I went with Nathan and April the other day
to the AT&T store so they could get some new phones. They have been having a lot of trouble
connecting with people on their old Androids, so they were moving into the
future with iPhones for each of them. It
was loads of fun for the old guy here to be the one teaching the youngster how
to use the new-fangled technology. Of
course they have had them for a day now, so they already know more about how to
use it than I know about my old antique 3G thing. I guess if this one ever wears out we’ll be
entering the new world of 5G or 6G or whatever it will be called by then.
Here’s an update on how Mom has been
doing. She took another tumble the other
day. For some reason she made her way
noiselessly into the laundry room. I
guess she wanted to visit the dogs or something. She must have lost her balance somehow. We heard a loud crash followed by
indecipherable clanging that continued for several long seconds. Of course we both jumped into action to see
what had happened. She was sitting in
the floor with a box of Chris spare fabric on her lap and various craft
implements spinning haphazardly on the floor around her. Fritz and Heidi were standing guard
cautiously, but both seemed hesitant to get too close. Mom was groaning a bit this time, and
clutching her hand. Sure enough, there
was a scratch on one finger that was bleeding, and blood always cries out for
attention. The bigger worry, however,
turned out to be what we fear may be another cracked rib. She kept her arm in a protective position
against her waist. We managed to get her
to her feet and over to the couch again, and Chris got her cleaned up and
bandaged up. We are watching her
progress carefully, following the same protocol from last time she cracked
one.
More recently, she has had some
nosebleeds. Three yesterday. That has happened before, too. This time though, the first one came while Chris
was at the library with Cailyn. I was
working at my desk and she was sitting on the couch. The air conditioner kicked, so it took me a
while before I noticed a sound that just didn’t fit with the AC noise, the
refrigerator ice maker noise or the ice maker noise. It was something kind of eerily soothing,
like a swiftly moving brook, or when Christina is rocking Noa to sleep and does
her shushing sound. Something just
wasn’t adding up, so I got up to investigate.
As I rounded the corner into the kitchen, Mom was standing hunched over
the sink, which was running full blast – there was the unusual sound. I gently approached her and saw that she had
the sprayer in one hand and with the other she was cupping water back and forth
to her face. It seemed an unusual way to
get a drink of water, but then, I have done it that way myself. That’s about the time I saw the first large
glop of blood spatter into the sink.
Already a bit skittish since her fall the other day, I quickly readjusted
my position so I could see better. And
sure enough, there it was, blood was gushing from her nostril, and she was
trying frantically to wash it away. And
she was losing the battle. I grabbed a
paper towel and hastened into action. I
pinched her nose with one hand and got the water turned off with the
other. One sleeve of her blouse was
pretty well drenched, and spatterings of blood covered the front. I convinced her to hold the compress so I
could get her a chair to sit in. It was
becoming more and more obvious that she wouldn’t be able to stand up much
longer. After what seemed to me to be
hours, though I’m sure it was just minutes, of blood spurting and her trying to
push my hand away “so I can check it,” we finally got the bleeding
stopped. That was a scary one for me.
She had two more later in the evening, but
Chris was home, and she saw it before I did on both occasions and got it under
control quickly. Oh, and by the way, Chris has been battling a cold herself. She could sure use some prayer. I sure am thankful for
that wife God gave me.
Psalms 111:1 says, “Praise the Lord. I will extol
the Lord with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly.”
Father, again, please walk with Mom closely
each day. Amen.
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