Monday, January 10, 2005
THE CRISIS IS OVER.....1985
Words cannot describe the pain we all felt for John and Barbara and the baby. It was such a shock from the news two days earlier when there was so much joy and anticipation. It was too tragic to take in and we feared the news might get worse before it got better. John promised to keep us informed and I could sense the heavy load he was carrying. His voice had lost all of the excitement from his earlier call.
Mom, Becky, Warren and I coped with the news in different ways. I promised to let mom and Becky know if we heard any update about little John. He had already been through a lot in just a matter of a few days….traveling from Rock Island to Peoria in a helicopter….and now in a much larger hospital with a team of specialists around him. It was hard not to think of the whole affair as tragic and yet we knew we had to hang onto our hopes. Mom stayed by the phone, Warren and I went about our chores at home in silence, each with our own thoughts. We spent a good deal of time calling friends and other family for prayer….that made us both feel better.
Tuesday, April 23rd was a long day. John previously said he wouldn’t call back unless there was a change one way or the other. I worked that day and went to a ladies missionary meeting that evening in a private home. John called Warren (at our home) to tell us there was improvement enough the doctors thought the crisis was over. When I relayed this to the group, we all had one big sigh of relief. Warren had called the good news to everyone by the time I got home. We immediately started making plans to go to Rock Island as soon as John and Barb and the baby were able to go home….and after Barbara’s parents had gone back to Mississippi (out of respect, so they could have quality time with their first grandchild.)
On the 6th of May we left for Rock Island. It was a happy occasion for us to visit knowing the good conclusion to little John’s crisis. However, now I was a little concerned about mom. When we told her goodbye I didn’t think she looked too good and she was complaining of being tired. She had tried to do some cleaning and wore herself out. I asked a neighbor to look in on her while we were gone and after supper that evening, they called to tell us they had taken mom to the doctor….he thought it was pneumonia and sent them to the hospital with her. There was nothing to do but get a little sleep and come home the next day.
I had looked forward to being with John and Barb a few days to help out and enjoy little John. It was not to be on this trip. We left at 8:00am the next morning and it was a gloomy drive home on a dark and rainy day. We arrived at the hospital by 5:15pm and found mom doing better. They ruled pneumonia out and treated her for a urinary track infection….she was hungry after being on liquids all day so we talked the nurse into giving her solid food. She was there another few days and released for us to bring her home. I went back to work the next day.
Mom’s 81st birthday was on a Sunday this year….May 12th. I fixed a dinner for the occasion and Becky’s and aunt Beulah came to help us celebrate. George called and planned to come on Memorial Day. Aunt Beulah stayed over with mom, and Mildred (aunt Beulah’s sister) came in on the bus the next day. Mom went with them to Arkansas to spend a few days together with lots of board games and cards I would imagine. They always had great times together.
The 15th of May I worked a half-day and Warren loaded the car and picked me up to make another try at getting to Rock Island for our visit with John and Barb. The trip seemed short after making it so recently and we arrived in good time. There was clearly a difference in little John in just one week….he was so good you hardly knew a baby was in the house…and of course, very cute.
Too soon it was time to get back to work and it was really hard to leave that sweet baby. John and Barb had everything under control and we left them with the confidence that they were going to be OK now. To see little John so healthy and normal was a great relief after the rocky start he got. You certainly wouldn’t know it now. We said our good-byes and headed back south towards home and for me…. work the next day.
They say “all’s well that ends well”……and this was one of those times that ended well.
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
Mom, Becky, Warren and I coped with the news in different ways. I promised to let mom and Becky know if we heard any update about little John. He had already been through a lot in just a matter of a few days….traveling from Rock Island to Peoria in a helicopter….and now in a much larger hospital with a team of specialists around him. It was hard not to think of the whole affair as tragic and yet we knew we had to hang onto our hopes. Mom stayed by the phone, Warren and I went about our chores at home in silence, each with our own thoughts. We spent a good deal of time calling friends and other family for prayer….that made us both feel better.
Tuesday, April 23rd was a long day. John previously said he wouldn’t call back unless there was a change one way or the other. I worked that day and went to a ladies missionary meeting that evening in a private home. John called Warren (at our home) to tell us there was improvement enough the doctors thought the crisis was over. When I relayed this to the group, we all had one big sigh of relief. Warren had called the good news to everyone by the time I got home. We immediately started making plans to go to Rock Island as soon as John and Barb and the baby were able to go home….and after Barbara’s parents had gone back to Mississippi (out of respect, so they could have quality time with their first grandchild.)
On the 6th of May we left for Rock Island. It was a happy occasion for us to visit knowing the good conclusion to little John’s crisis. However, now I was a little concerned about mom. When we told her goodbye I didn’t think she looked too good and she was complaining of being tired. She had tried to do some cleaning and wore herself out. I asked a neighbor to look in on her while we were gone and after supper that evening, they called to tell us they had taken mom to the doctor….he thought it was pneumonia and sent them to the hospital with her. There was nothing to do but get a little sleep and come home the next day.
I had looked forward to being with John and Barb a few days to help out and enjoy little John. It was not to be on this trip. We left at 8:00am the next morning and it was a gloomy drive home on a dark and rainy day. We arrived at the hospital by 5:15pm and found mom doing better. They ruled pneumonia out and treated her for a urinary track infection….she was hungry after being on liquids all day so we talked the nurse into giving her solid food. She was there another few days and released for us to bring her home. I went back to work the next day.
Mom’s 81st birthday was on a Sunday this year….May 12th. I fixed a dinner for the occasion and Becky’s and aunt Beulah came to help us celebrate. George called and planned to come on Memorial Day. Aunt Beulah stayed over with mom, and Mildred (aunt Beulah’s sister) came in on the bus the next day. Mom went with them to Arkansas to spend a few days together with lots of board games and cards I would imagine. They always had great times together.
The 15th of May I worked a half-day and Warren loaded the car and picked me up to make another try at getting to Rock Island for our visit with John and Barb. The trip seemed short after making it so recently and we arrived in good time. There was clearly a difference in little John in just one week….he was so good you hardly knew a baby was in the house…and of course, very cute.
Too soon it was time to get back to work and it was really hard to leave that sweet baby. John and Barb had everything under control and we left them with the confidence that they were going to be OK now. To see little John so healthy and normal was a great relief after the rocky start he got. You certainly wouldn’t know it now. We said our good-byes and headed back south towards home and for me…. work the next day.
They say “all’s well that ends well”……and this was one of those times that ended well.
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
