The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.
My last post about Dad sort of says it all concerning the state of things the last time I wrote...grim. They had removed the tubes from Dad in order to see if the fluid would stabilize somehow. If I have learned anything "non-eternal" over the past few wks, it's that the doctors are sometimes more confused than the patients and their families. So when I used the word "somehow" above, that pretty much sums up the "science" of the doctor's "plans". Indeed, by Weds (day before Thanksgiving) the doctors said that the fluid had slowed. That evening my brother Jim, my sister-in-law Jill, and family came up from OH to see Dad. Jimmy stayed the night at the hospital giving Mom a much needed break. By the time Mom showed up at my house at 8:30 AM Thanksgiving Day, she was in tears. Jim reported another painful and restless evening with Dad. The fluid had begun building up again. Reluctantly my Mom followed Dad and Jim's "orders" to continue with the Thanksgiving dinner. Mom just wanted to be at the hospital... none of us wanted to stuff our faces while Dad was ... "There".
It was as if the Lord turned on a "blessing faucet" just as the Turkey was served. In the first place, I was nervous about the turkey. Before Thursday, I had attempted roasting a turkey...once. I cut into it and it was dust. Seriously, had a gentle breeze graced our table, it could have easily carried my turkey into the abyss. Right. So the turkey (with Mom's supervision and dressings), came out perfcetly... as did all of the side dishes Mary Had made, and it goes without saying that Adam's pies and cake were a taste of something heavenly in and of themselves. Mary did 99% of the dishes and Adam cleaned everything. The babies were content. The boys were having a ball...
We packed up some food for Dad and Jim, and made our way to the hospital. Just before I left the house, however, Jim had called and asked if I would bring my shears to cut Dad's hair. I brought them with me wondering how on earth I was going to be able to cut Dad's hair when he hadn't been able to move out of bed for two wks... he hadn't been able to change positions for two wks... I could hardly believe my eyes when I entered Dad's room. He looked great! Besides the bloating from the fluid, his color was the best I've seen it in months... maybe even in years. I asked him if he wanted me to cut his hair and he contemplated the best way to do it... "I guess I could jut sit in that chair over there so we're out of the way?" "You...you can sit in a chair?" "Sit in a chair?!?!? I could run up and down these halls if I didn't have this attached to me!", as he motioned to the oxygen tubes and tank. He SpRunG out of bed and sat in the chair!! He was a bit shaky, but there was new life in him... he felt GOOD! As I was cutting Dad's hair two of my uncles, my aunt, and two of my cousins came in. Now Dad was on a roll and feeling GREAT! He was whipping out the jokes, arguing playfully with the "Breathing Treatment Guy", and it felt like old times again. When I was through with the haircut, he shaved. Mom said that Dad slept sound that night... ALL night. Can't remember the last time that happened.
Dad has been doing well since then, just a bit tired and fighting some pain. Still, he's able to talk... he's able to laugh and joke... He gets a lot of nasty ...stuff? (lack of a better and less gross term) caught in his lungs every day. It usually takes him the better part of the day to "work it out". Last night he was coughing and just having a hard time with what was caught inside of him. After he was done gagging and coughing, he looked up at "us kids" and said "George." He paused to get some air, "I name 'em... like hurricanes. This one's George." Yes, disgusting, but beautiful all at the same time. Dad says and does some gross stuff when he's trying to be funny and he's feeling well.
The doctors come in tomorrow to talk about inserting a permanent tube. Please pray that they do not need to do this. This is "a last resort" when all else has failed. These things cause infection, and they are permanent....with the idea that "permanent" isn't going to be that long.
I am so thankful to the Lord for the Sunny Days we've had. For His shining face. For lifting up His countenance upon us. I thank Him for His peace... But mostly I can't thank Him enough for giving all of this to Dad...
It was as if the Lord turned on a "blessing faucet" just as the Turkey was served. In the first place, I was nervous about the turkey. Before Thursday, I had attempted roasting a turkey...once. I cut into it and it was dust. Seriously, had a gentle breeze graced our table, it could have easily carried my turkey into the abyss. Right. So the turkey (with Mom's supervision and dressings), came out perfcetly... as did all of the side dishes Mary Had made, and it goes without saying that Adam's pies and cake were a taste of something heavenly in and of themselves. Mary did 99% of the dishes and Adam cleaned everything. The babies were content. The boys were having a ball...
We packed up some food for Dad and Jim, and made our way to the hospital. Just before I left the house, however, Jim had called and asked if I would bring my shears to cut Dad's hair. I brought them with me wondering how on earth I was going to be able to cut Dad's hair when he hadn't been able to move out of bed for two wks... he hadn't been able to change positions for two wks... I could hardly believe my eyes when I entered Dad's room. He looked great! Besides the bloating from the fluid, his color was the best I've seen it in months... maybe even in years. I asked him if he wanted me to cut his hair and he contemplated the best way to do it... "I guess I could jut sit in that chair over there so we're out of the way?" "You...you can sit in a chair?" "Sit in a chair?!?!? I could run up and down these halls if I didn't have this attached to me!", as he motioned to the oxygen tubes and tank. He SpRunG out of bed and sat in the chair!! He was a bit shaky, but there was new life in him... he felt GOOD! As I was cutting Dad's hair two of my uncles, my aunt, and two of my cousins came in. Now Dad was on a roll and feeling GREAT! He was whipping out the jokes, arguing playfully with the "Breathing Treatment Guy", and it felt like old times again. When I was through with the haircut, he shaved. Mom said that Dad slept sound that night... ALL night. Can't remember the last time that happened.
Dad has been doing well since then, just a bit tired and fighting some pain. Still, he's able to talk... he's able to laugh and joke... He gets a lot of nasty ...stuff? (lack of a better and less gross term) caught in his lungs every day. It usually takes him the better part of the day to "work it out". Last night he was coughing and just having a hard time with what was caught inside of him. After he was done gagging and coughing, he looked up at "us kids" and said "George." He paused to get some air, "I name 'em... like hurricanes. This one's George." Yes, disgusting, but beautiful all at the same time. Dad says and does some gross stuff when he's trying to be funny and he's feeling well.
The doctors come in tomorrow to talk about inserting a permanent tube. Please pray that they do not need to do this. This is "a last resort" when all else has failed. These things cause infection, and they are permanent....with the idea that "permanent" isn't going to be that long.
I am so thankful to the Lord for the Sunny Days we've had. For His shining face. For lifting up His countenance upon us. I thank Him for His peace... But mostly I can't thank Him enough for giving all of this to Dad...
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