My husband has another two and a half weeks of holidays this summer. Last night we talked about going for a day trip today to Last Mountain Lake as there are some friends and some areas around the lake we would like to visit. However, this morning we got a rather late start and we also realized today is Friday, so there will be maximum weekend traffic heading to the lake today on the two lane highway. We canceled the idea but the potato salad and sandwiches I made for the picnic area lunch will be just fine to eat right here at home. Rather than slough off the whole idea though, we rescheduled it for the middle of next week. If we don't reschedule we will continue to slump around here like a couple of elderly folk and then look back with regret once my husband returns to work. At least we have some plans now for next week!!
So today my husband is tackling some computer maintenance and repair chores and I will tackle the mountain of ironing I didn't get to yesterday. We will take a short drive across the city at some point to get a new back up battery for the computers as our old one just died after many years of use. Gotta pick up these odds and ends of needed odds and sods while my husband is still employed in parish ministry. A year from now it will all be over.
Last night I got a call from a friend who recently fell and bruised her coccyx rather badly. She already has mobility issues that try her patience and now she can neither sit nor stand comfortably. Having had the same issue a few years ago, I can understand that grabbing pain and ongoing, never ending, miserable discomfort that can last for weeks. There really isn't anything to be done, the injury has to heal on its own. She wanted to see me so I threw together a pan fry dinner, a tuna casserole and baked a fruit pudding to take over and save her husband the hassle of making at least a couple of meals. He is no cook, but he did try making soup last evening with some degree of success. We had a short but sweet visit when I dropped off the food and if nothing else I can identify with that level and type of pain. There is no pain killer that takes away that particular pain completely; not even with added codeine or morphine.
Another friend emailed from the hospital emergency waiting room in the middle of the night. She stood up from gardening in her back yard last evening, heard and felt a terrific snap in one knee and had to call her roommate in the house on her cell phone to get help to stagger back into the house. She couldn't put any weight on her leg at all. Unfortunately the x-rays she had to wait three or more hours for showed nothing but a bit of fluid build up around her knee, so she is struggling on today trying to work in her office while she tries to find out if she can get an MRI. Her doctor is rather unavailable, being in the preparation stages of moving out of province and not many doctors are taking new patients here, partly due to the 4th wave of COVID19 variants that is causing a great rise in active cases.
I got word as well yesterday of another friend who had fallen and caused himself great damage some months ago and who had a heart problem that was discovered as a result, and is now very ill once again, but no one seems to know how to help him. He has been in and out of hospital umpteen times in the past few weeks and has rather given up on ever getting any substantial help with his problems. He is in his 80's, so the situation is made even more dire by virtue of his age and his body's ability or lack thereof to recover from the problems without a lot of medical intervention that he isn't getting.
Another older friend who has been struggling with dementia for several years has now become violent toward her spouse and has had to be moved to a security facility. She has done extremely well even with the dementia, but lately it has become impossible for her husband to care for her at home. His heart is broken all over again to lose her from his care.
Yet another friend has issues with an infection that she has been on medication now for several months and has learned that she will be on meds until about a year from now as her infection is so aggressive and so hard to treat.
Other friends are dealing with recent cancer diagnoses, terminal in every case.....incredibly sad for them all and for their loved ones.
I am surrounded by people who are struggling with health issues, some older than myself and some younger....I am becoming most grateful for EVERY answer to prayer for these dear ones, no matter how small that answer is. I am more grateful than ever for other friends who ARE healthy, or younger, or active, or whatever other positive attribute or trait or condition of health they possess. Knowing them gives me the encouragement and the spiritual strength to continue praying with hope for the other friends who are not doing so well.
Beginning tomorrow we will have three more days of intense heat here in Regina. Then next Tuesday the cool down begins for at least a week or two. Knowing that gives me the ability to happily face the next three days of hot weather. There is hope!
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