Letters 1971 - 1998

You asked me how I gave my heart to Christ,
I do not know;
There came a yearning for Him in my soul
S0 long ago;
I found earth's flowers would fade and die,
I wept for something that would satisfy
And then, and then, somehow I seemed to dare,
To lift my broken heart to God in prayer;
I do not know, I cannot tell you how;
I only know He is my Saviour now

Author Unknown

When I was helping mom pack some of her things to get ready for her move I found a box of letters. These letters were written by me to her and dad from the time I was 15 years of age, until I was 43 years of age. It was like finding a diary of my life. Many things I'd forgotten about. In other instances it brought back vividly many precious memories: When I found out I was pregnant with my first child, Those first years after my son was born, and then my daughter. How I felt when I went through a miscarriage at 5 months of my pregnancy...so many things.

It was such a surprise to find those letters, and such a gift! The above poem I found within that stack of letters that I had written and sent to them.

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Mom Has Moved To Texas

My mom is 82 years old. She has changed a lot, especially in the last year. My oldest brother lives in Texas. He comes down to visit with us and his 2 daughters several times a year. He has been trying to get mom to move in with him and his wife for a couple of years. Everytime he has come down during this last year especially, he has seen a big change in mom. I've noticed it as well, but it hasn't been as obvious to me since I see her often. He wouldn't see her for 3 or 4 months, and so would really notice the subtle changes that I didn't see. He was concerned that she wasn't taking her medicine the way she should. Or that she wasn't eating right (which was my concern as well).

She finally agreed to move, which surprised me a little. She's always been so adamant that she was going to stay in her own little apartment. I guess she knew that she really needed to be with someone. Danny isn't working, so he can be with her during the day and make sure she's taken care of. Once it was decided, Danny didn't waste any time! They left yesterday, and I already miss her! The weekend was a busy one - moving the furniture she decided to keep onto the truck, finishing up with packing all her things. Everybody worked hard, but we got it all done.We considered her wishes through it all.

I would have loved to have her move in with John and Jared and me, but we're gone so much of the time with work and school and church activities! And, in all liklihood, we will be moving next summer. Jared will be going off to college (Freed-Hardeman in Tennessee). We will be moving somewhere, depending on where John finds a job. He's been here 15 years and is ready for a change.

My brother Gary stopped by with his grandaughter Autumn. I was fortunate enough to get a picture of mom and her 3 remaining children. Dad is gone, and my sister Merlea. This may be the last time we'll all be together for a while.

What Happened To July?

Being a person who has never suffered any kind of serious illness, I can now say I am MUCH more understanding to those who do and have. This last month has been an experience I will never forget, though I would love to! Basically, this is what happened:

July 5th - I worked, but just didn't feel very well. By the end of the day, my whole body ached, my stomach was upset and I had a fever of 101.

July 6th-9th - I called in sick on Thursday (6th). I knew I had the next 3 days off, so thought that'd be plenty of time to "get over it" whatever "it" was.

July 10th - Monday morning. Still sick. Still running a fever of 101 and 102. Can't eat or drink. So I decided to go to the Urgent Care Clinic. They examined me and sent me on to the Emergency Room. Told me not to eat or drink anything because they would probably be doing some abdominal scans to figure out what was going on. Waited for either 4 or 5 hours before they got around to seeing me. Had a temperature of 102. Was MISDIAGNOSED! They told me I was dehydrated so they started an IV to rehydrate me. They gave me some phenergan for my nausea, which basically put me to sleep. They told me I had viral gastroenteritis and to go home and "get over it".

July 17th - Monday morning. Experienced a week of misery. Continued fever off and on during that week, abdominal pain, nausea, and other things I won't mention. But I figured I HAD to get back to work, even though I still didn't feel very well. So, I went back to work. Worked my 9 hours.

July 18th - Tuesday morning. Woke up with a low grade fever of 100.6. Didn't feel well. But...went on in to work (I know, I really shouldn't have!) As the day progressed, I felt worse and worse. I was on a Continuous Care case, so when the RN stopped by to check on the patient, I told her I was going to have to leave because I was not feeling well at all. My husband got on the phone to my doctor and told her I REALLY NEEDED to see a doctor. The soonest she could see me was the 20th (Thursday).

July 20th - Thursday morning. Saw my doctor, who sets up an ultrasound to be done Saturday morning at the hospital(the 22nd).

July 22nd - Saturday morning. Ultrasound done of my abdomen. Ahhh...it appears my gallbladder has been acting up. So about 2-3 hours later, they did emergency surgery to get that gallbladder out!

I can't even begin to tell you how frustrating my experience with the health community has been...especially that ER visit. What people have to go through to get seen in the emergency room is a joke! But the killer is, you wait for hours to get back through the doors and on one of those beds (which in itself is a blessing because all you want to do is just lay down on their cold, dirty floor after waiting so many hours!) I understand they're busy. But they don't seem to take the time to really listen to what you are saying. If they had done that ultrasound on the 10th I wouldn't have had to suffer and go through all that I did.

Having said that, I have now been able to vent my frustration, and now I am so thankful they were able to figure out what was wrong and do what needed to be done. I feel so much better and will soon be back 100 percent!