Stephanie

Since January of 2010, Bill and I have spent 20+ nights in the Intensive Care Units of IMC in Murray. The staff is beyond incredible. They always take impeccable care of Bill. They have always let me spend the night with him in ICU, even though I believe that it is against the rules. I usually make a bed on the floor with lots of pillows and a blanket from home. One night last month when we were here, a nurse named Stephanie made a bed for me on the floor. She got a bunch of extra stuff from their supply closet. She even tucked me in and patted me on the bottom. With that pat, I felt the love of all of the friends and people that care so much about us, but weren't their to give that pat. For my last lesson at school, I chose the topic of Service. I have been telling the kids about Stephanie. I told them that she didn't need to do it. It certainly wasn't part of her job. It didn't cost her anything. I told them that she probably didn't even remember it, because she does things like that all day, every day. I told them that I would remember it for the rest of my life. I told them to be that person. Be the person that says, "I am so glad you are at school today." "Do you need someone to play with at recess?" "Do you need help with your work?" Be the person that does something nice for someone, and they will remember it for the rest of their life.

I didn't like the way Bill sounded last night while he was sleeping. It seemed very hard for him to breathe. It has been this way since his ribs were broken, but last night seemed worse. I almost called the paramedics, but didn't. He breathes easier during the day, and so the temptation is to let it go. But I knew I couldn't go through another night like that, so I called around the ward til I found someone that could listen to his lungs. Angel Nurse Michelle Maxfield came by. She thought his lungs sounded a little full at the bottom. She convinced him in a way that I could not that he needed to go get checked. So we traveled to the ER about seven tonight. His BP is low. He has some fluid in his lungs. They are doing the strongest dialysis to pull that fluid off. They have to balance that with keeping his BP up. His body is a myriad of contradictions. Anything they do that is good for one thing, is bad for something else. At any rate we are in Cardiac ICU tonight, and we are in the Lord's hands. And Stephanie is our nurse.