Fighting Type A

We have been going through quite a few changes around the Wanninger household.  Greg has been dealing with sickness for a while that has really stumped us, and now has stumped doctors too.  He has nausea and dizziness and other stomach related things going on and no one can tell us what it is.  He has seen our family doctor and a gastro specialist.  He has had a esophageal scope and a colonoscopy and thankfully, they saw nothing wrong.  While that should make us happy, at the same time it is very frustrating because he still feels bad.  He can hardly eat anything and it seems to make him sick.  The doctor put him on anti acids and a stomach coating pill.  Not one time has anyone said anything about his diet.  You mean he can keep eating whatever he wants?  Sure!  Eat whatever you want!  It makes no sense.  Something must be causing it.  My suspicion has been food from the very beginning.  I pray that The Lord will reveal something to us so we can help him feel better!  I just want to fix it, you know?  Maybe it's the mommy in me, or just my personality.  But waiting and wondering is just plain hard.

Back in August, Fisher had a cath on his heart.  We had seen the pediatric cardiologist and he said this was the best way for him to get an idea of what Fishers heart really looked like and how it functioned.  The results were positive in that they said he was a great candidate for the Fontan procedure, which is the second part of the Glenn procedure which they did in China.  That procedure probably saved Fishers life and we are so thankful to his foster home, New Day South, for raising the money for that and taking such good care of him. He had that surgery when he was 18 months old.  These surgeries are palliative, which means, they do not correct the problem, they simply improve his quality of life.  When the first surgeon did the Glenn, they determined that his condition was such that a repair was not possible.  So to save his life and give him the best possible chance, they chose this route.  Our cardiologist said that what was done in China was excellent work and we are so thankful that even then, The Lord was working for Fisher.  

So since he was a candidate for this Fontan procedure, the cardiologist recommended that we do it within the next 6 months or so to get the best result.  So we decided to schedule for the week of Thanksgiving for several reasons.  Greg's business is slower then and my friend from Tampa would be off work and able to come stay with our other children.  We were scheduled to go in the Monday before Thanksgiving for a tour of the facility, pre-operative testing, and a meeting with the surgeon.  

That day we arrived on time to the desk and were immediately handed a note that said to call the surgeons office.  An emergency procedure had come up and the surgeon had to reschedule for a week later.  Wow.  Talk about taking the wind out of my sails.  I'm a planner, always have been.  So I had my house clean, freezer meals ready and childcare lined up.  Our church had prayed over our family during service and encouraged us daily.  Now it seemed like we had to do it all again!  

So we picked ourselves up by our boot straps and regrouped.  Friends offered to help with the kiddos and the freezer meals are still there.  Our church is still encouraging us and covering us in prayer.  It's Omday and we are as ready and we can be for surgery this Thursday....but wait....today, we got an email that the surgery has been rescheduled AGAIN.  Yes, you read that right.  We are now looking at surgery on Tuesday December the 9th.  It's just about the time that I want to scream when my sweet friend encourages me by telling me that her son's heart surgery bumped quite a few people when he had his.  Then my mind drifted back to those itty bitty babies in cardiac ICU we saw the day of the tour.  What if they were the ones being rushed back into surgery and causing rescheduling.  There are names and faces to all of the "cases" on a surgeons schedule.  One day, maybe next week, that name will be Fishers, and his heart will have a chance to be stronger than it is now.  

The house still has to be recleaned, but hey, that's every day!  The Lord is in control of all the details of our lives.  He knows things that we don't and has reasons for every inconvenience, every change of plans, every unexpected interruption.  Each of these things, if we are true followers of Christ, are molding us into His image.  Our flaws and our sin and our selfishness come so quickly to the surface when we are faced with these type things.  At least mine does.  We get to practice looking to Him and seeking Him and yielding to His Spirit.  Oh and how I need more practice!  Being flexible is hard for this type A personality.  But this week we got to spend some quality time with some far away friends and family that we would not have had if the surgery had not been rescheduled.  And maybe, just maybe, the person who needs to hear about Jesus the most will be at the hospital in the waiting room with us next Tuesday.  Pray that we will have the words to say and the eyes and ears to seize the opportunity to tell about the glory of our precious Lord Jesus Christ.   This Christmas, more than ever, our hope is in Him alone.  

Psalm 39:7 “And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You."