Recovery @ MD Anderson
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Tiffany Chen
Jul 12, 2009, 12:06:13 AM7/12/09
to ipray4anderson
Hi friends and family,
Anderson spent almost all of today resting. He's been on IV pain killers since the surgery and they say that it knocks him out. I'm glad that he's getting rest. Hopefully his body will make the most of it and heal away. He did do some hand squeezing today and I did get to see his eyes. :) I think he was super sleepy though because his eyes kept rolling back. Some friends came to visit so I hung out with them a little bit tonight. It's a good break from the hospital routine. Also went out and used the bogo coupon at Jamba. Yummy orange dream machine.
I think the prayer requests are pretty much similar to yesterday's
Tiff
K... so I started to feel a little bit chicken about sending out Anderson's testimony/the Tifferson story. Mostly because it's very honest and I get embarassed and self-conscious and I checked and this email goes out directly to over 250 people and even more when it gets forwarded. I'm also afraid about being judged or looked down upon.. or maybe even that my writing comes across as cocky or proud. The way I wrote it is very close to how I would tell it to you in person if you'd asked me. If you asked Anderson the story of how he became a Christian, he'd probably say... "I don't know. I asked Ted a bunch of questions and he answered them all. So that was that." You'd reply and say "that's it?!? what about your favorite verses or what you were thinking or where were you when it happened or any other influences?" He's say,"Well, there's Tiff. She helped. I'm thankful for Tiff because without her, I wouldn't be where I am today. She saved my life. (I'm not joking, he really does say that) I was in Brazil. I can't think of any verses." He'd also go on to say some things that are true but vague like "I'm not like most of the people at church" or "I was a good person, but my priorities were different". He doesn't like sharing in detail with a bunch of people. He's also not very long-winded and he doesn't like writing down his thoughts. He always just says that it's in his head and he'll remember. We're different like that... so the way I tell his story is what I've pieced together over the years with my own commentary in between. K. No more excuses. Here is page 1 of 14 (and counting). It's not deep. It's just our story starting from when we met.
You know what... before the 20th of May, my parents had asked us to tell our testimony and I had no idea where to begin. Now I know where to begin… and it begins with Pastor Ted. Pastor Ted had a LARGE part to do with why Anderson decided to become a Christian and he’s now one of Anderson’s closest friends. Anderson had a lot of questions about Christianity and a lot of judgments about it. He said that the most uncomfortable and difficult situations he'd been in from past experience were with Christian people. He was bothered by their hypocrisy, judgmentalism, and legalism... but mostly the hypocrisy. Christians said one thing but acted worse than non-Christians, in his mind. No offense to all of you Christians in his life. That was his feeling, in general, about Christianity. He also said that he would never EVER date a Christian girl. He knew that Christian girls would end up breaking up with him anyway because he was NOT a Christian and would never BE a Christian so what was the point. HA! Little did he know how God would change him.
So... that brings him to when he met yours truly. I can't say that we had the most wonderful beginning. I can't say that I was the best person who treated people well and was all nice and friendly or even the perfect Christian girl. I hung out with Anderson way too much as friends. There was just something about him that made me feel really comfortable with him. I couldn't pinpoint it... I told him that hanging out with him felt so comfortable... like hanging out with family... like a cousin or a brother. If you know me... you know that what I say is pretty literal. I was seriously just trying to work it out and I said what I was thinking. All you guys out there... I know you feel for Anderson and understand that from what I said... it pretty much made him confused and disappointed. I think he might have wanted to be more than just being friends when we were hanging out but I was just too confusing too him. I would go on and on about how over the previous year, I'd had so much boy problems. This guy had liked me, I rejected him... blah blah blah maybe 3-4 times that past year with different guys. And actually when I first started hanging out with Anderson, I was probably in the process of messing with another guy's heart. OK not probably. I was. I’m so ashamed now about that part of my college years. So I was just telling Anderson about my problems and he thought I was telling him not to go after me because I'd only break his heart. Anyhow... I hung out with Anderson every day and that’s a lot for people who were supposed to be just friends. His apartment was closer to campus than mine was so in between classes, I'd just stop by to study or read, he'd cook me food. I even recall inviting classmates over to have a study group AT his apartment. Then one day... I had an epiphany. Wait! I'm gonna say it... Tiffany had an epiphany. You say it outloud too. It's maybe the only word that rhymes with my name. These were my exact words, "Anderson, I think I like you." You might think that was kind of bold but... it really wasn't. We were so comfortable around each other that I just felt that I could say it without giving it a second thought. And that was that. I went back to doing my homework on his coffee table. He didn't say a word after that. (end of page 1)
Picture: Anderson at his desk in his apartment. I'm pretty sure he was sitting at that desk when I turned around and said "Anderson I like you".
