My dad had lost lots of weight over the last few years prior to moving here. He used to be considered a stalky man at one time. Now, he was so thin that the slightest breeze could knock him off balance...and that's no joke!
He weighed 149 when he first moved here over 9 months ago. It was difficult for me when he got down below 140, but this particular day, the home health aide weighed him and he weighed 136! My dad doesn't always feel hungry due to his GERD and we've found that trying to push him to eat more is counterproductive, because he just eats less to let us know who is in control of his eating.
I thought I was handling things alright, but the day I heard 136, was the day that sent me in a tailspin. I was beside myself. I almost started to cry when I picked up my grandson at preschool. I almost started to cry on the way home. I sent a text to my friends, hoping it would help me pull myself together, but I got no inspiring texts back although I continued to look for them periodically.
I was looking to friends for comfort, but I forget my Best Friend of All, Jesus. He's the one I should have turned to for comfort, not my friends. When I was prayerful about this, God provided several things out of the blue that day. One was that I clicked on Christian Caregiving. I had never clicked on a Caregiver blog before and had just clicked on it as I was creating this blog site. Part of the advice Sharon Vander Waal had for caregivers in her post was be good to yourself.
You don't know how timely that advice was. God provided it for me when I needed to hear it most. 137 pounds didn't bother me as much, but 136 seemed like death was imminent. Taking this advice to heart, I decided to go through a condensed version of spelling practice with my first grade grandson and put on holiday videos for both the grandkids and myself.
During the time of the videos, I got a call out of the blue from my dad's VA nurse. During my conversation with her, I asked her about his weight being 136 and asked if I were worrying for nothing. She said that I was worrying for nothing, because low body weights are normal as seniors age. She said that I shouldn't worry about things, but just enjoy the time we have together. Isn't it amazing that God provided both of these to console me when I was beside myself. I turned to others, to no avail, but when I turned to Christ for comfort, He was there providing the right comfort and perspective I needed to get through that really difficult day. There is no fear in love: but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love Him [Christ], because He first loved us. 1 John 18-19
Since these are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my experience, they may not reflect the whole meaning of the verse.
I'm including You Tube Video clips on caregiving that I found interesting, inspirational, or might be helpful to others, but am not responsible for the content in the videos. Always check first with a physician before trying any suggestions mentioned.
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By: Advanced Home Health Care-Senior Care Omaha
