Seasons come and seasons go. Our lives can be humdrum or they can feel
like rollercoasters on steroids. These past few weeks have been challenging to
say the least. For the past two-and-a-half
years my Dad has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. The disease has been steadily
progressing. My wonderful and kind
father has had the need for a caregiver for some time now.
He has recently become more unstable on his feet. After a few minor falls, we realized he
needed a caregiver round-the-clock to help him.
Within days of this new change, we received a phone
call. Our caregiver said that my mom was
seated on the foot of her bed and was acting unusual. She could not speak normally but instead was
babbling. Lou, my wife, told my
caregiver to call 911.
After arriving at the hospital, our suspicions were
realized – my mom had had a stroke. The doctors performed several cat
scans. The results showed damage to the
left hemisphere of her brain. This meant
that the right side of her body was affected.
It also meant that the part of the brain that controls speech and language
were impacted.
Thankfully, my brother John was visiting from
California at the time. He was a big
help. He extended his flight a number of
days to stay with mom and to be of assistance.
My wife has also been a gigantic blessing and
support. Since she practiced medicine in
the Philippines, she has a great deal of medical knowledge. And she has helped in numerous other ways.
I am so grateful she is in my life.
Lou and I asked for prayer from a number of people and
we too called out to God for His assistance and healing presence. The Lord has been a refuge for us in our time
of need. During my quiet time on the day
my mom had her stroke, the Lord gave me Psalm 46 which starts out like this: “God is our refuge and
strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore
we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into
the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the
mountains quake with their surging.” The Lord
gave this to me before the event occurred (the date was December 29, 2018).
Mom has taken
great strides in her recovery. She has been moved to a rehab hospital. Her speech
is fairly clear though she still struggles to say things at times. She is walking with a walker and can go up a few
stairs at a time. She is scheduled to
come home on January 18 and then will go to outpatient therapy.
We
ordered a hospital bed for my Dad and it arrived today. He seems to like it. It has guard rails that keep him from
falling. He can no longer travel
upstairs to his bedroom.
I am
thankful to God for his unseen hand. He
has truly been at work. We know He will
continue to amaze us. For those who have
been praying for our family, we can’t thank you enough. We feel the effect of your prayers.
This is
a season in our lives where trouble seemed to have the upper hand but God
showed us He is our great Refuge.
Jesus is
bigger than our need.
He is
taller than our mountain,
And
deeper than any sea.
He will
help us when we call to Him
On
bended knee.
