Ash Wednesday--First Day of Lent--Rehab Day 15

Good evening to everyone.  Jacque is taking a nap, so I decided to blog for a while.  We have had  real busy day, which really helps the time go by. Jacque got up this morning and took a shower.  He is no longer having any low blood pressure problems.  He no longer has to wear the hose and no longer has the stomach binder.  He had therapy twice today and walked long distances, stood for long periods of time, and did lots of stretching exercises.  We did not get our discharge date today.  The insurance company did not call in and notify the hospital.  We should find out something tomorrow.  We are praying they will kick us out, but the therapists think Jacque needs one more week to increase his strength.  They know we have a 2 1/2 hour drive to get home. Jacque told them he had a son that would take care of getting him stronger.  So I need everyone to pray we get to go home soon.  We are both so homesick. 

We went to mass today.  It is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.  We had ashes put on our foreheads. We even decided what we were going to do for our lenten practice.  For those of you that are not Catholic, during Lent Catholics try to pray, fast, and give alms for the forty days before Easter-these three things take care of giving to your God--pray, yourself--fasting, and others--almsgiving.  We pretty much have the prayer part taken care of.  We both have done a lot of praying during this illness.  Our fasting is simple--we decided to fast from fussing.  We are going to do everything in our power to make each other happy during this illness.  Believe me--this is hard to do when you are tired and when you are not feeling well.  But I must admit--we are doing a pretty good job of it.  The almsgiving is easy in the hospital.  We may not be giving money, but we are giving love and compassion to alot of people.  There are so many stories here.  Some people just need someone to listen and to talk to.  Those are two things Jacque and I are pretty good at doing. I pray we will not be here for the 40 days of Lent.

We had a real special visitor today.  A young woman who had Guillain Barre came to see Jacque.  Her case was a lot worse than Jacque's.  She was in the hospital from October until January.  She is a school teacher, but has not returned to work yet.  For her to be released from the hospital she had to be able to transfer to her wheelchair.  Jacque has been doing that.  Jacque can already move his legs better than she can.  She is walking with a walker just like Jacque. We found out real quick how blessed we are.  Our God is so good.  This lady has a great attitude and is an inspiration to everyone who meets her.  Her faith is amazing.  She is so in love with her God.  She said that only special people could get this disease and she sure was glad to meet a special person like Jacque.  What a blessing she was for us.

Well, guess I better go.  Have a blessed night.  Bible verse for the day:  "I am always with you, Lord you hold me by my right hand." Psalms 73:23