"My partner married me because she or he thought the pleasing things I was doing during our courtship would continue for the rest of our lives. Am I holding up my end of this bargain?"
- Willard F. Harley, Jr.from His Needs Her Needs
If that isn't an incredible example of the power of prayer, then I'm not bald!! PRAISE GOD!!!!!4:00 PM... Glory be to God for even more great news from the Bynum camp! DEBBIE IS GOING HOME TONIGHT!! She got herself up at 6:30 this morning, took a shower, and put her makeup on! Later, John got her walking the halls several times. One of the doctors stopped them in the hall and said that he wouldn’t have bet a nickel that she would be doing this great! Since John is a paramedic, the doctor said he is going to check out an IV pump and the meds she needs and send them home!!! They did make her promise not to go back to work this week and maybe next week. She will not need to go to the Rehab Center since she is doing so well and they can do any physical therapy she might need at home. Two of her doctors were off today but came in to tell her goodbye.
So, they are sending up a soft food tray and if she can get it all down without any trouble, they will be going home. John wanted me to pass along that he wants to have one big “Welcome Home” bash and invite everyone instead of several groups planning several different events…he doesn’t want to wear her out! Be looking for more info on that soon! John said Debbie would love to have visitors, but please call first to make sure she isn’t resting.
I just got off the phone with John. He told me that she has been awake and talking some today. She told John and the kids that she loved them. She told the nurse that she was ready to go home! She is having a little trouble with fine motor skills, but this is the be expected.
The therapist had been there and when I talked to John, Debbie was sitting up in a chair and talking! Ok, people. Let's stop for a second and let this sink in....Less than five days ago, we were just praying she would make it through the next hour. NOW, she is awake, sitting up in a chair and eating ice chips! What an AWESOME God we serve! Praise you God for your healing thus far of our precious sister, Debbie!!!
How awesome is our God?! And how awesome is it that in a matter of just a few days, over 1,500 people have come together on facebook, not to mention the thousands of others who are not on facebook, to pray for this child of God?!
Now, here are some intructions from John and the doctors. She can still have visitors this weekend, but here is the thing. She still needs LOTS of rest to continue healing like she has the past few days. SO, the doctors said they HAVE to limit the number of people in the ICU to 2 at a time. AND NO SICK PEOPLE, PLEASE!!! If you are sick, you will NOT be allowed to see her! This is for HER protection as her system is still so fragile. Thank you for your understanding! Also, if there are too many people for everyone to be able to see her, PLEASE UNDERSTAND and not get your fellings hurt. It is nothing personal. Debbie stills needs to get her rest. We expect the weekend to be busy with visitors who can't come during the week, so if you CAN come during the week, that might be better.
So there ya go! I hope to keep giving these great updates!!!
God bless,
Delisa
4 PM... John just called and they were able to take the tubes out! They did make her promise not to try and use her voice or talk for 2 hours. I can only imagine how hard that is going to be for her!!She is wiggling her toes and moving her hands when they ask her to. She is still a little slow to respond, like she's sleepy, but she is responding. John said she even seems to recognize people she hasn't seen in a while, so this is good. He said she is very emotional and cries pretty easily right now.
The Neurologist said it may be a while before they can tell if there are any neurological deficits but they are optimistic that there may not be any. She is recovering faster than they could have even imagined she would have.Tyler went to the doctor and they said his feeling bad was probably due to stress. Please keep Tyler, Audrie and Shellie in your prayers. It cannot be easy watching your Mom suffer like that.
I am just hopeful that she will be able to talk to them soon! Keep the prayer coming, Prayer Warriors. She's not out of the woods yet, but the trees are getting thinner! :-)
I just got off the phone with John. He said she has been talking some, and responding well. She is wanting a vanilla diet Dr.Pepper, lol, but she can't have one just yet!~ She is still very weak and tired, but at least we are getting good news, and moving forward! Thank you Jesus!
