The Whitster's Coming Home!

Whitney with one of about a million people who’ve come to see her over the past 48 hours.Whitney came through her surgery yesterday with flying colors! Dr. Herring beeped us an hour-and-a-half in and declared everything a major success. He almost sounded surprised himself at how well it went! They took some bone from Whitney’s hip and grafted it into her left foot to straighten out some irregularities she’s dealt with for over ten years. “That bone,” Dr. Herring, the chief of staff told us, “did exactly what we wanted it to. It brought that foot right in where it needs to be.” She was back in her room by 10:30 am. And by 2:00 pm she was back to her normal self, talking a million miles an hour about sports and games and food.

There’s a pin sticking out from her heel underneath the cast. She’ll be in the cast that runs from just below her knee down to her toes for six weeks. And she can’t put any weight on it whatsoever. So she’ll spend most of these six weeks in a wheelchair. We’ve done it once before, when she had both feet operated on seven years ago. But we were in a one-story house then. I think the downstairs study is about to be converted into Whitney’s temporary quarters.

About three weeks ago, Doug Deere, one of our friends here at Legacy, gave me two tickets to his company’s suite at Texas Stadium for tomorrow night’s last Cowboys game ever at the historic football shrine. And my heart melted, knowing that I had no choice but to take Whitney, but realizing it would be a close call with her Thursday surgery. We got the news yesterday that they weren’t planning to take the epidural out until Saturday and that she wouldn’t be released until Sunday or Monday. They’re much more concerned with the pain in her hip than in her foot. I was devastated. Whitney’s been begging us to take her to a game in this final season at Texas Stadium since last year. It’ll make her decade to get to go. But it wasn’t looking good.

Until this morning. Carrie-Anne told Dr. Herring all the details of what had been planned. Knowing Whitney like he does—he’s been seeing her for seven years and operated on her now four times—he concluded there’s no way she can miss the game. So he conferred with a couple of other doctors and got everything moved up 24 hours. The epidural’s coming out this afternoon and she’s going home tomorrow at noon. And we’re going to the Cowboys game together tomorrow night! Dr. Herring said even if it sets her back a couple of days in recovery, she can’t miss that game.

So, they’re working out her pain meds and getting all of that regulated today. I’m picking up Valerie and Carley from school in about an hour and heading back over to Scottish Rite. And I can’t wait to tell Whitney about the game. She doesn’t know yet. We haven’t told her because we weren’t sure she was going to get to go. She’s going to flip. I can’t wait.

The experience has been marvelous, as it always is at Scottish Rite. We love that place. They take such great care of their patients and their families. Whitney won’t even need a Christmas after all the gifts and goodies she’s received from the hospital this week. And your prayers and calls and cards and visits have done wonders for us and our family. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Our church family at Legacy is so wonderful. Our friends and family spread out all over the southwest are wonderful. And our God is so great. Once again, he shows us his love and concern, his provision and protection, through his people. And once again he delivers us. He walks with us through the valleys. He rescues us. What an amazing Father!

Go Ravens.

Allan

3 Comments

  1. Paul

    Great news all arould. Take good care of Whitney tomorrow.
    Thanks Doug – you done good.

  2. JoAnn Glock

    Alan,

    Wanted you to know your many friends at Woodward Park, Fresno, CA, have been praying for Whitney also. This is great news. Please give her our best.

  3. Caleb Courtney

    I just wish that game had turned out better for the two of you. I remember almost crying in the doorway to our living room when I was eleven. Jay Novachek got tackled at the one yard line as time expired and the Cowboys lost to the lowly Arizona Cardinals…boo!

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