The following day, a beautiful blanket of snow fell to the ground. Lauren and Ashton were looking forward to a snow day and having a snowball fight. We spent the morning making snowmen and playing in the snow. I called Mom to let them tell her we had snow. No one answered. A few, very rough days would start today.
Jennifer called me on the phone and asked me if I had read Dad’s e-mail. I had not. Dad wrote this e-mail on January 16, 2004. Also in the e-mail it talked about Mom needing a wheelchair soon. It read, “Girls, Elaine is getting worse every day. She is choking, real bad, on her drainage, it’s real scary. I talked with a doctor from Mayo tonight. He is recommending a tracheostomy (trach) at the same time as they put in the feeding tube, and the BIPAP machine. They will probably do it late next week, if they can get a bed at the hospital. We will see a local heart doctor tomorrow at 8:15 a.m. I will discuss all this with her. I’ll try to send another message tomorrow night. There is a lot going on. I’ll try to keep you posted. Love, Dad.”
Dad had called Mom’s doctor and the doctor’s recommendation was not to get a trach or feeding tube but to go through Hospice. Here are a few important terms:
*A tracheostomy (trach) is an artificial airway that is surgically placed in the lower neck area to ease breathing and clear secretions.
*A feeding tube is a temporary or permanent tube surgically placed through the abdomen usually through the stomach to provide nutrition.
*The BIPAP machine is used to aide breathing in order to help the patient get a bigger volume of air in their lungs.
*The Hospice Foundation of America helps patients and their families that are going through a life-limiting illness.
Mom had a decision to make. Live a while, maybe a couple of years on a feeding tube and a machine to help her breathe, or to do nothing and live a much shorter life.
U Have you sought out resources available to you such as Hospice? (A doctor’s referral is necessary to enter Hospice care but can be initiated by anyone. Most Hospices accept patients with six months left to live or less.) U
Tonight’s devotion was a doozie! The title was “Recognizing God’s Presence.” It spoke of how we focus on miraculous events instead of looking at God’s presence and Jesus Himself. It even spoke of a wheel-chair-bound person getting up to walk again.
The scripture was Mark 8:11-13. “When the local Jewish leaders learned of his arrival they came to argue with him. ‘Do a miracle for us,’ they said. ‘Make something happen in the sky. Then we will believe in you.’ “He sighed deeply when he heard this and he said, ‘Certainly not. How many more miracles do you people need?’ “So he got back into the boat and left them, and crossed to the other side of the lake.”
The prayer at the bottom of the page was very relevant, “Dear Lord, forgive me when I demand evidence of your working and power instead of thanking you for all you do. Please open my eyes to be aware of your presence, to sense your nearness, and to see the works of your hand everywhere I look. With all my heart I welcome your presence today, however you choose to reveal yourself to me. And don’t let me forget to thank you.”
Fuller, Cheri. The One Year Book of Praying through the Bible. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2003. February 26.
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