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This is the place where you can leave a comment about your own RL4B experience. It can be a few words or a small paragraph. Feel free to share what you'd like, however trolls (or troll-sounding comments) will be moderated back under the bridge.  :)

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Answered Prayer at Mayo Clinic

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I have been doing dialysis over a month for acute kidney failure. Each day labs have been reviewed and checked for progress and each day my kidneys were still not functioning. During the last week, the labs indicated my kidneys were showing signs of waking up. Thursday’s dialysis was postponed followed by Friday’s and Saturday’s.  On Sunday, right after viewing church on line, the kidney doctor came in and announced my kidneys had improved enough I no longer needed dialysis. All at once, I smiled, clapped my hands, and my eyes filled with tears of profound gratitude.  I was overwhelmed by the positive impact it would have on my plans to come home.  However, I still have a big obstacle yet to overcome in healing my severe pressure wounds. This and physical therapy will be my main focus as I look toward discharge.   Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers. They’re working! Love, Lisa
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Where Are Your Tires?

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This past weekend I found so much beauty that it can't be summed up in one picture, or even one post. Granted, we were camping in the mountains of Montana, so there wasn't anything relentless about seeing the beauty, but we were relentless in finding it. When we head to the hills, we like to camp near the trail heads for riding our ATVs. Montana's National Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management have designated hundreds of miles of trails for motorized use (most were historically used for logging and mining endeavors). Though myriad entities have bought acreage in our state, many of these trails which cross private ground were maintained for public use (as long as you stick to the trail!). This is a beauty in itself, especially for a person like me who would otherwise not be able to access these places without a motor and some wheels. On one particularly long and arduous trail, I rode with my dad in his side-by-side (picture a cross between a golf cart an...
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A Montana Address Again

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Three months ago, Shawn and I drove to Rochester, Minnesota planning to stay for a week, maybe two.  If you have been following my blog, you know how those plans went awry.   With lots of good medical care, hard work and time for healing, I’m finally strong enough to leave the hospital.   Due to my pressure sores, transportation has been the sticking point for my release.  The social workers here persistently sought a solution.  Yesterday I learned that my full medical flight would be funded through one of Mayo Clinic’s programs.   I fly out tomorrow! I’m not going home just yet but am traveling to an acute care center in Billings, Montana, a two-hour drive from home.  The focus of my stay there will be wound care and physical therapy.   I’ll be letting you know my new Montana address soon! As always, thank you for your prayers, support and love. — Lisa
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Remember Your Purpose

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I am so thankful to be home.  This does not mean it’s been easy.  We’ve struggled to set up routines and bring in home health three or four times a week.  In addition, I’ve had several appointments with various doctors requiring uncomfortable rides to town and back.   I found myself wishing I wasn’t so busy.   Then I started thinking about the reason for all my meetings.  It was about healing.  Isn’t that my goal? So I’ve taken a new perspective of gratitude and responsibility.  Healing is my job right now and I’m blessed to be able to do it at home rather than in a hospital.  So when I feel like life is too busy I remember my goal and it makes it easier to endure. Where do you find purpose? How can you be grateful for it?
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I’m Home!

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  Yes, you read that right. I’m home in my house in Bozeman! After several weeks in the long-term hospital in Billings, I was discharged yesterday. I’m not completely healed, but I’m well enough to be home. When I arrived at the house, I was greeted with flowers in my planters and balloons across my living room, courtesy of my generous family. I felt loved and at peace. It will take me a while to settle in and get into a routine, but the mountain view out my window makes it worth it. Thank you, all, for your continued support and prayers along the way. I look forward to seeing you in person later this summer. Love, Lisa
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True Love: Finding beauty when we choose love

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Twenty-two years ago, on Shawn's twenty-second birthday, he proposed to me. I was eighteen.  We had been dating only a few weeks, but both of us knew we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. Eight months into our engagement, I had a stroke, and once in the hospital, I was diagnosed with a heart condition. At one point it looked so grim as to prompt my doctor to advise a transplant and predict I had less than ten years left to live. I was told I could never sustain a pregnancy. Everyone looked to Shawn for his response. He solidified his commitment to me by standing tall and absorbing the news as if he were already my husband. He held my hand and reassured me that he would be there forever. We were married five months later.  Despite our young age and quick engagement, I was confident our marriage would last because it was built on a choice. I recently read a book called All About Love  by bell hooks. She uses a definition for love that moves beyon...
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Mayo Update: One Day at a Time

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I’ve graduated out of the ICU (again!).  I’m now in a slow holding pattern of waiting for my kidneys to heal and start functioning and also work with physical therapists to regain some of my strength.   This last part, physical therapy, is exactly that.  It is very physical, taxing my energy to the limit, and is sometimes painful.  But I push myself to follow the therapist’s instructions as I know whatever gains I make will assure a better future.   My day consists of many visits by medical professionals.  They come in one at a time, in pairs or in groups.  There always seems to be a line at my door.   Your cards, flowers, and facebook comments lift my spirits each day.  Many times, it has been your support that I have needed to keep me going.  Thank you! Love, Lisa
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What Is A Doorway?

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This is my first post in over 3 years, and I'm trying not to feel guilty about it. I'm the type of person who likes to commit to projects and do them on schedule in an organized fashion. This blog has not been one of them, and it bugs me a bit. Okay, a lot. But as I'm picking up writing again, I find myself seeking an outlet for sharing the things that I find beautiful and joyful each day. Since launching RL4B in July of 2014, I have found a new, meaningful way to describe the goal of relentlessly looking for beauty through the metaphor of a doorway which connects earth to heaven. Though I view it through a Christian lens, the experience is not exclusively a religious idea. Doorways are there for anyone who cares to pay attention to how this world shows us glimpses of a universal understanding and our connection to something bigger than ourselves. Doorways open up to    joy         beauty             smiles     ...
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Week Four at Mayo Clinic

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I've been at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota since February 15th. More than three quarters of the time has been spent in the ICU and the hospital. How am I doing? Honestly, it’s been a rough roller coaster. Although my body is SLOWLY healing, my mental health needs support.  I stand in the shadow of anxiety, loneliness, fatigue, frustration, and sadness.  Then gratitude, peace, strength, and optimism shine through the clouds. Eariler this week, I had my first and second panic attack in a series of lucid dreams. Mild hallucinations and imagined voices set in, too. It was scary. It was confusing. Some of what I imagined was kinda funny! When I talked to my doctors, they told me that I likely had a mild case of delirium caused by the disorienation, loud noises, and changing faces of a hospital. They told me my nightmares were typical and reassured me that I was safe. They gave suggestions for relief. Keep your mind occupied with puzzles, word searches, or other hobbies. Move ...
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Update on Lisa - Guest Post from Kara Nelson, Lisa’s Sister

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  An Update From Kara:  Lisa is in the Mayo Clinic ICU still, but improving. Over a month ago, she came here for a feeding tube placement. And, after overcoming major complications with internal bleeding and kidney issues, she was all set to go home when about a week ago, she came down with a sepsis blood infection and her body went into septic shock. She was extremely fatigued, her kidneys stopped functioning, she had hypotension (low blood pressure), and a lot of fluid retention. Lisa was very sick, and to be honest, we didn’t know if she was going to make it. Doctors treated Lisa with many life-saving medications (up to eight IV bags hung at one time), several rounds of paracentesis (removing fluid from her abdomen), blood transfusions, and dialysis. The sepsis infection is now gone, her numbers are stable, her fluid retention is much better, her eyes are brighter, her voice has returned, and she’s been able to sit up once or twice a day. Currently, she is still on dialysis...
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