My Spleenless Son

A Little Earlier
Keaton came home from the hospital armed with pain med. He looked good - aside from the staples in his stomach, the stitches in his neck, and the drain hole in his side. He went to church on Sunday ... and visited his classroom on Monday! Gimme a big SHUT UP! And he eats real food - heck with the popsicle and life saver diet. So ... now he is completely zonked and better understands the meaning of "slow recovery".

A Little Later
The surgeon removed his staples today and replaced with steri-strips so "a hot shower" is in his future. Amen to that. We have new meds for stomach and shoulder pain, and a repeat CT scan in a week to determine if his pancreas needs drained. I pray not.

A Little Love
A word about Meadowbrook --- well, probably more than a word from yours truly Chatty Kathy. This is Keaton's church and the school where he teaches. They love Keaton so much and will stop at nothing to support our family. I cannot list all of the countless ways in which they have helped our family throughout this time. Tonight, I attended mid-week service. If I wasn't there, there would have only been 999 people -- I'm sure I made it an even 1000. For real. The couple seated next to me raised their hand indicating it was their first visit. I introduced myself during the "greet your neighbor" time. And then I enjoyed the rest of the service. After church, I turned to the lady and said:

• "Is this really your first time here?" She indicated yes.
• "Well, you beat me by only a few visits!" She wanted to know if I was new too.
• "Sorta. We moved our son here in August, he teaches at the school, and I'm here because he had a very serious accident."

Now -- here's the part I want to share because it's the best example I can give of how we feel. I took the lady's hand and said:

• "I'm probably not the best person to welcome you to this church, but let me just say that we left our son 1000 miles from home here at this church and it was comforting to know he was a part of Meadowbrook. This is a wonderful spirit-filled church, please come back."

She had tears in her eyes. And so did I. And all the people said amen.

Words that describe the past 2 weeks: Emotional, Busy, Anticipation, Pain, Joy, Gratitude, Love.