A cheerful heart is good medicine

A cheerful heart is good medicine. Psalms 17:22 Mom's heart has been lifted! Thank you for your prayers. Mom is progressing wonderfully. Her mind is clear, worry and pain free. I called her this morning and something was different. She was verbalizing more, saying "oh, and um" more. I read her a Psalm and when I was done she said, "Praise the Lord." I was in tears, she left ME speechless! We praised God together. A cheerful heart is good medicine. Mom was different today. It all made sense when I arrived to her room to find that she HAD HER TRACH REMOVED! This was in her airway, making it difficult to talk. She just has a bandage over the site. She has to hold pressure over the spot to make air go up to her mouth to verbalize. It takes a little coordination and some getting used to, but this won't be forever. The site eventually will close up on it's own. She is tolerating her tube feeding well. We were there this afternoon and she walked twice while I was there. She is a little embarrassed about how she looks, the swelling is still large on the right side, but it is not getting bigger. Her three drains from around the incision will probably come out tomorrow. I was there with my three children today and it was a blast. I noticed my dad at ease with the kids there. He was finally at rest. He has been so worried about mom, he could hardly enjoy a cup of coffee. I was praising God that he felt like he could engage with the kids. He played with Elin, and read books to Zach. Mom's disposition really rubbed off on dad. They were happy and at ease. I can't tell you what a blessing that was today. I left the hospital with good cheer knowing that happiness is a good medicine, even for me. Thank you Jesus! Ingrid