A great Tuesday
Seems my other blogs were a little heavy and filled with tons of worry...yet I still do that even though I know there is no need to...maybe I am getting that mixed up with concern..yea, that's the ticket. Let me tell you some good and some amazing things that happened in the last four or five days.
Emmy and I were driving to the hospital to be with Sarah Beth and the rest of the warriors on Friday morning. I love the fall (and so does Sarah Beth)...the smells, sounds and the colors. We were driving down Portsmouth Road and I turned down a road on the right (the same road that Sarah Beth got car sick on one trip back to Huntington) and the trees were beautiful...the sun was hitting the mountain
just right and I stopped and did a U-turn to get a few pictures. Then when I was looking out the window on my side I saw this hill just bursting with color and about a million blue jays. I saw them landing on the limbs and squawking something terrible.
We drove on down the road and got to get a whiff of the "Pickle Plantation" which is actually a lumber yard. Once driving past there on a trip to or from home...can't remember which it was...there have been about a 1000,000 of them in the past 20 years...Emmy said that she smelled a pickle plantation. So EVERY trip no matter how hot or cold, we roll down the windows and breathe in that familiar smell and tell the story yet another time.
Our time at the hospital was tiring but more amazing and uplifting if you can imagine that. Thursday the warriors gathered in Sarah Beth's room for a preachin to from Sarah Beth and some precious singing of her favorite hymn, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. I can tell you that many prayers were said out loud and millions of others were lifted up in those moments right before surgery and that there was no a dry eye in the room or out in the hall. Sarah Beth is an amazing Godly, secure in her faith woman that was ready to tackle anything because she has excepted this as God's will for her life. In a lighter moment I heard a baby's lullaby playing over the intercom. Each time a baby is born the lullaby plays. Babies being born and children being baptized always make me cry...if I am wearing make-up or not.
While we were waiting for the surgery to end...we all congregated in the surgical waiting room in the lobby of the hospital. We filled the entire room. People kept pouring in. Many of the members on Pea Ridge Baptist Church are employed by the hospital. They each took turns reporting on Sarah Beth's status. People and food kept coming...you know comfort food like carmel corn and pizza....people that I haven't seem for 20 or more years. All coming together to give strength and prayers for the family and friends gathered. When Sarah Beth was out of surgery, we were able to go back to see her before they took her to SICU. Then it was on to the waiting room chairs outside SICU...you just never know where you are going to find a blessing. Everyone in that room had someone in ICU. We grew to be a little family. Telling each other about our loved ones that had been in surgery and now starting the recovery process. Some ending had a silver lining then there were a few that would just break your heart. No dark thoughts every entered my mind. I just knew that Sarah Beth would make it out of surgery just fine. I can not say enough about the staff of the hospital from the housekeepers to the surgeons...they all were kind, considerate and willing to do whatever we needed when ever we needed it to make our stay pleasant. Once Sarah Beth was in her ICU room we were allowed to see her. She was mostly sleeping but one time she did tell me that I was not to leave her Mom's side. I take my job very seriously...her side I did not leave until last night when I had to come back. Boy, was that a hard transition! Kate and I had lots of time to catch up on what has been happening over the last two years. We reminisced about when the kids were little. It was good to go back in time to a place where things seemed simpler and we had every thing under control...or so we thought we did. I can report to you that Sarah Beth is improving everyday. She is getting a little stronger and looking forward to going home. I am amazed at her willpower and her management of her situation. If she has a question, she asks. If she doesn't understand, she will say so. She knows her meds and what they are for. She know where they can stick her and where the forbidden areas are. She is a trooper for sure. I don't know if I could do what she is doing right now. Kate told me today they changed her dressing and there are 24 staples in her head. Brain surgery is a breeze, right Sarah Beth? Don't worry, be happy!
