PrintOur Journey Through The Valley (78)
22 March, 2014
Yesterday was the best of days, it was the worst of days. It was the day that we knew had to come and would come. It was irresistible.
Yesterday Bev was admitted to High Care.
The impact of the disease had reached a point where we (just the two of us) could no longer 'do life' together without the assistance of professional medical people. Lots of tears.
In what sense was it the worst of days?
It was the worst of days because it ushered in the end of our life together as we had known it for almost 50 years. It was the worst of days because the disease pushed itself into our faces in a major way, robbing us of a considerable amount of time that we might otherwise use doing things together.
It was the worst of days because it was a tangible reminder of the next step - the walk through the valley of the shadow of death. To hear my wife in tears tore me apart on the inside. I unpacked her case and found myself wondering where I could put it until she was ready to come home. It suddenly hit me. "She won't need this case to come home. She won't be coming home". That was my undoing.
In what sense was it the best of days
Bev had some time in respite care and I was away with family for a time of R & R. When we returned from these two experiences, we looked at each other and honestly acknowledged that "The time is here". The time to honestly confront that we were no longer able to do this on our own.
Our three adult children had been telling us this for quite some weeks and they urged us to at least talk with the appropriate people about Nursing Home Care. I met with our Village Manager first thing on Monday morning and she took up our case with a vengeance. On Wednesday we were offered a bed in High Care and on Friday Bev moved into the facility. Our heads are still spinning.
It was the best of days because of all the signs confirming the rightness of this decision. That a bed could be available in such a short time is unheard of (certainly in my experience). The day was filled with timely phone calls. People who were not "in the know" seemed to call in or phone.
It was the best of days because this High Care bed is part of the overall facility where we have lived for the past 7 years and we are only 200 metres from each other. This will make visiting so much easier. It also means that we have a lot of friends all around us. Some weeks ago one of these friends indicated that she no longer had any use for her electric scooter here in our village. So she offered it to me! It was a gift. She wanted nothing for it. Given that the 200 metres mentioned previously is mostly uphill, here was a provision before I knew I would need it!!
It was the best of days because we were given eyes to see the way God had gone before us which assured us that we do not take this journey alone.
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