Romans 8:28

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[a] have been called according to his purpose.

Our Saturday morning routine usually consists of sleeping in until around 8:30am. We then climb out of the tiny loft and make some french press coffee while watching Doug on our television. I then prepare a gourmet breakfast of fresh fruit and Eggo Waffles. We sip our coffee and discuss plans for the day. Boy, I miss those Saturdays.

This Saturday morning looked a bit different. He had a terrible night of sleep with a couple anxiety attacks thrown in there. I tried every trick I knew to make the hospital room anti-anxiety feeling. I brought his fan, radio, and even essential oils! None of this helped. Instead, we discovered this morning he may have a  blood clot in his lung (hence the uncomfortable nights rest) as well as pneumonia. They will be doing a procedure sometime today to help break down the clot and also prevent other clots from forming.

Yesterday he was able to go to the outdoor Sky Farm for about 5 minutes and get a little fresh air. There was a therapy dog up there and it put a huge smile on his face. The dogs name was Aladdin. Later that evening, Courtney asked the dogs name and he kept mouthing "Prince of Persia". Clearly he still has his sense of humor. He also asked me to take a picture of him...which he has never asked ONCE in his entire life :) Still no talking for a few days but I am getting pretty good at reading his lips.

We are starting to create plans for rehab and what our life will look like for the next 6-8 months. As of now, it sounds like at least another week in ICU and then 2-3 weeks in a step down unit. We will then head out of state for rehab. Rehab will be around 4-6 months. We will then take it a day at a time and determine where we want to go from there. It is going to be a wild ride but I am so thankful to see little signs of improvement each day. We are not out of the woods yet, but I feel confident that since God brought us into this woods, He knows his way around just fine.

PS. Derek loves his cards. I have a bag full by the bed and gave him a few yesterday to keep him entertained for awhile.

With Love,

The Lavenders