Another day in the life of the Bennetts!

Rick has had a great week with only one dose of chemotherapy. His white blood count was low therefore he had two shots which are intended to boost his count. He will begin his treacherous 5 days of chemo this week. Please pray that he will tolerate the drugs well and have a great appetite.

Our kids are still visiting Grammie and Grandpa in Milton which was supposed to open our week for projects or shopping trips or even a few well deserved "date nights". Instead......Kelli spoiled everything with a trip to the ER. It all started when I was out shopping and started feeling lightheaded and sweaty. I started heading back toward our house which was only about 1 mile. As I turned down our road my vision became blurry. At one point, I could not differentiate the road, from the trees, from cars. All I could think about was STOP the car....so I did .....or thought I did. The next thing I remember is waking up and throwing up everywhere. There is about 5 minutes in between which Denise, Rick's sister, tells much better than me. (By the way for those of you who do not know.....Denise lives on the same road we do...the story will make more sense if you know this). From her viewpoint.....She saw my car stop....she rolled down her window to talk to me....I was just staring ahead...she thought what is wrong with her....is she mad....is she upset....my car started rolling....she jumped out of her car... she started banging on my window....I am still staring forward....eyes wide open....not even a flinch from me....she jumps on the running board of the car.....opens the door....slams on the brakes....I bang my head into the steering wheel....I start having tremors/shaking...I start throwing up! WOW!!! Denise then has my 14 year old niece, Kimberly, call 911. The ambulance / firetruck came to my rescue. During this time Denise is also calling Rick who has gone into work for a few hours to tell him about the ordeal. I was then transferred to the ER. After doing tests after test I was released with no real diagnose. I then met with the OB who believes I am already having Vaso-vagal episodes. I had these issues with my last pregnancy around week 32. What is alarming is that I am only 21 weeks so this problem will probably become worse. Vaso-vagal is an involuntary nervous system event which leads to slow heart rate, low blood pressure, and slow circulation resulting in dizziness or passing out. My OB is pretty sure this is the cause for my passing out but did what me to consult with a Neurologist to eliminate the possibility of seizures. Rick and I met with the Neurologist on Friday and he agrees with the OB and thinks that I am having vaso-vegal episodes. He is going to perform an EEG test tomorrow to rule out the possibility of the seizures. The things that I have to be careful of is being on my feet too much...good luck with having three kids and drinking enough fluids. Rick and I keeping laughing at this whole thing.....First him and now me! The real big news with this whole thing is that I CAN NOT DRIVE UNTIL OCTOBER!!!! AAAAAHHHH!!!! I really do understand that this is best for me and others but man this is going to be a real inconvenience!

When I think about that day I am reminded of God's great protection. God totally orchestrated the timing of the whole event. He protected me until I was on a private drive...not in traffic on HWY. 301, he timed Denise leaving her house at the exact moment I was in distress. I am overcome by emotion even as I write this posting, because God was most definitely protecting me and others that day. How do people not believe that our God is ALL powerful? ALL knowing? and ALWAYS there? I am so thankful to him for his protection last Wednesday.

Please continue to pray for Rick's health and for mine.
Kelli