Sunday, July 12, 2009

Day 9

Good Sabbath! Sleep is still eluding me. I sleep for a few hours and then I am wide awake.

Today I was re-charged at church today. I don't know how others feel about the Sabbath but that is my re-charging day. Mostly because I listened to great uplifting music. I love the quietness of Sunday. No rushing around, no washing machine running, no overhead speakers announcing specials. Just quiet.

On my way to the hospital today I stopped at Christian's TX Roadhouse. It was nice to see him this morning. He is so comfortable in this element. They were getting ready to open so he needed to taste and temp all the food. Guess what?!.... I got to do it with him. It was so fun. First we tasted all the salad dressing, next came dipping sauces followed by sauces and hot food like baked beans, green beans and sauteed mushrooms. It was so amazing to see how they do it all and if it is not right it goes right back to the person making it so they can do it over. Of course he sent me with lunch too. My fav....beef tips with mashed potatoes, brown gravy and green beans. Washing it down with a Cowboy Cooler. Yummo

When I arrived at the unit today my sweet friends Amber and Preston were waiting there for me. We had a great visit. They mean so much to us. Amber along with her sister Suzie worked for us at our Wichita Clinic a few years ago. We love them.

After they left while I was reading to Nicole she actually opened her eyes for about 5 minutes. She just stared off into space but she had her eyes open. YAHOO! She has great eyes. The right one is blue and the left one is green. So good to see those eyes again.

I have really missed not talking with her everyday. Well now I am the talker and she is the listener. Not a position she likes to be in but now I have her un-divided attention. I love our sweet chats. Don't get me wrong there are times I wish she wouldn't call so much but now I wish she was calling me. Of course, we always want what we don't have.

Do you know that a ward (congregation)is assigned to this unit. People come and bring sacrament and a message to those who are here so they don't have to leave their loved one. I think that is awesome. What a selfless act. It is not easy to come to the unit here and see all the suffering. I guess it is because they know the plan.

John's sister Anne, her husband Rich and their daughter Bethany came for a visit today too. What a calming visit. It is so nice to talk to others who speak your language. They love Nicole. They have seen her struggle over the years and has so fully and genuinely accepted her. I feel so much love from them when I am around them. I just love them.

My dad also payed a visit tonight. I was happily surprised. He came by himself which is so unlike him and he wanted to go on the unit. He hasn't been on the unit yet. He actually gowned up and went into Nicole's room. I knew it was very hard for him to do that. It took a lot of courage. Thanks DAD!

I am here for wound care tonight. The nurse and aide take off Nicole's bandages and wash her. They are so gentle. I know they have to get in there and get the dead off but the way they go about it is very gentle and calming. So many questions I have and they answered all of them. First the washing, next the silvedene. Wrap her up with curlex and put the pressure bandage on. They do it with such ease. I asked why they want to work in burn unit. They both said it was because the patients are so awesome. They have such a fight in them to live. I loved that.

Its late...the unit is quiet. Peace is roaming the halls. Good night.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

She opened her eyes! Hooray!!! When I was there last and writing in her journal and you and Devon were next to her as he was giving her something (I don't remember...I just remember him telling Nicole it was going to hurt a little) and I heard her voice, crystal clear say "I know, it's ok" and it wasn't for a few hours until I realized that maybe it wasn't her voice...but it didn't sound like yours or Devon's, it was Nicole's for sure. Then I realized there was no way she could have said that, there were tubes in her mouth, so maybe she just said it to me, a whisper to my own ear. It was nice to hear her voice again. Now I wish I hadn't deleted her voice mails to me...

I'm going to find a recorder tomorrow, I think that will be nice for us to use for her for books and any encouraging words from anyone who comes to visit. That way you can just play them back any ol' time :) She'll love it.

Drew Lundgreen said...

John and Angi, you are the best. I hope to one day be half the loving parents you are. We love and pray for your family.

Tamalee said...

Angi and John
I LOVE reading your blog. You are so awesome and so uplifting and have so much faith. You inspire me. I hope Nicole is doing better. I'm so glad she opened her eyes! Yay!
Love you!
Tami

Angi said...

I am so glad you heard her voice Ash. That is a gift from God. I know the feeling about deleting her voice mails. I am sad one day they will be gone on my phone aws well because my phone auto deletes after 30 days. I do have one thing though. She sang on my phone one day on the video part. I need to find an adapter so I can down load it to my computer. I want to put it onthe blog. glad you found a recorder. That will be great.

Dawn said...

You're definitely in our prayers. Keep strong, and let us know if there's anything at all you need. Even if it's just a home cooked meal.

We love you!

Angi said...

Dawn, I will keep that in mind. Thanks.