After 14 days of hiccups which plagued me virtually day and night, I am home from the hospital hiccup free! I now possess, thanks to a 45 minute radiological procedure, which took place yesterday morning at Swedish Hospital in Seattle, two drains in my bile duct. One of these is an interior drain which drains excess bile into the duodenum. The other is a drain which removes bile into an external bag from my liver through the right side of my rib cage. These will remain at least until the jaundice is resolved. The duodenal stent was blocking the bile duct preventing it from draining properly. Thus, the backup leading to jaundice.
I was mildly sedated throughout the whole procedure which proved to be quite painful even in spite of the pain meds they gave me. The pain has persisted since the surgery, but seems to be resolving this evening. The greatest news of all, though, is that I have been hiccup free for nearly 36 hours! Again, thank you very much for sustaining me with your prayers!
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5 comments:
We are so glad your hiccups are gone and that you're home, Bryan! We are praying that you will be "hospital-free" for many days to come.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow. I'm so thankful to hear that the hiccups are gone. Praying for you and the family to continue to find the joy of the Lord as your strength.
Love in Christ,
Suzi
Wow, that's great, Praise God! Now, did the fact that the hiccups have stopped have anything to do with getting the bile drains, or was that something else they did? Well, we'll take it, any way it happened! Peaceful days and nights, once again! I hope that today (Th.) you feel even better! God bless you, Dina :)
Dear Bryan, I just opened my email and the weekly note from my Pastor was in it. It said we might "forward it on" to anyone who might be blessed by it. Perhaps you will like it, too.
"2 Corinthians 12:8-10 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
While reading through Pastor Chuck Smith's new book "A Memoir of Grace," the Holy Spirit is using Pastor Chuck's life to really encourage me in the Lord. It's wonderful to be reminded, and shown at the same time, how God uses everything in our lives to prepare us for what's up ahead.
In a powerful paragraph, he captures from his own life's experience, the reality of Christians facing pain. He writes:
"Yes, there is a divine blessing hidden in every day, free for the taking and totally unrelated to moral cause and effect. But grace does not shield the cruel realities of a world damaged by the fall. We are not in heaven yet and God does not spare us from the crushing blows that come to everyone. We suffer, we grieve, and we journey on. But even in the darkest nights when awakened by the window's shuddering with the blast of a storm, we are not abandoned. Through the wind and over the turbulent sea, grace comes to us with the comfort of heaven, the support of God's Spirit, and the strength to draw our next breath and take the next step. Grace brings hope. Hope pushes forward."
Are you hurting right now? Grace brings hope. Hope pushes forward.
I'm praying for those of you who receive this note and are hurting. May the comfort of His Spirit flood your soul. Perhaps you can forward this on to a friend who is also hurting so that the ministry of God's comfort multiplies."
Blessings today, Dina
Pastor Bryan,
We're delighted to see God's handiwork in your life! Hiccup-free yipee!!!
We pray that the jaundice will go away quickly and the fight to get rid of the cancer will be stronger than ever!
God bless you and your loving family!
Heather, for the Holston Family
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