This year Tim's mom Ora Lee was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving -- just as last year, Tim was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. It was a horribly bittersweet memory.
She was suffering from fluid retention, her legs very swollen, her heart and kidneys showing the signs of disease. That's what was happening to Tim last year. Sympathy ailment? No, she really does have heart disease and her one kidney isn't working 100% well.
Ora Lee had been in the hospital a few weeks earlier with the same symptoms, treated with IV Lasix, her medications adjusted and she was doing much better, everyone thought. She was looking forward to being with her family down at the Hemingway farm on Saturday after Thanksgiving.
But the improvement didn't last long, the same symptoms returned, so back to the hospital for more IV Lasix, more medication adjustment. She's back home at Bethea again now, released yesterday morning, but not feeling quite strong enough to make the trip down to the farm. So most of her family that were at the farm have been up to see her instead, which works out better for her.
In the back of my mind, I can't help but remember last year, and the "thinking" is requiring some discipline. The Lord (and I believe Tim) keeps telling me, just get through it and get past it, and the way to do that is by frequently reminding myself, "Look forward, not back."
I went out this afternoon, planning to go to Hobby Lobby and buy a few plastic or silk poinsettias to take to the cemetery, but they're closed on Sundays. Good for them. So I went to Toys R Us instead and bought Liam a birthday present. He'll be 3 on December 11th. I got several stuffed toys - a gray life-like, life-size bunny rabbit, a solid white one, and a soft stuffed Ratatouille toy - Emile the Rat.I'll send Liam one of those (probably the gray rabbit) along with a card and a check so Angie can use the money to help with his birthday party. I'm not sure what I'll do with the other toys, but they were so cute I couldn't resist. Especially Emile!
I remember a stuffed life-like, life-size dog (terrier) I got one year, and how much that one toy meant to me. I'm not sure how old I was, probably still in grammar school. I talked to him like I would a person. Dolls didn't seem life-like, so although I enjoyed playing with dolls, that stuffed dog was a bit more important. I have no idea what happened to it over the years, but I thought about that dog and his being very life-like in size and appearance when I saw the bunny rabbits.
Liam has so many toys he probably won't really appreciate this one, but I'll like thinking about it being there in his collection.
Last year, Tim got a chance to talk to Liam on the Tuesday before he fell on Wednesday, although the conversation between Tim and 2-year old Liam was a bit hard to understand. He'd had a birthday party and Tim was asking him if he'd had a good time, that sort of thing, and Liam chattered away in 2-year old.
Tim was very glad he'd had the chance to talk to him on the phone, because we had not been able to go down there. Tim was simply too sick still for us to drive to the beach.
This year Tim can see Liam, he can even attend the birthday party and watch for himself how much fun he has, and that's something I can think about with a smile.
I do give thanks that I know where Tim is, that he's healthy, very busy, observing and interceding for me, for Angie and Vernie, Bella and Liam, Ora Lee and all the rest of the family, and that we're still a team.
That's always something good to think about.
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