Flip Side-Being There for Dad

Whoever curses his father or his mother, His lamp will be put out in deep darkness. Proverbs 20:20 NKJV

 My dad moved here over 3 1/2 years ago to help him with his medical issues. He lived with us the first year until the doctors said he needed more medical care. He lived in a nice local group home until the doctors said he needed skilled nursing 24/7, because of his Parkinson's Disease and repeated bouts of pneumonia. Since then, Dad's lived at the Veteran's Home. 

 It's been wonderful for my dad to live there, but the only downside is that it's an hour away. When Dad lived in the local group home, I used to go see him every day. I pick up grandkiddos after school three days a week, so visiting daily wasn't an option now that he was an hour away. 

 When Dad moved into the Veteran's Home, I told him that we'd try to visit two days a week. We generally have done that by going up on one day, spending the night at a local hotel and visiting Dad the next day before we drove back home.

 I thought I could continue that, but I'm not always very realistic about my capabilities. We drove up and visited Dad at the Veteran's Home. Again, Dad's transport chair came in handy as my husband pushed me to go see Dad. We went to the hotel as we normally do, but I couldn't get the pillows to stack up to comfortably hold my leg in the cast.
What started out feeling good, eventually got weighed down by the cast, putting pressure on my broken heel. I was still up at 3:00 a.m. trying to rearrange pillows near in tears, because I hadn't gotten any rest, thus far. I prayed about it and slept until morning. 
Then, we went to go visit Dad before we headed back home. On the way home, my foot became aggravated, because the pillows kept put ting pressure on the cast and my heel. 

  The next week, I found myself dreading the trip to visit Dad. After being prayerful about it, I realized God was trying to convey that I needed to make some adjustments to this, as well as other things in my life, during the healing process.

After prayerful consideration, I decided to go visit Dad only once a week. Not being able to get comfortable in the hotel until the wee hours took a toll on me. The long ride up and back while in the backseat trying to hold the pillows was probably all I could handle until I was better. 

 My husband has been kind enough to go visit Dad a second time most weeks, because I'm just not up to it. Fortunately, God was watching out for my well-being, because I was headstrong about continuing to see Dad twice a week. 

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.

Caregiving Video: I Overdid It!
By: Robin Mc Fadyen via Youtube

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