Strength in Weakness: Haley's Amazing Statement

Headache Continues

There is not much change in Haley's condition. She is still suffering from the headache, neck pain and pain where the shunt is. Her spirits are good, though, which is a relief. We travel to Maryland on Wednesday to see Dr. Henderson, and I have been trying to predict what he will say. (Those who know me know that I like to be prepared.) So I have narrowed my guesses down to these: 1) He will say to wait longer for the blood patch to work. 2) He will suggest that we repeat the blood patch. 3) He will suggest that she needs fusion further down her cervical spine. Or 4) He will suggest surgical repair of the dural tear.  I have no idea if any of these are truly possibilities, but these are my best guesses. Please pray that we will be prepared for whatever he has to say. Also pray that he will possess extra wisdom to figure out what to do.

"I'm So Honored To Have Been Chosen For This"

Last night Larry, Haley and I were having family devotions (which just consisted of each of us reading Bible passages that were meaningful to us aloud to one another). We began to discuss the fact that we are hearing from so many people who are following this blog and how humbling it is to find out that so many (even folks we don't know) are praying for Haley and our family. Our family has been blessed with a strong faith and the deeply held belief that all things are under God's sovereign control and that He does everything for His own glory. We talked about what God's ultimate purpose in this journey might be (yes we really do have these type of conversations for fun! Haha!). Haley read the following passages:

"If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness." 2 Cor 11:30 and  "Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this (she inserted, 'three times? How about three thousand times?'), that it should leave me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Cor 12:8-9

It was then that Haley said the most extraordinary thing.  She said, "I'm so honored to have been chosen for this." At first I couldn't believe this had come out of her mouth. She went on to say that she felt that it was a special privilege to suffer so that God could be glorified. It's times like these that make all the pain tolerable. Of course, we all have our moments of doubt, fatigue, sadness, etc. and there is nothing anyone in our family would not give to get her well, but it made me grateful that God has gifted us and especially Haley with a deep, abiding faith.

Most people don't know this, but in the days leading up to her surgery, Haley was convinced that she would not survive the surgery. This was much more than fear or apprehension, it was a deep-rooted feeling that she would die during surgery. The night before surgery, we were in the hotel and she was sharing these thoughts with her brother Kevin. He opened his Bible and read a passage from the book of Revelation. It was a description of Jesus on His throne and Kevin went on to say to her, "Hafe (that's her childhood name that her brothers still call her) you can't lose here. Either you survive the surgery or you are in the presence of Jesus. It's a win-win either way." I was surprised at his frankness, as I was much more comfortable reassuring her that she would come through surgery fine. But Kevin chose the logical approach and she seemed to respond well. As an aside, her first words to Dr. Henderson after surgery were, "I'm still alive."

Here is a picture I took of Kevin having this conversation with Haley.  His wife (Hailee) is in the background.



 

So Blessed

We have been so blessed by the support of our many friends, family and even strangers. We have heard from some in the area who suffer from the same or similar conditions as Haley. We have heard from friends of friends who want to help in any way. We have a friend who would like to do a fund-raiser, and just yesterday I heard from a friend at my work who wanted my permission to do a fund-raiser at work. We have gotten very generous donations on this blog site, and we are so very humbled. We still have "Haley's Angels" coming to the house to sit with her so I can work and run errands, etc. So many people are praying for Sweet Haley, and not a day goes by that she doesn't get at least one card in the mail. And, of course, Haley's siblings and their spouses have loved her and us well for many, many years.  I must agree with Haley. Even in the midst of this excruciating trial, I can say we are so blessed.