God is so good! What started off as a year of pain and questioning ended with prayers of praise and witnessing miracles.
January found David and I still suffering through my shoulder injury (from July 21st of 2009) and facing the decision of an operation. After prayer and consideration, and against the surgeon's preferences, we decided that surgery was the best option. We were given only worst-case scenarios of how they probably wouldn't find anything (two MRI's hadn't shown the source of all my pain, after all) and how I would likely be in more pain post-operation, facing a lifetime of "chronic" pain. In spite of all this we trusted God and set a date for February 23rd.
February 21st, two days before my surgery was scheduled, I woke up up in some of the worst pain in my life. I feebly drove myself to the ER and was diagnosed with a double kidney infection. I plead with the ER staff and they kindly treated me for it aggressively (even though I wasn't yet vomiting or feverish) in the hopes of keeping my date with my surgeon. Though the infection cleared up quickly, my doctor still postponed my surgery one week. This was emotionally a struggle for me (we were so close), but with much encouragement about God's perfect timing from my beloved family and friends, I persevered.
March 2nd, I went "under the knife" for the second time in my life. I was nervous, hopeful, anxious, and terrified. What if they don't find the source of my pain? What if the doctor's right? God, please guide his hands and show him what's wrong. David and I really tried not to dwell too long on what might happen if the surgery wasn't successful - I don't think we could handle that; we focused instead, as much as we could, on the confidence we had that they had to find something very wrong. I had just been in pain too long.
Praise God, Dr. Douthit came to me just moments after I woke up in recovery and delivered some of the best news I've ever received: They found a tear in the "wall" in my shoulder and repaired it! He was still very cautious - recovery would take at least 16 weeks, and there was still no guarantee that they had fixed what had been causing my pain. But we rejoiced.
All things considered, everything I experienced through my recovery was best-case scenario! I did not experience the excruciating pain that I had been warned of, my family and friends were unbelievably helpful, even my four incisions (David says they look like a vampire bite) are small and barely visible now!
April found David and beginning to debate a major decision: Do we pack up everything in Texas and move to Pennsylvania for a 6-month business opportunity? I still wasn't working, physical therapy was taking a financial toll, and this seemed like it might be the answer. We began to seek out the advice of family and trusted friends as we had no clue which direction we should go.
In May we announced that we were going to make the move, cut Texas ties temporarily and venture out in faith.
In June we changed our minds. Or rather, God made every path to Pennsylvania impossible. And for that we are thankful. Every door we tried to go through was blocked for us, making attempt after attempt to figure out the logistics of moving northward impossible. As it turns out, it was a terrible year for roofers and we thank God for His protection of our little family.
We did run into a snag, however, when we realized we were not moving to PA, but did have to move since we had already given notice to our leasing office! After several frustrating weeks of searching, we ended up decided God wanted us to move to The Colony. David, Little Brother, Francois and I moved into a wonderful little one-bedroom (b-i-g adjustment from our old two-bedroom) with fantastic neighbors.
July found me having daily panic attacks as I attempted - and successfully pulled off - a surprise part for David's 30th Birthday. It was great fun, and we loved celebrating it with our precious friends and family. I will never do it again.
August - what a month! David's younger brother Daniel married Jackie. The wedding was gorgeous and a ton of fun for all, but even better, after the wedding they moved into our apartment complex! The Franklins III (as I call them) live just one building away from us. It's been such a neat adventure going through life together with them, and we thank God for the friendship we have with them in this special time of their life.
God also answered a prayer request by giving me a job. I began working with a dermatologist's office in Coppell as the front office-type-person (I'm still not sure of my official title; I just do a little of everything). I love my job! I get to work with an amazing physician's assistant, whom I love, in a fantastic (small) environment.
September was such a fun month for me! I was finally released from my doctor's and physical therapist's care. My shoulder was healed! After two years of pain and frustration, I was healed! I still can't sleep on my left side without discomfort (normal, I'm assured), but otherwise have nearly the full range of motion I did before and can use it fully again.
October found us struggling a bit. I had laparoscopic surgery in February of 2010 to diagnose and treat Endometriosis. At the time all I was told was that there was more Endometriosis than the doctor had expected to find, but that he cleaned it all up and I "should be good to go now." Fast forward nearly two years. I saw a new OB/GYN, who informed me after viewing my file from the surgeon that I had stage 4 Endometriosis - the most severe amount possible. We also discovered that David had some fertility issues and were told not to try to start a family naturally and on our own, as it was both extremely unlikely to happen and too dangerous for me to be off my medication for that long. (I was called a "ticking time bomb" twice.) She was the second OB/GYN in a year to iterate that it would be ideal for me to have a hysterectomy by age 30.
