisted of my swallowing liquid on command and not swallowing (or choking) between times. Let me tell you, I spent the time in prayer. After another 15 minutes, the test was finally over. The tube was removed from my left nostril (since my right was bleeding, we had to change sides), I was cleaned up and given discharge orders. What an ordeal! I knew it would be hard, but I didn’t expect that! After I left, with a very sore throat and nasal passages burning, I began to reflect on what had happened. Because I had prayed that God would use me to witness to the hospital staff, I was surprised that I should have had such difficulties. Upon further reflection, I am not surprised. After all, I had the opportunity to show them that prayer works, since I had told Tammy from the beginning that I was going to pray during the procedure. I also gave her a hug when I left, showing her that I had absolutely no hard feelings for her just because the test was harder than it should have been, for me and for her. So, I endured, and I am expecting God to use today to work a more mature attitude in me. This was a test of my faith, and although I am sure that I did not pass with flying colors (since I started to cry), I did pass and I am moving on to the next step in getting this whole hernia thing repaired. I hope that you all had a great day today, and I sincerely appreciate all of your prayers. My husband jokingly says that I survived my water boarding. I would be amused, but he’s not far off in his description, in my opinion. I’ve never been really water boarded, though, so let’s just say this was a form of medical torture that God is using to perfect me. Blessings.

19 thoughts on “Joy and Endurance”

  3. Hi Vickie, held you up in prayer today and I’m glad that ordeal is over for you. All things considered, I think you did very well and definitely better than me, had it been me. Continued grace and blessings for you and yours.

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  4. Crying does not in any way mean you didn’t pass the test. God is pleased that you were a witness to Tammy and her supervisor. The difficulty was unfortunate but I’d say you passed with flying colors! You didn’t get angry and make a scene…you endured through the trial and leaned on God and though it was difficult He saw you through it. Sure you have a lot to reflect on…hindsight is 20/20 they say. Maybe in another circumstance you will be reminded of how you got through this one and that will be how you build your faith and trust in the Lord. He never promised us this life would be easy…He said take up your cross and follow me. Our joy is in knowing we are His…we can cry when something hurts, He doesn’t condemn us for that. He says when we are weak, He is strong! We can rest in knowing He will never leave us not forsake us…crying or smiling, He is there. God Bless you!

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