It’s a good day - Brett’s getting discharged today!!! Not sure when, but hoping to be home by dinner time 🙌🏻

We are so ready to come home. Several people have generously asked if we need any medical equipment at home, and I think we are totally covered at this point.

Brett’s still on IV antibiotics until we get out of here, but all his blood levels are back to normal and looking good, praise God!

Last night was a lonnnngggg night. Not much sleep. Brett is having very weird vivid dreams, likely due to the pain meds. To add insult to injury, he had a gout flare up start this morning. He hasn’t had issues in years, and then all of a sudden it’s back. He was really worried that would derail him getting out, but thankfully it hasn’t. Dr. Pearce agrees that being at home should help on all fronts - with sleep, more movement, etc.

I do feel confident that we have a good emergency plan now in the event we need it 🙌🏻 It was already traumatizing to watch my husband be carried away in an ambulance with lights and sirens literally only 8 hours after we were discharged from the hospital last time. Then, multiply that by 1000 when they tell you he needs to be emergency airlifted and you watch him being loaded into a freaking helicopter and can’t go with him.

So all of that to say, for my peace of mind and his, we have to have a plan, and we do. It’s not fun to think about, but it’s our reality right now.

In the coming weeks, there are two things we have to be extremely careful about:

1. Internal Bleeds: He’s being discharged on a low dose of blood thinners. He needs to be able to take them to prevent more clotting and keep blood flowing to his leg. He’s experienced several internal bleeds over the past 4 years, so he now has a decent idea of the signs and symptoms. Though the blood thinner dosage is low, it still drastically increases the risk of bleeding for him.
2. Blood Clots & Blood Flow to the Left Leg: His left iliac artery is still pretty much completely blocked, even after the surgery. His body is more prone to clotting over the next 6 weeks or so. He can expect to have significant weakness and pain from the left hip down. As long as he can still lift his leg though, that means the nerves are working and blood is flowing.

We’ve got some specific prayer requests for today and would cherish your prayers!

• Peace of mind as he is discharged and gets adjusted to being back home
• Prayer for our kids, especially Ezra. Ezra is used to wrestling with Brett, playing rough, and having his daddy chase him around the house. Trying to explain to a 3 year old that he has to be gentle with his daddy, can’t sit on his lap, etc. is tough.
• Prayer for our family for continued endurance and strength from the Lord.
• Prayer for full body healing (including gout), continued blood flow to the leg, no more blood clots, and no more internal bleeds 🙏🏻

As Brett pointed out to me a few days ago, we in our flesh cannot handle all of this on our own. And that’s the point - we HAVE to lean on God. HE IS FAITHFUL. We can trust in HIS strength, and He WILL equip us.

Love you all 🙌🏻🙏🏻🕊️
Meredith