A Tough Week

I am so glad that being a Christian and having confidence in God's presence in my life can make life easier. Especially with a week like this one.

As most of you know at this point, this has been that proverbial "week from hell" for the Brownings. Last week the boys went up to East Texas to stay with Cody's mom for a few days. The plan was for them to come back this past Wednesday. Well, early Monday morning Aaron got sick; throwing up, diarrhea, etc. After this happening most of the day, and it not stopping, Cody's parents finally took him to the emergency room and he had a stomach virus of course. But when they took his blood work they also noticed his blood count was a bit high. So they did some chest x-rays as the doctor suspected pneumonia. And sure enough, Aaron has it....apparently it had been developing for a while. He is doing somewhat better now but is still very weak and the stomach virus now at least seems to be a thing of the past.

Meanwhile, Cody went up there on Monday evening and has been there since. We knew it might be a while as Aaron was unfit to travel home obviously. Well, on Wednesday evening Chase started throwing up and having diarrhea. Sigh! They took him to the doctor yesterday morning and he has the same virus Aaron had but thankfully he doesn't have pneumonia like Aaron does.

I am thankful for in-laws like Cody's parents. Obviously this has been a crazy week for Cody at her parents taking care of two sick boys without me there. But Cody's mother is amazing and I am so glad that the boys were around her, someone they feel very safe with, as they got so sick. We are hoping that Kathy and Cody don't get this mess. From the way this week is going however, we're all planning on that happening. Cody's sister, Brooke has been a big help this week also, going to the house to help Cody and Kathy.

The elders here in La Grange where I preach are so gracious. They offered to let me go up there and be with the family. I would have taken them up on the offer but due to circumstances here on the homefront, I was unable.

This has been an incredibly tough week on a lot of levels. And it is all capped off by what I don't want to do this afternoon....bury Hank. I dread it.

On Tuesday, the day after Cody left for East Texas, when I went outside to feed the dogs before work, I noticed Hank, our rottweiller, did not want to get up for his food. He was just laying there by the fence. I finally called him and he did get up and come, but it was more out of loyalty. He clearly did not want to eat. And I could tell he was hurting. I didn't think too much of it at the time. I was extremely busy and needed to get to work. I checked on him again that afternoon and clearly knew something wasn't right. So Wednesday morning, I got him over to the vet. Ironically he has pneumonia. He also has hip dysplasia. Because his blood count is so high, the doctor thinks he could possibly have cancer. There is no hope for him at this point, so we are going to put him to sleep this afternoon after lunch.

Tough! I love this dog. It is amazing that we get these pets, knowing at some point we're going to have to say "goodbye." Yet we still put ourselves through this. Hank is a good dog. I blogged about him recently. You can see the post here. He removed all myths about how "all rottweillers are mean and bad." He was so gentle and had no clue as to what he could do if he wanted. He is about as loyal a dog as one would find. Earlier this morning I went to see him at the clinic. He is in obvious pain and discomfort, and can't get up. Yet when he saw me he was wagging his tail and reaching his paw to me.

I know this is a dog. I certainly don't want to minimize the other things that are more pressing. I love my 2 boys more than life itself and am so thankful that they are on the mend, finally. I hope they soon get their strength back so they and my wife can come home. I miss them. And I am quite sure their illness and absence is adding to my emotions right now; sadness, some grief, guilt and helplesness. I imagine the week has been even tougher on Cody. She is obviously tired from not much sleep and no one likes to see their children sick...especially this sick.

So why did I write all this? Not real sure. Perhaps many will not read it or care too much. But it has been therapeutic for me. I am thankful for the opportunity to vent. Ha! Now you all know why I REALLY blog! :-)

Thank you all for your prayers, e-mails, calls, texts, and cards regarding the boys, especially Aaron. It has been overwhelming actually, and it is good to know we are loved and cared about. All the kids at church made Aaron a card Wednesday night. It was really sweet. Please keep praying for them. Chase will be fine. He just has to ride this virus out like Aaron did. Aaron is obviously still down with his pneumonia, but we think he is pretty safe at this point. He is getting lots of rest, and most importantly, lots of love and support from his mom and grandmother.

I'm sad but I am also upbeat. I think we all have to keep in perspective that we know things like this are going to happen. It's life. And again, I know this is a dog but I can't help but be reminded that everyone of us are going to one day "go to sleep." I am so thankful that because of my relationship with God, I don't have to fear it. In fact, I look quite forward to it. There, I won't have to have weeks like this one, :-)

Have a good weekend!


And Hank, you rest in peace my buddy! Thank you so much for the fun 7 1/2 years we had.