Sloshing Over with Gratitude

Today’s news could hardly have been better. Jackie had a follow up with her neurologist Dr. Hudgens this morning. He consulted with other multiple sclerosis experts prior to her appointment which was at 7:45 CST. As you can imagine, I’ve been waiting for the phone to ring for about an hour now! Here’s a summary of what she found out:

• She is recovering very well from the weakness on her right side – getting stronger every day. Dr. Hudgens is confident that she will regain full motion.
• She will not have to go on MS medicine unless she has additional lesions or symptoms.
• She has a 50/50 chance of having not having more lesions.
• She is scheduled to have additional MRIs in March and May. If nothing else shows up, then she’ll likely have them once or twice a year after.
• Her headache (which likely resulted from the lumbar puncture) is lessening.
• Her recovery plan involves things we all should be doing – a healthy diet and regular exercise.
• The only things she has been told to avoid is hot tubs, extremely long and hot showers, and getting overheated in hot weather.

Nancy and I are grateful to the Lord for the news we got today and for how He has strengthened Jackie and the rest of us. We are grateful for Jackie’s Brookwood Baptist Church family and her supportive friends. We are grateful for the encouragement and prayers of Grace Fellowship, First Baptist of Greensboro, Isle of Hope Baptist, Bethel Baptist, and all of those who have lifted Jackie and us up during this time. We are grateful for Jackie’s pastor, Dr. Barnette, for putting her in touch with Dr. Hudgens, and for Dr. Hudgens who expedited the tests and hospital visit. We are sloshing over with thankfulness today.

At the same time, we are committed to praying for so many others who are struggling, worrying, hurting and afraid. We got pretty good news today, but not everyone has or will. So let us stand with one another and be a source of strength and encouragement.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)