Our Super Bowl night was spent, unfortunately, at the hospital. Mom had taken a fall earlier that evening and the LCC staff nurse decided to send her by ambulance to the emergency room because her head was cut and she was a bit unresponsive. They called us too, of course, and so we got to the hospital in time to welcome her in.We were there about three hours while they treated her and then we transported her back to LCC. She needed a couple of staples (not stitches) to close the laceration on the back of her head. However, her vitals were strong and she passed with flying colors the brain scan and the blood tests. The urine test did show a mild infection and so she will be on antibiotics for a few days for that. She is also dealing with an ugly bed sore on her heel that will need daily changing and treatment. In addition, she will be given special footwear for when she's in bed.
We had spent part of the afternoon with her already. She had been sitting up and was cheerful and relatively cogent. I say relatively because Mom's dementia has become much more pronounced. Her memory, her judgment, even her awareness of her situation has become very fragile. For instance, she was in someone else's room when she fell. (She had no business in there.) And she has no memory of the event. For two days before Sunday, she had been pretty much bedridden, very weak and largely incoherent. So to have her up and talking, joking, and loving was quite nice.
We're spending more time with my Mom than ever because it seems our presence helps keep her anchored to reality a bit...and happier. We talk, read Scripture and a lot of poetry to her, sometimes play music or memory games. But she often drifts and her mind will go in "loops" -- the same question, the same story, the same concern. She is more confused about basic things: where she lives, where her kids are, what's happening around her. She has experienced some panic attacks and paranoia too. Still, she generally remains friendly to everyone around her, even conscientious and loving and grateful.
Dealing with loved ones in such situations is not easy, of course. And many of you who have dealt with sick or disabled children, suffering siblings or the various travails of the elderly know well these special trials. But God gives His people strength and patience, graciousness and compassion, empathy and diligence to effectively meet these challenges. And He gives other blessings besides. For ministering to those who are lonely, weak, frightened, sick and in other ways needing our understanding and care brings enrichment to the lives of the caregivers too. God uses these things to build up our dependence on Him, to create in us a heaven-directed perspective, and to present a testimony to the world of how Christianity produces a purposeful beauty.
And those blessings have a fulfillment beyond our time too. For even though my Mom may not remember an afternoon of poetry...even though your aged parent may not even remember your name...God remembers your every deed performed in His love. And he will reward you both with those temporal blessings mentioned earlier and with unimaginably glorious ones to come.
So keep loving and serving those who so desperately need you. Keep praying and leaning upon His power to perform the tasks before you. And keep hoping and yearning for the day of His full redemption, the day when all suffering, all heartaches and all effects of sin will be destroyed by the radiance of His holiness. It will be a great -- and forever -- day.
