Emergency rooms at 3:00 a.m. are  interesting places.  As I sit here with my mother, I’m in the perfect spot to observe. Mom is quiet and stable, thank you so much Lord.  We came because she had a shooting pain in her head and dizziness.  All this after my dad was discharged from the hospital earlier this week.  Mom, being the caregiver, was so concerned to have to wake us and for me to bring her here.  My husband is at home with dad.   In a short time, as the minutes have turned into a couple of hours now, I’ll have to perhaps leave her here to run back to their house, collect my dad and get him to his post op appointment.  Mom worries about such inconveniences as this for me. How can I assure her that I’m just grateful I am here?

We’ve seen a lab tech, a tech who ran the CAT scan (ruling out stroke or bleeding of which there was none), a nurse who has cheerfully attended to everything from bathroom locations to warm blankets, the ER physician, and a tech to run an IV setup for fluids.  The diagnosis?  Unsure but possibly a sinus condition causing equilibrium issues.  Oh Lord, you are so kind and caring!

All these people have been smiling and kind and done their various jobs quickly and professionally.  I am so grateful for folks who turn their lives upside down in order to man emergency rooms in the middle of the night when I need them.  Mom is resting for a few minutes now, the intensity of earlier moments waning.  I’m not so sure my dad is as relaxed yet but he will be as soon as we get home and he sees his bride of 67 years again, safe and sound.

This has been a good week with my parents.  To be here with them, especially during times of stress, has been a bit tense but, at the same time gratifying, knowing I’ve been here to help them ease the issues.  Do I like it they have to be in distress right now?  Of course not.  However, being here is loads better than sitting at home, 500 miles away and hearing about such dramas secondhand.

This is is a hard time for all of us.  My parents have been, thankfully, fiercely independent for 89 and 88 years.  We’ve lived away from them for almost 40 years and so our lives are equally independent.  I suspect we’re going to have to learn to be more dependent on each other now.  At any rate, God has been good to us all.

We are home again.  The emergency room has been left behind, everyone is breathing easier again.  The sun is up and the birds are singing.  It’s another new day Lord and I thank you for helping us through a trying night.  Lord, you are so faithful to us.  Now off to the doctor visit with dad.  Thanks Lord for all your provisions!