Mondays update

We had a pretty good weekend. At least Steve is keeping food down now. He is still very weak because his body is recovering from a week without food. He is sleepy from getting used to his medicines again (since he was unable to keep those down last week either). His weight is down even more (I think he has lost about 45 pounds!) We were able to spend a little time outside both days. We moved all of Steve's roses out of the garden and into the back yard so he can keep them watered and plan his rose garden. 

Steve is frustrated that he is not feeling better. It is hard to take a step backwards when you are working so hard to recover from surgery. Reality is sinking in for him. He needs your prayers and encouragement. He is concerned about not eating again and about being able to get back to work to pay bills. Please continue to keep him in your prayers and drop him an email or note if you can. He loves to have visitors too. He is feeling pretty useless and lonely right now. I know it is all part of the healing process, but that doesn't make it any easier.

I am confident that his positive attitude and faith filled spirit will return when he feels better. He just needs some extra TLC right now : )  Have a blessed day!

Home Again

After spending the day in the ER at Emory, we are back home this evening. Steve was given 2 liters of fluids and some zofran (stomach medicine). He feels MUCH better this evening. It is amazing what liquids will do for your body! We came home with more nausea medicine to continue with. Steve has kept down some water and beef broth so far : )

Thanks for your prayers - they have helped us through today.

ER again

Just a quick note to let you know we are leaving to go to the emergency room at Emory. The doctor wants Steve to get some IV fluids. Not sure how long we will be there or if we will stay. Please pray for us.

Thanks!

Another bad stomach day...

It seems that there is a stomach bug going around. Alli came home from school in tears, complaining of a stomach ache. I guess that must be what Steve has too. My stomach has been upset, but I have so many stomach issues I never know if it is a bug or not. I suppose it is good news that Steve's stomach problems are caused by illness instead of medicine or food or whatever. 

It does not make it any better though. Yesterday, all I was able to get in him was water, broth and ginger ale. I tried to give him some Boost before bed, and he was not able to keep it down. Pepto-bismal helped soothe his stomach last night. Today he had ginger ale and water. He is feeling very weak, and rightfully so. Evidently the stomach bug lasts about 2 days. Hopefully Steve will feel better tomorrow so we can start getting him some food again. I'm worried about his weight and his energy level.

Upset Stomach Again

Well, Steve was doing pretty well until last night. We had a nice weekend, despite all the rain. Steve was able to go to the Band Festival and see Alli play with the 7th grade band Monday afternoon! (She was chosen along with about 6 other clarinets to play with the 7th graders because they did not have enough clarinet players - what an honor! They did a great job, earning all "Superiors", which is the best score you can get.)

Then before we went to bed, Steve was overcome with the nausea that had been bothering him since Sunday afternoon. It took so much out of him to get sick. He looked so weak and tired. I hate seeing him that way! He looks up at me and says, "Hey - at least I made it to the sink and didn't make a mess on the carpet!" with a big grin on his face. Can you believe his positive attitude and enthusiasm despite everything! He just never ceases to amaze me. He has been keeping us all laughing with his humor and his love. His one liners crack me up all the time.

Anyway, I am home from school today to help him get back on track. He thanked me for staying home with him - like it is a favor I am doing for him. When in truth, it is an honor and a privilege for me to be able to stay home and spend time with him. I find that I am homesick, missing him during the day while I am at work. Do you ever feel that way? I am such a homebody that I live for the times when we are all at home just hanging out together - watching TV, playing games, doing homework, or even going to the store together. While I was taking the girls to school this morning, Steve wanted to ride along - despite his raw stomach - just to be with us.

So, please pray that Steve's stomach will get better and that he will regain his strength, energy, and weight. He really is antsy and wants to be able to do something productive. What he really wants to do is get back to work and provide for his family : )  Always thinking of us! 

Treasure your family today. Tell them how much you love them and appreciate them. Tell them how proud you are of them. Give extra smiles, hugs, and cheers to people you meet. Together, we can make this day brighter for someone who needs it. Have a great day!

Saturday, Mar 14th

Time flies doesn't it? Hard to believe it's already the middle of March. And hard to believe I haven't gotten back to you since Tuesday! Everyday people I see ask how Steve is doing. It's hard to know what to say. I don't want to short change everything he is going through by saying he's doing fine, but I don't want to sound negative or take too long giving details either. 

Steve has had a pretty good week. He has been getting a little of his strength back - slowly. He has spent some time outside working with his roses. He counted about 75 of them! He repotted each one of them all by himself. He kept saying "I can't believe I repotted them all - all by myself!" He was so funny - so proud of himself.  Steve asked me to let you all know that he would love visitors - especially those that want to help him with his garden : ) He wants to rehab himself by having the best vegetable garden around and by finishing his pond! 

Steve took Becca out driving this morning in his truck. Evidently she did fairly well for her first time driving. This is a special honor for him to be able to teach her and have this experience. He considers it part of his privilege as a father! I am just thankful that I do not have to shoulder this task because I am not good with the whole loss of control thing! Becca is thrilled that Steve trusts her so much and believes in her abilities!

A lot of you have mentioned that you would like to chat with Steve on facebook. I've been trying to get Steve to let Becca or I set up a facebook account for him. He keeps putting us off. In fact, he told me tonight that he would rather do nothing and go to bed early than to set one up - HA! He says please feel free to email him at stevebowman@bellsouth.net. 

We are looking forward to getting back to church tomorrow. It's nice to have some sense of normalcy return to life. 

Steve has not been able to swallow anything yet. He has tried jello, baby food, coffee, and milkshakes. He just cannot move his tongue at all and therefore cannot get anything to the back of his mouth in order to swallow it. So, eating family dinners or going out to eat is not an option yet. We are hopeful that one day this will be part of our lives again. For now, we are thankful what we have! Praise God for his many blessings. 

New Update

Steve had a rough day on Monday. I guess he did too much on Sunday. He couldn't seem to keep himself awake and therefore he did not get the food and water he needed.  I guess I spoiled him over the weekend by doing too much for him : ) He mentioned that his throat feels sore. So, last night we tried to get all caught up on his liquids. He seemed to perk up a little last night. He was weak and a little shaky though. When he got up to open the locked door for Alli, his head started spinning and he fell on the floor and kind of fainted. I think that must be from a lack of nutrition. (I will call the doctor today if I can.) Since he was not having a good day, Steve decided not to try swallowing anything yet. 

This morning when I checked in with him, Steve said he was doing better. His voice is hoarse and harder to understand. I guess that is from his sore throat. Please pray that he is not getting sick and that his dizziness will go away! Thanks so much!