Anderson spent almost all of today resting. He's been on IV pain killers since the surgery and they say that it knocks him out. I'm glad that he's getting rest. Hopefully his body will make the most of it and heal away. He did do some hand squeezing today and I did get to see his eyes. :) I think he was super sleepy though because his eyes kept rolling back. Some friends came to visit so I hung out with them a little bit tonight. It's a good break from the hospital routine. Also went out and used the bogo coupon at Jamba. Yummy orange dream machine.
I think the prayer requests are pretty much similar to yesterday's
- Surgical recovery - pray that his wounds heal well, drain well, and don't get infected. They removed his central line today because it was really close to the shunt. They replaced it with a PICC line in his left arm.
- Lungs
- Less bloody stuff suctioned today. Pray that his lungs continue to
heal. Also that the mucous and whatever other liquids are in there
would clear up too. There's a chance that he might have to be trach'd sometime soon. I'll explain more about that when the docs think it's time.
- Rest - good, rejuvenating rest. He's pretty much in a drug-induced sleep but sleep is sleep.
- Blood
pressure - He was off the vasopressors a little bit today. Maybe he can be weaned off them next week. He's still really sensitive to changes in the drug dosage. Please pray that his blood pressure
normalizes and that he won't need the drugs anymore.
- Electrolytes and blood counts - still not "normal". Pray for a system of medicines and supplements that works for him.
- Peace
and comfort - Sometimes you sleep and you're completely out.. sometimes you are still aware of what's going on around you. I hope that he's got peace in there. I think he might. Today when he was semi-awake... I held his hands and he felt up my arms for my face and just held my face with his two hands for a while. I don't think he'd do that if he were frustrated. Maybe he misses me.
- A miracle of healing. I go back and forth in my heart... thinking that God will heal him and then thinking that God won't heal him. I don't stop believing that he CAN, but I waver with whether or not He WILL. I need to stop speculating. God doesn't want us to waste time speculating about tomorrow because there's absolutely no way that we can know... so I'll work on enjoying today and continue to wait on God for what He'll bring me tomorrow.
- The nursing staff - a little trouble with the day nurse. I don't think it's a coincidence that today when I opened a drawer at the apt, I found the book I started reading a while ago called 30 Days to Taming Your Tongue. I will resume reading, learning, and hopefully taming my tongue. Actually, I saw this book mentioned in my daily devotional... I looked it up on Amazon and had it in my cart for a really long time but I never actually bought it. One day, I decided to go to the MD Anderson gift shop and what do you know... there it was on the shelf. So I bought it in the hospital sometime in May, I think. I left it in the apt after Anderson was hospitalized and kind of forgot about it. Must be God's little reminder for me.
