...and this little piggy went all the way home

I was just sitting here thinking of a hymn and decided to look up the words. I didn't know all of the verses, but found it so perfectly appropriate for how I feel today that I thought I'd just post the whole thing.

"Praise to the Lord, the Almighty"
by Joachim Neander, 1650-1680
Translated by Catherine Winkworth, 1829-1878

1. Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is Thy Health and Salvation!
Join the full throng:
Wake, harp and psalter and song;
Sound forth in glad adoration!

2. Praise to the Lord, who o'er all things so wondrously reigneth,
Who, as on wings of an eagle, uplifteth, sustaineth.
Hast thou not seen
How thy desires all have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

3. Praise to the Lord, who hath fearfully, wondrously, made thee;
Health hath vouchsafed and, when heedlessly falling, hath stayed thee.
What need or grief
Ever hath failed of relief?--
Wings of His mercy did shade thee.

4. Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee,
Who from the heavens the streams of His mercy doth send thee.
Ponder anew
What the Almighty can do,
Who with His love doth befriend thee.

5. Praise to the Lord! Oh, let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him!
Let the Amen
Sound from His people again;
Gladly for aye we adore Him.

Anyway, today is just a quick update on where things stand. I am home now, and lovin' it. Gary has grown up SO much. It's been great to spend time with him again. My sisters are still here helping because I'm under a lot of restrictions. I can't clean, for one thing, which is really frustrating. Apparently dust is a really bad thing. I have a special industrial strength mask I have to wear whenever I'm out, or around dust, so anyway, they will probably still be here helping me for a while even though I feel stronger everyday. I am still weak and tire easily, but my energy level is night and day compared to other returns from the hospital.

I'll be doing my bloodwork tomorrow at Ellis Fischel, as originally planned, and then I have an apppointment at Barnes on Friday. We'll probably be at Barnes once a week for a while, just so they can keep a close eye on things like signs of GVHD. We can handle that though. It's definitely worth it to be home. Otherwise life will be rather confined for a while as my immune system builds. I have to be especially careful due to cold/flu season, so I won't be out and about much at all. Even a slight fever means a return to the hospital, and I am praying that won't happen.

Please just continue to pray for strength and health, and that GVHD won't be a problem. A little bit of it is an o.k. thing, but our prayer is that the Lord will protect from the serious stuff. Also, I will most likely have a bone marrow biopsy done next week. I know I mentioned it once, but I am struggling with anxiety over going through the procedure yet again, even though the results are so important to know. I wish my brain could forget the pain, but alas...I remember all too well.

I'm thankful for all of you -- I was thinking today about all of the encouragement you have given, and the blessing of some amazing doctors and nurses that the Lord has allowed me to work with. Truly, I feel most blessed.