Blessings and Emergency Surgery

Since when is a health problem a blessing? This week end. Joseph has been battling a UTI infection this past week or so. The Doctor even suggested there might be kidney stones. Trying to schedule the tests for them was a complete failure-- time after time. With all this in the background, Sunday afternoon Joseph felt really horrible. He related that he felt like he did when his foot infection went septic and began filling his system. It was time for the EMERGENCY ROOM. As we prepared to go, nausea led to worse. . . time to go.

We went to the new Intermountain Medical Center about 6:00 PM. The facility is very new and nice, so are the people. They decided to to a CT scan (Computed tomography) to check him for kidney stones. When they returned with the results the doctor said. "You don't have kidney stones. . . but your appendix looks like it may be a problem". Three hours (and a large bottle of raspberry flavored 'contrast' chemical) later Joseph went in for another CT scan on his appendix.

Joseph was lobbying for just taking it out. A while ago he was told of a quadraplegic in Idaho that felt like something was wrong. . . the doctors diagnosed a UTI (Urinary tract infection) and perscribed antibiotics. He just didn't feel right and headed for Salt Lake where there were doctors that understood SCI (spinal cord injury) patients. He died on the way to Utah. His appendix had burst even before he started the trip. It's a serious problem when you can't feel the specific pain to describe symptoms to the doctor.

The results from Joseph's second CT scan: "out it must come". Joseph was delighted. At 1:00 AM he was prepped and taken for surgery. They were able to do it with Laparoscopic surgery. It is minimally invasive (if you are interested, this page: Laparoscopic Appendectomy links to photos and videos of the process). The surgery was successful and by 3:00 AM he was out of the recovery room into a regular hospital room. Mom and Dad greeted him groggily. His great friend Matt Smith also came. Matt said he'd stay the rest of the night so Tim and Gloria could get some sleep. There are some acts of friendship that are celestial, Matt's really good at those.

Back at the hospital Monday morning the sun was bright in the beautiful picture windows of the room on the East side of the hospital. Joseph's spirits were great and he was ready to go home. First he had to finish breakfast, doses of IV antibiotics and then a solid lunch and by 2PM we were out of there. What a miracle, in and out in less than 24 hours feeling better leaving than entering and the weight of worry about his appendix rupturing gone forever!

Tim and Gloria's friends Janet and Randy Simmons & Annette and Pete Brunson from Logan arrived just in time to bring a most fabulous meal and celebrate the triumphant return. Oh, and did we mention today was a holiday in the U.S.: Presidents Day , happy birthday to George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

A New Day

President Thomas S. Monson and the new First Presidency
What a momentus day in the history of the Church. On Monday when the news conference was held announcing the new First Presidency, no one was surprized in the announcement of the new President, the Lord has established his process (see the link a the end of the previous entry). But we were delighted with the announcement of the counselors. What a great time to be alive.

'The Presidency'
Monday, Tim attended a funeral in Grace, Idaho of a good friend, on the way back he was awestruck with the mountains southeast of Brigham City. He recalled Pres. Boyd K. Packer saying the Willard Peaks formation was referred to by the older folks as "The Presidency". He said "These three gigantic, solid peaks standing againt the sky typified the leadership of the Church". Pres. Packer painted the scene in oil (see http://lds.org/museum/exhibits/packer/packer_exhibit.swf the painting and description are part way through the wonderful interactive presentation of Pres. Packer's art). To Tim the scene was a sweet moment of confirmation, he took the photo on the right.

Sustaining Vote
We had the blessing of Stake Conference this morning, one of the best ever, and had the priviledge to raise our arms in sustaining vote to the Prophet and the new First Presidency. In answer to prayer, the Holy Ghost provided a testimony of their calls. Once again we stand as personal witnesses of a Living Prophet and his counselors.

At the State Capitol
Joseph had a great experience the past several days appearing at several meetings at the State Capitol, including testifying before the Legislature in the Health and Human Services Committee. He enjoys discussing issues with the great men and women there.

Bridges to China
We sent an initial payment to China last week and prepared the travel visas for Joseph, Matt Smith and Tim. This week we will submit them to the Chinese consulate.

Donations
We have had some requests for the info on donations, we've included the Zions Bank info. It is overwhelming to have such support. We have friends planning on some fund raising activities. We'll keep you posted.

In Memory of Our Friend, Our Prophet

This week has been one of reflection. We rejoice that we have had as an example, a teacher, a leader and a prophet, a man of the stature and wisdom of Gordon B. Hinckley. So many have expressed their admiration, respect and love for him this week. . . he belonged to us all.

We especially enjoyed the tribute from Glenn Beck, a well known TV commentator and a recent convert: www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/200/5127/. We also thought this article from Jerry Johnston was great: Deseret Morning News Cane was tool, not crutch, for Pres. Hinckley.

For us, we reflect on his personal commitment to the Lord after his father's advice to him in the missionfield, "Forget yourself, and go to work". His whole life and personality from that time was not about himself, but about the work. Our friend Lyle Shamo asked him on one occasion, "How do you keep going?" His reply, "It's the cause".

It's our cause too. . . we just have to forget ourselves and go to work. We'll miss our friend and our prophet, but our prayers to allow him to 'die in the harness' were answered, and all is well. The Kingdom moves forward on the shoulders of giants.

Our last photo was shot by Tim on his camera phone before the funeral service.. What a marvelous tribute it was. You can find it online at: LDS.org broadcast page.

If friends have questions on succession in the Presidency of the Church share this link from the Church Newsroom: Succession in the Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints