12-10-03

“For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also our through Christ our comfort overflows.” 2 Corinthians 1:5

Dear Family and Friends,

I apologize that there haven’t been any updates regarding Tim in quite a while. Something went wrong with the geocities site we were using and we were unable to upload to it. We finally gave up on it and moved the site to: www.jonesupdate.cjb.net

So much has happened. As you read in the previous update, we were exploring the possibility of moving Tim to Palm Valley Rehab and Care in Goodyear, AZ. Everything came together, and Tim was scheduled to be moved Dec. 1. The week prior to his move, it looked to me like Tim was having pain when he urinated, so I asked them to check him. They did a urinalysis and it came back negative. Two days prior to his move, we thought Tim might be coming down with something. No fever, but he had gotten sick . The nurses said something was going around.

Monday came, and we got Tim moved over to Palm Valley by early evening. He tolerated the move just fine and went immediately to sleep. The kids and I were so glad to have him so much closer to home. Between the kids and I, and my folks, someone is in his room off and on all day. We like the folks at PV - they are very attentive to Tim, very compassionate.

When I arrived Tues. morning, my dad was already with Tim. He said something was wrong .Tim was in great, great pain. It was so difficult to watch him. The nurse was giving him a breathing treatment, and blood tests, urine tests, etc were ordered. Dad and I suggested they check his foley. The nurse looked at it and said they’d just emptied his bag and everything appeared to be fine. After several hours of sitting and looking at his now empty bag, I again asked them to check his foley. They said that he was perspiring so profusely that it was probably cutting down on his urine output. A little while later, I pointed out that he hadn’t produced one single drop in the four hours that I sat there, and they started scrambling. Come to find out, his foley was blocked again. They fixed the problem and I thought that after a couple of days, Tim would bounce back and be fine.

Unfortunately, Tim has developed a bad urinary tract infection and has been quite ill since the foley incident (12/2). On top of this, his feeding tube came out on the evening of the 4th and we had to spend all evening at the ER next door only to be told that they couldn’t replace his tube that evening. We returned Tim to PV and the next morning, Dad went back to the ER with Tim at about 10 am. (I had my cancer attack checkup). I joined Dad later on and we waited until about 6:00 pm for the surgeon to stop by and see Tim. He was unable to replace the tube. They had to track down an interventional radiologist to use x-rays to replace it. Tim’s tube was finally replaced and he was taken back to PV about 9:30 pm. All the moving around is very difficult on Tim in his condition.

Tim has been totally unresponsive since he became ill. The therapists want to work with him, but he is just feeling so lousy that everything is on hold until he gets better. He is on two different antibiotics, pain meds, as well as his usual medications. They started giving him oxygen last night because he is congested and breathing so rapidly - it seems like breathing is a lot of work for him right now. I know he is in God’s hands and I am strangely peaceful, even though it is a hard thing to see him like this. I know that when someone is in Tim’s state that each infection becomes harder and harder on his body. He’s been on antibiotics for months, and as you know that tends to produce resistant bugs which become more difficult to knock out. I sometimes wonder how much more his body can take. When he was sick before, he was stronger and healthier to start with. Now, he weighs about 140 pounds - he’s lost 45 lbs. We are so proud of him - my mom said that she always pictured Tiim as just a nice, mild, quiet guy and she didn’t realize until now how much strength he had.

Pastor Steve and some dear folks from our church stopped by Sun. evening and anointed Tim with oil and prayed over him. Steve specifically prayed for Tim to be totally healed and home by Christmas, which is what the kids and I have been praying all along.

I just want to say that though this has been a hard, discouraging week, God remains good, faithful and worthy of our trust. He knows what He is doing. I had a lot of hard questions for Him this week, a lot of strong emotion. He didn’t give me any answers, just a calm assurance that He understands and that He will deliver Tim. Thanks Mom and Kathy P. for really listening to me this week. Thanks Bev and Mimi for your timely encouragement. Thanks DSCC. Even when I am not at my best, God is still so good in sending different ones from the body to give us the comfort that we need.

I know, too, that even though you haven’t heard from me that you continue to pray . You are so faithful. God bless you. I appreciate all of you who checked in when there was such a long period of time without information.

Hopefully, we will be able to keep you abreast of Tim’s condition from now on. If you know someone who has been keeping up with Tim’s progress and doesn’t have the new address, would you please pass on the new address? Thanks. We hope that your families have a blessed, joyful holiday season.

Peace,
Carole and the kids

“For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.” 2 Cor. 1:5

“Here is a blessed proportion. The Ruler of Providence bears a pair of scales - in this side He puts His people’s trials, and in that He puts their consolations. When the scale of trial is nearly empty, you will always find the scale of consolation in nearly the same condition; and when the scale of trials is full, you will find the scale of consolation just as heavy. When the black clouds gather most, the light is the more brightly revealed to us. When the night lowers and the tempest is coming on, the Heavenly Captain is always closest to His crew. It is a blessed thing, that when we are most cast down, then it is that we are most lifted up by the consolations of the Spirit. One reason is, because trials make more room for consolations. Great hearts can only be made by great troubles. The spade of trouble digs the reservoir of comfort deeper , and makes more room for consolation. God comes into our heart - He finds it full - He begins to break our comforts and to make it empty; then there is more room for grace. The humbler a man lies, the more comfort he will always have because he will be more fitted to receive it. Another reason why we are most happy in our troubles, is this - then we have the closest dealing with God. When the barn is full, man can live without God: when the purse is bursting with gold, we try to do without so much prayer. But once take our gourds away, and we want our God; once cleanse the idols out of the house, then we are compelled to honor Jehovah. “Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord.” There is no cry so good as that which comes from the bottom of the mountains; no prayer half so hearty as that which comes up from the depths of the soul, through deep trials and afflictions. Hence they bring us to God, and we are happier; for nearness to God is happiness. Come, troubled believer, fret not over your heavy troubles, for they the heralds of weighty mercies.” Charles Spurgeon