Blessing after Blessing

"for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me." Psalm 63:7-8

Top: Jeff and Robin the evening after seizure day 11/16/2016

Bottom: Robin the evening of the seizures 11/15/2016

Thank you once again for your concern and prayers. God is answering your prayers as He is carrying my mom and all of us through this journey. He is protecting us, working through us, and blessings us EVERY step of the way. To catch everyone up to speed, my mom was taken by ambulance to the hospital Tuesday morning after my sister Sarah found her at home in a severely confused state. She was also unable to use her

right side and could not articulate her thoughts into words.

In the hospital, a handful of tests were performed, and it was found that Mom was experiencing a series of seizures. Because of the brain tumor, Mom has been at risk of having seizures, and sickness can trigger seizures if you are already prone to them. Unfortunately, Mom recently developed a bad cold. The doctors believe that this illness is the most likely cause of the sudden bout of seizures. Thanks to God's great gift of medicine, in less than 24 hours of the initial seizure, Mom regained movement on her right side, was speaking full sentences, and her level of confusion dramatically decreased. And the most precious gift of all has been seeing that bright sparkle of life in her eyes, hearing that contagious laugh again, and being entertained by that intense wit and humor of hers.

She is still at the hospital and we expect her to be discharged before the weekend. Mom, Dad and all of us very much appreciate your prayers and cards, but we are continuing to request no visitors at this time. Thank you in advance for understanding. We ask for prayer for mom that she would continue to improve as she works to regain her strength and clarity through therapy. We also ask for prayer for wisdom for the doctors as they evaluate when and at what rate they should start to decrease her steroids and seizure medications. The goal is to eventually have her off both of these. And above all, mom and the rest of us continue to pray that God will be glorified through this. Thank you, again, for your prayers!

That is the short version of what has been a very LONG start to another bumpy road on this journey. Especially for Mom. But I cannot end this post with such a "simple" update of the past few day's events. I need to tell you more about God's great goodness He bestowed on us during this time. He is a gracious God.

Blessings from God and how He took care of us all!

#1 - (11/15/16) Mom had a good morning and was excited about her plans for the day. I had a wonderful conversation with her on the phone and even mentioned to my husband that mom seemed especially good and chipper this morning.

#2 - Sometime shortly after I got off the phone with her Mom began to have seizures. From what she can remember and how it appears, Mom did not fall or get hurt when the seizures began. She was alone and it came on suddenly. I truly feel that it is only by the grace of God that she did not fall because she had lost almost all use of her right leg.

#3 - Sarah made a somewhat unplanned stop at mom's house and was able to get her the help she needed when she needed it. Sarah had some errands to run but didn't feel like doing them. Actually, she almost decided to stay home even after she had her jacket on and was ready to walk out the door. But she went anyway. While running errands she stopped in at mom's since she was out and about. God gave Sarah the push she needed to do exactly what He wanted her to be doing that day.

#4 - Sarah made a phone call to me, and I was able to leave my home without hesitation to go help Sarah with Mom. The fact that I could just leave my home in a moment's notice is remarkable. I am a stay-at-home mother of four kids, 2 of which needed transported to school that day and one of which is fully nursing. But God orchestrated everything that my husband was home from work on this particular day, and I had just nursed my baby who was now sleeping. I was literally able to be out the door in minutes!

#5 - Upon arriving at Mom and Dad's house we decided to call an ambulance, so Sarah took care of Mom while I called 911. The paramedics happened to be just down the street. Literally! I passed the parked ambulance on my way to Mom's house. Unfortunately for them they were just down the street eating lunch. We are all blessed to have people who are able and willing to calmly walk into an emergency situation and take care of a complete stranger. Even when it cuts into their lunch break.

#6 - Dad answered his phone at work!!! WHAT?!?! This RARELY happens. (not because he's trying to avoid us, of course!) This is not the norm because Dad rarely has cell reception at his current job. As Sarah rode along with Mom in the ambulance, I made the dreaded call to tell Dad the news. God placed him in a very itsy, bitsy bubble of cell reception at the very moment I called. (and he has not been able to get cell reception at that spot since!)

#7 - Dad was able to be relieved from work!!! Again, WHAT?!?! Dad can't just leave work at the drop-of-a-hat. At his current job there is one person who can relieve Dad from work, but this person is not at the job site on a daily basis. But on this particular day he was. Dad was at mom's bedside in less than an hour from when he was called.

#8 - Mom's Emergency Department nurse was a friend of my sister's, Melanie. It is a comfort during such a time as this to have a friendly and familiar face. God was comforting us.

#9 - All four of us daughters were able to be with Mom and Dad throughout the day without much of a struggle to get there. This is outstanding because between the four of us there are 15 children ages 14 and younger. Anyone with multiple school-aged children or around families with children can understand the business, schedules, commitments, etc. that are encountered on a daily basis. But yet God worked it out perfectly for all of us on this particular day to be there without much of any rearranging; even Becky's Mother-in-law was able to baby-sit her children at a moment's notice. God is good!

#10 - Seizures aren't good, but given the situation, this was the best case scenario compared to what else could have caused the symptoms Mom was experiencing. But God was gracious in saving mom from those things, and she is responding quickly to her medicine to help alleviate anything that might contribute to causing future seizures.

#11 - Over the past two days Mom has been regaining some strength, clarity and is able to speak now. This is very nice!

#12 - I could go on listing blessings... a good local hospital, medicine, an army of praying people behind us, the list can go on.

We serve a mighty God!

Thank you for keeping us in your prayers, and please continue to praise God for His constant grace and blessings!

-Jenna