Hello family and friends! I know it has been quite awhile since I posted here on the blog. Thank you for joining us today! Steve and I want to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving, a Merry Christmas, and a joyful New Year. This year has been full and filled with much love and many blessings. We have also had some situations that have stretched and grown us and most importantly, we have been reminded what a blessing it is to be surrounded with the amazing love and support of family and friends. When you finally learn that a person’s behavior has more to do with their own internal struggle than it ever had to do with you, you learn grace. We close out this year being grace-filled and looking forward to all God has for us in the coming year.[...]

Every year on our wedding anniversary (April 15th), I am drawn to the simplicity of three words. Three words that changed the course of history for us and began an amazingly incredible journey of twenty seven years.[...]

Time to Catch Up!

Steve’s last post had us back at the hotel at Mayo in November for my complete abdominal reconstruction and another attempt at placing the feeding tube into the small intestine and securing it with clips. I am happy to report that it stayed in place about 3 months before we had to go back on the IV nutrition (TPN). This was our longest placement yet. We have just returned from Mayo where I had two surgeries in two days. One to replace and reposition the feeding tube and the second one to place a central line in my chest so I can receive my IV hydration and IV nutrition should the feeding tube dislodge. Maintenance on the feeding tube requires it to be surgically replaced every 6 months because of sticky formula build-up within the line. So Phoenix . . . Here we come twice a year! Both surgeries were uneventful and I was even poolside 2 hours after surgery.[...]

I am excited to report that Lee was able to leave the hospital at Mayo on Wednesday evening and got a much needed 12 hours of rest at the hotel overnight. 

The GI team successfully repositioned the feeding tube and Lee was able to transition back off the IV nutrition before being discharged. We’ll be doing some slow test runs with the tube feeding today and tomorrow before we head back home on Saturday afternoon. We appreciate your continued prayers for the tube to stay in place![...]

When I reread the last update from Sunday it was hard to believe all that’s transpired in less than 48 hours. They decided to do an X-ray to confirm the feeding tube placement before restarting Lee’s nutrition through it. The surgeons who had pushed it back in to position (but did not secure it) were left scratching their heads when the film showed it was already coiled back up in her stomach. [...]

Lee had a reasonably good Saturday all things considered. While the pain is significant as we anticipated, her care team has done a good job of managing it. She was able to get up and walk the floor for almost an hour (perhaps a bit much with the benefit of hindsight, but she can be an over-achiever and paid the price😬). There was a bout with some nausea and vomiting that was pretty uncomfortable but that has resolved this morning. She also got her catheter removed and has been able to go to the bathroom successfully which was a key benchmark. [...]

Wanted to get out an update before it gets too late for our east coast family and friends.  Lee is in recovery and I talked to the surgeon. He was very encouraged with the procedures and said he "did a lot more work than expected but hopes it will pay big dividends".  [...]

Good morning. The picture is of the hotel on the Mayo Campus where we are staying this trip. It is literally in the Mayo parking lot and takes just a couple of minutes to walk to the hospital. The rooms are really nice with a full kitchen and living room. It was built with the medical patient in mind. We will stay here into next week as I recover enough to travel. My surgery is to repair the tear of my connective tissue in my abdominal wall that was a consequence of the surgical procedure to place my feeding tube in May. The surgery is today at 12:30 MT. We would appreciate your prayers as this is a complex surgery and will take between 3 to 4 hours. I am feeling really rested as God has blessed me with deep slumber this week. I am not going in as strong as I wanted because my feeding tube surgery from just three weeks ago has failed. The tube has torn loose from the wall of the small intestine and has coiled back up in the stomach again. If you are counting, this would make the 4th feeding tube surgery failure. At this point we do not have a plan for nutrition so we need for God to clearly show us next steps. The Mayo GI team is at a loss for any new procedures to hold the feeding tube in place. We can try and repeat the previous surgery that has failed and hope it turns out different. The GI team mentioned doing the original feeding tube surgery that I had back in May. That was the one that left me in the hospital for 31 days because it persisted in leaking bile. My faulty connective tissue kept the skin from healing around the tube. So right now these are my less than optimal choices to place the tube. These choices leave us very discouraged. The clock is ticking on deciding next steps since I have no nutrition without the feeding tube. While we are discouraged, we are not defeated. God has provided a way when it seemed there was no way for over 3 decades of this physical battle. Yes, we are weary but not hopeless.[...]

I apologize if this post is a little “fuzzy” as I am still feeling the effects of anesthesia. Many of you know I have a metabolic issue that causes me to ultra rapidly process a lot of medications but having to balance that with my history of anesthesia complications. The anesthesiologist said he typically uses 1/2 to 1 bottle of medication to induce sleep. I required 4 bottles. So, a little hungover but wanted to get a post out to update from the day.[...]

I was hoping the next post from the Brooks’ household would be from the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix in November the day before my big surgery to fix the tear in my abdominal wall. Just to ask for your prayers for Steve and me as we head into this surgery. Sometimes (actually many times) our plans are not God’s plans. Saturday I noticed that the feeding formula was draining into my gastric bag from my stomach. Not what i wanted to see. This would mean the surgery at Mayo to clip the feeding tube to the intestinal wall had failed. My connective tissue disease had allowed for the clips to tear through. I’ve always said i would be transparent in these posts because we all have trials and we can learn from each other if we are honest. My honesty - I cried; no, I sobbed. I just need a break. As i prayed, God put a song on my heart that I haven’t heard in ages. “Count Your Blessings”. “Count Your Blessings”is a very amazing hymn, with each verse beginning with a challenge and ending with the fact that no matter what happens, if we count our blessings, we’ll be “surprised”,”singing”, “rewarded”, and “comforted.” The chorus also repeats the same phrase twice with a different melody and adds the word “many” before the word “blessings” the second time. The repetition of counting our “many”blessings is a great reminder to always return thanks unto God for whatsoever things we receive in according to his will for us, his children whom he loves without condition.[...]