Both Carrie and I feel so blessed to have all of you praying for our Dad! Thank you for your support and encouragement. I printed off your kind words here and shared them with our parents in the hospital, and they felt such support and love from you. They really were so surprised and touched by this.
Five weeks is not a normal hospital stay after a whipple surgery. Usually 10-14 days is the projected hospital stay after a whipple. Dad is just having a difficult time eating. His stomach is significantly smaller - that part of the whipple surgery is similar to a lap band surgery. He has to eat very small portions at a time, more often a day. This has been quite an adjustment for a big eating meat and potatoes man! We are very encouraged by the last few days though. He has been able to eat small amounts of various kinds of soups, jellos, and puddings, as well as drink some juices and Ensure. We praise the Lord for being with our family through this every step of the way. Lord willing, Dad will move to swing bed at the start of the next week! We have gone to see him every single day of the past 5 weeks, other than when we were attending book fairs. It will be more difficult to see him in their hometown, which is over an hour away.
Please pray for a smooth transition to swing bed, for his eating to increase so he can get off stomach tube feedings, for his nausea to go away, and for his blood pressure to go down. We appreciate your prayers more than words can say - the Lord has blessed us and all of our family with each and every one of you! We always pray for the Lord to lead whomever He chooses to HOD, and we continue to be so amazed by the wonderful ladies He has chosen!
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
God bless!
In Christ,
Julie