Thank You!

Happy Tuesday! Oh what a surprise I had when I went to the mailbox yesterday! Dawn…thank you so much for making the trip to my house! Thank you to all who contributed to the restaurant gift cards and gift certificate! What a HUGE blessing! I laughed until I cried when I opened the Fedora’s gift certificate! It is our hands down favorite!! Denny must have gone in to pick up food after the gift certificate was purchased. Nabil had said to Denny that something was coming his way and Denny couldn’t figure out what he meant. I hope that whoever picked it up also got themselves a Chilli Chatter to read! What a great mix of restaurants. Tanner decided that we are having Arby’s for lunch today and Fedora’s and Dairy Queen Blizzards tomorrow. And we still have others to choose from! We have been carrying in a lot since Tanner came home, so this is a perfect gift! Thank you so much for taking such good care of us. Jenniffer Post made us some of the best sloppy joes I think I have ever had and since yesterday, I have wanted to wash down every meal with Angie Hobbs’ white chocolate popcorn. I just want to know why she can’t make it all year long!

Tanner is having a good day today. He is getting ready to take a shower, with our help of course. We got him a shower seat at Walgreens to use. He’s still unsteady on his feet. He’s even thinking about trying to brush his own teeth. We’ll see. Sunday night and Monday were rough days for him. He was again battling nausea and vomiting which only increase his chest pain. I spoke to the doctor’s office yesterday and we have changed his pain medications. Not to be too graphic but we finally ‘pooped’ on Monday. After 8 days, it was tough. He has to stay in an upright military position and cannot bend at the waist or twist, so it made it challenging. You realize that when he feels better and reads these posts, I am likely to be in a heap of trouble!

His first outing will be next Monday (12/28). We have to go to the OSF Center for Health on Rt 91 for a chest x-ray. On Tuesday (12/29), we go back to the Children’s Hospital to see the surgeon. Thank you again for praying for Tanner and for us. I know God has heard and that the prayers of the saints have definitely had an impact on Tanner’s positive outcome. Denny and I have never prayed over and cried over our child so much in all his life. About 3am Monday morning, Tanner was really struggling. Denny came in and prayed over all of us. As he experienced some relief later in the morning, I leaned over and as I kissed his forehead he quietly whispered ‘Thank you Jesus for keeping me safe’. My heart nearly broke into pieces. I realized that through all of this God is teaching Tanner who He is as well. That He is the One who comforts, the One who heals and the One who saves. I am certain that none of what he has endured will be in vain and I pray that the lessons he learns will be engraved on his heart and mind for a lifetime. Don’t misunderstand me. I will still do everything humanly possible to minimize his pain and discomfort; and if I could single-handedly take it all away, rest assured that I would. In the meantime, we will trust our God.

In the next couple of days, I will post a few pictures of my favorite patient. I am anticipating that each day will be better than the previous and he may be up for a photo shoot. Before I forget, I have to thank all of the PCS teachers who set aside time in their classes to make cards for Tanner. The whole family has enjoyed reading them and Tanner laughed at some of them until he hurt…literally! We also appreciate the Welcome Home banner that came home with Hunter on Monday. We are going to hang it in his room.

I pray that you are having a blessed day. That you can feel the unspeakable love and Holy passion that God has for you. That all of your troubles seem light and momentary when you consider eternity with our God.

With Love and Thankfulness,
Karessa