July 26 - AM Post

It was great to arrive at the hospital this morning to find Austin standing in his bathroom, brushing his teeth. He is trying to be as independent as possible and to take control of his routine as much as he can so putting on some new shorts and brushing his teeth before he's wheeled anywhere or poked and prodded feels great to him. :) His kidney doctor came in early this morning to say that his levels continue to be improving slowly which he is encouraged by. His hemoglobin continues to lag behind so they will give blood transfusions as needed. His platelet counts are slowly rising. Austin grilled him about how long he would be needing his catheter in his shoulder area because he really didn't want to go back to work at Lowes with this thing sticking out. :) The doctor just smiled and encouraged him not to worry about it and just work on building his strength by eating and trying to walk around the halls.

He went down for his 7th plasma treatment this morning. The doctor said they will just keep doing them daily for now. The people who are caring for him during this time are just great. They've come to know him and they are our new good friends. Ritch is going back to work this week and I (Char) feel so grateful to have the time off to be at the hospital. Leslie and Tyler are heading to Marion today to unload their truck and settle into their new home but they are close enough to come and visit on Wednesday! :)

Thank you for your continued prayers and many acts of support and kindness. This morning in my quiet time I felt God reminding me I need to let go and trust Him. It's a continual learning for me ... to truly trust God without trying to remind Him what I think would be best or what I believe Austin needs. My cousin Brian reminded me that God loves Austin even more than I do. :) So I will trust Him.