Blog #4 – Forty Pound Hands

 

11 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; 12 That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.  1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 (KJV)

Where Is The Unspeakable Joy?

I am mindful this blog is dedicated to God’s joy that He gives every believer and specifically the joy He filled me with during almost a year of trial and sickness. My entries to date, including this one, have talked about my difficulties.  When praying about writing the blog, I asked the Lord what He wanted me to write?  The Holy Spirit gave me a clear direction to describe the trial, then explain how the joy was manifest.  You must understand the joy God filled me with is not as many would define normal.  When you know the difficulties, you will see every believer can and should allow themselves to be filled with joy regardless of our circumstances!

Forty Pound Hands

In our quoted verse this week (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12), God tells us how to have success.  His promise is conditional, promising if we would “study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands,” we would have lacked for nothing. Imagine having both hands and them both being inert.  After my intubation, I was moved to a hospital room and quickly discovered physical challenges ahead of me.  Napiers handle struggles by joking about the difficulty.  I jokingly told Linds my hands weighed forty pounds. I was routinely referring to my “paws” as “forty-pound hands.” The intubation had left me physically swollen.  My hands held so much water they were beyond use.  They were so heavy, and I could not lift them.

The hands quickly presented a roadblock to any rehabilitation.  In their condition, I could not press the nurse call button to summon help, feed myself, or provide any self-care.  My first rehabilitation goal was to get my hands to basic functionality.  Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center would not consider taking me as a resident until I could provide my primary care, such as feeding myself, demonstrating an ability to drink water, summons staff with a call button if needed, and basic hygiene.  I had two useless hands, and I NEEDED MY HANDS!

Because I could not press the regular “Nurse Call” button, hospital staff mercifully provided me with a large (possibly three inches round) red button placed near my shoulder in the bed.  In dire circumstances, I would slide my shoulder against the big button and sound the alarm.  Boy, I wished you could have seen the troops running in the room the first few times I was able to “sound the battle cry.”  Parkwest Hospital places a premium on patient care.

I have had an active prayer life for many years and have no hesitation in calling on my Heavenly Father at any time.  I clearly explained my need for basic hand functionality to God and asked Him to put me in the rehabilitation facility He wanted me to attend.

Waterboarding

Waterboarding is an interrogation technique usually regarded as a form of torture in which water is forced into a detainee’s mouth and nose to induce the sensation of drowning.

My hospitalization was during a COVID-19 peak time.  The hospital visitation policy did not allow overnight visitors with patients.  The first night in my hospital room,  Linda had gone home, and the hospital staff had placed my bi-pap machine on my nose.  Those familiar with a bi-pap will know it has a water tank that helps provide moist air to the recipient.   As I slept, my mind placed tricks on me.  In my dream, I was in the hospital basement, lying on a dirt floor, and somehow turned my bi-pap machine over.  The water in the tank ran down the water hose and began waterboarding me.  I was confident I had made it this far only to drown.  Having no use of my hands, I used my shoulder to push the large red call button with all my strength.  Moments later, the cavalry arrived in the person on a certified nursing assistant.

She turned the room light on and asked if I needed help.  As I spit water out my mouth, I affirmed I needed help immediately.  In my dream state, she picked up the bi-pap (immediately stopping the waterboarding). She then walked out of the room, turning the lights off, leaving me in the dark.  I still remember the water remaining in my sinuses. Still struggling to breathe, I pushed the large red button again.  For what seemed an eternity, Gollum (the CNA) returned with a blood pressure machine and announced to me, “it was time to take my vitals” I sweetly informed her I needed help with the water in my nose and she was NOT going to take my vitals.  She asked why I didn’t want my vitals checked?  I explained that I didn’t want HER to take my vitals, but I did want to see my nurse immediately. Gollum said she had been good to me as she walked out of the room, turning the light off and again leaving me again in the dark.

Moments later, my nurse came into the room and wanted to know what was happening?  I told her the story and forcefully declared I did not feel safe there and was leaving the hospital, going home.  Although I was physically unable to stand, use my hands, and still connected to various tubes and wires, my brain said I planned to call an UBER to come to the hospital and pick me up.  In retrospect, I was not thinking right.  I then asked her to call my wife. I wanted to talk with the princess.  When Linda heard I had some difficulty, she immediately came to the hospital.  Just after midnight, the princess arrived because that’s what princesses do!

I explained to both the princess and my nurse; I was not sure any of the experiences with the CNA happened.  Considering my dreams for the previous twenty-one days and cloudy thinking, I asked the nurse not to report the incident to her administration.  After this, my stay at Parkwest Hospital was excellent.  I later had dealings with Gollum (the CNA), and she was sweet as Mama’s ice tea.

Four AM Time For Work

After the waterboarding incident, I continued to ask God to heal my forty-pound hands.  The very next night, I awoke at 3:50 am with a powerful prompting to exercise my hands.  My routine for my remaining days at Parkwest Hospital began at 3:30 am prompt (as if an alarm went off in my brain, I could have set a clock by the waking time).  3:50 am started with prayer, thanking God for a good, albeit sometimes short, night sleep, then exercising my hands as much as I could physically do, stretching, squeeze, finger movement, and touch.  Within a week, the hands had shrunk to a reasonable size, and I could feed myself.  God is amazingly good to all of us and me in particular

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9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.  1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (KJV)

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My Father has a great big family.
And there are many children besides me.
If you’re wondering how He divides His time,
Let me say I never stand in line.

He loves me like I was His only child,
Never felt so loved before.
I could never ask for more.
He loves me like I was His only child.
God really loves me.
Yes, He really loves me.
He loves me like I was His only child.

He never favors me above the rest.
But I can’t help but feel that I am blessed.
He treats me best, I often say.
But all my Father’s children feel that way!

 

 

He Loves Me Like I Was His Only Child  – Sung By The Knutson Family Singers