MsJack wrote:Dear Daughter is awake, eating a popsicle, not throwing up, and in better spirits.
That's good to hear. My youngest was in the hospital for a couple of weeks with a rough case of pneumonia. Having to watch him in pain was unbearable. I hope she continues to feel better.
“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.”
― Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 1951
She's still in good spirits today, and asking to go home, but she won't eat or drink anything but popsicles. We need her to be drinking some fluids and liquid foods (soups, etc.) before they'll let her go.
"It seems to me that these women were the head (κεφάλαιον) of the church which was at Philippi." ~ John Chrysostom, Homilies on Philippians 13
I'm glad things are going in the right direction. It's hard being a parent, wanting to carry the burdens when they seem so heavy and feeling so inadequate because we can't.
I have a question about your church address that I wanted to wait and ask until the surgery was over. It's about the idea of lifting a person up in prayer that you mention. In LDS church speak, the concept of being a keeper is oft discussed. But I don't know that I've ever heard a Mormon describe prayer for another as lifting them up. Fasting for, praying for others as a ward or family is common of course. But as I think about it, it's hard to see LDS worship including real, team effort in "running the race". In some ways, I wonder if most Mormons feel they have to work out their salvation on their own and this works it's way into the language used in church? So the question: can you explain a little of the background behind it?
I've come to see more overt forms of community support in the protestant faiths of some of my friends. A year ago, I had mentioned here the marriage ceremony of a friend where those present were asked to covenant to support the couple in their marriage. I thought it was a beautiful sentiment.
Oh, and happy birthday!
ETA: has your husband ever mentioned this? Since he sees it first hand I'd be interested to hear what stands out as different to him, in a positive way.
The world is always full of the sound of waves..but who knows the heart of the sea, a hundred feet down? Who knows it's depth? ~ Eiji Yoshikawa
She's in a better mood tonight. They moved us to a much bigger, much more private room on the 20th floor of the hospital, and she's loving that.
She's still begging to go home, but doing a terrible job of drinking fluids, so they wouldn't let her go tonight. Crossing my fingers for tomorrow morning. She's been begging for pizza and chicken nuggets, but those foods are too hard for her right now.
There are two fold-out beds in this room, so I've invited her father to come stay with us tonight. I'm hoping he brings my presents and I can open them and we can have a little birthday celebration.
Honor, great question, I'll get back to you on it later.
"It seems to me that these women were the head (κεφάλαιον) of the church which was at Philippi." ~ John Chrysostom, Homilies on Philippians 13
You don't know me but I want to let you know that I'm thinking of you and praying for you and your little girl. (I've long appreciated your writing and your perspective as I've been aware of them for a few years on the boards and blogs.)
As a mother and grandmother, I identify with the pain of seeing our kids suffer!
And I pray for a continued good recovery and good results from this surgery.
As a non-LDS Christian, I was touched by Honorentheos' observation and question about "lifting each other up" in prayer. Indeed, it's a concept that I'm familiar with, and hadn't thought of it as different from what my LDS 'believing' friends might experience. But now that it's arisen, I think of the times that my LDS friends have sought my support in prayer and expressed thanks for my lifting them up. Never thought of this being a difference in our faith approaches though, and look forward to any insights on this.
We went home from the hospital on Friday night. A friend from my formation group at TEDS who happened to be in Chicago proper was kind enough to pick us up and take us home.
Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago is amazing, by the way. It's a newly remodeled twenty-something story facility and it's all super-nice. The rooms all have televisions with great children's movies on them (we watched Cars, Finding Nemo, Puss in Boots, and The Muppets while we were there, plus mom and dad watched The Avengers). The food was pretty good for hospital cafeteria fare and reasonably priced. The nursing staff was great, as was Harley's surgeon. The surgeon's resident (who kept checking in on Harley after the surgery) kind of had the bedside manner of a Keanu Reeves character, but I guess you can't win 'em all.
Harley was a little fussy and whiny throughout Friday and Saturday, and the eating and drinking was slow, but today it has really picked up. Other than still needing some softer foods, she is almost back to normal. She has received visits and care packages from a few people from both churches, and that really lifted her spirits. Two little girls from a family at my church came to visit her at home today, and she immediately ushered them into her room and they played for about an hour while we visited with their mother, and then some of Harley's Primary leaders from the LDS church came and visited us. She was so excited at all of this that she was pretty much hopping up and down. That is the nice thing about being in an interfaith marriage: having the support of both religious communities when we need it.
Thanks everyone here at MDB for the kind wishes and prayers. It's been nice to have support from wherever I can get it. I will get back to the good questions on this thread this week. (I think my cat has a urinary tract infection as he seems to struggle with using his litter box and keeps urinating in suitcases and on my bed, and I've just been diagnosed with thyroid disease and put on levothyroxine, so I've been under stress for reasons that go beyond Harley's surgery.)
"It seems to me that these women were the head (κεφάλαιον) of the church which was at Philippi." ~ John Chrysostom, Homilies on Philippians 13
If you have any interest whatsoever in buying Girl Scout Cookies from Harley, see this page here. Orders are due by Friday night. There is a troop prize for the Girl Scout who sells cookies to the highest number of different people, so even if you only buy one box, you would be helping Harley work towards that goal.
"It seems to me that these women were the head (κεφάλαιον) of the church which was at Philippi." ~ John Chrysostom, Homilies on Philippians 13
MsJack wrote:If you have any interest whatsoever in buying Girl Scout Cookies from Harley, see this page here. Orders are due by Friday night. There is a troop prize for the Girl Scout who sells cookies to the highest number of different people, so even if you only buy one box, you would be helping Harley work towards that goal.
