Finding Him even in Open Heart Surgery

So Fastina needed to have open heart surgery for the third time. This was a shock to us a few months ago when the doctor sat in the office and told us that this was going to have to happen. We had really been believing that God was going to heal her and make it so she didn't need to have it. So we geared up over the next 8 weeks getting ready for surgery and yesterday March 1st, 2011 our daughter off to the operating room. My husband and I sat in the waiting room for twelve hours, sick to our stomachs and waiting. The surgery ended up being 12 hours. As my husband and I waited for the doctor to come and talk with us we worked on this video of pictures. Fastina has been our daughter for the last 4and 1/2 years. She is a very amazing child. She has a heart of Gold. She has the most gentle, sweet, spirit. She is a go getter and is very determined in all that she does. She loves life, loves to laugh! She can be quite a ham when she wants too. We love her and feel that God gave us a golden nugget. Enjoy this video of her.


HEART SURGERY


Fastina getting ready to be wheeled away to surgery room. All smiles as dad was teasing her about blackmailing her on facebook


This is Fastina after surgery. She gave us a scare. Things got rough for about 8 hours after surgery. She was bleeding pretty bad and they had to slow down. The doctors and nurses worked all night on her to stablize her.

This is Fastina after getting the tube out, she is just waking up. They had her heavily sedated to keep her stable.



One of the workers here at the hospital came in the morning after a very long night of watching the doctor and nurses work. I was sitting on the couch and didn't know what to pray to God. I was sitting there and praying one sentence. " God send your angels to work on her" " Surround this room". I knew this worker at the hospital and was happy to see her and get caught up. We hadn't seen each other for years. So we caught up on all the history and then before she goes to leave she says that she wants to write something down on the window to encourage me. She writes this scripture "He will Command the angels concerning you" it was from Psalms. I about fell over when I looked up to see what she was writing. God had come down and just like in the old testament "wrote on the wall", he used this hand of the worker here at OSF but he spoke to me specifically and to the point. My one sentence prayer was God send your angels to work on her and his answer, "I will command them concerning you." I know that they came to the room because within 3 hours she had the tube out and several more drips off.
Through all of this believe it our not God sees us!!!!! As my friend and this worker at the hospital said. "I just want people to know that God sees them." She didn't realize that she was the hand of God to me, reminding me that God is present, alive, real and he knows you, sees you, and will answer you when you call out to him.
I was doing my daily reading today in scripture and this passage was part of it. A great reminder. "God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So I will not fear, even if earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge! Psalms 46:1-3. When God touches me with a scripture and I know that he is speaking to my heart I like to pray it back to him. So this is my prayer back to my sweet Heavenly Father ,today." Lord, You are my refuge, You are my strength. I will go to You and rest. I feel myself curling up inside the cleft of Your presence. Your word says that I can find my place in the cleft of the Rock and You are my rock and my fortress as the stresses and things of my life lately storm around me. It feels like earthquakes, and the my mountains are crumbling. You now that,Father ,that there have been so many things the last six weeks from my brother, my neices and nephew, my sweet Viv and Fastina that have made me distraught and lost. The earth trembling beneath my feet and the mountains crumbling describe well what I was feeling in my heart. Thank you my sweet Jesus for reminding me that I need to curl up inside of You! When I am in the cleft of the Rock I can know that I am unbreakable because You are the rock and fortress that I have found my refuge in. As the waves, storms, earthquakes try to bring fear to me they can't- Let them foam and rage and quake and tremble. I Will not Fear!!!! I will not fear. You will intervene and heal my brothers heart, You will heal Fastina through this surgery, You will restore Vivianna's Joy, Sid, Jason and Dani will be Yours, someday. In your presence, I can find Joy, protection and a fortress that is sacred and unbreakable!!! Thank you , Lord. Thank you Lord!