8 weeks later.

It is hard to believe I have not sat down and written a post in over 2 weeks.  The time has just flown by.  It has now been 8 weeks since Rob's surgery and that is hard to believe too.  Last night Rob was reading me a few of the entries he wrote in his journal right after his surgery.  It was a very therapeutic thing for him to write out his thoughts and feelings and spend time reading his bible.  Plus now it is great to be able to look back at where he was and see how far he has come.  On May 20th he talks about me reading him 1 Peter 4 right after he had his trach removed and his NG tube changed.  That was a very tough afternoon because it all happened so quickly.  1 Peter 4:13 says "But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed."  It seems weird to talk about rejoicing while suffering but that is exactly what we are supposed to do.  This did not mean that we loved where we were or the situation we were in but it meant that we would take everything set before us and trust God.  Rob made a comment last night about wanting to be in the place with God that he was while he was in hospital.  When you are faced with pain and suffering it is easier to look to God for help because everything else feels hopeless.  When things are going a little smoother it is easier to forget about God and rely on our own strength.  Our desire is that we would rely on God everyday, trusting him when things are tough and praising him always. 


Yesterday Rob had another follow up with Dr Nason.  He took a look at Rob's mouth and let us ask some questions.  One of the main items we wanted to ask about was a little sore Rob has in his mouth.  After being diagnosed with tongue cancer you are much more aware of everything happening in your mouth.  On the right side by the flap Rob has a little bump of skin that has developed a little sore.  Apparently this is something called granulation and Dr Nason does not think it is a tumor.  Granulation is sort of like a little extra skin and it is sticking out and getting irritated when he eats which is why there is a sore.  We were thankful to hear that Dr Nason isn't too concerned about it.  In 2 weeks Rob will go back to see him and he will burn it off with silver nitrate.  He said it is just done in the office and doesn't hurt.  As you can imagine Rob is not looking forward to this so we are praying that it heals and goes away before then! 


One of the other main things we wanted to discuss was work.  Although Rob is doing very well he wouldn't be able to handle 8 hour days quite yet.  The goal is to be back at work after Labour day.  This gives him 2 more months to heal and get his stamina back.  He is still working with 2 physiotherapists and is making improvements but is still quite a ways from being back to normal. His work at church cleaning requires a lot of physical work which he cannot handle yet.  As we speak he just vacuumed the living room and hallway at home and when he turned off the vacuum he said he needed a nap!  His job at the school requires him to talk all day to teenagers.  Although he is speaking quite well he still has trouble with certain letters.  This week he is meeting his Speech Language Pathologist to do a speaking assessment and then he will be able to work very specifically on the letters he has trouble with.  


Over the last 2 months Rob has been receiving sick pay from the school and he has not had to go on Unemployment Insurance (EI).  Last Friday was his last day of pay so we have applied for him to receive EI through the government.  This always seems to be a complicated process and we have already been given contradicting advice from Service Canada.  Please pray that this would go through smoothly and that Rob will be able to receive some payments over the next 2 months.  God has been faithful and has been providing for us so far so we confidently trust that He will continue to do so.


This week I will be getting a wisdom tooth pulled which is something I have been avoiding for probably 3 years.  My tooth had a filling that fell out and since it is a wisdom tooth the solution now is to pull it.  I will just be going into the regular office and have local freezing.  Please pray that the tooth comes out in one piece, that there are no complications and that the recovery is not painful.  This seems like such a small thing compared to what Rob has gone through but it is still no fun and I look forward to having it over. 


Thank you for caring for our family and for praying for us.
Love Karen