Worthy

The name Valerie, of Teutonic origin, means worthy. She is the joy of her father and the happiness of her mother (Proverbs 23:25). Val was named after the sister of Ken Scott, a college friend from Vermillion-on-the Lake, Ohio.

One of my fondest memories occurred when we were living on Revely Avenue in Lakewood, Ohio (where I was born). Val was two and was an escape artist extraordinaire! To keep her in her crib at night, I took the door off the bedroom and put it on top of the crib. When that didn't work, I put the toybox on top of the door.

One morning at 5 am, the doorbell rang. It was the milkman (for those of you who are confused, this was a man in a white suit and white truck who left quarts of milk in glass bottles with paper stoppers in a wire tray on your front door). He had the little Houdini in tow. She had escaped and made it halfway down the street.

Val slept well through the night. I have a monitor next to my bed and spent much time listening and watching a red LED that blinked every time she breathed. Her vitals are strong. She continues to defy the odds, but the Holy Spirit tells me that she is a resident of Beaulah Land and unless God Most High intervenes, she will soon cross the river to Heaven's bright shore.

Julie is driving down from San Luis Obispo tonight. Char is due in on Wednesday. Jeff and family go back to Alabama on Tuesday. Jeff has to report to the Korean Peninsula in June as an F16 Squadron Commander.

Continue to pray that God will blow us all away and heal Val. Pray specifically that her swollen feet and lower legs improve, and that liver function returns. She is alert and pain free.

High King of heaven, my victory won,

May I reach heaven’s shore, O bright heaven’s Sun!

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Godspeed

PS:

San Diego Hospice set us up with a great bed on the 1st floor in the living room. Every morning a little bird comes to the window by Vals head and taps on the glass as if he was calling her to fly away with him.

Suzanne, our nurse checked Val this morning. Her feet are warmer and less purple than yesterday. a good sign that circulation is improved. Her lungs are clear. She is eating and drinking. Last Wednesday when she was intubated at Cedars, she couldn't write, only scribble. Today she is writing clearly.

Trevor Hoffman, the Padre's "Hells Bells" save pitcher, heard about Val's disease and offered his six seat personal box behind home base.