"The first thing that I learned is that sometimes we ask for a blessing the Lord does not want to give us. Tom and I both offered many prayers that my pain would go away. The Lord knew that wasn't the blessing that I needed. I can't even imagine what could have happened if my pain had gone away, I would probably have gone into kidney failure. I needed the pain to force me to the hospital where I could get the blessing the Lord wanted to give me.
The phrase "Thy will be done" has greater meaning for me know. From now on I will always pray for the will of God to be done.
The timing of everything that happened was a miracle. The first miracle is that we were in a country where we understood the language. The second miracle is that we were staying with a missionary couple who were able to get us to the hospital and serve us in so many ways. The third miracle, even though the National Health Care in England is questionable, they were willing to provide the services I needed without any red tape. They were willing to work with us on the financial part.
Doctor Ryser, the Area doctor, was able to make an appointment for us to see an urologist on Tuesday afternoon, the day after returning from England, amazing! Try doing that in the States. It was a miracle that through this whole experience, I felt peace and a calm assurance that everything would be okay. When Tom wasn't able to be with me, I was not alone. I felt the loving arms of my Savior around me. I don't know what the future holds for me and my health. I know whatever it is, I will be able to get through it. Evidently this bladder problem has been going on for a long, long time. We don't know what damage there is to my kidneys. Things may go back to "normal". We don't know why my bladder doesn't empty the way it should. Hopefully we can find some answers. Although my future is uncertain, I know that my redeemer lives. "He lives to comfort me when faint. He lives to hear my soul's complaint. He lives to silence all my fears. He lives to wipe away my tears. He lives to calm my troubled heart. He lives all blessings to impart."
Once we got back to Frankfurt, we made arrangements to visit the urologist. Dr. Reyser went with us to show us how to get there on a train. It was really quite simple. The urologist has his office right in the touristic downtown of Frankfurt. The following photos show Debbie and Dr. Reyser on our first trip and Debbie riding the train.
In the first visit (on Tuesday), the urologist did a blood test and an ultrasound and scheduled for us to return on Thursday morning to remove the catheter and then return later that day for him to examine the bladder and urethra with urine in it. This time we made the trip alone, just the three of us, Tom, Debbie and Bagley.
After removing the catheter, Debbie was unable to urinate for the next four hours. When the doctor examined Debbie, he found no problems or obstructions in the urethra, but the bladder was still not emptying. So Bagley was put back on and the three of us returned back by train. Dr. Reyser set us an appointment with a trusted urologist in Utah for October 30, soon after we return next week. So we will wait until then to find out how to solve the mystery of the dysfunctional bladder.
The good news is that we now know how to go downtown on the train where there are many beautiful and historic buildings. At a future time, when the weather is better and we are in better physical condition, we will return and enjoy the sights.
We had previously planned on traveling to Finland on Thursday night and to Italy on Saturday. I (Tom) made the short trip to Finland on Thursday night and Debbie stayed home. I was able to visit the Helsinki, Finland temple on Friday morning and participate with our Self-Reliance manager in the training of members of two different stake committees on Friday afternoon and evening. Although short, it was a very worthwhile trip. Saturday morning early, I was able to return to Frankfurt and be with Debbie again.
We have delayed our trip to Italy for now, making sure we are getting adjusted to the new reality before we make any more trips. This will give us more time to work with our new manager this week, as he is returning from training in SLC.
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