This Blog Tour post had perfect timing, as there has been a post in my heart, begging to be written and shared. Today, I offer it to you.
Although you may not have realized it, I have been physically and emotionally absent from my blog for almost six weeks now. The pieces I have posted were written several weeks ago, or were written by guest bloggers (i.e., our Thursday series, The Verdict on Value). I am grateful that I was part of the wonderful team of bloggers who have been responsible for the Thursday series. God knew that my family would experience a huge upheaval long before it ever happened, and that I would need to shift my focus from writing to taking care of my family.
In January, my Mother underwent outpatient surgery for a stent placement in her left sub-clavian artery. It went exceedingly well, and we anticipated moving on with life. Over the course of the next two months, Mother became a little confused at times, and her physical strength began decreasing, although it was so slow that we didn’t realize something was amiss.
Around bedtime on the evening of March 27th, Mother fell in her guest bathroom, and despite having two telephones within reach, she didn’t figure out how to call me until hours later at 4:15am. We were so grateful that she did not have any broken bones!! After a couple of days in the hospital, and two and a half weeks in rehab in the local nursing home, Mother came home.
Her confusion and short-term memory loss, which had gotten worse while in rehab, now had a moniker. Dementia. I felt as if someone had punched me in the stomach. There is absolutely no dementia in either side of Mother’s family. What in the world? It couldn’t be. Was there another reason for her symptoms? We have explored many possibilities, with no new revelations. At this point, we are going with a dementia diagnosis, unless the Lord reveals something underlying that we had not thought of.
After a few days at home, it became apparent that she would not be able to stay by herself. So, early last week, we moved Mother to a wonderful, local assisted living facility. The lovely people who own it are members of our church. In fact, the woman has been a member of Mother’s Bible study group for several years, so she and Mother know one another well. Mother has a beautiful ‘apartment’, as she likes to call it, and she is quite satisfied. Unfortunately her dementia seems to be progressing at an alarming rate.
To say this has been a difficult journey would be an understatement. Dementia stinks and I hate it. Many of my friends are walking this same road with their parents. It is hard. Since I gave up complaining for Lent (and beyond Lent), I don’t want to focus on the difficulties. Instead, I want to recount God’s faithfulness through this journey.
The moment Mother’s doctor gave us the dementia diagnosis, I began praying that God would make the upcoming crooked, difficult paths straight, and that He would prepare Mother’s heart for whatever had to take place in the coming weeks and months. Let me give you a taste of how He has done that.
- No broken bones in the fall. Praise Jesus!
- When we took her to the emergency room after the fall, she was the only patient in the ER for at least 3 hours, affording her the full attention of the excellent ER physician and staff.
- I am friends with Mother’s physician, so we have almost instantaneous access to her any time of the day. She takes amazing care of Mother.
- When it was time to move Mom to the nursing home for rehab, a bed opened up the day we needed it.
- Mother was agreeable to going to rehab, because she wanted to get better.
- Mother made the decision on her own that it was time for her to give up driving. Wow! Amazing!
- Once we saw that it was not safe for her to be home by herself, Mother made the decision that assisted living would be the right path to follow.
- A beautiful, newly renovated room at a local, highly sought after, assisted living facility just happened to be available. Thank you, Jesus!
- Mother is content at the assisted living facility, and loves the staff already. Thank you, thank you, Jesus!
Truly, God has made what is an incredibly crooked and difficult path straight. He is good. He is faithful. He is trustworthy. He is God, and I praise Him for how present He has been in our lives these past weeks.
A while ago I was invited to be part of the launch team for a new book that comes out today. It is entitled Fly a Little Higher by Laura Sobiech. Fly a Little Higher is the story of Laura’s son, Zach, his love of music, and his battle with cancer. “Zach’s story is about what happens when you live as if each day might be your last. It’s about persistence and the human spirit. And it’s about how God used a dying boy from a small Minnesota town to reach the hearts of millions—from music executives, major recording artists, and A-list actors to talk show hosts, school children and pastors. God used Zach to teach us how we can all fly a little higher.”
This post is part of the Fly a Little Higher Blog Tour which I am delighted to be a part of along with hundreds of bloggers raising awareness and giving hope to those with cancer. I am currently reading Fly A Little Higher, and am being reminded of God’s faithful care for Zach, and for us. To learn more and join us, CLICK HERE!