It was a very trying couple of weeks for me especially, but God was faithful and led us to an amazing homegroup within our church at the end of that same month. This faithful group of men and women encouraged us, cried with us, and boldly prayed for healing with us.
November passed rather uneventfully. We continued praying for the Lord's guidance, working, and eating - or at least, I did. David successfully dieted for the entire month and lost nearly 20 pounds!
December was a sweet month of fellowship with friends and family. Double dates, an ugly sweater party, game nights, homegroup meetings, yoga with my sister-in-law, and an engagement party kept us happily busy all month. Christmas was a wonderful time with mine and David's families and of relaxation.
We were also shocked and extremely grateful for answered prayer when I experienced a slightly lessened amount of pain from the Endometriosis and a set of labs returned with several medical anomalies - which had been persisting for two years - mysteriously resolved 'on their own'.
January - Oh, sweet January. Amidst what was already a fun month of hanging out with friends and celebrating our favorite engaged couple, I woke up on Saturday the 21st and discovered the full goodness, grace, and sweet mercy of our Lord.
David and I are going to have a baby! After only two months of continuous praying and listening, God granted us the most extraordinary gift we've ever gotten. I'm due on September 27th - 9 weeks along now! We have laughed, cried (tears of joy) and praised God with our family and friends for this miracle. One of my favorite phrases has become "But God". "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us.."( - Ephesians 2:4) It has been so neat to go through this and see His hand in it all. We even had a friend who - not knowing what we were going through - randomly wrote me on facebook within about 48 hours of conception (sorry for TMI) and told me that she had dreamt that she and I were together and I was pregnant. Is that crazy or what?!
So now, dear sweet friends, we covet your prayers for a healthy pregnancy and baby. So far everything looks great! Our little "bean" is growing well, I've been severely nauseated (couldn't eat for two solid weeks), and I'm trying to rest as much as possible. We've even chosen our midwife already! (Yes, we're hoping for a happy home birth.) Above all, though, we want a happy, healthy baby and desperately appreciate your prayers for us all.
Lastly, we thank you all for your sweet, precious words of congratulations, prayers, and for sharing in our excitement with us. Words truly cannot describe how excited and thankful we are for this gift. We love you all.
David, Emily and Baby "Bean"
January found David and I still suffering through my shoulder injury (from July 21st of 2009) and facing the decision of an operation. After prayer and consideration, and against the surgeon's preferences, we decided that surgery was the best option. We were given only worst-case scenarios of how they probably wouldn't find anything (two MRI's hadn't shown the source of all my pain, after all) and how I would likely be in more pain post-operation, facing a lifetime of "chronic" pain. In spite of all this we trusted God and set a date for February 23rd.
February 21st, two days before my surgery was scheduled, I woke up up in some of the worst pain in my life. I feebly drove myself to the ER and was diagnosed with a double kidney infection. I plead with the ER staff and they kindly treated me for it aggressively (even though I wasn't yet vomiting or feverish) in the hopes of keeping my date with my surgeon. Though the infection cleared up quickly, my doctor still postponed my surgery one week. This was emotionally a struggle for me (we were so close), but with much encouragement about God's perfect timing from my beloved family and friends, I persevered.
March 2nd, I went "under the knife" for the second time in my life. I was nervous, hopeful, anxious, and terrified. What if they don't find the source of my pain? What if the doctor's right? God, please guide his hands and show him what's wrong. David and I really tried not to dwell too long on what might happen if the surgery wasn't successful - I don't think we could handle that; we focused instead, as much as we could, on the confidence we had that they had to find something very wrong. I had just been in pain too long.
Praise God, Dr. Douthit came to me just moments after I woke up in recovery and delivered some of the best news I've ever received: They found a tear in the "wall" in my shoulder and repaired it! He was still very cautious - recovery would take at least 16 weeks, and there was still no guarantee that they had fixed what had been causing my pain. But we rejoiced.
All things considered, everything I experienced through my recovery was best-case scenario! I did not experience the excruciating pain that I had been warned of, my family and friends were unbelievably helpful, even my four incisions (David says they look like a vampire bite) are small and barely visible now!
April found David and beginning to debate a major decision: Do we pack up everything in Texas and move to Pennsylvania for a 6-month business opportunity? I still wasn't working, physical therapy was taking a financial toll, and this seemed like it might be the answer. We began to seek out the advice of family and trusted friends as we had no clue which direction we should go.
In May we announced that we were going to make the move, cut Texas ties temporarily and venture out in faith.
