The Weekend

This morning as I was getting ready for church, I begin to think about the events of the weekend. David and I went to Albertville on Friday night to spend some time with Charlene and the girls. They were, of course, surrounded by their family and were having all of their physical needs met. The table was full of food, ladies were in the kitchen cleaning any dish that became empty, and others were making certain that everyone had something to drink. Charlene has a lot of strength, but she is still so hurt. She told us, “Angels visited our home last night”. I begin to think about that this morning and I thought what a sweet way to look at death. I also thought about the old saying, “Here today, gone tomorrow” and I thought about how untrue that statement really is- it is really- “Here today, gone today”. Bobby and Charlene had eaten supper, watched television- just normal things even though he was not doing well. And then, about midnight, Bobby fell to the floor. Charlene got to him, and he was still responsive. She dialed 911- they got the call at 12:01 a.m. and arrived at 12:12 a.m. By the time they arrived, Bobby was no longer responding- they worked on him for almost an hour before given up on reviving him. Charlene and the girls told us that Bobby had preached on Sunday and had taught his Bible Class on Wednesday night, although he certainly was not able to do so. They said it had taken him 20 minutes to get into the building on Wednesday night, as he could only walk 10 steps without stopping. He was having to use oxygen to help with the breathing. After Bible Class they said he got sick, and it took about 45 minutes for him to get to the car. He even admitted that he should not have tried to go to church. What dedication and determination. Bobby was waiting to see a specialist, but because of their health insurance he was waiting on referrals, etc. He could not even see who he needed to see as that doctor was not on their list of “approved” physicians. They had finally got him an appointment with a pulmonary specialist but he could not see him until the end of February. There is something wrong with that picture. Charlene said she would really like to call their insurance company (Aetna) and give them a piece of her mind, as she felt that if Bobby could have seen the proper doctors they might have been able to start some type of medication or treatment. Of course it might not have made any difference, but if he had been seen at least they would have felt that everything that could be done was being done. They had also been held up by a doctor that had not forwarded their information to the other doctor. Charlene said she had tried to move mountains to get everyone coordinated so that Bobby could be seen by the proper doctor. I can imagine her frustration, as I have witnessed what David has been through in the past few weeks with his mother and trying to get her the help she needs. So, while we can’t second guess what has already happened, it is hard to see people have to go through so much because of “red tape”.
We went to see MaMa yesterday. I had not been since I had been sick, so I had not seen her. I have never seen anything more pitiful in my life. David seemed to think she might have been just a little better (quieter), but it that was better, oh me. She is just pitiful, pitiful. I have seen her bad, but never this bad. She was strapped in a chair, all slumped down, and had to be just the saddest looking thing I have ever seen. I pray she will pull out of this. I think she has been so bad that she has bothered some of the patients. One of the old ladies told me- “She want be quiet- she just keeps saying everything”- like she was telling on MaMa (this is the old lady that MaMa said scratched her, and we believe she probably did). I guess the old lady thought I could make MaMa be quiet. Mental illness has to be one of the worst things to watch. We have analyzed and tried for years to make sense of it, and the reality is that if it were something that she could help or fix, that she would. She can’t- and this time we are just praying that the treatments work and that she is able to regain some degree of “normalcy”. Please pray for her.
We will not be attending the lectureship this year. Since the funeral will not be until Tuesday, and with MaMa not doing well, we decided to cancel our reservations. Perhaps next year will be better.
I love you all-
Susan