Your Dream. God's Plan. Free Extended Preview: Are You Longing for Something More? by Smiling Tiffany & Starbuck Margot

Author:Smiling, Tiffany & Starbuck, Margot [Smiling, Tiffany]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9781944836351
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2017-10-11T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 4

FIGHTING MY WAY BACK

Our focus on the body isn’t God’s priority.

Groggy from medication, drifting in and out of consciousness, I woke up in a recovery room. Swollen and bruised, stitched and stapled, I was still hooked up to IVs and monitors and tubes.

“Hi, honey,” my mom whispered. “How are you feeling?”

“ ’Kay,” I spit out, not sounding quite like myself.

My dad queried, “Do you have any pain?”

“Nah bah,” I heard myself say. Not bad.

I assumed my slurred speech was from the medications I’d been given.

Realizing they were drilling me with questions, my mom switched gears. “Gentry and Bradley say hi.”

As we spoke, I felt my parents looking at me. Not at my eyes, but at my face. I knew from other surgeries that the swelling and bruising and dried blood looked pretty gross.

A nurse came into my room, introduced herself, and began asking me questions.

“Tiffany, can you move your right leg for me?” she asked, pointing at my right leg.

I lifted my right leg. Farthest from my head and face, it was the body part that hurt the least!

“Great, and can you lift your left leg?”

I tried, but my leg didn’t cooperate. Was it tangled up under the sheets?

“Tiffany, can you lift your right arm?” the nurse asked, pointing at my right arm.

I lifted my arm dutifully. My mom smiled.

“And can you lift your left arm?”

My left arm didn’t move. I thought it must be pinned down with tubes or sheets. I tried to lift it but couldn’t. It wouldn’t budge.

Though my immobility was frustrating, I didn’t fully understand what had happened. I assumed that when the swelling went down, the weakness would dissipate and my motor skills would return.

TEST RUN

For the first thirty-six hours, I had a catheter and was fed intravenously. But the second day after my surgery, I wanted to use the restroom situated just three feet from my bed.

Anticipating weakness, a nurse suggested that she support me on one side and my mom and dad support me on the other. They helped me sit up and scoot to the edge of the bed. Stepping carefully toward the floor, I planted my right foot, then my left. As I stood to bear weight, though, I collapsed.

I fell into my dad, who caught me.

“Whoa, got ya!” he said as he helped me stand upright again.

As I felt my legs beneath me, I realized my affliction wasn’t “weakness.” My left side was entirely immobilized. Slowly moving toward the bathroom, I was keenly aware that it was the strength of my parents and the nurse that was getting me there.

After helping me get to the restroom, the nurse and my dad gave my mom and me some privacy. Because I had no balance, my mom supported me. I sensed that my mom was nervous.

A few minutes later, when I was finished, the nurse returned to help me stand. The small bathroom was a tight squeeze for the three of us, but they carefully helped me pivot to stand in front of the sink.

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