June 5 UPDATE
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June 5, 2005 UPDATE – God’s Miracle Continues
It’s been a great week of continued progress and all we can do is step back and say, "God continues to prove His faithfulness as He does more than we could ever expect."
Ephesians 3:20 (The Message) God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
On Monday (Memorial Day), I ventured out on a long bike ride and ended up going 25 miles. It was so good. My oxygen saturation level stayed in the required zone, along with my heart rate so I was not overdoing it but I was so excited to be out on the road and enjoying every breath, just thanking God for the moment.
On Tuesday, I walked a 5K. I actually ran, well "plodded / jogged," three utility pole distance, six times. When I returned to my driveway, I noticed my Nike Distance Monitor was on 3.05 miles so I walked the rest of the .05 and stopped the watch at 58:54. That may not seem like much but when I consider how far God has brought me – Jan I and were thrilled.
Jan put it best in her update that she sent out last week and this really says what’s going on…
Dear Friends,
We are blessed to experience yet another miracle in our journey of faith! Bob’s picc line was removed on Friday! This truly is a miracle! (this is the IV line that was used to administer the daily antibiotic drips) We anticipate that he will be released from supplemental oxygen later this week. He was also able to decrease his daily intake of steroids by 1/3 of the dosage (hopefully decreasing some of the side effects, but still destroying the bacterial infection & inflammation).
We appreciate your continued prayers for his full recovery! Specifically we ask that the Lord would:
a)
destroy the pseudomonous bacteriab)
destroy the yeast infection in his lungsc)
heal the pain in his side from the emergency surgeryd)
decrease the inflammation in his bronchial tubese)
protect his kidneys and other organs from these high powered drugsf)
heal the other affected areas from the trauma of the "blow up"g)
regain muscle tone & strengthHe started riding his bicycle outside and was able to ride 25 miles yesterday! He is still very weak and rides at a slow pace (he used to call it the "Jan’s flower gazing" pace) but now he celebrates the opportunity to ride, as he celebrates each breath!
Thank you for joining us in this journey of faith, for your faithfulness in praying, and for your excitement in celebrating God’s faithfulness and grace bestowed upon us!
With Love,
Jan
The week concluded with a Friday "long walk/run" with Jan as we train for the Disney Marathon. The long run was 4 miles with 12 "run portions." I had to laugh several times as I asked Jan to "slow down." It’s a great journey we are making together.
I got another ride on Saturday of 26 miles just enjoying God’s miracle and thanking Him all the way. I even was a little faster and stronger than Monday.
I am still preaching "sitting" and Winter Park Church is very patient with me as I heal. My voice and my strength are not much but the church has been kind to their pastor.
So it’s been another "blessed week" and progress is being made. Dr. Feibelman joins me in praising God for His miracle work.
Thank you for praying and following our updates. Pictures are in the works for the next update.
Godspeed,
Bob, "Michelin Man"
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