One Strong Woman

Hello everyone, this is Grace, aka Inkling's best-friend and mama to her Sara Orange Gang. She has asked me to give everyone an update for her, so here it goes...

On Monday when Inkling went into the ER for the procedure she mentioned below,she was met by some rather rude nurses that were not happy that her doc had sent her through the ER to get to her. Then after two hours of waiting, she was told that there would not be an OR available after all.

So on Wednesday, Inkling had an in-office procedure done by the OB that performed the emergency forceps delivery. For this procedure, she was given a local that did nothing for the pain, but she endured it with the hand of her mother squeezed tightly. This was supposed to have drained the abscess that has formed, but it only made it worse, and the abscess just filled back up causing her excrutiating pain.

On Thursday, her maternity doc examined her and decided that the OB's report was much different from what she was seeing and something needed to be done. She put her on antibiotics and told her to come in for a procedure to take care of it on Friday. Thursday evening, the abscess separated and necessitated a trip to the ER immediately. Thankfully her maternity doc was the one on call that evening and was able to call ahead to the ER to fill them in on what was going on.

Upon her arrival at the ER, she was immediately given care. Thankfully she had wonderful docs and nurses this time around, and she and Henry David were able to joke around with them and keep everything a little lighter. Her maternity doc and the other doc in the room are both Christians, and she was blessed to have them stop everything and pray over her before they moved on to what needed to be done. They sedated her right there in a trauma room and did the surgical procedure required to drain the abscess and packed it with gauze. After she woke-up, they sent her home to recover.

Currently she is on antibiotics, pain meds, high doses of vitamin C, and several other natural things. One of the pain meds she is currently taking means that Grasshopper cannot nurse for 6 hours after she takes it, so during that time, he is recieving formula. Yes, that's tough for her, but she knows that it's not forever and in order for her to heal, she has to let someone else care for him for now. She isn't taking that particular pain med around the clock though, so she is able to nurse him for several feedings in a row. He seems to be making the switch between formula and breast well.

One of the biggest things she needs now is sleep. Her body needs to rest so that it can begin to heal itself and allow the meds to do their jobs. She is working very hard at staying positive and looking for the good that's going to come out of all of these trials. God's going to use this time in her life for good in someone's life someday.

Please, as you leave comments for our friend, be encouraging. She's not a poor, pathetic soul that needs our pity. She's an amazingly strong and courageous woman who is going to see the other side of this challenge and be able to hold her head up and say "I did it with the dignity that only my Jesus can give me". Please hold her up. Hold her up as a woman. Hold her up as a wife. Hold her up as a new mom. Hold her up before God in your prayers.

Specific Prayer Requests
- Please pray for Grasshopper. Pray for his little mind. Pray that he notices none of the stress everyone is under and only feels the fact that there are extra people there who love him dearly. Pray that he knows he's loved. Pray for his comfort. He's having some serious gas issues. They aren't sure if it's normal baby gas, or if it's being caused by the antibiotic his mama's on.
- Please pray for Henry David. Pray for his endurance to see him through this time of their lives. Pray that he gets enough sleep, as I hear he needs his sleep. Pray that he is able to comfort his wife in the ways she needs him to.
- Pray for Inkling's dad. He's going to have to leave in a few days and that can't be easy. Pray for his safe journey home and for peace in his heart while he's away.
-Pray for Inkling's mom. She's caring for two of the people she loves the most around the clock right now. Pray for her energy levels to be where they need to be. Pray for her to stay positive in the midst of all this seemingly crazy stuff happening right now. Pray that she is able to serve Inkling in the way she needs right now.
-And of course, pray for Inkling. Pray for quick and complete healing. Pray that she is able to turn off her mind and get the sleep that she needs to get for that healing to take place. Pray for her emotional health. Pray for her "mama's heart" as it struggles with letting someone else care for her little guy much of the time. Pray for peace. Pray for encouragement. Pray for comfort. Pray for a pain free exsistence, so she can get on with her life as a new mama.

There's a children's song about a bear (or lion for some people) that I've always recited to myself when I've been going thru some of my own trials with something similar to what Inkling's dealing with now. It's always been one of my fav's during all my years teaching preschool children. To my knowledge, I've never mentioned this strange little recitation to anyone, but strangely enough, the other day, Inkling herself brought this song up in one of our conversations. Here's the lyrics...

Goin' on a bear hunt.
Gonna catch a big one.
I'm not afraid.
Look, what's up ahead?

Mud!
Can't go over it.
Can't go under it.
Can't go around it.
Gotta go through it.

Goin' on a bear hunt.
Gonna catch a big one.
I'm not afraid.
Look, what's up ahead?

Sticks!
Can't go over it.
Can't go under it.
Can't go around it.
Gotta go through it.

Goin' on a bear hunt.
Gonna catch a big one.
I'm not afraid.
Look, what's up ahead?

Trees!
Can't go over it.
Can't go under it.
Can't go around it.
Gotta go through it.

Goin' on a bear hunt.
Gonna catch a big one.
I'm not afraid.
Look, what's up ahead?

Gate!
Can't go over it.
Can't go under it.
Can't go around it.
Gotta go through it.

Goin' on a bear hunt.
Gonna catch a big one.
I'm not afraid.
Look, what's up ahead?

River!
Can't go over it.
Can't go under it.
Can't go around it.
Gotta go through it.

Goin' on a bear hunt.
Gonna catch a big one.
I'm not afraid.
Look, what's up ahead?

Grass!
Can't go over it.
Can't go under it.
Can't go around it.
Gotta go through it.

Goin' on a bear hunt.
Gonna catch a big one.
I'm not afraid.
Look, what's up ahead?

Cave!
Can't go over it.
Can't go under it.
Can't go around it.
Gotta go through it.

Feel yourself along the wall.
Oh, oh What's this?
Something funny.
With a long soft thing on it's end!
With two sharp things!
Two big gleaming sharp things!
A BEAR!!!
Run for your life!

Run out of the cave!
Crawl through the grass!
Swim across the river!
Run through the gate!
Run around the trees!
Jump over the sticks!
Slosh through the mud!
Run into the house!
Close the door!
Run up the front stairs!
Crawl under mom's bed!




This is a time in Inkling's life that she can't go over, she can't go under, and she can't go around. She has to walk straight through this thing. Thankfully she's not walking through it alone. Jesus is holding her hand the entire time. Actually there are times where she's being carried by His strong and enduring arms. For some reason, not known to her yet, she must walk through the mud, the sticks, the trees, the gate, the river, the grass, and the cave to get to the other side. All things are made beautiful by God, and sometime in the future this time in her life will be used as something beautiful for Him.