Day One

February 1

I got home really late last night from church, so I didn't finish meeting my need for yesterday, but I'll finish today. I'm making a card for my neighbor who is deaf. He and I had a brief conversation yesterday morning when he asked me how my dad was doing. He'd seen him taken by an ambulance to the hospital (more on that later) and wanted to make sure he was okay. God had spoken to my heart just minutes before talking with my neighbor on how I should be more neighborly and reach out to them. He and his girlfriend are both deaf, but I know for a fact that he (I don't know his name!) can read lips, and we've communicated through writing and simple signs before. My brother Brian, who has gigantic feet, has his own sign - pointing to your shoe. LOL

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My dad went to the hospital Saturday due to horrible stomach pains and excessive vomitting. He has Chron's Disease, and it's really bad. The disease ate a hole through his large intestine, so they put him on two different antibiotics. He's also on two different steroids, potassium, dextrose, and ... wait, that might be it. Oh, and morphine. Yeah, lots o' drugs. He hasn't thrown up since Saturday, which is awesome, but he hasn't been able to eat or drink everything. We're avoiding surgery for the hole in his intestine because any trauma to his diseased organs will cause the Chron's to spread, in which case they'd have to keep cutting 'til there's nothing left for the Chron's to attack - esophogus to large intestine.

Please keep my dad in your prayers. He could definitely use it.