One Day At A Time…

I slept much better last night, and although I woke up a couple of times needing pain meds, I feel rested this morning and was happy to see the sun shining brightly out my window.  “This is the day which the Lord has made; I will be full of joy and delight in it!” Psalm 118:24  Another day, a new day, a better day!   The last two days I feel like I was in a fog.  My brain just didn’t seem to want to function.  I couldn’t read words on paper and my writing was all jumbled.  My body ached like the flu, and every joint felt bruised but that was probably just the anesthesia meds wearing off and now I feel a whole lot more alert and relaxed.  I still have the IV catheter in my side until at least tomorrow which provides a steady flow of local anesthetic.  I am also on narcotics and muscle relaxers and anti inflamatories but Tim is keeping awesome track of my meds schedule and even wakes himself in the night to give me what I need on time to stay on top of the pain.  I am trying to get up and walk around the house a little to keep from getting stiff and to keep my lungs clear.  I never knew there were so many soap operas on TV during the day!  I’m not a huge TV watcher.  Thankfully, we have lots of Tivo recorded episodes of my favorite shows and some Netflix videos to pass the time, although I tend to drift off to sleep through them.  My bandage tape has caused an itchy reaction to which my dear friend came to the rescue and changed for me with paper surgical tape with the nurses phone okay.  I am ready for a shower by now – three days without makes me feel like cave woman!  I appreciate so much all of your e-mails and words of encouragement.  It is easy to get kind of down emotionally as I ponder the road ahead and don’t feel physically up to it right now.  I know that will change in the coming weeks.  Your words are powerful to build me up and I thank you.  Thanks to my dear friend Hope who has taken my puppy Colby off my hands this week.  That has been a huge burden lifted from me!  I am so glad she and her family are enjoying him.  Thank you Betty, Jen , and Candy for the meals this week….what  blessing to our family you are!  They were so delicious!  If you’d like to come by for a short visit just call Tim at his cell number 703-477-6142

 (p.s. yes, that’s a photo of me – digital sketch image enhancing, of course! Check out my image enhancing online shop at Heaven’s Blessings )   ~Koryn

The photo above is of where I am camped out on the couch,  The lapel pin I am wearing (see close up below) was made by and sent to me by Jodi, my dear internet friend who had the same procedure as I had the day before me.  Click the photo to see how you can purchase one of your own in support of breast cancer awareness pins from Jodi’s shop Happy House Quilts!

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Be still

 Today was better than yesterday and tomorrow will be better than today. I’m heavily drugged most of the day, but comfortable and resting well.  Thank you for the many well wishes cards emails and flowers and meals.  You are all such a blessing to me and to our family. Glad this hard part is behind us and now it is time to be still, rest in God’s presence and healing hands. Please continue to use the cell number below. I’ll call you back when I am able. Looking forward to talking to you soon. P.S. This photo is one I took on my birthday last weekend at the pond behind our house. It was like God giving me a beautiful birthday present !

– Koryn

Home Sweet Home

Koryn is back home!  Please remember NOT to call the house phone number until after Sunday, as she is trying to rest. Call my (Tim’s cell) 703-477-6142.  The last 24 hours have been a bit rough for her, especially last night.  She had a quite a bit of pain and nausea though the night and, according to her, got no sleep.  Today’s been better regarding the nausea, but the pain has really been difficult.  The worst part of her day was the hour and half commute in rush hour from the hospital.  The bumps and stops and starts were quite uncomfortable for her.  We got home about 6.

They’ve got her on some fairly potent pain medication as well as valium, a muscle relaxant, and when taken together, she seems to manage pretty well.   I’m trying to get her in a decent meds cycle so as to keep it manageable around-the-clock.  I’d expect she’ll be doing much better by the weekend.     –Tim

Surgery Update

Today, Tuesday, October 28th was a long, but overall positive day for the Hutchisons.  Koryn and I woke up at 345, as if we had really been sleeping, and were on our way to Walter Reed by 430.   I won’t go into too much detail but suffice it to say that we are glad we are past this day, with Koryn well on her way to winning her battle. 

