January 17, 2016
Dear friends,
Thank you very much for your thoughts and prayers with regard to Grahame and to our family. We appreciate you and them (the thoughts and prayers!) SO much as we navigate this challenge, placing our small hands in Jesus’ broad ones.
We wanted to update you on Grahame’s medical condition, of which some of you may have become aware.
Late last week, after a couple of days of his not feeling well in combination with a keen headache, Karen and Grahame sought medical help. His doctor immediately scheduled a CT scan which revealed that he had suffered a significant stroke.
He was transferred to the ER where preliminary tests and exams were conducted. Grahame was subsequently admitted to the hospital. After a week of careful attention, he was stabilized enough to be moved to a post-stroke rehabilitation center in Great Falls, Montana on Saturday afternoon, January 16.
We are grateful to report that Grahame is currently highly mobile—unlike many stroke victims. He is able to walk and move freely, although he was required to remain in bed while in the hospital, with IV tubes and monitor sensors affixed.
He is highly verbal—his ability to speak, hear and express himself is excellent. He is, in a broad sense, presenting himself with his unmistakable “Grahame-ness!” Needless to say, he is making many new friends among his hospital caregivers.
He does have some cognitive challenges and will have rehabilitative work to undergo in order to heal completely and minister in the manner that he and Karen have historically done. We covet your love and patience as we work through this process, by God’s grace and in His time.
In light of these things, here are some current requests for prayer, from us as a family:
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- We ask you to thank the Lord for sparing Grahame’s life.
- Please pray that God’s will be done, even as we pray for Grahame’s full recovery. We recall Paul reminding us in Romans 14:8 that “whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”
- Please praise the Lord for His care for us, in Jesus, especially in knitting together Karen and Grahame. We thank God that he chose to bless Grahame with a wife and partner such as Karen.
- We ask that you would pray for the healthcare professionals—many of whom are dear friends—attending to Grahame. We pray that the Lord would give these doctors, nurses, and specialists great wisdom, intuition, humility, and grace as they tend to Grahame and to his recovery needs.
- Please pray specifically that the medications Grahame needs to balance the different aspects of his condition would be effective and that his body would adapt to and accept those medications so that his system can establish a new balance.
- Please pray for stamina, courage, patience, and grace for Karen as she ministers to Grahame. She has been with him at the hospital since he was admitted, sleeping only intermittently, and doing this with soldier-in-Christ grace!
- Pray that the rehabilitation Grahame will be undergoing would allow him to function at the level that the Lord wishes for him.
In the midst of this earthly challenge for Grahame and for our family, we rest as mortal humans upon two great promises and truths from the Bible:
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea.”—Psalm 46:1-2
“For we are convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”—Romans 8:38-39
You are all so very dear to us. We feel blessed and encouraged to be able to share this with you and to know that you will join with us in prayer!
Your fellow pilgrims-in-Jesus,
The Nicolson family
P.S. If you’d like to share an encouraging word, please leave us a voicemail at +1 (406) 640-4230. Or, you may mail a note to:
Grahame & Karen Nicolson
PO Box 9
Ulm MT 59485
USA
Thanks!
