Making It Back for Dinner with Dad

Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, But righteousness delivers from death. The Lord will not allow the righteous soul to famish, But He casts away the desire of the wicked. Proverbs 10:2-3

We left one state and needed to travel through two more to get back in time to have dinner with Dad at the Veteran's Home. When we saw Dad on our way out of state a few days earlier, we told him that we would try to be back in time to have dinner with him at the Veteran's Home that evening.

Knowing Dad, he forgets the words "try to" and thinks it's a promise and is crushed if anything keeps it from happening. We try very hard to not disappoint Dad, so we tried everything we could to make it back in time for dinner with Dad. We had even packed PB and J sandwiches for both of us, because it saves at least an hour of time not having to order, wait for the order, eating, and then paying for the food.

We got there in time to have dinner with Dad. Yeah! We had a wonderful evening. Dad was upbeat and it was wonderful. 

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An Idea from God to Make It Easier

The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father, But a foolish son is the grief of his mother. Proverbs 10:1

Periodically on our trip out of state to see family, I would recall the head nurse saying that she didn't think that Dad's going to bounce back from his continued loss of weight and wanting to stay in bed more. A couple of times during the trip, I was reminded of the the smoking table in Dad's room that was filled with cards from loved ones and magazines. The stack was almost three feet tall.

I dreaded the idea that some day when Dad passed, I would have to go through all of the letters from loved ones. I felt like it would just add salt to the open wound I knew I might have when Dad passes, making me feel the added pain of all those other family members that care for him, as well.

Well, God gave me an idea that worked. On our way back home after the trip, we stopped to see Dad. I asked him if he'd like me to sort through all the cards, letters, and magazines in that three foot stack under his smoking stand, so he has room for more. Fortunately, Dad told me yes. It was such a relief to sort through all of that now, rather than some day in the future, hopefully a long time from now, but it's in God's very capable hands.

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The Long Trip to See Family

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For by Me your days will be multiplied, and years of life will be added to you. Proverbs 9:10-11

Well, we had left the meeting at the Nursing Home where the head nurse on Dad's wing had kindly let me know that she didn't see that Dad was going to bounce back from his continued loss of weight and wanting to sleep more and more.

These thoughts would traveled through my head as we made the long trip out of state to go visit family. I kept trying to turn this haunting thought over to Christ's very capable hands each time and tried to focus on us continuing to enjoy all the remaining time we have left with Dad.

I had to debate whether to share this information with the younger generations of family, but realized that they had been aware for some time that their Grandpa's health was declining. He knew of many of the major health issues that he had and that they seemed to be occurring more frequently. in fact, when I would email or text family telling them that we were coming to visit, I would always tell them that it depends on how Grandpa's health was doing at the time. They were always supportive and didn't make me feel guilty the several times I wasn't able to make the trip there, because Grandpa had pneumonia. After being prayerful about this, I didn't feel they needed more info and already knew what lie ahead, without hearing every single detail.

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Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Hebrews 13:8

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. 



I sure wasn't the same yesterday, today and forever! I was running around like a chicken with their head cut off. I was frantic, at times, and lethargic and irritable at others.   I didn't think I felt that way,..............................but I was wrong!!!!

Fortunately for me, no matter how much I was trying to mask the pain of my Dad's death it was slowly creeping up and I had modeled how out of control I really was.  I am so very glad that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Hebrews 13:8  He's the one I needed to lean on. I couldn't lean on through all of this and He never deserted me! Additionally, he made my husband so understanding through all of this. He was an immense help!


Because these posts are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my life, they don't necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verse/s. Debbie


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Stopping by to See Dad on a Trip to See Family, but This Time Was Different

Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. Proverbs 9:9

We needed to go out of state to see some of our family. Dad wasn't, nor has he been, in shape to make that long of a trip for quite some time, now. What we do is stop by to see Dad at the Veteran's Home on the way out of town and stop back by to see him on the way home. 

After visiting Dad on the way to go see family, I stopped for a bathroom break before we got back into the car to head out of town. When I got out of the restroom, my husband asked, "Do you want to go to this meeting? I think it's about your dad." I asked him if it's the regular meeting they do quarterly about patients, he thought so. I hadn't known about the meeting, but  didn't really have anything much to address.  I didn't want to delay our start on our trip, so we weren't driving to the hotel in the dark. As I walked by, the staff motioned me inside.

They asked me if I planned to stay for the meeting. I told them I didn't really have anything to address other than Dad would prefer the chocolate Ensure-type drink they gave him rather than vanilla. We talked about small potatoes topics for a while, like what types of foods Dad might like to eat.  That led to the real topic that needed to be addressed. I was getting ready to leave, but the head nurse on my dad's wing, wanted to make sure I knew that although they've tried many things, Dad's continuing to loose weight and is staying in bed more and more. Then she said, that she didn't expect Dad's going to bounce back this time. She wanted to make sure I was aware of that. I told her that I suspected that, but just try to focus on enjoying every day that we have with Dad. She asked if I had thought of getting Hospice services for Dad. I told her that he isn't in any particular pain, other than when his legs hurt from time-to-time because of the Parkinson's Disease, but his legs just need to be adjusted. I said that if he seemed to be in more consistent pain, I would reconsider it, though. I also mentioned that I had signed some papers some time ago for the Veteran's Home to support Dad with Palliative Care. The following link with the National Institute on Aging tells The difference between Palliative Care and Hospice Care services.

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Dad's on the Antibiotics for His U.T.I., but Still Seems Disoriented

Now therefore, listen to me, my children, For blessed are those who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, And do not disdain it. Proverbs 8:33

My husband and I went to see Dad. He had been on the antibiotics for several days now, but Dad was still disoriented. I was so sad to see that, because usually when he's had a Urinary Tract Infection, his thinking clears right up once he's on the antibiotics, but this wasn't the case.

Dad was in his bed, holding his lower set of dentures in his hand, while eating a handful of whole almonds with his top dentures in. I kept asking Dad to put his bottom dentures in, so he could chew up the almonds, but he didn't really understand what I was telling him, although I repeated it several times.

Then, I suggested that I take his lower dentures and wash them off, so they were clean when he put them in. I brought the clean dentures back, but Dad just held them. I said that I would help him put them in, so I gently took them from Dad's hand and tried to insert them into his mouth, but it wasn't working, even after several tries. He usually kind of sucks them in place, but wasn't doing that this time. I tried to put his hands up to his mouth, so he could help put them in, put just held his hands there.

Then, God gave me the idea to suggest I take out Dad's upper dentures and wash them off. I was so relieved, because I was starting to get frustrated, because I didn't know what to do. Knowing Christ was there with me during this, I suddenly felt relieved and just felt so appreciative of my dad and wanted him to feel supported. I stopped for a few minutes and just let him sit there before proceeding. 

While the dentures were out, I had sanitary gloves on and swept Dad's mouth and found five or six whole almonds on the side of his mouth and threw them away. First of all, they are a choking hazard, but regardless, Dad was not being able to manage them. Once Dad's mouth clear, I was able to get get his bottom teeth partially in and put his hands to his mouth and he eventually got them in. Then, I tried the upper dentures. After a couple of tries these went in. The whole process took 20-40 minutes, but it felt like hours. Once Dad's dentures were in, Christ had me realize that it no longer mattered. They were in-that's all that counts.

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