Tiff
K... so I started to feel a little bit chicken about sending out Anderson's testimony/the Tifferson story. Mostly because it's very honest and I get embarassed and self-conscious and I checked and this email goes out directly to over 250 people and even more when it gets forwarded. I'm also afraid about being judged or looked down upon.. or maybe even that my writing comes across as cocky or proud. The way I wrote it is very close to how I would tell it to you in person if you'd asked me. If you asked Anderson the story of how he became a Christian, he'd probably say... "I don't know. I asked Ted a bunch of questions and he answered them all. So that was that." You'd reply and say "that's it?!? what about your favorite verses or what you were thinking or where were you when it happened or any other influences?" He's say,"Well, there's Tiff. She helped. I'm thankful for Tiff because without her, I wouldn't be where I am today. She saved my life. (I'm not joking, he really does say that) I was in Brazil. I can't think of any verses." He'd also go on to say some things that are true but vague like "I'm not like most of the people at church" or "I was a good person, but my priorities were different". He doesn't like sharing in detail with a bunch of people. He's also not very long-winded and he doesn't like writing down his thoughts. He always just says that it's in his head and he'll remember. We're different like that... so the way I tell his story is what I've pieced together over the years with my own commentary in between. K. No more excuses. Here is page 1 of 14 (and counting). It's not deep. It's just our story starting from when we met.
Anderson's Testimony & the Tifferson
story (page 1)
as told by Tiffany Ng Chen
begun on May 25, 2009
You know what... before the 20th of May, my parents had asked us to tell our testimony and I had no idea where to begin. Now I know where to begin… and it begins with Pastor Ted. Pastor Ted had a LARGE part to do with why Anderson decided to become a Christian and he’s now one of Anderson’s closest friends. Anderson had a lot of questions about Christianity and a lot of judgments about it. He said that the most uncomfortable and difficult situations he'd been in from past experience were with Christian people. He was bothered by their hypocrisy, judgmentalism, and legalism... but mostly the hypocrisy. Christians said one thing but acted worse than non-Christians, in his mind. No offense to all of you Christians in his life. That was his feeling, in general, about Christianity. He also said that he would never EVER date a Christian girl. He knew that Christian girls would end up breaking up with him anyway because he was NOT a Christian and would never BE a Christian so what was the point. HA! Little did he know how God would change him.
So... that brings him to when he met yours truly. I can't say that we had the most wonderful beginning. I can't say that I was the best person who treated people well and was all nice and friendly or even the perfect Christian girl. I hung out with Anderson way too much as friends. There was just something about him that made me feel really comfortable with him. I couldn't pinpoint it... I told him that hanging out with him felt so comfortable... like hanging out with family... like a cousin or a brother. If you know me... you know that what I say is pretty literal. I was seriously just trying to work it out and I said what I was thinking. All you guys out there... I know you feel for Anderson and understand that from what I said... it pretty much made him confused and disappointed. I think he might have wanted to be more than just being friends when we were hanging out but I was just too confusing too him. I would go on and on about how over the previous year, I'd had so much boy problems. This guy had liked me, I rejected him... blah blah blah maybe 3-4 times that past year with different guys. And actually when I first started hanging out with Anderson, I was probably in the process of messing with another guy's heart. OK not probably. I was. I’m so ashamed now about that part of my college years. So I was just telling Anderson about my problems and he thought I was telling him not to go after me because I'd only break his heart. Anyhow... I hung out with Anderson every day and that’s a lot for people who were supposed to be just friends. His apartment was closer to campus than mine was so in between classes, I'd just stop by to study or read, he'd cook me food. I even recall inviting classmates over to have a study group AT his apartment. Then one day... I had an epiphany. Wait! I'm gonna say it... Tiffany had an epiphany. You say it outloud too. It's maybe the only word that rhymes with my name. These were my exact words, "Anderson, I think I like you." You might think that was kind of bold but... it really wasn't. We were so comfortable around each other that I just felt that I could say it without giving it a second thought. And that was that. I went back to doing my homework on his coffee table. He didn't say a word after that. (end of page 1)
Picture: Anderson at his desk in his apartment. I'm pretty sure he was sitting at that desk when I turned around and said "Anderson I like you".
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