Still a-bloggin'!

I'm glad I didn't make a New Year's resolution to blog every day! But you, my faithful readers are mostly family and friends who knew I was in Atlanta with Mama and the rest of my family. I'm so happy to report that Mama is again on the "upswing," having baffled the doctors once more. Her stay in rehab was brief indeed, as she was found unresponsive shortly after eating breakfast on her second day there. She was taken to St. Joseph's hospital where the expectations were grim. Her oxygen level and blood pressure were dangerously low, and we were called to Atlanta. The doctor recommended Hospice Atlanta, a wonderful residential setting. We arrived Sunday afternoon, the same day Mama was moved. We were able to sing hymns and other favorite songs and read scriptures to her, but she slept most of the time. Judy and Buddy tirelessly coaxed her to eat, and kept getting a surprising amount of food in her at each meal. She spoke off and on, and was often difficult to understand. Over the next few days, we began to see a pattern. She was most alert in the mornings, but rallied at mealtimes. By Thursday we were seeing a marked improvement, as were the staff. Mama was enjoying our family time, but we allowed her plenty of rest. She began to speak more clearly, feed herself for the most part, and appear more vigorous in general. She was able to sing "Jesus Loves Me" to both Jennifer and Amanda by telephone. We were a little surprised (we should know better), but really thankful, when the medical staff said that Mama was possibly improving too much to remain in their hospice! She will be reevaluated early this coming week and we will likely be able to move her to a skilled nursing facility that would be more geared to someone who's getting better. They'll get her out of the room more for a change of scenery and more variety of activities. As Judy and I drove home yesterday, Buddy called from hospice to let Mama speak to me. Besides her "Hi, Ken" greeting, she told me about her lunch, how much she had enjoyed our visit, and told how much she loved us, our children, and our two grandchildren that are on the way. She topped it off with, "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!" There was no sadness in Atlanta this week. We had asked only that the Lord do His will, and that seems to be what He's doing. I told Judy today that it's almost like God has said to her, "Anne, my child, I'm ready for you anytime, and I've already given you several chances to join our heavenly family up here. But I'm not in any hurry if you're not, so stay as long as you like." I plan to make another visit soon, God willing. As long as Mama holds out hope for another visit to Ryan's Steak House and The Varsity, she could be with us a long, long time. Whatever the coming days hold, our family will cherish every moment!

Thank you for all the good prayers that have gone up for us and Mama. They have been heard and answered. We appreciate you all and would like to pray for you when you and your family go through times like these. Whenever I'm in Atlanta I'll be away from e-mail and the blog for a few days, but I'll try to get news out to you through contacts at school or church.