Thank you to all who prayed for us!! It is working so keep it up 🙂
He was taken to the hospital and had many tests ran. CT Scans, MRI’s, ultrasounds, chest X-rays, blood counts and work ups….tons of stuff. What happens when you drink heavily for weeks and don’t eat much at all? You cause your body to live of off the poison in alcohol, which poisons your heart,blood, liver and pancreas…everything. He has liver damage called fatty liver and alcohol hepatitis but not cirrhosis. His pancreas was not breaking down proteins and fat correctly, which from what I gather can cause the body to not absorb food correctly. His blood volume was very low but not low enough to have a transfusion. This is a result from alcohol poisoning that affects your bone morrow, so your red blood cell count goes down and causes anemia. His blood alcohol level has killed people before, but because he had a high tolerance he was lucky and it didn’t kill him. He is in the beginning stages of emphysema. He was dangerously dehydrated and malnourished from mostly only consuming alcohol. The list goes on but these are the most serious. He went through detox at the hospital is released to a rehab center.
Here is how the weekend went. I got to Stillwater Friday early evening. I stayed up with my dad and visited a while and then went out to grab a bite to eat. While I was out I drove by the one Catholic church they have in town (one other church but on Campus) It was locked of course but I later found they gave parishioners a code to get in if they wanted to come to pray and Adore. It was a very nice Parish 🙂
I slept at the hospital in my dad’s room in one of those reclining chairs..that are not the best, but better than the worst at least!! Woke up early the next day, around 7am and headed over to pack up my dad’s house with my brother. Did I mention that he had to be out of his house this weekend? Yes, we had to have him packed up and out of the house by Sunday at 6pm. I was a smelly, sweaty mess all weekend packing and cleaning for 12 hours each day on Saturday and Sunday. It happened to be the hottest weekend so far this summer, at 104. This was a great chance for me to pull my hair out and feel sorry for myselfpractice growing in love, mercy,charity, humility and the power of offering up your sufferings. I was able to go to confession with the best confessor I have ever had, he was understanding and answered many questions I had that had been hard to get a straight answer in confession before. It helped so much that he has studied canon law 🙂 When I had my lunch breaks, I was able to swing by to pray before my Lord and bask in the peace I found there. This was such a gift to me. I can’t find the words to explain how wonderful it feels be in a strange town and in a tough circumstance and still experience that sigh of relief you feel when you walk in your own home, but experience that when you walk in the catholic church. I felt right at home, feeling the presence of the entire Mystical Body of Christ, his church triumphant, the church suffering and us the Militants. Home away from home. This gave me much strength.
Saturday ended with a shower in an empty hospital room. (the nurses took pity on me when I found that they had no guest showering facilities and let me go to an empty room for a quick shower) God Bless those nurses for that! I stayed up late talking a bit to dad and slept in my chair again for the night.
Sunday before starting on the task at hand I went to the early Mass, The readings this Sunday seemed just for me, the hymns seemed just for me….God is good to give us these little comforts brought forth by his hand in all things. I feel so special when he shows me little favors that help me on my way, to know that he lets me know that he is with me when I choose to do his will and receive his grace that carries me through.
When I stopped by the hospital to give my dad a soft drink, He had been reading a book that I had brought there and left on the table by the chair I slept in. I told him that if he got bored, he was welcome to read it. So he did, and enjoyed it greatly. This is one my favorite books and I feel naked with out it, but I am so happy that he asked if he could borrow it while he goes to rehab. What a blessing that I was gifted this book by my dear friend who is an obvious tool of the Holy Spirit. Thanks be to God!!! My dad belongs to the Episcopal church, but has not been attending for many years, so his interest in the book is a wonderful gift.
Another gift to me on Sunday was from my dad and his wife’s landlord. My brother and I worked very hard, not only to save my dad’s belongings, but to save his name and how he left things. The Landlord had seen what a terrible mess the place was left in after my dad’s wife had taken her belongings and the valuables. Mostly what was left was my dad’s and anything unwanted, or any junk to be thrown away. The lanlord left the place a few days before expecting that he would have to hall off a bunch of junk and pay for someone to clear it out. We worked hard and were able to accomplish what we wanted in that small amount of time. When the landlord came on Sunday to get the keys he was in shock he was so happy that we had left the house clean and with not one piece of trash or box of junk. He gave us great compliments and showed the true emotion of being relieved when he saw how hard we worked. What a gift to see true gratitude.
It was late Sunday when we finished putting the last load in storage. I stopped by the hospital to say goodbye to my dad and was on my way at 10:30 at night to rush to get home so that hubby could go to work.
He was released from the hospital last night and should be taken to the Alcohol rehab center sometime today. It is very hard to keep on top of the arrangements between dad, social worker, hospital and rehab…. but it is all working out. Today I am settling back to my old self and same old routine. Today there is laundry, dishes, meal prep, bills to be paid, bickering children in need of a trip to the pool and a lightweight meeting tonight….life is full, life is busy, this life is mine, and I am so thankful for my little burdens that I would have complained about a few weeks ago, but now dealing with much larger tasks lately….I am so, so, so thankful for my husband, my children and even my little sufferings.
Here are the words to the wonderful hymn that I was reminded that I love this past Sunday. Make me a Channel of your Peace, a prayer of St.Francis of Assisi by: Sebastian Temple
Make me a channel of Your peace
Where there is hatred let me bring Your love
Where there is injury, Your pardon, Lord
And where there’s doubt, true faith in You
Oh, Master, grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love with all my soul
Make me a channel of Your peace
Where there’s despair in life let me bring hope
Where there is darkness, only light
And where there’s sadness, ever joy
Make me a channel of Your peace
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned
In giving to all men that we receive
And in dying that we’re born to eternal life
I needed to hear this hymn this weekend. It helped me greatly hearing these words in my head when many frustrations came my way.
Please keep praying that he is committed to this and stays sober. Thanks again for all your prayers!
decrease to increase 