if i’m being honest.. in sickness & in health

So I wrote this blog almost a month ago, didn’t want to publish it at first and then due to internet issues and getting back to life in Guate, I delayed it more. So without further delay, here it is:

08.01.2017

Every now and then I feel like writing a blog and so I’ll say something to Whitney about it and she sort of nods her head and probably thinks “I’ll believe it when I see it” because for the most part, she’s right.  I said I felt like writing a blog post back around the middle/end of June.  It’s August 1st and I’m just now starting to write this!

The thing is, I knew I wanted to write something but wasn’t quite sure what.  But while getting ready to go to bed tonight sitting here at my parents’ house my theme/subject/whatever came to me.  I want to blog about my wife.  I know Whitney will read this and may even ask me to edit out some of the things I’ll say because I want to praise her and share a tiny bit of what only I know and see.  #sorrynotsorry

If you don’t already know, Whitney is an incredibly hard worker.  She’s ridiculously sweet, all kinds of thoughtful, selfless, optimistic, happy and really really funny.  She’s also a little introverted, she downplays her own sickness/discomfort, she puts others before herself almost to a fault, doesn’t complain, and all of this she will cast aside and remain gracious and friendly.  It’s not being fake, it’s her not allowing whatever personal circumstances or troubles she may be dealing with to interrupt her quality time with those she cares about.  She will never allow her frustrations or fatigue to compromise her faith, her joy, and her strength.  I seriously could write at least 10 stories of examples of this but I’ll try to keep it brief and limit it to one or two from just the last week.

While here in the U.S. Whitney got pretty sick, to the point of needing some medical attention and five days in the hospital.  But leading up to that, she had got me Reds baseball tickets for my birthday.  As sick as she was, she wasn’t going to let me know that.  She wanted me to have a great weekend with her, my brother and his wife.  So she drugged herself up with tylenol and nausea meds and put a smile on.  When I would notice how bad she felt and would mention going home early she had the audacity to apologize to me for being sick on my birthday!  But even before we had went to Cincinnati, we had got back to my parents’ home pretty late from being with Whitney’s family.  Whitney just wanted to rest.  She needed sleep, she needed quiet, she needed a bed! But when we pulled in the driveway to see all four of the nieces and nephew awake, she sacrificed her needs to play with the kids.   She exhausted what little energy she had for the kids despite having a migraine and fever (and much more serious problems we were to find out a few days later).  She took all of my three year old nephew’s love that came in the form of a human trampoline and being cartwheeled into.  She played hide and seek, she looked at all the cool new things the girls had got, she did it all. Smiling. Not letting them on to anything.  Because that’s who she is.

Last Sunday Whit finally felt bad enough to go to the hospital.  We went to the E.R. and she was admitted late into the night Sunday/Monday morning.  She was septic, had parasites, a GI infection, and a kidney infection.  Some of this was probably from Guatemala but had gotten worse because Whitney didn’t want to go to the hospital.  She didn’t want to have to spend the money for the ER if it truly wasn’t necessary, so she waited until it absolutely was and then some.  I was of course freaking out, she was of course cool calm and collected and didn’t really want to tell anyone unless she had to.  4 days later the doctors discovered the bacteria that she had was quite resistant to the antibiotics and would have to get a PICC line put in so that she could be discharged from the hospital but would still have to go to the hospital for her IV antibiotics for an additional 10 days.  Again, no complaining, a little sadness, yes, but only for others like our sweet niece Micah who cried when she found out Whitney couldn’t come home from the hospital right away.

But that’s her!  If you know Whitney and you’re reading this, I’m sure a lot of this doesn’t even surprise you!  Whitney will forgo her own comfort and happiness to meet the needs of others.  I mean it’s part of why we’re in Guatemala in the first place right?  I literally (using it correctly I promise) have to beg her sometimes just to get her to replace old shoes or buy a sweater or anything for herself.  Her phone was barely usable so I bought her a new one and had a group bring it to us in Guatemala because I knew if we were in the U.S. when I bought it, she’d try and return it because “I don’t need it, the one I have is fine.” SO if you ever want to do something for her, like actually for her, you have to think pretty long and hard about it because if she can, she will use it to bless someone else instead of herself.

If you’re reading this, it’s probably because I edited some of the things I wanted to say out at her request and quite possibly because I pleaded with her to let me post this, or I did it before she could read it to stop me! Ha!  In any case, I just want our readers to know that my wife, Whitney, is the most generous person I know, I have never met someone that happily gives up so much of oneself quite like she does.  Sure there are valleys to every mountaintop, but nothing brings me joy quite like seeing her in her element serving and taking sweet care of these babies and mommas in Guatemala.  I love my wife and Lord willing she will completely recover from this illness and we can get back to serving in Guatemala next week!

I pray that God will give you all grace, mercy and peace.

-Bryan (like you didn’t already know)