Koryn started the day in Nuclear Medicine with the injection of the radioactive dye for her Lymph node biopsy, which was done during her four hours of surgery.  Needless to say, Koryn was understandably anxious throughout the morning, and while her time in Anesthesia was, in itself stressful, she left anesthesia definitely in her “happy place”.  The surgery took a total of 4 hours, and according to both of her surgeons…it was a success.  There were really no complications or unexpected findings.  We won’t know the final results of the lymph node biopsy for about a week.  Lymph node involvement is a major factor in determining Koryn’s final treatment plan, so we anxiously, yet prayerfully look forward to those results.

Koryn finally emerged from recovery, or shall I say, reached some level of lucidity about 530 this evening.  They have been giving her a pretty hefty dose of painkillers, so she was feeling pretty good when I left her at 9.  Her pain was pretty much under control, although the next 12 hours will probably be a little rough as the spinal block they gave her will slowly wear off and the full pain load will be on the meds they are giving her.  Fortunately, the overnight unit was pretty empty so it appeared that she was going to essentially have her own nurse for the night!  

I’ll write more tomorrow unless Koryn takes control of the keyboard upon her return, but I would like to say thanks to all who’ve sent their well wishes and prayers.  Throughout Koryn’s journey so far, it has been amazing to watch how the prayers of our faithful family and friends have lifted her up and encouraged her in these often difficult times.  The past few weeks have been absolutely amazing as we experience God speaking personally to the both of us.  We are so encouraged!

A Note About Tuesday’s Surgery

You can reach Tim on his cell phone 703-477-6142 Tuesday / Wednesday but reception inside the hospital is poor.  You can always leave a voice message.  Please try not to call the house phone after Tuesday this week…..Tim will update this blog Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.  I am expected to be home late Wednesday.  Please call before coming by the house. Please no visitors at the hospital. Thank you for understanding. Love, Koryn  Scroll down for Sunday’s post & photos! 🙂

HOPE

Yesterday was a beautiful day!  It was also my birthday, a day of celebration of life and love, friends and family.  Each time the song Happy Birthday was sung, the refrain “…and many more” rings in my heart!  God has many more blessings in store for us, many more days to see the good things poured out from Heaven!  Many more opportunities to see what He can do!  This is my favorite time of the year, when the leaves change their colors and prepare for the coming winter.  Every season has its purpose…even in my life right now, I know that the dark winter is coming, but spring is promised…a future of hope, healing, and renewed life.  Tim and I hold on to that promise and keep our eyes faced forward, and always looking up. 

 

How Great Is Our God< – click to listen

These are the words my 17 year old son wrote on his Facebook site after he was attacked following his school football game Friday night. Pushed to the ground, kicked multiple times in the head, for no reason by 5 punk thugs, he came out of it thankful he wasn’t hurt worse than he was, other than cuts and bruises, and recognized God’s protection over him and his girlfriend and friend who were with him. His girlfriend wasn’t harmed, his friend was beaten also.  But all of them have a strong faith and are an example to me of God’s love.  How great Is Our God!  Even in the trials, He is with us.

Tic-Toc

48 hours from now I will be in surgery.    It hardly seems real.  The words keep playing over and over again in my thoughts “I can’t believe this is happening to me”.  Yet, the world just keeps on spinning around me as if nothing were happening at all.  Kids have choir concerts, nieces and nephews carve pumpkins, leaves fall off trees, girls go to homecoming dance, and all the while I can’t help but feel like I am in a daze watching it all.  I feel like asking the world to just stop for a few weeks so I can prepare myself for what’s to come but the truth is I could never be ready.  Nobody is really ready for such a big change in their lives.  My new friend gave me a book to read called Grace For Each Hour.  That’s all I really need, I guess…grace for one hour at a time….I can’t look too far ahead, and I can’t look back, just at the next hour.  And God will pull me through each one. 

Psalm 139:1-5, 16  “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know when I sit down or stand up.  You know my every thought when far away.  You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest.  Every moment You know where I am.  You know what I’m going to say even before I say it.  You both precede and follow me.  You place your hand of blessng on my head…You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”

FAMILY PHOTOS -updated 10/25/08 <–click