11/2: Answered Prayers

Anyone who's been around me recently has probably been able to tell that I have been almost frantically worried about Cindy Lynn. Her lung problems have been increasing for the last two months, culminating in days of terrible pain last week.

Even while she made plans to travel down to Salt Lake to try to get admitted to the hospital through the ER so that she could get the IV antibiotics that she must have to get rid of the lung infection, I still didn't have a lot of hope.

Cindy Lynn was in the hospital last Christmas, last Easter, and again in July. Each time for exactly 14 days. Never before has she been treated with IV antibiotics for only 2 weeks; at UNC or Duke it was always at least 3 weeks and sometimes closer to 4. But the Cystic Fibrosis center in Salt Lake (the only one in the Utah/Idaho/Montana/Wyoming area) does IV antibiotics for only two weeks. It is their firm policy.

And, as evidenced by the frequency of her visits, it is not working for her.

Last week I felt an almost desperate fear that she would never be able to get the medical care that she needed until her husband graduates and they are able to move away from the area. I worried about how much lung function she would lose before then.

I prayed and prayed all week and then fasted this weekend, praying that Cindy Lynn would be able to get the care that she needs. That her body needs.

And then this morning a miracle happened. The doctor came into her room and really listened to her; listened to Cindy Lynn explain that she had always needed a longer course of antibiotics, and that she felt like the recent hospitalizations hadn't been long enough to clear up the infection in her lungs. Much to her surprise the doctor agreed that she might need three weeks instead of two, and even suggested that the third week could be done at home in Rexburg. (Home IVs are also not a part of the Salt Lake CF center protocol, so this was an astonishing and very happy development.)

I am astonished, and grateful beyond words.