June 14 – “Tap dancing the Watusi”

I spent today entering into the world that Chris has been living in for the past two years.  She came home last night to shower and get refreshed – read here … sleep.  The night before Chris didn't do much sleeping.  She wanted to be right there any time her Mom moved in case she might need something.  Then Sunday morning she opened her eyes and started talking like she had just woke up from a casual nap.  She wasn't totally coherent, but Chris's Dad was ready to do a back flip, he was so excited.  Her Mom slowly began to arouse as the morning passed.  Then two of Chris' aunts came to visit.  And when they were there, her Mom put on a veritable show for them.  She toyed with her oxygen tube, flipping it around and around her finger.  She made some sarcastic comments, a true indicator of her usual personality.  Several of her doctors made rounds about the same time, and they were summarily grilled by the sisters.  She finally started getting noticeably tired, though, and drifted off to sleep.   About that time Chris' two brothers came in for a visit.  Her Mom realized they were there, but she was so tired that she slept through most of their visit.  Everyone had gone by the time I got there, and she was drifting in and out of sleep.  It was Chris' turn to go home for the evening.  She had mixed emotions, but the events of the morning had been somewhat encouraging, so she agreed.    When we got on the causeway she wondered out loud if Jachin and Micah and Josiah were home from church.  I told her to go ahead and text Christina to see, and we would stop by before we went home.  Her text was something along the lines of, "I need some Nana time."  Christina called back immediately and said, "Jachin says it will be all right with him."  So we spent awhile at their house, rough housing and playing indoor baseball with the boys (me) and snuggling with Josiah (Chris).  She needed that one.   This morning we headed back up to St. Luke's.  Her Mom was awake when we arrived, but looked very tired.  She carried on conversations with us (albeit brief ones), and was definitely lucid.  She hadn't slept very much last night.  She said she was afraid she was going to miss something.  That sounds odd considering they couldn't even wake her up when she first got there.  But the time she was awake apparently wasn't a very happy time.   Chris' Dad right away.  He had some business to take care of back in Bay City that had to be finished today.  My plan was to stick around until he got back.  Chris' was to spend the night tonight.  After they left, Chris moved her chair up close to her Mom and took her hand.  They spent the next hour or so talking and reminiscing.  At one point Chris went out to check with the nurse on something, so I went over and took her hand.  She talked with me about how much she loved her kids, and she told me that she was ready to go.  I thanked her for the great gift she had given me of raising my wife to be the woman she is today.   She was having trouble with the nerve pain in her feet.  She has much the same sensations that I do because of my back problem (or my joint problem, or whichever one causes it).  We take the same medication for it, so we have been compadres in pain.  She told us that her feet were telling her they wanted to go "tap dancing the Watusi."  She was also having a great deal of trouble breathing, and she felt like her chest was very heavy.  When the admitting doctor came in, it was decided that they would drain fluid from her lungs again, and then have a surgeon come in to talk to her about installing a permanent tube into her lungs so that the draining could take place at home.  Honestly, it was the first time I had heard anyone talk about her going home, so that was encouraging.  And after the draining she looked much better.  She could take deeper breaths, and she even ate a little bit of supper when it arrived.   Chris' Dad was in the room when we got back, and the two of them entertained us for the next thirty minutes or so.  She was trying to tell him about the pump they were going to install in her chest.  He wanted to know what kind of a pump – piston? And if it was a pump that meant it had to have some kind of a spit valve to shut it off.  She just sat there looking at him.  Pretty funny stuff.   We don't know what is to come, or just how long this reprieve will last, but it was good to get the eternal issue on the table so Chris could hear it once again.   1 John 5:13 says, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life."   Father, thank you for giving Chris today with her Mom.  And thanks for allowing me the honor of witnessing some of it.  Amen.