**I'm writing this more so that I can look back and remember...because sometimes even the hardest moments are worth remembering.**
Monday, April 2, 2018 started just like any other Monday. I was on Spring Break, although I was going to spend that one day working at the pawn shop. Drew was going to work that day and then be on vacation so we could spend the rest of the week together. Never in our wildest dreams could we have imagined what that evening and the coming days would bring. But God knew.
Around 10:00, Drew sent me a text saying that he was struggling to get warm. He said he was shivering uncontrollably, sitting with his legs wrapped around a space heater, his coat and hood on. That's highly unusual for my husband. I assumed he was coming down with a 24 hour stomach bug. But God knew.
About 1:00, I got a text from Drew telling me he was going to be going home as soon as his assistant manager could get there. That's extremely unusual for him. He never willingly takes off work just because he doesn't feel good. I still thought it was a stomach bug and thought he would sleep it off and we have a great week together. But God knew.
He came home and slept while I continued through my work day. I was very excited to get home, get him feeling better and have fun together the rest of the week. We were going to go to the movies, get some yard work done, sleep in every day and stay up late every night. We had our week all planned. But God knew.
When I came home from work, he was laying in bed. His cheeks were flushed and he was sweating. I asked how he was feeling. He said it was really hot in the house. I checked the thermostat and it was right where it normally is. I kissed his forehead and immediately knew he was running a fever. I took his temperature and it was 101.8. He tried getting up out of bed and could hardly walk. He said his leg was hurting. I took one look and could see why. It was bright red and quite swollen. I tried to talk him into a trip to the ER but he wouldn't go. (You know the old saying, "You can always tell a German but you can't tell him much.") He said he'd let me take him in the morning if it wasn't better but he was sure it would be. But God knew.
Early Tuesday morning, he woke up and was nearly unable to walk. His leg was very swollen, incredibly sore and extremely red. He said he was ready for a trip to the ER. It took us awhile but we got ourselves dressed and ready to go. On our way out the door, he said we should take his phone charger "just in case" but was sure we'd just go to Memorial and be back in a few hours. But God knew.
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| God knew I'd sleep in a hospital chair for 10 nights (missing 3 tags) |
By the time we got to Memorial Hospital, there was no way Drew was going to walk into the ER. I went in and got a wheelchair to take him in. At this point, I really knew there was something significantly wrong. My sweet husband has always been good at smiling through the pain and making the most of everything. We thought we'd get it checked out, get some medication and be on our way. But God knew.
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| This was what it looked like in the ER |
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| 3 hours after arriving |
We didn't wait very long before being taken back to a room. Blood tests were ordered and we waited. After a short time, the doctor came in to say Drew had cellulitis and would be admitted for some IV antibiotics. We got settled into room 1128 around 2:00 and I left to come home for things for the night. We figured it would be IV antibiotics overnight and back home Wednesday morning. But God knew.
When the nurse came in to give us some information, one thing she did was tell us what hospitalist was assigned to him. I was thrilled to find out it was going to be my best friend since childhood. We've known each other our entire lives and now she was going to be caring for the best man I could ever ask for. Knowing there are many hospitalists there, I was sure she wouldn't be his doctor. No one knew how much I hoped and prayed she would be. But God knew.
Over the course of the next 10 days, we would meet some of the nicest nurses (and a couple crummy ones) and Patient Care Assistants we could have asked for. Of course, there were the midnight and 4:00am IV changes, the blood draws anytime between 2:00-4:00am, the weight and vitals checks at 5:00am and the constant noises that we're not used to hearing at home. The doctor came in every day and checked his leg. Her plan was to keep him on IV antibiotics until she saw some improvement and then switch him to oral antibiotics for 24 hours before sending him home. She was sure he would be discharged before she'd be off duty for a few days. We fully anticipated being home by Thursday or Friday at the very latest. But God knew.
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| Blister at 7:30PM |
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| Blister at 8:00PM |
Wednesday evening we noticed what looked like a small blister, about the diameter of a dime that formed just below the knee. We let the nurse know and she contacted the doctor who ordered wound care for Thursday morning. Within 30 minutes, the blister had grown to the diameter of a quarter. Wound care came in on Thursday morning, drained the blister and put compression wraps on his leg.
