670. Prayer is exhaling the spirit of man and inhaling the spirit of God. ~Edwin Keith (Update on my surgery)

When we pray,
our hearts glow
a glorious joy
that lights our souls
and all the world around us.
~Terri Guillemets

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First and foremost, I want to thank those of you who have been praying for me during this time. I so appreciate that and your prayers definitely helped me stay strong and worry very little. My knee replacement surgery was two weeks ago today, and it went very well. I returned home three days later on the following Sunday. I was walking on a walker when I left the hospital and able to get up and down steps. The two weeks of in house rehab started immediately and has also gone well. They told me when I left the hospital I was well ahead of where most folks are after three days, and the PT’s have been repeating the same kudos as they worked with me here. So I’m very pleased with how things are going. This last Sunday, the PT’s took me off the walker and put me on a cane. Then today I went back to the doctor so he could take the staples out and the incision looks good, but I gotta tell you guys that taking those staples out smarted quite a bit! There was some oozing from one of the sights where they pulled out a staple but the fluid was not yet infected. However, just to be on the safe side, they’ve started me on an antibiotic for the next ten days. So now I’m facing 4 weeks (three times a week) of out patient rehab at a local facility. And yes, there is quite a bit of pain involved in the rehab so I still need prayers please, both for the rehab and that the antibiotic stops any chance of infection. I’ve been trying my best to keep up with your blog posts, but some days it’s harder than others to do so. For example, tonight I am very tired and hurting as well so I will not be able to make it through the list this evening. Please bear with me as I do miss reading your entries. It looks as though spring is definitely getting underway here and I sure would like to be out and about, but I shall have to be patient a little longer. Unfortunately patience has never been my strong suit. Oh, well, the Lord is always the unrelenting teacher of lessons He wants us to learn. I pray all is well with all of you and thank you again for all the support. Much love and huge hugs, Natalie

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ~1 John 4:11  ✝

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650. Gratitude is the prayer, while celebration is the song and the dance of praise. ~Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Tha-thump, tha-thump, tha-thump…

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Thank you, Lord, that the stress test on Tuesday showed that nothing is wrong with my heart other than the split-second delay between the tha-thump on the right side and the tha-thump on the left side. So the cardiologist has given the go ahead to the surgeon, and now, my knee-replacement is scheduled for next Thursday, February 26th at 10:30 A.M. So let the countdown begin… Love, Natalie

Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. ~Psalm 103:2   ✝

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639. Update on knee surgery…

So I go in last week to do the pre-op for my knee replacement surgery which was (notice I said was) scheduled for next Tuesday, February 17th, and they call me the next day to say that my EKG was abnormal and that I need to see a cardiologist.  Thankfully there were able to arrange an appointment with the cardiologist for today.  This quote in the photo below seemed to be just right for an update about all this since it talks about the heart and left and right issues.

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The electrical impulse that moves from the right side of the heart to the left should create a simultaneous spark or beat or whatever they call it, and mine isn’t.  There’s a split second delay between the firing on the right side and the firing on the left side.  The good news is that the cardiologist said it wasn’t a long enough delay to be serious at this time and that sometimes it happens as we age.  He went on to say that more than likely it would not require the insertion of a pacemaker.  But just to be sure there is no heart disease that might be causing it, he wants me to have a stress test and the quickest that it could be scheduled was next Tuesday the day I was supposed to have the surgery.  Thus, now pending any negative results from the stress test, the surgery has been rescheduled for Thursday, February 26th.  In the meantime the pain in my knee (actually now it’s pretty much my entire left leg and foot) has increased significantly.  That’s why I’ve not been able to read many of your posts and have been slow to answer comments and emails for the last several days.  I hate that and sadly with this increased amount of pain, that may continue right up until the surgery.  So please forgive me and keep those prayers a comin’.  I am going to try however to keep up with a daily post as that helps keep my mind off the pain, the tedium, and the anxiety.  I know the Lord has a reason for everything and I trust that He is watching over me and guiding these events, but the going is still very tough at times especially since this and another health issue have plagued me for over a year and both are exhausting.  Hopefully, I will be back some day soon.  Much love, Natalie

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