Heavy Heart

I'm laying here in bed, my puppy snoring beside me. This is the second night I've left Marc alone at the hospital, and the second night I cannot sleep.

Too many things on my mind.
Many people on my heart.

As rough as the past 2 1/2 weeks have been, I'm reminded that everyone has things going on in their life: trials they are facing, big events to prepare for, decisions to make.

So I ask you guys to continue to pray for Marc, but also for these sweet people:

* my friends Lauren and Chris, who will be welcoming their second son, Carter, into this world, their family, hearts, and lives tomorrow. Also pray for big brother, Gage, as his little world is about to change.
*my (former) Aunt Stephanie lost her daddy this week. He was the only granddaddy my cousins (Jeremy, Brooks, and Brent) ever knew.

*continued healing for Drew's leg

* we ran into one of my Mama's coworkers at the hospital, and she has several family members sick and hospitalized, on top of having surgery to remove cancerous tissue herself on Friday. I can only imagine how overwhelmed she is, because I've barely managed with just caring for Marc!
*Ashley Duke...y'all put him on every prayer list you know of! Ash is a fellow CF-er, and is the twin brother of one of Marc's closest friends, Zach. He underwent a double lung transplant some time ago, but had to have one lung removed last week. The remaining lung is doing great, but Ashley's kidneys have struggled to recover from the surgery. Please pray for divine healing of his body. Oh, y'all...I hate CF!

Not What I Had Planned (Marc's Surgery, Part 1)

Y'all know I'm a planner.

So naturally, I had our Christmas plans all set.

We'd leave Milledgeville on the 23rd,
have our Reagan Christmas on the 24th,
spend the night with Katie and the kids on Christmas Eve,
go to church on Christmas Morning,
drive to Pelham Christmas Night,
have Christmas with Mama and Jeff, Christy and Nathan on the 26th,
see Daddy later that day,
hang low on the 27th, Brian's birthday...his first in Heaven,
come home on the 28th.

I even knew what I'd do with the rest of my Christmas break...
take down my decorations,
work on a few paintings,
 maybe read a new book.

Well, God had other plans...
and we barely got through opening gifts with Mama and Jeff
before our Christmas took an ugly turn.

Actually, it started Christmas night.
As we left Granny and Papa's house,
Marc mentioned he'd unbuttoned his pants.
I thought he'd eated too much.
We had steak, salad, bread, baked potatoes.
Turns out that was his last meal.

I awoke about 5:00 the morning after Christmas.
I was hot
(that's a South Georgia Christmas for ya!)
and Marc was not in bed.
I found him in the living room
(we were staying at his parents' house...well, I still am!)
and he said his stomach was bothering him and he couldn't sleep.

By 6:30, we were at my Mama's house,
waking them all up to open gifts.
Somehow, it never feels like Christmas until I celebrate with Mama.
We opened gifts then had breakfast.
Marc isn't much of a fan of breakfast casseroles,
but he hardly even touched his cheese grits.

We ended up falling asleep all over the house,
and I woke up on the couch...cold.
(that's a South Georgia Christmas for ya!)
I crawled in bed with my sister
and woke up later to find out
Marc's stomach was still bothering him.

He assured me every time I asked
 that he was able to go to the bathroom.
Ever since we rushed him to the ER in Thomasville
when my Uncle Stacy died,
I'm paranoid about a blockage.
But when I heard his burps...my intuition told me something was up.
It just sounded...different.
Just like it did when we ended up in the ER.

Again, Marc assured me he was fine.
We were headed to my Daddy's house to celebrate with him,
but I really felt like Marc would be more comfortable
going back to his parents' house,
so he could lay down.
I was still in pjs and slippers, but I drove across town.
As we passed the hospital, I half-jokingly said,
"Should I just pull on in?"
Marc...dead serious...said, "Maybe."

I knew this wasn't good, but now I was seriously concerned.
I flew to his parents' house...
(Marc says it took forever...I don't know which of us is right!)
my sister following me so I could ride with them to Daddy's house.
I  threw the car in park,
left Marc crawling out the passenger seat,
ran to the house,
yelled "MAMA!!!"
threw on jeans and shoes.
In the 30 seconds it took me to rejoin them outside,
Marc was on his knees in the grass, dry-heaving.
Mrs. Debbie, Mr. Terry and Christy surrounding him.
Christy made Nathan stay in the car.
I don't even remember getting in Mrs. Debbie's car...
but several minutes later...
we were in the ER.

Christmas became a blur.