home at last...

matt was discharged early this afternoon, the doctors mostly appeased by the healing. his leg still hurts, shows a little rash, and is swollen, but they're sure the oral antibiotics will clear up the rest.

i'm glad he's home. i'm working 1/2 days the rest of the week so that he's not alone all day, and it's given me time to keep the house clean and running smoothly as well. still don't know when he'll be able to return to work.

the most concerning factor in all of this - once we knew surgery was not necessary - has been cost. i'm used to health insurance covering 80% of the bill, but with a five-night stay in a hospital, including a medical-technology-cocktail of testing, adding up to a bill that would rival most four-star resorts, i was pretty sure paying even 20% would break us. so, i sought the advice of the financial counselors at the hospital. they quickly informed me that we made far too much money to qualify for charitable assistance (which seems crazy to me - because we're hardly rolling in it!). i returned discouraged to matt's "hotel" room, where his mother suggested i call his health insurance company. i did so, and i'll be darned: they cover 100% of in-patient procedures, right down to the $50 copay for the ER visit. relief. matt decided then and there that he was going to get their money's worth - he rode the mechanical bed up and down, as far as it would go.

through out this entire ordeal, i've felt God's providence illustrated so clearly. not only in the fact that matt was spared from life-threatening infection (the first prognosis), and that he didn't even have to have surgery, but in the little things - for instance, in all of the back-and-forth driving i did in the last 5 days, i used barely a quarter tank of gasoline. if you're not a believer, you'll scoff at that: but it's rare for a quarter tank to last us more than two days, and i know i was driving more than usual. i see the health insurance coverage as a blessing too - i don't think that 100% coverage is normal, even for in-patient care. and the fact that our church and family rallied around us. i spent so much time on the phone updating people that i wanted to toss my phone out the window - but that all pointed to one thing: there are a lot of people that really love matt. we had multiple visitors every day; vacationing friends, distant and overseas family calling and texting me to check on him; two of our pastors at church came to visit; my mom was there the first three days to see him and his mom the last two; our moms both paid for a few of my meals so that we wouldn't have to; my dad sent money to help with parking; everyday i came home to phonecalls and emails from church members and family; he received flowers and a lovely goody basket full of treats; and saturday, when i was at my wit's end, my mom showed up at my house - unbeknownst to me - to clean my kitchen, etc. it made me feel good to know that God has placed us in such a loving, caring church family, but we are doubly blessed because our real family is here too.

oh, and my online friends, who will drop everything in a moment's notice to pray for my husband. that feels so good. thanks for your prayers too. i know prayer works.