In June we changed our minds. Or rather, God made every path to Pennsylvania impossible. And for that we are thankful. Every door we tried to go through was blocked for us, making attempt after attempt to figure out the logistics of moving northward impossible. As it turns out, it was a terrible year for roofers and we thank God for His protection of our little family.
We did run into a snag, however, when we realized we were not moving to PA, but did have to move since we had already given notice to our leasing office! After several frustrating weeks of searching, we ended up decided God wanted us to move to The Colony. David, Little Brother, Francois and I moved into a wonderful little one-bedroom (b-i-g adjustment from our old two-bedroom) with fantastic neighbors.
July found me having daily panic attacks as I attempted - and successfully pulled off - a surprise part for David's 30th Birthday. It was great fun, and we loved celebrating it with our precious friends and family. I will never do it again.
August - what a month! David's younger brother Daniel married Jackie. The wedding was gorgeous and a ton of fun for all, but even better, after the wedding they moved into our apartment complex! The Franklins III (as I call them) live just one building away from us. It's been such a neat adventure going through life together with them, and we thank God for the friendship we have with them in this special time of their life.
God also answered a prayer request by giving me a job. I began working with a dermatologist's office in Coppell as the front office-type-person (I'm still not sure of my official title; I just do a little of everything). I love my job! I get to work with an amazing physician's assistant, whom I love, in a fantastic (small) environment.
September was such a fun month for me! I was finally released from my doctor's and physical therapist's care. My shoulder was healed! After two years of pain and frustration, I was healed! I still can't sleep on my left side without discomfort (normal, I'm assured), but otherwise have nearly the full range of motion I did before and can use it fully again.
October found us struggling a bit. I had laparoscopic surgery in February of 2010 to diagnose and treat Endometriosis. At the time all I was told was that there was more Endometriosis than the doctor had expected to find, but that he cleaned it all up and I "should be good to go now." Fast forward nearly two years. I saw a new OB/GYN, who informed me after viewing my file from the surgeon that I had stage 4 Endometriosis - the most severe amount possible. We also discovered that David had some fertility issues and were told not to try to start a family naturally and on our own, as it was both extremely unlikely to happen and too dangerous for me to be off my medication for that long. (I was called a "ticking time bomb" twice.) She was the second OB/GYN in a year to iterate that it would be ideal for me to have a hysterectomy by age 30.
It was a very trying couple of weeks for me especially, but God was faithful and led us to an amazing homegroup within our church at the end of that same month. This faithful group of men and women encouraged us, cried with us, and boldly prayed for healing with us.
November passed rather uneventfully. We continued praying for the Lord's guidance, working, and eating - or at least, I did. David successfully dieted for the entire month and lost nearly 20 pounds!
December was a sweet month of fellowship with friends and family. Double dates, an ugly sweater party, game nights, homegroup meetings, yoga with my sister-in-law, and an engagement party kept us happily busy all month. Christmas was a wonderful time with mine and David's families and of relaxation.
We were also shocked and extremely grateful for answered prayer when I experienced a slightly lessened amount of pain from the Endometriosis and a set of labs returned with several medical anomalies - which had been persisting for two years - mysteriously resolved 'on their own'.
January - Oh, sweet January. Amidst what was already a fun month of hanging out with friends and celebrating our favorite engaged couple, I woke up on Saturday the 21st and discovered the full goodness, grace, and sweet mercy of our Lord.
David and I are going to have a baby! After only two months of continuous praying and listening, God granted us the most extraordinary gift we've ever gotten. I'm due on September 27th - 9 weeks along now! We have laughed, cried (tears of joy) and praised God with our family and friends for this miracle. One of my favorite phrases has become "But God". "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us.."( - Ephesians 2:4) It has been so neat to go through this and see His hand in it all. We even had a friend who - not knowing what we were going through - randomly wrote me on facebook within about 48 hours of conception (sorry for TMI) and told me that she had dreamt that she and I were together and I was pregnant. Is that crazy or what?!
So now, dear sweet friends, we covet your prayers for a healthy pregnancy and baby. So far everything looks great! Our little "bean" is growing well, I've been severely nauseated (couldn't eat for two solid weeks), and I'm trying to rest as much as possible. We've even chosen our midwife already! (Yes, we're hoping for a happy home birth.) Above all, though, we want a happy, healthy baby and desperately appreciate your prayers for us all.
Lastly, we thank you all for your sweet, precious words of congratulations, prayers, and for sharing in our excitement with us. Words truly cannot describe how excited and thankful we are for this gift. We love you all.
David, Emily and Baby "Bean"
"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
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