Coffee? Tea? Serenity?

Mom and I spent the afternoon and evening at the hospital today. For each of the visiting times, Grandma Foreman was awake and alert. Although the respirator and feeding tube prevent her from speaking to us, she continues to communicate with us. She does so by way of her facial expressions, simple hand gestures, and writing simple words to let us know of her thoughts.

I thought that you might enjoy reading what some of those thoughts are:

• On her legs, they have placed splint type massagers. She let us know that she remembered Grandpa Foreman having those after his heart surgery to prevent blood clotting.
• Judy asked if she was feeling better. She nodded yes.
• She let us know that she wants us to be careful when driving.
• Judy told her of the beautiful rose that she saw at her house when she and Dad stopped by to check on her place. That brought a lovely sigh and a smile of contentment.
• We spoke of how she was feeling and the improvements that have been seen. She made a circular motion with her index finger and then a quick point with that same finger. Those gestures took a while for us to interpret, but we did come to understand that she was trying to tell us that "It is coming…..I'll be outta here!" When we spoke those words, she nodded with a YES.

The chaplain had visited with her earlier and left a card with a printed prayer. I asked her if he had read that prayer to her. She nodded,. "No." I asked her if she'd like me to read it to her. She nodded, "Yes." When I finished with that one, she pointed toward the window. At the window, there is a flower arrangement with a small statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the centerpiece. In that arrangement, there were other prayers. I asked her if she'd like me to read more prayers. She nodded, "Yes," and indicated that she wanted me to read the HOLY CROSS OF CHRIST prayer. As I did so, I could tell that she was saying it along with me. This is one of her favorite prayers, so I thought that I might share it with you.

O God Almighty! You have suffered death upon the cross for all our sins.
O Holy Cross of Jesus Christ, be my light.
O Holy Cross of Jesus Christ, have pity on me.
O Holy Cross of Jesus Christ, be hope.
O Holy Cross of Jesus Christ, protect me from a deadly weapon.
O Holy Cross of Jesus Christ, turn everything good to me.
O Holy Cross of Jesus Christ, may I never do any harm.
O Holy Cross of Jesus Christ, lead me to right paths.
O Holy Cross of Jesus Christ, keep me away from all accidents, that I may adore the Holy Cross of Jesus Christ forever.
O Jesus Christ of Nazareth, crucified, have pity on me, and preserve me from all evil spirits, from all centuries that claim anything from my belief. Amen.

When I was finished reading that one, there was a small pamphlet that was left in her room with a variety of prayers. From that pamphlet, I read a prayer of healing. From Grandma's expressions, we could tell that she truly enjoyed that time of prayer.

Friday seemed to be a much better day than was Thursday. After having four consecutive days of improvement, Thursday was not such a good day for her. When they allowed her to breathe on her own, this caused her to have to work very hard therefore causing her to be very tired and to have lower spirits. On that day, further testing was done to determine where the bleed was which was causing the darkened stool. These procedures required some sedation and caused her to be more tired, but they were ones that allowed the doctor to find small tears in the duodenum (first section of the small intestines). After reviewing the blood work, they have given her platelets and two units of blood.

Although she remains on the respirator, she is breathing more on her own. According to the monitor, she is doing 65% of her own breathing and the respirator is helping with the remaining 35%. The doctor has indicated that this is an improvement. When she was first put on the respirator, it was doing most of the breathing for her.

She is also experiencing some other symptoms that go along with an extended hospital stay as well as the multiple health conditions that she is healing from:

• She has had some swelling and bruising in the arms and hands.
• She is experiencing the sensations of being very hot and sometimes being very cold. The nurses explained to Arline that this was part of the process of the body fighting and healing her conditions.
• They are monitoring her glucose levels closely. She has had to take insulin.
• She is thirsty. They allow her to have small bits of ice that she enjoys greatly.

It continues to be very difficult for us to see Grandma Foreman struggle through these illnesses, but with the recent signs of improvement we are renewed with hope that she is tough enough to recuperate from it. We also firmly believe that the power of prayer has been of great help to her. Those prayers have also been of aid to us. The emotional turbulence that goes along with seeing a loved one fight for their life is something that one understands only when one has experienced it. I know that many of you have experienced that same turbulence and are praying without ceasing for us, and with us. May you all be blessed for the moments that you have spent in prayer.

On a lighter note, I have a personal story to share.
As a youngster, my voice was extremely soft. I was also very shy. When I did muster up the courage to speak at family gatherings, I was told that I had not been heard and had to repeat what I wanted to say. Well, there came a time when I subconsciously became tired of repeating myself as well as growing out of my shyness. As time went by, I consciously spoke louder when I wanted to be heard. Spending time teaching in the classroom allowed me to establish a "teacher voice". That time spent in the classroom was as a Religion instructor therefore it is rare that I am bashful about praying aloud or verbalizing my faith. As I read the prayer of the Holy Cross of Christ, to my grandmother, the door to her room was open and Arline and Mom were with me. Arline made signals to me which I interpreted as "not so loud". My immediate thoughts were, "No way, you can't stop me now!" As I continued in prayer with the the same tone of voice, I realized that the noise that was previously heard outside of the door was no longer there. CCU was quiet!

During the drive home, Mom and I began the trip with much chatter and conversation. When that ceased, Mom asked me if I was OK. I shared with her that I was deep in thought and about to giggle about my PRAYING TOO LOUD. Imagine that! Quiet, shy, little Cindy TALKING too loud.

With that story, I am reminded of Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."