Fear not, Stand Still

There is a passage in Exodus where, following a period of slavery and afflictions the Israelites were granted their freedom and they marched out of Egypt. In a change of heart the Pharaoh then decides he wants them back and just as the children of Israel reach the shores of the Red Sea they lift up their eyes and behold the Egyptian Army and they "were sore afraid." I relate this passage of scripture to you because it is the best way I have to describe some of the moments Will and I have had in the past week. We have "waded through much affliction" and felt as if our "freedom from physical disability" was at hand. We hoped that the doctors here in Ohio would see Will's amazing progress and grant him passage to their residency (on the grounds that he would return to full health by July). When the email came that this would not be the case, my heart broke. Thinking of Will's disappointment, our medical school debt, what we could do instead, how we'll ever be able to have a family we could support, etc. Fear and doubt overtook me. I cried for hours, then later when I picked Will up from the hospital we wept together.

I am sure you all have many of the same questions I do, and you're hoping for answers in this blog post, but unfortunately I can't give you many answers right now. I guess this just gives you incentive to continue to follow this blog for awhile longer ;) I'm sure we will look for intermediary job opportunities and a few refresher courses at a third year/fourth year medical student level will probably be required. The new plan will be to apply for a residency a year from now. To assist in the repairing of our broken hearts, we will not be returning to Utah yet. I've always wanted to spend time in the East Coast. We'll visit my brother in Georgia, some friends in Washington DC and Will's sister in New York.

I want to leave you with the assurance that I know God lives. Just as Moses then stood before his people and said "Fear ye not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord" and the Read Sea parted, so shall Will and I continue to see miracles. In the meantime we will be graced with "compensating blessings." Thank you again for following our saga. We love you and appreciate all you do for us. Our love for the people who have and continue to assist in Will's recovery continues to grow, specifically at this time for those here in Ohio. I had the opportunity to meet with a few of Will's first responders yesterday. I hope they know of our great appreciation.

ps I promise to relate more of the specific experiences Will had at the hospital and the feedback we received from them in the next blog. It became apparent in his rounds Will still needs to recover more, but if granted this growth he has great potential to be an extraordinary doctor.

pps above is a picture of Will in front of Riverside Hospital, the place where he was doing an observorship for the last two weeks. Below You'll also see Will dressed as a doctor for a ward Halloween party. And our attendance at the "Pumkin Festival" in Circleville. It was around five full blocks of fried food, princesses and pumpkins. ppps see if you can spot Will in the picture with the pumpkin tower ;)