On the mat

Submitted by Jiseon…. I am so so very grateful that we were able to get the surgery this past Friday and that it went successfully. I was so grateful for many provisions we experienced since Kenny’s dramatic turn of events this Friday. I was grateful that the ER was able to contain his pain level, that we got a quick appointment with Dr. Tang on Monday with Shufei’s help in driving over. And despite the fact that one of the secretaries was adamant that he couldn’t perform surgery on a non Tuesday or Wednesday, that Dr. Tang availed himself for this past Friday. I was also grateful that our church prayed, and that within that day, we got that pre-operation appointment at Alta Bates and that Pastor Will and James were able to accompany us. I was grateful that the gout only came the night before the surgery date. It was an unfortunate set of circumstances, but Kenny didn’t have to suffer more than a day with that added pain. I was grateful for all the visitors that filed into our house, bearing good will and gifts of cherries, a known cure for gout I was grateful for Jammy who set up a projector in the room so that some guys could watch the Lakers game to help pass the time quickly. I was grateful for Tony and Grace who took up Sophie’s needs, picked her up for me on numerous occasions, fed her dinner at our place, and even had her sleep over on two nights before our early morning appointments. I was grateful for Pastor Ed and Kelly who came and prayed over Kenny during the week, showing their care for us. I later found out from Angell that we were utterly fortunate to get an MRI appointment literally the next day as he said that it could backed up for weeks or months. I was really worried that Kenny would be in excruciating pain during the 30 minute MRI procedure because it would mean that he would be lying flat on his back, which he couldn’t normally do, but as I prayed the whole time during the filming, he later came out to report that he didn’t feel any increased pain, and we both felt that the 30 minutes felt more like 10. The Central apartment guys came with Pastor Will to literally pick Kenny up from the ground to transport him to the back of the van the morning of the surgery. The nights were of course the hardest. He couldn’t really sleep and multiple times needed massages, adjustment of the pillows, pills, ice packs, heat packs, etc. And in the worst of his pain, he would just be near tears and ask me to pray for him. So as I would massage his legs and feet, I would cry out to God on his behalf. And even in those times, I felt that keen sense, of “who are we, what is man, that God would be mindful of us.” I thought about all the other people in the world who must be suffering from this intense back pain, and how each of them are so desperate for healing and as I prayed I felt that sense of wonder that out of so many, God would hear our cry. And now that that week is behind us, and Kenny is walking around, albeit with a cane, but still walking, not hobbling, or barely crawling as he was on the last day. He is able to sit on the seat and sleep on his back. It’s like a second lease on life. We kept remarking just how we were held through this whole situation by God and his miraculous provisions and the concrete love of this community.