It has been a full day at the hospital, with bathing, and a full hair wash. On Tuesday we just dipped the ends of her hair into a basin. Today was a full scrubbing! With her hair braided again, and wearing something other than hospital sheets - a long shirt, that is cut up the back to allow it to slide up her arms, she is looking, and smelling fresh. Now that we have moved up to the 5th floor, we are no longer in critical care, but on a floor with increased rehabilitation services. We are in the land of the living!
Psalm 27:13 I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
All our hope and confidence is in Him.
The next verse continues to guide us: Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
When we arrived in 5C, the nurse said that we are "one step closer to going home". Hooray! A bit later, I learned that we could be weeks or months on this step, before going to the next step and then the step after that. Sometimes I am overwhelmed by the length of the path ahead of us. So I return to prayer: Jesus, keep me in today, trusting You for your faithful provision on this day. I will wait for You. Help me to be strong, and to take heart, and to wait for You. Thank you that we are in the land of the living. All our hope and trust is in You. Thank you for your faithfulness, your gentleness and your immeasurable love for us. We rest in You.
Lydia has had another restful day of sleeping. She is now completely off morphine, and she is being weaned, over the next four days, from a drug called Diazepam. She will be given muscle relaxants, to help her muscles from tightening and cramping. For example, her jaw is always clamped shut. One other positive progress from today: her temperature was normal for the first time! Small steps, but ones that take us, little by little, closer to home.
