The Trials of Life

Well, it is 4:30 a.m. on Friday morning and I am at the computer. I have had a night of coughing and reflux. I don’t know what triggered the reflux, but that added to the coughing has brought me out of the bed. I can almost count on one hand the number of nights that I have not been able to sleep for varying reasons. I guess I can add the stress of the past few days to the causes. All that aside- today will be no go to work day for me, although I feel much better since I am upright and the drainage problem has slowed. That may be the culprit for the reflux, or it could be the fried flounder from Nikkis (which was too good to be bad!). I am going to have to go by school and fax in a book order that is due today, but that is okay. I was in a meeting all day yesterday, and when I got back to school at 3, I was bombarded. I had left my clerk and Dr. Martin (my intern student) to man the ship, and they both looked like they were about to come apart when I got back. We had several teachers out yesterday so some of the kids ended up being “housed” in the library. I think it was a real experience for Dr. Martin as she has been out of the classroom for decades. And then we all know how kids act when they are under the direction of a sub, or someone they do not know! If I had known how things were going to go, I would have stayed at school. Fortunately, the principal has never before had to resort to using the library as a classroom, and she was in and out all she could be. My clerk and Dr. Martin did not even get lunch, which does happen to me from time to time.
We went to see PaPa at the 5 o’clock visit last night. He is so pitiful. As I looked at him, I realized that what is waiting for him on the other side is so much better than the here and now. It is hard to see someone as good as he is have to go through the physical trials of this life. He does not seem to be in pain, and he is not unconscious, but he is just pitiful. He opened his eyes when we came in, but then drifted back into sleep. Billy and Mary went at the 8 o’clock visit and they said he was more awake. He is scheduled to have an upper GI test (the light) today. They are going to try to determine where the bleeding is coming from. He has also had a mild heart attack, and his kidney function is not good. Unless something changes, it appears that he is on that slippery slope that many elderly people find themselves on. Pray for his comfort, because at this point that is what is important to us. Also, MaMa spent her first night at Cherry Hill last night. She was discharged from Jasper yesterday, and they let David carry her to Cherry Hill in the car. Somewhat ironic that PaPa was there the night before, and now she is there and he is in the hospital. We do not know if the placement will be permanent, but if her mobility does not improve, she cannot be left alone. She seems to be fairly clear mentally at times, but then again she has her moments. The hospital at Jasper diagnosed her with dementia. I am not certain- after all the years of emotional problems, and the treatments necessary to deal with the problems, it would be hard to say. Some things that she has done in the past few months have been out of character- such as washing dishes without any soap- but who can say. If it is dementia, I think it is an early case. While David has had to recite her medical history numerous times in the past few weeks, we wonder if anyone is really listening. There is a disconnect between the medical doctors and the psychiatrist, so we don’t know if anyone really understands. We have stated so many times in the past few months that we miss Dr. Retan beyond belief (Dr. Retan has retired- he was one of a kind). TOday is MaMa and PaPa's 61st wedding anniversary, if I counted correctly.
On another note, Aunt Marie is in the nursing home for rehab. She had to have her big toe amputated, due to infection. She has had a lot of pain, but seems to be recovering well according to Mike. She is going to have therapy. She is still sharp as a tack, and if anyone can recover, she will.
This has been a long post-
I will close with a funny. Wednesday night after church Addi told Kim that she wanted to call Leslie (her new best friend). Kim told her no, that she could not call Leslie every night. Addi threw herself on the pew, and with her most dramatic voice said- “What are you trying to do? Break us up!” We all got a good laugh over that.