Recovery

Kira’s surgery took place 17 days ago and we are so happy to report that her recovery is going very well. Thank you to so many of you for your encouragement, prayers, and meals! 

Physically, Kira has almost returned to her pre-surgery activity. She has some discomfort bending over, which is miraculously not a problem when she wants a certain toy on the floor, but is a great discomfort when she is being instructed to pick up the snack she threw on the ground. We’ve taken a few outings to play places and she’s not 100%, but we are so thankful that the only other discomforts that remain are the car seat, large steps and the “spit swing.” If we haven’t described it before, the spit swing is where Dave holds her by her hands and feet (like a pig on a spit) and swings her back and forth and then in a full 360. Right before surgery she mastered moving from the 360 swing to letting her hands loose from Dave’s and standing straight upright on one of his hands. So yeah… no spit swing yet. One thing Kira thinks is really fun is her new “shower.” As she is barred from being submerged in a bath for a couple more weeks, I lay her on the kitchen island and wash her hair in the sink like a salon. She might want to continue this practice when the submersion ban is lifted.

We were told to expect some emotional/relational regression after surgery and we experienced some of that. It tried our patience to teach her again what we felt like she had learned. But she’s also taken some great steps in re-establishing some of these skills and re-establishing her trust in us. We felt like we turned a corner to trust and normalcy when we were getting ready to put her down for bed last night and she worked up some antics that she thought was so funny she made herself laugh until she couldn’t breathe. It was good for all of us to laugh together as we all emerge from our exhaustion of the last few weeks. 

My devotional last week led me to Haggai 1:13. Haggai was a prophet, and when I think of prophets I think of long speeches of complicated imagery, foretelling and the judgement of kings, in the style of Isaiah and Jeremiah. But in this verse it says that Haggai brought God’s message to God’s people:

“I am with you.”

That’s the whole prophetic word from Haggai. Whatever work the Lord has set out for us, he is with us. The I AM is with us here in our return to everyday-ness just as he was in the most difficult moments of the ICU. I pray you would know his nearness with you too.