The Aches of Life

Some of you have noticed that I periodically post asking for prayer for my family. So I guess I'll let you in on what's going on. About a month ago, my grandfather had pneumonia, which led him to aspirate. That was the beginning of the trouble. The doctors thought he would make a full recovery, so we vented him and allowed them to do some respiratory therapy. Well, now his kidneys are failing. He was suffering from renal failure before he got sick, but it wasn't bad enough to warrant dialysis, and it sort of planed out at a certain functional percentage. But now, the kidneys just can't work hard enough to keep his heart and lungs going. He's been going to dialysis for a couple of weeks now, and has periodically mentioned stopping it. Well last night, he decided he was done and he was going home. So he's at home, basically waiting on his kidneys to shut down. I don't expect him to last more than a few weeks. But, I also didn't expect him to make it this long. This is particularly hard on me because he's more like a second father to me than a grandfather. And I know that he really wanted to see the baby. In fact, over the weekend while my mom and aunt were fighting with the nurses and aides, he leaned over to me and said, "Sweetheart, I'm sorry I let you down". Needless to say I lost it. It's also been very stressful for my mother. She's so determined to be there for him that she's killing herself. It's a very sad time for the Rudd children.

But on the lighter side, Lane is growing every day. It seems like overnight I get bigger and bigger. He has settled down some, but he's still got some power behind those little kicks and punches. The other day I thought he was going to suffocate me by pushing one of my other internal organs into my lungs. Okay, maybe that's a little melodramatic, but still. He's also insistent on using my bladder for a pillow. It's still fun. I'm ready for August though. I can't wait to meet the little guy :)