HOME SWEET HOME!

Mom was released from the hospital late Monday evening and so happy to be in her "HOME SWEET HOME"! She is doing very well! How happy she was when on Wednesday she could go up and down the step into dad's study without holding the door frame! She hasn't been able to do that in years due to sciatica, pain, etc. She is still experiencing pain from the surgery, but is encouraged that once healed, she will be able to work and move in a manner she hasn't been able to for years! We are all so happy for her!

Mom was in surgery for a little more than five hours. A 'cage' was inserted between two bones where the vertebrae had worn away, two fusions were done, some bulging discs were trimmed away, and her pinched nerves were straightened out.

The first few days I had to turn my head when mom tried to stand. There was nothing I could do to help her and the pain she was enduring was too much for me to watch. I AM NOT A GOOD NURSE!!! She would grab onto the walker and work at getting up ever so slowly with lots of moans and groans. I really was worried to bring her home Monday. It seemed she was still in so much pain. However, by Wednesday, she was getting up out of bed without the assistance of the walker! She looked better and was alert. Thursday and Friday were not as good for her. She mostly slept through out the day. When I called her today, she said all she wanted to do was sleep.

I cleaned her bathrooms and Shane vacuumed mom and dad's house yesterday. I changed the bedsheets on the bed mom is using to recupe in and the sheets in the guest room where I've been sleeping. Agustin had the day off and came over to cook for us! He's a keeper! He grilled steaks and onions, made a huge fresh salad, baked potatoes. Everything was so tasty! I always think other people's cooking tastes better than mine. Do you think that too?

The staples up mom's back remind me of a zipper, about 6 inches long! She goes to have them removed on May 12. She hasn't taken any prescription pain meds since Wednesday; only Tylenol. It amazed me how much she improved from Monday night to Wednesday morning! God designed this body to accomplish amazing things!

Dad is doing well and taking everything in stride. We had to reschedule a few Dr.s appointments due to the passing of one of his church members. The visitation with the family was Monday evening, which I was able to attend. It's amazing how sweet the visitation with family can be the night before a funeral. When the deceased is a Christian with a Christian family, the time of visitation feels more like a family reunion. They know Christ intimately and are experiencing HIS almighty peace right before your very eyes!

After attending the viewing at the funeral home, I left for the hospital to visit mom. I was surprised to see she had been released so late in the evening. They had her dressed and lying in her bed just waiting for my return. I wasn't able to attend the Tuesday morning funeral for Sally. Dad had to be there, as he was officiating and I couldn't leave mom home alone. Shane was still in St. Pete. Had he been with us, I possibly would have left him with mom since the church is right across the street from my parent's home. Shane could have easily called me and I would have been right there had he needed me, but things didn't work out that way. I know Sally's family understood why I wasn't at the funeral.

It was great walking into my humble abode last night, (Friday) around 4 p.m. There is nothing like one's own "HOME SWEET HOME"!!!

There was so much to do today. I've done about three loads of laundry, unpacked, sorted through mail, and can you believe, for most of the day, I've waited for a Verizon tech to come restore my phone/internet line!??? After almost a week with no time to post or surf, the one thing I was SO looking forward to was BLOGGING!!! But alas, last night, no internet!! No phone!! Thankfully, it was a minor fix today. A wire had burned out or something, not sure and don't care! The tech guy, Pete is my new hero! Thanks Pete for your friendly, positive attitude and your ability to troubleshoot and get me back on line! Whoo-Hoo! I made it a point to let Pete know how much I appreciated his friendliness and his winning attitude! I'll call Verizon on Monday to submit a compliment on Pete's behalf. Be sure you do the same when you receive good service! We are so quick to let people or businesses know when we get UNSATISFACTORY service, but we fail to communicate the good stuff. I encourage you to make it a point to compliment service people and businesses that treat you fairly and are courteous. I left two AWARDS for two of the Nurse Techs who helped care for my mom. One was a nurse tech who was a real go-getter! I enjoyed watching her pour herself into her duties and tidy everything up each and every time she entered the room. She was spoken to very condescendingly by the nurse on duty, but handled the rude behavior in a sweet, humble manner. Another tech cheerfully changed mom sheets around 10 pm after I asked her to. Due to pain or medications, mom had been sweating profusely and also some blood spots were on the sheets and gown. I just so appreciated the tech's cheerfulness while doing the extra duties that night.

I've had so much on my heart and mind to share with you all but much of it doesn't seem to be coming to surface right now - SO.....I think I'm off to read some BLOGS!!

Oh I just thought of something that really blessed my heart this week. Our friend Sally died on Thursday. Her husband, Harold, is our church treasurer and head deacon. He also teaches the Senior Citizen's Sunday School class each Sunday morning. When someone called him up to offer to teach his class, he kindly declined the offer, simply stating that he didn't see any need to quit doing his regular routines! Harold was in his place Sunday morning before his class, teaching God's Word and being a living example of grace.

Monday evening at the viewing, Harold shared with me in a quiet moment, that during the church service on Sunday morning, a peace came over him like he had never experienced before. My mind shot back to Sunday afternoon when my dad told me Harold seemed to not want to leave the church premises Sunday after the service. He stayed around, talking to everyone and dad even spotted him talking outside. Harold was the last to leave that day.

Sure he has his moments of tears, but you can see that he has such peace; a peace that we can't understand unless we too are a child of God. Harold knows that his wife, Sally, is in her final "HOME SWEET HOME"!