Friday we just relaxed for most of the day. Saturday I left to take my parents shopping. While I was gone, wound care came in to check Drew's leg. They scraped a lot of dead skin from the wound and redressed it. It was quite painful for Drew.
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| Post-scraping |
Sunday I went to church and live streamed the service for Drew. Even though he was in South Bend and I was in Elkhart, it was nice to know we were worshiping in the same service. "Spring break" came to an end and a new work week would begin the next morning.
Each morning, I left the hospital bright and early to make the 30 minute drive to work. After the doctor came in, Drew would text me to let me know what she had to say. The first couple days it was pretty much the same news..."We have to stick with IV antibiotics. Keep it elevated." Wound care came in daily to change the bandages and check the wound. It was slowly improving but not quite as much as the doctor had hoped.
Wednesday she said, "We'll see about starting oral antibiotics tomorrow." Thursday she decided to switch him from the IV to oral antibiotics. At this point, we decided we'd know he was coming home when they had him sign paperwork. But we were both so ready to be home. It was so hard to not get our hopes up.
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| His last nurse, Aaron and our favorite PCA, Maria |
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| Discharge day |
Late Friday morning I got the news I'd been waiting for. Drew texted to tell me that the oral antibiotics were working well enough that he could go home! He would have to come back to the hospital every couple days for outpatient wound care. But that's certainly a small sacrifice to make to sleep in our own bed, relax in our living room and not have nurses coming in all hours of the night. So I happily went to the hospital, packed up nearly two weeks' worth of our personal belongings and we bid farewell to 11 South at Memorial Hospital. We made a stop to fill four new prescriptions, stopped for dinner and came home. Drew hadn't seen the inside of our home for nearly 11 days. He was beyond thrilled to be home and I was ecstatic to have him home! We know we still have a long road ahead of us. But we'll get through this together just like we've gotten through every hurdle we've faced. After all, in our wedding vows, we said "for better or worse, in sickness and in health..."
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| Thankful for well-wishes from many. |
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| Truck and flowers from Drew's sister |
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Balloons from Jon and his girlfriend
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| The visitor that got the biggest smile |
Over the course of those 11 days, we were so thankful for calls, texts, Facebook messages, cards and visits from may friends and family. He received a large plant from WWJP and a cute little truck with flowers from his sister, cards from Aunt Eleanor, Aunt Darlene and Uncle John, Aunt Rita and our friends at Electric Brew. He had visits from Pastor Mike, our kids and granddaughter, my parents, his mom and nephew, his sister, our friends Howie, Hubie and Peggy, Charles, Scott and Kerri, Byron, Eric and Serena, and YuYu. Our church family has held us up in prayer every step of the way. We're thankful to be part of such a great family of fellow believers.
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| Plant from WWJP |
It's been a long couple weeks and I know the adventure isn't over. But we know that, as Hubie said, "God will pull you through if you can stand the pull." We know God had a purpose for allowing this to happen. We also know He had a reason to keep him in the hospital for so long.
*If you've read to the end, congratulations! I only wrote it so that I could look back in the future and be reminded that God knows long before we do. If we are faithful to Him, He will be faithful to us. May He always find me faithful. ❤Brenda (and Drew, too!) 💑
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| Persevering through pain |
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| Loved walking "around the block" with my sweetie |
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| We almost had an escapee. |
June 8 we took our first trip to Saint Joseph, Michigan and immediately fell in love with this quaint little beach town! The lake is stunning, the beach is beautiful, the shops in town are tremendous, and we love the slower pace of life there. This was our first trip of many! I'm now Facebook friends with people we met over the summer, we've traveled up for the Saturday Farmer's Market, gone up to have dinner and watch the sunset and even made a rush trip, getting into town 15 minutes before the sunset and then got ice cream before coming back home. We spent more time on the road than we spent in town but it was so worth it! I don't know why we never went there before. I feel like so many years were wasted by not going. We'll definitely be back! After all, we have friends there now. 