GREAT NEWS!!! John said that there were several visits from friends today...from high school and church. He said with the first visit of high school friends, she never opened her eyes, but starting crying when they talked to her. He didn't think she was really crying until the next set of visitors came in and she started crying again. He realized then that she really was crying. When another friend came in and said something like "Girl, I bet you're ready to go home!", she opened her eyes and NODDED "YES"! How great is this!!! The nurses came in and were amazed. John said she interacted with them in that way for about five minutes before she went back to sleep. The doctor said that if she is still doing well in the morning, they are going to take her off the ventilator. They said it will still take a while for her to get up and around. This is such great news!
Thank you for your continued prayers for the Bynum Family. They can feel the love and prayers from everyone of you!
Keep praying! It's working!! God is faithful and mighty to save!!!
Several of you have mentioned CarePages to me. I just set up a CarePage for Debbie, mainly for those who are not on Facebook. Please spread the word!
https://www.carepages.com/carepages/DebbieBynum
God bless,
Delisa
8pm...Our Acappella family (singers, wives and kids) just returned from the hospital. The guys got to go in and sing a few songs to Debbie. She is still unresponsive, but I believe she heard them. After they finished, I, along with the other wives and two daughters got to go in and see her for a few minu...tes. John called as we were on our way home and asked us to pray for a concern at the moment that has to do with her heart. If I understood him right, something in her heart is not firing like it should. They were getting ready to take her to get an EKG and a sonogram so they know what they are dealing with. The doctors feel like she had a few small wins today. They expect days where she has some wins and some setbacks, but we will take the wins today and give God all the glory!
She still has a LONG road ahead so DON'T STOP PRAYING! The next few days are critical! And please say an extra prayer for strength for John. He is not sleeping very much at all!
If you're reading this, please stop and pray for our sister and friend, Debbie Bynum. Debbie is the wife of Acappella's manager, John, and is in ICU with bacterial meningitis and severe sepsis. Here is an email I just received from Delisa McKinzie that will help explain the situation further:I just spoke with John and here is what he told me…Shalom
Debbie has a very rare strand of bacterial meningitis. It is not contagious, however, it is the hardest to fight and kills 4 out of every 6 people. She also has an abscess behind her ear that is leaking puss around her brain. She also has pneumonia. The first two weeks are critical and the doctor is trying to be optimistic. He gives her a 50/50 chance at this point, IF she can make it through the next week or two. Then, he feels 95% sure they can start to get things back for her with some very intensive treatment and medications. The doctor said she is not going to fight this quickly…it will be a 6-8 week process, assuming she makes it through the next few weeks.
John said that one of four things will happen…
1) This will overcome her and we will lose her.
2) She will fight it, but never be better than she is now.
3) She will fight it and will get some of her motor skills back, but could still have brain damage.
4) OR…she will make a full and complete recovery.
They have done a CT scan and MRI to see exactly where the abscess is because they have to remove it. When they find out, they may move her to either a hospital in Dallas, Baptist (here in OKC) or St. Francis. Please keep praying…continually. This sweet lady is fighting for her life right now and she needs us!!! And we are praying that they will keep her here in OKC so we can be there for John!
I will keep you posted as I hear more.
God bless,
Delisa
"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. . . In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear. . ."
Please check out this post from my friend, Brandon Scott Thomas. It's a perfect opportunity to love someone you may not even know. Love is willing to get hurtLove gives, needing no returnWhen love lives, it needs no words of loveThat's what love is
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
Sometimes all you can do is keep going.
Hope is a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. Hope is the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best.
When used in a religious context, hope carries a connotation of being aware of what Christians see as spiritual truth; see Hope (virtue). In Christian theology, hope is one of the three theological virtues (faith, hope, and love), which are spiritual gifts of God. In contrast to the above, it is not a physical emotion but a spiritual grace. Hope is distinct from positive thinking, which refers to a therapeutic or systematic process used in psychology for reversing pessimism. The term false hope refers to a hope based entirely around a fantasy or an extremely unlikely outcome.
