Marcus is HOME!

Elder Ball is home from his mission!  We are so excited to have him back, even if it's for a concussion and even if it's only a temporary stay.  It's just great to see him and help him get better.  Six weeks ago, Marcus passed out, fell and landed on his head on the cement.  He split his head open and went to the hospital for stitches where he got stitched up by a person who was dressed in jeans and flip-flops, who didn't wear gloves, and didn't numb Marcus up.  Marcus is the GOAT!  Marcus woke up the next morning with a terrible headache and knew he had a serious concussion.  

The past 6 weeks have been a rollercoaster.  Poor Marcus was moved to the mission home were his mission president could keep a close watch on him and take him to better hospitals.  He had a CT scan that we think ruled out any serious brain injury but Marcus continued to feel terrible.  He'd call home crying and frustrated.  He was taking all sorts of medication that he didn't understand and wasn't doing anything to help his symptoms.  Then when we thought he had finally turned a corner and was feeling a little better, he got the stomach flu and was terribly sick for several days.  The other missionaries were better after twenty-four hours but Marcus continued to feel sick and his headaches worsened.  

We called the mission doctor who is an American.  He basically told us not to worry and Marcus would get better with more rest.  Not helpful.  Our Bishop here connected us with his brother who is a neurologist and he called Marcus and thinks Marcus passed out because he was still concussed from falling and hitting his head three weeks prior.  He prescribed some migraine medication and Marcus obediently took it.  And threw it up.  Finally, Marcus met with his mission president who told Marcus he thought Marcus should go home and Marcus reluctantly agreed.  It took awhile to get his flight stuff figured out so by the time Marcus arrived, it was five weeks after his first trip to the ER.  Now that he's home and I can see firsthand just how bad he feels, I don't know how he survived there so long and I really feel bad we kept telling him to wait it out.  But coming home early was a big decision and it wasn't until we had fasted and prayed multiple times that Marcus would be healed, did we then decide things weren't getting better and it was time.

So Marcus is home after eight months of missionary work in a third-world country.  He can't believe how nice all the cars are here, how smooth the paved roads are, how soft our carpet is, and how delicious the milk is.  He took his first hot shower in eight months and sighed when we asked him how it was.  He's always cold and wears a hoodie all the time to keep warm.  Marcus has always been a warm body so it's weird to see him bundled up.  We keep the lights off and dimmed the TV screen and that makes a huge difference.  By the end of the day his head hurts so bad he can barely function and has to lay down in  a dark room.  He does such a good job powering through the pain.

His nice little haircut and stitches

After the hospital, he went to a member's home looking like a war survivor :)

We anxiously waited at the gate for his plane to arrive NINE HOURS LATE!  Poor Marcus got stuck at the Rio airport for a delayed flight.  I panicked when I got the phone call from the mission office telling me he'd have to spend the night at the airport, all alone, without a phone, while he was concussed.  Angles were watching over him though because he met several nice strangers along the way who kept him company and gave him food.

Brother hug

The best hug of my life

We came home to a huge banner signed my members of our ward family.  They have welcomed Marcus home with open arms and lots of candy and food.

All the boys reunited because Ethan was at a lacrosse game earlier

Drinking his first glass of real milk

Showing us his sweaty pit stains from tucking a Book of Mormon under his arm day after day

Henry sporting his new Brazil soccer clothes and Mario flip-flops

Marcus was exhausted after two days of travel but couldn't go to sleep until he showed us all the stuff he brought home for us.

Marcus has gotten pretty good at the ukulele

He was officially released as a missionary that night.  He has served God with his whole heart for 8 months and it shows.  I'm so proud of what he has done and who has become.  We are so thankful for the many prayers on Marcus's behalf and we continue to plead with God that Marcus might be healed.  He's gone seven days without throwing up and sleeps well at night so improvement is small but it's happening.  I'm just so glad he's home because I don't have this constant nagging worry in the back of mind anymore.  It's so good having all my boys under one roof!