Surgery – My Mom and Autumn

Linny Saunders44 Comments
I have run home for a little bit to see the kids, while my brother is with my mom.   The hospital is fairly close to our home – which is wonderful!!  The kids were so excited to see me home.   Dw said they came looking for me this morning when they woke up, but I had been long gone!!  I kissed them all in the night when we got home and told them how I had missed them sooo much and how thankful I was that I was home.  Elijah was the only one that responded and he smiled really big.  Tender love.  
Well most of the time anyway.
Yesterday morning, bright and early, I called home from Phoenix. Dw passed the phone around.  And then he handed it to Elijah.  I said, “Where are you Elijah-boyfriend?”  
“In the time-out chair!”
“Elijah-boyfriend, do you sort of like sitting in the time-out chair?”
“YUP!”
{Ohhhhh, so that explains it.}
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While at the hospital this AM, Emmy had them make birthday cards for me {it’s my birthday!}.  They are so cute and Emma wrote on the cards whatever the little guys wanted to say to me.  
So sweet.
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My mom is in ICU.  The surgeon said it was worse then they thought it would be and it was higher than they thought {behind her jaw by her ear}.  
I told her that 52 years ago today her “other end” was sore and 52 years later it’s her top end that’s sore!!  Who’d have thunked?
My mom said that she believed that the reason she feels so good, it’s because all “Linny’s bloggy friends are praying!”  So there you go guys – thank you!!!
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And as far as yesterday….
I was on my way home from Phoenix and was so tired.  We had 350 miles left and I was wondering how I was going to do it.  Two lane highways in the middle of nowhere, in the dark, with semis coming at ‘ya…aye.yi.yi.  I was praying for strength.
So right after Heber, AZ I spoke to Dw.  He said, “I was thinking of coming and meeting you in Shiprock”, Nate, Graham and I would come.  Nate and Graham could drive my truck home.  {Nate is a good friend of Graham’s and ours.  He hangs out here all the time and you have seen him in pictures.}  
I told Dw that I thought it would be a wonderful thing!  Shiprock is about 120 miles from home so that would really help.  And that would mean I only had 230 miles to drive till we could have some relief!!  That sounded like mentally, I could handle that!
My sweet knight-in-shining-armor-man…oh my, love that guy sooo much!!
Well actually, come to think about it…what man with 10 kids would want something to happen to his wife?  Only a really dumb man.  So maybe it’s more like, “Wow, what a smart man that handsome husband-man of mine…. coming to his wife’s rescue so she stays alive??!!”  haha
They actually made it past Shiprock and we had some driving relief about 10:30pm.  It was then 2 hours till home.  I was still pretty wound up talking to Dw as we drove and then all of a sudden I said, “My thoughts are whirling all around.”  I leaned back and instantly fell asleep.  This ol’ gal was plumb wore out!!
As far as Autumn’s appointment….
We wanted wisdom and direction.  
The neurosurgeon was sooooooooo nice. He is probably close to 70, looks a bit like John Wayne {the now deceased old actor} and even sounds a bit like him.  If you had your eyes shut and were talking to him, you could definitely think, “This might be John Wayne’s brother.”  
He took notes the old fashioned, long hand way.  He was patient and asked tons of questions.  
There was a bit of humor there too.
Autumn had a short sleeved shirt on.  Her one tattoo is very b ig and very visible on her upper arm.  This kind-hearted, been-around-a-long-time kind of surgeon was going to examine her.  He was getting his stethoscope  positioned and kind of appearing to only half pay attention said so matter-a-factly, “So…. old sailors say they were drunk when they got their tattoos, {pause} – what’s your excuse?”  

I burst out laughing, out loud.  It struck me so funny.  
Really.
I laughed for about 2 minutes straight.
Autumn was not nearly as tickled with it as I was.  Emma was chuckling with me. 
He glanced over at me with a little twinkle in his eye.  
   Anyway, his general conclusion is to wait some more.  
I was relieved.  
Autumn?  
Not.so.much.
She is tired of the symptoms.  They are more than annoying, painful and not on the list of 
“Top Bazillion Things a 21 Year Old Wants”
{Imagine that?}
She cannot tolerate the drugs to try to shrink the tumor. They are some sort of chemotherapy-ish type drug and they have tried different ones. 
On the drugs she tried, she lost about 40+ pounds.  She would throw up morning, noon and through the night.  If you look at pictures, you will see how thin she has gotten.
They are going to run another test on her.  Then they are going to repeat the MRI.  
At that point, the neurosurgeon may change his course of action.  Time will tell.  So we wait.
So that about sums it up.  The kids are loving that it is my birthday, so I’m going to go snuggle with them till I head back to the hospital in a few minutes!  Thank you for praying!!  

44 thoughts on “Surgery – My Mom and Autumn”

  2. Glad you are getting some little bits snuggles on your birthday. Give your mama a big hug for me and tell her I can't wait to hug her in person again.

    Happy Birthday amazing woman!

    Reply

  3. Happy Birthday Linny!!! I hope that you have an extra special birthday celebration with that sweet hubby and precious treasures of yours despite all that is going on right now in your life.

    I loved the comment from the doctor too, you set the scene up for us perfectly and it made me laugh out loud!

    Have a piece of cake for me Linny – I'll have the ice cream on the east coast to celebrate with you! Sending birthday hugs – Charissa

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  4. Phew, thats my prayer answered!!! Finding out how it went wih Autumn, your mum and that you are celebrating your birthday abit!! I can go to bed now (11pm here as I write this in England) Thankyou for posting this I along with all your bloggy friends know you have had and are having busy times. Have thought and prayed throughout the day, checking blog, facebook, Dw blog (waiting for blog update!!just saying!!!) and now I can say a pray of thankyou for being able to read an update before bed. Goodnight dear friend, will continue to lift your family up in pray.xxx

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  6. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! Praying that God continues to work miracles in your life!