Keep praying for them all. You can read more at LOVEYOURGUTS.COM. If you would like to encourage them at home with a card or donate to the foundation the address is
The Napier Family
3084 Malcolm Road
Barboursville, WV 25504
LOVEYOURGUTS FOUNDATION
c/o Jerri Black
191 N. Queens Court
Huntington, WV 25705
Emmy and I were driving to the hospital to be with Sarah Beth and the rest of the warriors on Friday morning. I love the fall (and so does Sarah Beth)...the smells, sounds and the colors. We were driving down Portsmouth Road and I turned down a road on the right (the same road that Sarah Beth got car sick on one trip back to Huntington) and the trees were beautiful...the sun was hitting the mountain
just right and I stopped and did a U-turn to get a few pictures. Then when I was looking out the window on my side I saw this hill just bursting with color and about a million blue jays. I saw them landing on the limbs and squawking something terrible.
We drove on down the road and got to get a whiff of the "Pickle Plantation" which is actually a lumber yard. Once driving past there on a trip to or from home...can't remember which it was...there have been about a 1000,000 of them in the past 20 years...Emmy said that she smelled a pickle plantation. So EVERY trip no matter how hot or cold, we roll down the windows and breathe in that familiar smell and tell the story yet another time.Our time at the hospital was tiring but more amazing and uplifting if you can imagine that. Thursday the warriors gathered in Sarah Beth's room for a preachin to from Sarah Beth and some precious singing of her favorite hymn, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. I can tell you that many prayers were said out loud and millions of others were lifted up in those moments right before surgery and that there was no a dry eye in the room or out in the hall. Sarah Beth is an amazing Godly, secure in her faith woman that was ready to tackle anything because she has excepted this as God's will for her life. In a lighter moment I heard a baby's lullaby playing over the intercom. Each time a baby is born the lullaby plays. Babies being born and children being baptized always make me cry...if I am wearing make-up or not.
While we were waiting for the surgery to end...we all congregated in the surgical waiting room in the lobby of the hospital. We filled the entire room. People kept pouring in. Many of the members on Pea Ridge Baptist Church are employed by the hospital. They each took turns reporting on Sarah Beth's status. People and food kept coming...you know comfort food like carmel corn and pizza....people that I haven't seem for 20 or more years. All coming together to give strength and prayers for the family and friends gathered. When Sarah Beth was out of surgery, we were able to go back to see her before they took her to SICU. Then it was on to the waiting room chairs outside SICU...you just never know where you are going to find a blessing. Everyone in that room had someone in ICU. We grew to be a little family. Telling each other about our loved ones that had been in surgery and now starting the recovery process. Some ending had a silver lining then there were a few that would just break your heart. No dark thoughts every entered my mind. I just knew that Sarah Beth would make it out of surgery just fine. I can not say enough about the staff of the hospital from the housekeepers to the surgeons...they all were kind, considerate and willing to do whatever we needed when ever we needed it to make our stay pleasant. Once Sarah Beth was in her ICU room we were allowed to see her. She was mostly sleeping but one time she did tell me that I was not to leave her Mom's side. I take my job very seriously...her side I did not leave until last night when I had to come back. Boy, was that a hard transition! Kate and I had lots of time to catch up on what has been happening over the last two years. We reminisced about when the kids were little. It was good to go back in time to a place where things seemed simpler and we had every thing under control...or so we thought we did. I can report to you that Sarah Beth is improving everyday. She is getting a little stronger and looking forward to going home. I am amazed at her willpower and her management of her situation. If she has a question, she asks. If she doesn't understand, she will say so. She knows her meds and what they are for. She know where they can stick her and where the forbidden areas are. She is a trooper for sure. I don't know if I could do what she is doing right now. Kate told me today they changed her dressing and there are 24 staples in her head. Brain surgery is a breeze, right Sarah Beth? Don't worry, be happy!
Keep praying for them all. You can read more at LOVEYOURGUTS.COM. If you would like to encourage them at home with a card or donate to the foundation the address is
The Napier Family
3084 Malcolm Road
Barboursville, WV 25504
LOVEYOURGUTS FOUNDATION
c/o Jerri Black
191 N. Queens Court
Huntington, WV 25705
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