If you follow me on instagram, you know why I’ve been MIA lately. I’ve shared a lot of what has been going on with our life lately on there, but I also wanted to share on here. I had to put my blog aside for a while, because my husband spent a good chunk of April in the hospital. Here’s the very short version of the story: his appendix ruptured, he had an emergency appendectomy, there were complications and a bad infection that followed, he spent more time in the hospital, had to have a second surgery, we had another scare, and he finally went home after 11.5 days in the hospital. But I don’t want to just focus this blog post on medical issues. I want to share how our village came to our rescue and helped us through a really difficult time.
Todd’s instagram post, after we had been home for a couple days
First, we had constant help with our boys. My parents dropped things on their schedule to keep them at their house for days at a time. They cancelled trips and basically all of their plans to help. They took them to school, to soccer, to swim lessons. They brought them to the hospital to visit us. They allowed me to be able to spend every night in the hospital with Todd. My friend picked Davis up from school a couple days to let him play with her kids, and she even took him to soccer practice one week. My in-laws came to town 3 weekends in a row to see us, and helped with the boys while they were here.
My brother-in-law offered to housesit and stayed with our dog, Kenan, for a couple of days. Then when we realized we would be in the hospital for a while, my cousin called me to tell me she was going by our house to pick up our giant golden retriever and take him to their house. She wouldn’t let me argue with her. She has 4 kids, and is a total trooper. Her family loved on Kenan, and the day she brought him back over, she brought a homemade dinner as well.
My father-in-law mowed our yard, blew the leaves and pollen off of our roof, and took my car to be cleaned. My mom brought healthy, homemade meals to the hospital for me (smoothies, salads, soup). Todd wasn’t able to eat for a week, and I had a hard time focusing on food with everything going on.
We have friends in the medical field and they were all available to help with advice and recommendations. My friend who is a P.A. was my constant sounding board with every test result. I have lots of friends who are nurses who all gave their advice the second I texted them with questions. Todd knows people in the radiology field through work who were willing to review scans and test results, and even emailed and texted to check in, despite busy schedules. Our primary care doctor was involved every step of the way.
So many friends stopped by with gifts that were so helpful during our stay: magazines, good coffee, snacks (even plenty of gluten free things for me), books, and chocolate. Several friends emailed or texted Starbucks gift cards. Flowers were sent, cards were made, and balloons were brought.
Friends and family showed up unannounced for both surgeries, which gave us a sense of comfort we didn’t even realize we needed. Todd’s brother even flew in from Oklahoma to be with him! Receiving the voicemail that he had bought a plane ticket was an emotional moment for both of us.
Some of Todd’s friends came to play poker one night by his hospital bed, just to get his mind off of everything that was happening.
We had hundreds of texts and messages letting us know that people were praying. Before this, I honestly did not understand the weight of what it meant to let someone know they are being prayed over. People we haven’t seen in 20 years were praying. The elementary school teachers at the school where I went for high school prayed during their weekly meeting! People I only “know” through instagram were praying. One mom was up in the middle of the night with her baby and she said she was thinking of Todd and our family and spent that time awake praying for us. Our friends and families kept people in the loop and had a giant prayer chain going. Friends responded immediately when I sent the latest update from doctors. Every single morning, and throughout the days, I had so many texts I couldn’t answer with people asking how Todd was doing.
This is the day he could finally start eating real food again!
This hospital stay was scary and honestly terrible, but we know so many others experience much worse. We had so many conversations about how loved we felt through this process. Todd and I said often, “THIS is how to love on people who are sick or in the hospital.” Our friends and family, and even strangers, jumped in to support us, and we learned a lot from all of them. Praying for people going through a tough time is not in vain. Sending a text of encouragement is worth it. Making a phone call to check in will always be appreciated. Stopping by a hospital room, even if it’s a bad time, is a great way to show love. Just making the effort means more to the patient and whoever is there with them than I realized before all of this. Our village kept us going, helped us make tough decisions, let us lean on them, prayed over us, and loved on our boys so they didn’t have to be too scared while their daddy was in the hospital. Our village showed us how to be a better part of our friends’ and families’ village next time they need us. This experience was awful, but we know that these types of situations can refine us and make us stronger. We know that God was present through it all, and that His hand helped heal Todd. We are so grateful that Todd is recovering and will hopefully be back to normal within a month or two. Thank you all for your support!
What a blessing that y’all are home and he is on the mend! God is good!