Good morning troops!

written by Ron Polinder

"The night was mostly uneventful, though we think she made some groans in response to my "goodnight."  For the record, this would not be the first time she groaned in response to something I said.  :)  Too, there were slight indications she was responding to others--Shawna last night and Staci this morning.  Her body movement was almost nil yesterday, but we have seen a few voluntary movements this morning.

We have not yet seen Dr. Foltz this morning, but he said he would be coming in.  Will send an update when he does.  Each time he comes in, he encourages us--we are hoping for the same this morning.  Yesterday was a long day!

But we keep singing--so thankful for singing kids.   Last night Rusty got up in the middle of the night for an hour to sing to his mom.  As I write, Stac is singing "My Life is in Your Hands," from the Rehoboth choir all-time top 10 list.  Shawna quickly joins with her soprano, prompting Staci to move to her low alto.  All, warming my heart--and we trust Colleen's.

In that spirit, I am so thankful our kids are here--tenderly, sweetly, deeply loving their mom.  What a blessing--before Colleen went to surgery, while still conscious, she would say "blessings, blessings, blessings."  We said it together 10 times for each of our grandkids.  

So we are not moping--a little impatient maybe, but trying to rest in the promises.

Have a good Sabbath--and include us somehow!"

Ron

Sorry, No Progress

"Dear Friends--our concerns continue--still no response from Colleen.  The doctors are baffled, but wondering if it is merely swelling that is preventing her from coming out of it.  They have done further tests, including an EEG, which came back normal.  So the waiting continues--testing our patience, adding to our angst.

What is there to say?  So many of you have said you are praying without ceasing--we believe you, and on your knees at that.  We ask you to keep at it, dear people.  Maybe in the morning we will have a more positive report!"

Ron

I'll love you..

Just got off the phone with Rusty this morning. Sounds like the doctor is very encouraged with the MRI results, and the amount of cancer he was able to successfully remove.

Colleen still hasn't woken up from the surgery, so today they each took turns sitting with her in the ICU. Rusty told me over SKYPE  this morning one of the songs he sang to her today was, "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always..." He said he had a hard time getting through the song because of all the memories attached to it combined with the reality of life at the moment.

Tears rolled down my face because this is the very song we sang over and over to little Olive after her brain surgery just 19 months ago.

Never did we think that in only a few more months he would be singing this song to his own mother after her own brain surgery.

If you didn't grow up with this book, it starts when a son has just been born. His mother sneaks in his room after he falls asleep every night, and sings the same song to him from the time he was a little baby through all of his rambunctious  and rebellious teenage years. Even after he is an adult and moved across town, she would still occasionally drive to his house with a ladder and sing to him (I realize that may sound a bit crazy, but it's real sweet in the book).

She sings, "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be."

Later, the role is reversed and he holds his elderly mother and sings the same words back to her,

"I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my mother you'll be."

Hope.

No matter what the prognosis, it seems impossible to hope for the best when you love someone so deeply. So we continue to hope, we continue to pray, and we will continue to strive to love and support each other on this journey we never wanted to be on. 

"Love always protects, always trusts, always HOPES, always perseveres." 1 Corinthians 13: 7