Good Morning - Literally

As Jackie and her nurse waited to the elevator to go downstairs surgery, I chose to take the stairs up to the waiting area.  There is a little window in the stairwell and I saw the most amazing sunrise!  I hurried to get to the sky bridge between OHSU and the VA Hospital to get a better view before it faded.

Sunrise in Portland - Matches My Feelings

Skybridge to VA

 It was magnificent and I felt that it was made just for me. (Obviously my phone is inadequate to capture it, but I am glad to preserve the memory. I also snapped a photo of the skybridge which was uncharacteristically empty.  I loved the moment of solitude and beauty - like a little gift at the start of my day.  My day had begun several hours before of course.  Because Jackie has been so comfortable in the hospital, I have been able to go home and sleep for several hours.  Our home is about 45 minutes away (with no traffic) and it is worth the drive to get off those chairs.  Today I was back by 5:30, just in time to help her with her pre-op "bath" and they let me wash her hair with a nifty"shampoo cap".  I had never seen one and thought they would be just the thing for backpacking.  I really liked it because it was kept in the heater and gave my hands a chance to warm up.
The past two mornings I have made the early morning drive to the hospital by myself and have been intrigued both mornings by the things I have listened to. (Note:  Mark didn't come this morning because agreed it would be best to have a parent home to get the other children to school.  He is with me now.)  Anyway, as I drove yesterday I listened to "The Mormon Channel" which is an internet radio station.  It was broadcasting the last 15 minutes of an hour long interview with Richard G. Scott;  he was being asked about the challenges that the world and individuals face at this time in history.  He focused his comments on ...some really good advice that I absolutely cannot recall.  I am not going to delete my last lines even though I am blank because the part that sticks out to me is to trust the Lord.  I just remember the word Trust leaping into my heart.  The intriguing thing was that when the interview ended, it went to commercial and then started right up again at the exact place that I had begun to listen 15 minutes before.  The other strange thing is that when I looked at my phone, it still said it was trying to load.  I was happy to listen again.  It ended again and went to commercial.  What a surprise when the same segment began to play again.  I parked the car as the interview ended.  My phone was still spooling withe message that it was trying to load.  The idea of "Trust" played through my mind all day yesterday, especially when I considered the "event" and decisions made in the operating room on Tuesday.  I just continue to feel so good about that.  On Tuesday there was such a "shock" that I didn't really recover until I had rested.
This morning at the top of the 5:00 hour there was a very short segment wherein some lady discussed a 16 year-old girl who is diagnosed with a terminal cancer involving her spinal cord.  The girl said she spent the first night (after getting the prognosis) praying and has been peaceful every since.  She says it doesn't matter if she lives or dies because she trusts that it is God's plan for her.  She hopes her situation will help at least one individual come to Christ and that is all that matters.  The idea of Trust came back to me, I saw it in the sunrise and I felt it envelop me while I ate my little bowl of steel-cut oats in the cafeteria and the sun came through the window. (I was sitting at the window with a view similar to that which I just included.)  Anyone who has lived in the Pacific Northwest knows the power of sunshine in March and I found myself sitting there longer than intended just to capture the moment.  I realized Jackie had been gone for over an hour and my morning was completely calm.  I wasn't having to fight back images of the OR or distract myself at all.  What a beautiful morning.
I am writing because I want to, but I  know for the moment I have readers who want me to stop rambling and give some updates... They took Jackie to surgery at 7:15 and the incision was made at 8:26.  They are hoping to be done around 2:30.  I was glad to see there was such a short amount of time spent putting in the arterial line, etc.  The OR nurse called at 9:45 just to let me know that they were working away and everything was going well.