Tag Archives: Holy Lands

Israel – Part II

14 Oct

Three months ago Jody and I took our long anticipated trip to Israel.  A lot has changed in our family since then with Jody being admitted to the hospital the day after we got back, and his lungs having taken a hard hit by this infection.  We continue to adjust to a new norm for our family where we can’t just pick-up and go like we used to.  Jody continues to remain stable since my last post, and we’ve actually been able to enjoy some fun family time together (thanks to the help of oxygen).

Now that things are going fairly well, it feels like the right time to finally share some Israel pictures with you.  These pictures can be viewed by clicking on the video below (although you might not be able to view it on a mobile device).  I’d love to hear your thoughts on what you liked or what surprised you about the Holy Lands.  If you missed my Israel – Part I post about the work we did in Israel, check it out by clicking here.

 

Lastly, I want to leave you with a helpful travel tip for all of you international travelers.  This awesome tip came from Jody’s doctor (who frequently travels out of the country for work).  If you’re on Pinterest, prepare yourself, this is “Pin” worthy!  This tip is useful when traveling to a country that uses outlets that are different from ours here in the U.S. (or vise versa).   The tip is this:  Instead of buying multiple outlet converters, buy one and pack a surge strip to plug into that converter.  This tip was great for us because it allowed Jody to do his nebulizer treatments and at the same time we could charge our cell phones, iPod, laptop, etc..  I hope you find this tip equally as helpful during your next international trip.  Bon Voyage!

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Back to Reality, Back to the Hospital

30 Jul

Yesterday we returned from our trip to Israel.  I thought my first post back would be about how great the trip was (which it was), and about how much we did and saw (way too much to cover in one post), but instead I’m writing to inform you that Jody is in the hospital.

First of all, I want to say how very proud I was of Jody throughout this trip.  A Holy Land tour is by no means relaxing. It requires lots of walking, stepping, and hiking up mountains with sometimes little breaks in between.  There were many times throughout the trip when I (and others) felt tired, or winded from the climb.  At such times I would look at Jody, making the same trek, but with only 35% lung function, and my heart would fill with pride and admiration.  I know it wasn’t easy for him, and we took “breathing breaks” for him to catch his breath, but he always pushed on, and did so without complaint.

During the last week of our trip I noticed that Jody seemed to be coughing more.  I wanted to believe that it was from all the activity of the day loosening things up, but I had my suspicions.  Further into that week I thought he sounded “junky,” and seemed to be a little more short of breath than normal.  A few random checks of his oxygen level (we had packed our portable SpO2 monitor) showed his oxygen level, although not alarming, was a little lower than normal.  All in all, he seemed to be well (not nearly as “sick” as I have seen him with infections of the past), so it’s easy to rationalize things to be okay.  But, I have learned that the signs of a CF infection can be very subtle, and I am starting to be able to pick up on those subtle changes in Jody.  I also know that left untreated, a CF infection can progress rapidly, and quickly takes a lot out of a person.  Because there are no flashing red lights over Jody’s head indicating when he gets sick (although I really wish that was the case), and because I have seen the results of waiting too long to call, I have learned to err on the side of caution, and call the doctor sooner rather than later.  This morning Jody made the call, and after being seen in the CF clinic, the decision was made to admit him to the hospital.

It’s hard to say where this infection came from.  Jody’s doctor felt he probably had something brewing even before our trip, but that the activity of the trip may have exacerbated it.  He was glad we were able to take this trip, and said we should have no regrets about it, which we don’t.  How could we?  How could we regret walking on the steps that Jesus walked, or being baptized in the Jordan river, or renewing our wedding vowels, or taking a boat trip on the Sea of Galilee?  Infection and all, there are no regrets!

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