Eleven months later!!!

Day added to day, week added to week, month added to month, and now 11 months have gone by. By the grace of God, and with much support, we are so thankful as we look back and see that we are where we are today.

The starting point, humanly speaking, was minus something, but the starting point with God, as our helper, was and is on the plus side. Thank you, Lord!

Once again, a big THANK YOU for all love, support and prayer we’ve received!

Many ask how Håkan feels. Is he in much pain? How’s it going with his recovery?

On Sunday, Janne Sääf interviewed Håkan at Fristaden. You can listen to the interview in Swedish (on the Swedish blog), and get a few answers to your questions about Håkan. Otherwise, here’s an abbreviated version of the interview:

Janne: Are you in pain?
Håkan: No, my skin is tight and draws, so I have to do stretching exercises, but it doesn’t hurt… In the beginning I was so sedated, that I wasn’t aware of any pain. I received pain medication, but I don’t need any pain medication or sleeping pills now…

Janne: Does it itch a lot?
Håkan: Yes, it does…

Janne: We who know you, know that you’re the same old Håkan on the inside… But on the outside, we see that you’re bleeding a little through the bandages on your head. How is your skin healing?
Håkan: It’s going pretty well. I’ve had a little infection recently, so it’s taken a little longer time to heal. There are only a few very small sores on my head now, and some scabs, so I won’t need the bandages on my head so much longer. You can prepare yourself for the fact that I don’t have so much hair anymore. I have a little in the back, but not so much on top. Actually, I didn’t have so much there before either!

Janne: On Tuesdays, you are here at Fristaden… You seem very peaceful… Do you have nightmares?
Håkan: In the beginning, I had some dreams and hallucinations, which I’ve had to work through... I’ve had a couple of prophetic dreams, but no more nightmares.

Janne: I think you’re fantastic. You aren’t out and about in town so much, but you are out among people…
Håkan: It’s a little difficult right now because of the icey streets. It’s pretty slippery and I don’t see so well… I’ll probably need more plastic surgery around the eyes, and maybe a cornea operation…

Janne: How is it with your fingers? We see that you’re still stiff…
Håkan: This hand [right one] is pretty sensitive and I can’t do so much with it. With this one [left one], I can hold a microphone, and I can feed myself with it… I have a training program I do several times a day, and I go to Rosenhäll for Occupational and Physical Therapy every week.

Janne: There’s an operation coming up for your hands…
Håkan: Yes, they’ve talked about that, but we don’t know when. We have to wait… The body is healing and changing all the time, so the doctors don’t want to operate unnecessarily…

Janne: On Friday, we have a pastors’ day here in Uddevalla...
Håkan: I’m looking forward to it. I see days like this and Tuesdays at Fristaden as an informal work training. I’m already involved in conversations with pastors and leaders… It’s not so much that they feel sorry for me, but that I can support them…
Janne: It’s like Job. He prayed for his friends and God restored him…

Janne: We usually participate in a Leaders’ conference in England in February… We know you’d really like to go…
Håkan: I really long to go… At the same time, it involves a plane ride and a lot of people… So that’s a decision that needs to be made soon…
Janne: It has to do with timing…operations and treatments, etc…and it has to do with wisdom…

Janne: Is there anything else you want to share?
Håkan: You’ve treated me very well… Occasionally, I can hear in peoples’ voices that they feel sorry for me. Try not to do that… It was good what you said earlier about being a city of refuge… Let people, including me, come and be with you… Just be normal… I don’t have any plans of traveling around and talking about how it is to survive a fire… My job is to lift up Jesus Christ, and my job is to continue to minister to leaders… I’m already in the middle of doing that! …This is a city of refuge. This is my city of refuge!

Every day Home Health comes home to us and helps Håkan in the morning, washing him and putting lotion on the 80-89% of his body which is healed, but needs a little help in the process.

Håkan needs different eyedrops every couple of hours. The days I work, Home Health workers come and give the drops and warm food for Håkan, which I have cooked.

In the evening, Home Health comes again to put on lotion and prepare Håkan for the night. Håkan can go to the bathroom and brush his teeth by himself now. After the 10 o’clock news, which we watch together, I help him with his hand splints, eye ointment and the eye patches that are needed to keep his eyes moist during the night.

Håkan has a long way to go, but he’s well on his way to recovery. Day after day, week after week, month after month, will soon be a year. We’re soon there…

I’ll be back soon, with a little more of a weekly schedule for Håkan, but until then…

God bless you!

Thanks for being there!

Lots of hugs,
Gunilla

"He who has begun a good work in us is faithful to complete it!”

Happy New Year!

The Christmas and New Year's holidays have been wonderful opportunities to be together in various constellations with family and friends in Uddevalla, the Jönköping area, and Stord, in Norway, where Gunilla has "inspected" our latest grandchild, Aina, along with Gabriella and Josefina. There have also been many rich and blessed worship services during the holidays at Fristaden, where we have participated, among other things, with food for the needy and sharing.

Life goes on, with daily business, therapy and exercises. Tomorrow I'll go to Sahlgrenska in Gothenburg for an important examination with the plastic surgeon. Important decisions need to be made about future surgeries and treatments. Please stand with us and pray for wisdom.

Last year was a turbulent year in many areas of life, society and the world. This year we set our expectations on the Lord and hope for "a year with a gold rim"!

God bless!
Håkan