A Constipated Request

Mark is on his way down to get another abdominal x-ray. There have been some symptoms that have concerned the doctors about the chance of an abdominal injury they may have missed. He is still nauseous and vomiting, overly fatigued, and has some other digestive symptoms I won’t mention (TMI) that should have cleared up by now. Of course, these symptoms could just be a result of the medications he is on, but they want to rule out anything more serious. Please pray specifically that internally everything is intact and that it’s just constipation. (Bet you never thought you’d pray for that one).

Other than this new concern, he is doing very well. Today he practiced getting in and out of a car, and yesterday we actually took a walk (or should I say roll in the wheelchair) to Krispy Kreme and Starbucks at the Block. It’s no Harbor & Wilson, but Mark enjoyed that Vanilla Latte!

I also wanted to make a request about when you talk with Mark now that he is coming home. I think it is really normal for everyone to be curious about Mark’s accident and to want to ask him questions about it when they seem him. I’m sure that would be my tendency. We’ve noticed that he has gotten daily questions about what he remembers, what happened to the other drivers, and other details from the accident. However, I am concerned that when Mark is back at home he will be asked about his accident by each new person he sees. As you can imagine, this was a traumatic experience, and it’s difficult to relive the details with each new telling of the story. To be sensitive to Mark’s ordeal, it would be helpful for us to focus on the positive and on his recovery, rather than on the day of the accident. I don’t want to create an atmosphere of denial where we all pretend like the accident didn’t happen. But I also want to protect Mark from feeling like he is recounting a horrible moment in his life several times a day.

At the same time, I understand everyone’s desire to want to know what exactly happened. Mark joked that he feels like he wants to hand people a “Frequently Asked Questions” card just to get those questions out of the way. Well, I’m actually going to do just that (in e-mail form), so that you can be in the loop without asking Mark. I know this may sound over-protective, but I want to make Mark’s transition back to normal life as smooth as possible, and I want him to have a great worship experience on Easter Sunday, so please feel free to pass this request on to others who care about Mark.

I’ll keep you posted about the abdominal x-ray. I’m feeling confident that he’s just sensitive to the meds, and that he’ll be coming home on Friday as planned!