February’s Writing Blitz: Love Never Fails: Week 3

If you follow me on Facebook, you might have heard about my husband’s trip to the ER. My husband’s lung spontaneously collapsed Friday morning. There was no rhyme or reason for it. No way to prevent it. The only answer they could give him was that this is fairly common in tall, skinny men. However, they normally only see this in men over 60 or younger guys between 18-22.
So what is a collapsed lung? The doctor explained that the lung leaked out air, putting air in between the lung cavity and the lung itself. This pocket of air doesn’t allow the lung to fill properly, leaving it in the collapsed position.
This is extremely painful. And a bit unnerving to know that this could happen on a whim without a hard hit to the chest.
The lung, however, will heal itself and the body can absorb the air in time. Because John’s case wasn’t so severe and his pain was the biggest issue, the doctor gave him the option of having a tube put in his side to draw the air out or just waiting a few days to see how things go on their own. He chose to wait, so now we wait until Wednesday to find out if there is any improvement. If there isn’t any improvement then he’ll need to either have the tube procedure done in the office or go for surgery and a longer hospital stay. The surgery doesn’t sound like fun, but they have reason to believe that this has happened before so there is a greater chance now of it happening again. The surgery can prevent this from happening to him again.
How is he today? He has permission from the doctor to return to work just as long as he can handle the pain he’s in. Last I checked, he seemed rather uncomfortable so I’m surprised he went to work. If at any point he feels that it’s getting worse, he’s supposed to call the doctor and head to the hospital.

When life surprises you, you have to just roll with it. I had major plans on the writing front but happily set these duties aside to handle things here at home. Because I spent the entire day at the hospital, I wasn’t at my desk that morning, putting the finishing touches on my progress report. Lol I apologize for those that read it. I didn’t have my finished numbers in the post or any of the links. I know you’ll be understanding, so I’m just gonna laugh this blunder off and move on. I am bringing the finished progress report to you today with some updated goals.

As mentioned, I’ve reached the half-way point in the first draft which means that I’m now going downhill. Similar to riding a bike downhill, my job suddenly seems easier and faster. I switched my goals around last week and started counting the number of scenes I’ve written instead of focusing on word count. I tend to do this when I’m nearing the end. It seems easier to count down the scenes as I  hone in on the ending. My goal last week was to write 6 complete scenes and I have written 9 scenes with a total of 7535 words for the week. There were days when it seemed impossible to write so all glory goes to God!! Now for your new clue…

Are you ready to hear something about our pal, Ralph Williams? I’m not ready to say much since I have to be ultra careful here with spoilers, but I CAN give you a song that I like to use as inspiration for his love life. Suffice it to say that our hero finds himself in the doghouse and will find himself begging for a second chance. Whether the lady will give in or not is yet to be seen. But you can hear the beat of his heart in the Backstreet Boys’ song, Crawling Back to You. Enjoy!

Week 4 Goals: I’m bouncing back and forth between throwing myself in my writing and pulling out another vacation card so that I can focus on my family and housework. I think my home needs some extra attention at this point.
I’ve decided to write as I’m able, but I’m not setting any goals and there will not be any progress report on Friday. Lord willing, I’ll come back swinging in March. 😉 I’m praying about finishing the entire first draft by the end of March. This will be a hefty challenge.

Prayer Requests: Clearly, we’re in need of prayers for my husband’s health. You’ll find updates on Facebook. Please continue to pray that God blesses my time and my efforts. Also that I’ll have a clear mind and be able to work unhindered when it’s time.

Catching Up: You can read the previous progress reports and the clues I’ve given out so far.
And just for fun, I have pulled up a previous post featuring some random facts about the Ancient Words Series. It was originally linked to a giveaway which is no longer in progress.