Tuesday evening

I just spoke with Matt (who's staying with Anna tonight at the hospital) and he said that she's pretty grumpy, but otherwise doing okay physically.  Her tummy seems to have settled down a bit and she ate more food today than she has in more than a week, which isn't saying too much, but still improvement.

One of the things that's bugging Anna the most right now is the "turban" she has to wear to protect the drain that's still in place for at least three more days.  The "turban" is basically a helmet made of gauze and tape that's wrapped around and around her head.  It kind of reminds me of the old leather football helmets.  Not too bad until you realize that she has to wear it all the time, and until today it hadn't come off since last Wednesday's surgery.  Anna was getting pretty itchy under there and just plain uncomfortable.

Sometime mid-morning, one of the neurosurgeons who is a little lower on the totem pole came in to re-wrap her head.  After the procedure, I kind of felt like his bedside manner could use a little work, but I was at least glad that he let me scratch Anna's head for awhile before he re-wrapped things.

Apparently, when the head neurosurgeon came in late in the day to check on Anna, one of the first things he said was "That's a terrible turban!"  Not only did he offer to re-wrap her head himself (he's kind of an expert when it comes to this kind of thing), but he also allowed Anna to have her hair washed first!  Hooray!  And I guess they decorated it up a bit with some pink gauze.  Matt said that Anna griped and complained through the whole ordeal, but that's probably because the actual process was a bit uncomfortable.  Hopefully this will ease some of her discomfort.

Time for prayers

Thanksgiving
Please give thanks that Anna's tummy seems to be settling down.
Please give thanks that Kate, Ethan, and Matt were able to rest well last night.
Please give thanks that Anna's turban was taken care of by the best of the best.
Please give thanks that the digestive illness seems to be contained to our room for the moment.

Requests
Please pray that Anna is able to rest well overnight.
Please pray that Anna continues to grow stronger.
Please pray for wisdom for Matt and me as we make some big decisions about Anna's course of treatment.
Please pray that I sleep well tonight at home; this momma needs some rest.

Thank you especially tonight to those of you who have sent us Bible verses in the last few days.  They offer some much needed encouragement during the darker parts of our journey.