Goin' to Music City, but it ain't no pleasure trip

Hey, Ya'all. I awoke early this morning to hopes of making it home by tomorrow. But alas, it's not to be. They did the endoscope test, to see if they could discover the problem with the bile duct. After a short procedure, it was determined that I needed bile duct reconstruction, which means another major surgery. That wasn't exactly music to these old ears, but it does give me hope that these old ears may be hearin' for a while longer. And I thought, "What a marvelous gift, if I'm given more time to let others know how Good our God is." All praises to Him. I know that He's been with me throughout this whole procedure, because when one solid wall is hit, He provides another way.

I met some really interesting people this morning down in the GI lab. Now, for those of you who may not know, GI here does not mean Government Issue, but Gastro-Intestinal. I also discovered by talking to the delivery man, who delivered me from my room to the GI lab, that he will soon be taking his EMT test and become an emergency medical technician. He told me he'd learned a whole lot about taking care of people in all kinds of situations here. I believe that he'll be a really good EMT because of the compassion he shows for others.

I met one of the RN's down there, who told me her name was "Susan By the Way", and I said, "Well, I'm glad to know you Mrs. By the Way." (ala the Clampetts).

Dr Miller, who did the procedure this morning, was a very personable and skilled physician, (it was a pleasure to meet Dr. Miller). He and Dr. Garber discussed my condition, and determined it would be to my advantage to go to Vanderbilt Medical Center to have this reconstruction done. Right now, I'm just waiting to hear when we'll be going. They're trying to arrange transport and a room for today, and hopefully do the surgery tomorrow.

Another of the RN's down there was telling me about her son, who is in an upcoming production of "Kiss Me kate". He's a senior in High School, and is concerned about having to wear boxers in one of the scenes. I told her to tell him to just think of himself as a pugilist. Most of the other actors are college age and above. He also is interested in mission work, and has a heart for helping others.

Another of the RN's I talked to just got back from having a bunch of kidney stones removed. She said it was no picnic, either! She was a lot of fun to talk to, too.

I'll be going by ambulance from Knoxville to Nashville, and Carol will be riding shotgun with me. I'll tell her to be careful who she shoots at.

So that's about it from today. We'll keep you updated, and hope to really be singing down here among the saints and the sinners this time next week.

This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off. Thank you for the prayers 'cause i think they're working. Keep them coming because I think God likes to keep hearing from us. Bye for now. Much love to all of you.