    Also praying for your mum to recuperate quickly, and for God to take control of Autumn's situation.

    In a short while, you will look back on trying times and thank God for pulling you through.

    I pray it will be well with you and your entire family. God bless!

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  8. Happy Birthday! 52 years ago, the world became a much more beautiful place because of you! God's blessings on you and your family and I will continue to pray for the health of your whole family!!! Thanks for being my bloggy friend!

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  9. So glad to hear that you have gotten home safe, halleluYah! Same as me, I can't drive very long without feeling drowsy.

    So sorry to hear about Autumn not being keen on medicine, I can understand that, my mothe and I have been praying for your mom and for Autumn.

    May He continue to guide you all in the palm of His hand, and guide everyone involved in your lives with wisdom, guidance and direction. Amen!!!

    Happy birthday Linny 🙂 🙂 (birthday hug)

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  10. Happy Birthday, Linny! I am praising God along with many others for your strong faith and witness here on your blog…the love you have for others shines through all you write and the love you have for God keeps us all focused on our Jesus. Keeping you in prayer…

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  11. So good to see the update on your Mom – will continue to pray for her healing & Autumn's as well.
    Happy happy birthday to a beautiful woman inside and out! Birthday hugs!

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  16. Thanks for the updates!! Still praying for Bonnie & Autumn.

    You may recall that we share a birthday – hope you're enjoying yours as much as I'm enjoying mine!!

    ♥ you a ton, fellow birthday girlfriend!

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  17. Happy birthday!!!! I will continue to pray for your family. For the last two days of prayer I asked for my mother in law. She passed away yesterday,and thank God she died peacefully and without suffering. She is now with her beloved Lord.

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  20. Linny – I know this might sound kinda crazy and 'out there' but I thought I should share anyway. I recently watched a documentary called 'Food Matters.' Yeah I'm kinda a dork and find that sort of thing fascinating… anyways the whole idea behind it is that modern medicine has totally missed the boat when it comes to preventing/treating diseases in our bodies including cancers. It proposes that if the body is given enough of the right naturally occurring vitamins then it would practically heal itself. There is a whole lot of information that confirms cooking/heating/pasteurizing food kills the good stuff in it that can really help us heal ourselves. Anyways they spoke of giving extremely high doses of vitamin c through an iv and having a 50% CURE rate of CANCER…(chemo doesn't have that high a cure rate) nothing but an iv of vitamin c… super cheap and super easy. It might be worth looking into for your sweet Autumn. There are also all sorts of raw foods that can help out if you are interested in doing a little research. Just google 'raw food.' Anyways I know it sounds a little crazy but I lost my father in law to cancer and if someone had shared this info with me earlier who knows, it might have helped him. I would do anything to be able to go back in time and try this. He suffered so much from horrible treatments for years. Anyways I'll stop my endless rambling now. Hope Autumn finds some relief soon! -Erica PS) HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

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  24. I'm prayin for your mama and for strength for you and the family.You are such a blessing to so many people Linn – thanks for being a shining example of God's love to us all. I hope you get to have a better b-day celebration soon!
    Love you!

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  27. Happy Birthday! You are one of the most REMARKABLE woman ever. You've blessed my life in ways I can't even begin to tell you. Thank you for everything you do for your family and others and especially the orphans. I hope your day was as special as it could be.

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  28. Linny, I was thinking about you a lot today. I was reflecting on how VERY MUCH you have taught me and how very well you have led me on an incredible journey over the last 22 months. I am not sure I could ever put it all into words, but I have a relationship and trust in God that I have never ever had. You are such a HUGE part of that. I am sure people wonder who is Linny, because I refer to you a lot when sharing parts of my story. I love where I am with God, but even more I trust wherever it is that He is leading me. This in many ways is a very painful time in life. However the way I am walking it is night and day to the way I walked it 22 months ago. So thank you so very much from the bottom of my heart for sharing so much of you and your journey. I celebrate today, your own special day. You have changed my world and my life because you have chosen to be vulnerable and honest while leading myself and many others into a deeper and more intimate walk.

    Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!

    Praying for you and your precious family.

    Portia

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  30. Happy, Happy Birthday to you, Linny! I truly thank God for you and the amazing gift He's given you to share His Word in such a way that causes me to meditate upon it and dig into its truths more deeply. You touch many lives across the world with wisdom, grace, love, and yes, even conviction. 🙂 But bless God, your heart is honest and real, and that's what we all love about you! God bless you on this day and always! May He keep your family safe in His rest.

    Happy Birthday!
    Tina

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  36. We are praying for all of you. I hope you had a wonderful Birthday!! Thanks for all you do. I love reading your blog it continues to inspire me. I have 4 older children and 4 children we foster two of those we have legal and physical custody. Please keep us in your prayers two of ours are going back and two more may join the family and they are possible adoptions. Hubby is saying don't think so but I feel God is saying yes. Please pray for favor and I am going to fast and pray God's will be done. Thanks and God Bless.

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  37. First, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! May the Lord continue to keep you in his love & care.

    Second, tell Autumn she's in my thoughts often. It's no fun to be a 20-something and be sick & tired of being sick & tired (I know from 1st hand experience).

    Reply

  40. Yeeeeehaw!!!! Happy Birthday from Dodge City!!!! You get some sleep, girl. I'm praying for you and your family-healing & health & restoration. We got your back!!!! Love to ya, Susan

    Reply

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