It is easy to think that prayer is a small thing to do for someone when in fact it is the most powerful and positive thing we can do for another human being. We should never downplay its value. J.C. Ryle said, "Never, never may we forget that if we would do good to the world, our first duty is to pray!
So I think that's how I do that.
The reason for my long blog break has been due to much family chaos! On Sunday right after church I received a call that my Grandma, the woman who raised me and taught me everything i know was possible having a stroke. We rushed to her home because they live out in the country and it can take a long time for 911 to respond, we rushed so we could get her to the hospital. When we arrived the volunteer paramedics had arrived only minutes before and they believed she was having a stroke as well. I rode in the ambulance with my Grandma, we ran red lights and reached speeds of 75 mph on our 35 minute drive to the nearest hospital the next town over.
Upon arrival she had a temp of 101.9 and still was unresponsive, after a cat scan and a lung x-ray we found that she had pneumonia and we extremely dehydrated.
My Grandma has had a cold for a little over a week but nothing alarming. We were all surprised to find that she had been taking a steroid for her arthritis and that while on this medicine you could develop an infection and that the medicine can mask all symptoms.
She was admitted into the hospital and within an hour of IV fluid and antibiotics she was asking where in the world are we and why am I here!
I stayed all night with her on Sunday night at the hospital and a good part of the day on Monday. While I was there if realized several things (1.) if you are elderly, a cold is always a big deal (2.) If you are elderly you need someone to be with you while in the hospital 24 hours a day, nurses have way to many people to take care of and they can't meet the needs that all of the patients have. (3.)If you have an elderly person in your life you need to check on them everyday!
I was just so saddened my the lack of care the woman who shared the room with my grandma received. In the 16 hours I was in the hospital with her not one time did anyone check to see if she needed a drink of water NOT ONE TIME! When the nurses did check on her they would move her bed side table and never put it back leaving her without her water and her books and phone numbers. When she was in pain it took over 6 hours to finally give her a stinking Tylenol.
Now my Grandma was treated much differently, she had a spokes person, we asked 9,900 questions and if the nurse took to long I went and found her... So I really believe with all my heart they treated her different because we were watching.
My Grandma came home on Tuesday after only 48 hours in the hospital, God has such a plan for her, in less than a year she has found out she had cancer, went through chemo and radiation, fallen and broken her hip and her arm, had a problem with her heart due to too much IV fluid, and had the surgery to remove the cancer and did I mention sold her home of over 50 years and moved across the country to live near my family...
This has been a long year, but God has a plan for this woman who taught Sunday school for over 40 years, who has prayed for her family their whole life and for this woman, I just don't think I could ever live without!
1 comment:
Dana has been keeping me informed...we are praying for your Grandma. I know how special grandmas are.
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