Empty House, Full Hearts--and Hope

Saturday morning--Karin and Keith, Gavin, Calli and Haley (dog) pulled out around 2 am this morning. It's nearly 3 weeks since Karin and the kids first arrived, and since then Sue, her family, and Lisa have also been here generous amounts of time. What an infusion of joy and courage they bring to our home! Now we'll keep smiling over memories.

Health update: the surgery continues to heal beautifully. Thank You, Lord!
Fluid build-up in abdomen and legs is significantly less. Thank You, Lord!
The lung cavities are again filling gradually, and I'm hoping that by spending most of my time sitting up, I can at least delay the moment when I'll need to be "tapped" again. (We have again entered a 3-day holiday weekend.) We made an appointment for a thoracentesis in a hospital north of Charlotte for Tuesday morning--the earliest and nearest we could get. Looks like radiology departments everywhere are over-busy. I hope I don't need to use that appointment, but I may be very thankful for it by Tuesday.
On Thursday evening I experienced some symptoms of a hospital-borne digestive infection. Held it off overnight and all of yesterday with one Imodium, but last night the symptoms returned. (I'm trying to be gentle here.) I'm asking the Lord to do a miracle here (holiday weekend, you know) and drive those bugs out.

The day before my surgery, our church's program folder included the following:
There is no such thing as false hope for a cancer patient. Hope is as unique with each individual as a fingerprint. For some it is the hope to make a complete recovery. But it might also be the hope to die peacefully, the hope to live until a specific event happens, the hope to live with the disease, the hope to have their doctor with them when needed; the hope to enjoy today. Just as each case of cancer is unique, each person is different. (by Richard A Bloch)

Thanks again for all your love, notes and prayers.

Carol