God's Gift

Mike's "regular" hospice nurse came yesterday and gave him a thorough exam. Apparently, he DOES have congestion in his right lung (they feel he aspirated). The nurse that came on Monday night did nothing to check him out because I don't think she personally wanted to treat him. Mike started antibiotics this morning, and we hope that will help clear up the problem. His fever never came back after it broke early Monday morning (around 1am) - which is a good thing. He ate and drank yesterday, allbeit, slowly and less than usual.

I've said it before and I will keep saying it, this disease is the most hideous, unforgiving, ugly diseases out there. Just as you prepare yourself for the worst, things change and then remain "constant" for a while. This has happened to us 3 times before and I'm sure it will happen many times more, before this disease takes Mike. The emotional and physical stress this puts on ALL people; patient, family and friends, is ENORMOUS.

We've never been a family to say "why me", but being human as we are, we do all begin to question things. After our low point the other night, I got an e-mail from our Pastor. Apparently he had seen a re-run of our story on LI News (Telecare) and just wanted to let us know that he was there for us if we needed anything. Well, being a strong believer in "things happen for a reason", I e-mailed him back and asked if he could come by to talk to me and the kids, since things are getting more stressful. Strange as it may seem, I hope that his e-mail was a gift from God saying, "Here he is, let him help you". Father Ralph will be coming by on Friday for a visit. This will be the second time that Father Ralph "showed up" out of the blue. When Mike was in the hospital a few months ago, Father Ralph was waiting for an elevator just as the kids and I were going to the coffee shop. He came into Mike's hospital room and said a prayer. In my heart, I truly feel that God sent him to us because we needed him.

Every day is a new day and when it's over, I take a long hard look at Mike and thank God for the gift of letting us have Mike for another day.