Chalk this one up as a caregiver\u2019s answered prayer.<\/p>\n
I just spent some time with parents and it was revealing in many ways. My dad, as I\u2019ve mentioned, suffers from a heavy burden of ailments that leave him in tremendous pain\u2014arthritis, spinal stenosis, neuropathy and all the indignities of a body that\u2019s giving up on him. We talk on the phone regularly but it\u2019s hard from long distance to know how he\u2019s doing. Mom\u2019s the primary caregiver and I worry as much about her as I do about him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m fine,\u201d she\u2019ll say with the sunny temperament that is God\u2019s greatest gift to her and one that illuminates everyone in her orbit. \u201cThe hardest thing for me is just to be patient.\u201d <\/p>\n
She\u2019s always moved through life at a vigorous clip and still plays a mean tennis game at age\u2026well, I won\u2019t say what age. In between tennis and bridge and meetings with her book group, she takes good care of Dad. \u201cI have to pray to be patient,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019ll be quite an achievement,\u201d I tell her jokingly.<\/p>\n
I was glad to be on hand for 10 days. I thought I\u2019d be able to help. I hardly had a chance. Mom makes sure Dad gets up, takes his shower, helps him get dressed. She gets him breakfast, guides him through some physical therapy, gets him the newspaper, reads to him, and waits patiently as he slowly, ever so slowly gets in the car. I never heard that voice I knew from my childhood, \u201cCome on, honey, hurry up.\u201d I never heard a complaint, never even a long sigh. <\/p>\n
\u201cMom,\u201d I said, \u201cyou do very well.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI do?\u201d she said with surprise.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I think your prayer has been answered.\u201d I\u2019m not even sure she knew which one. In the meanwhile I pray for the both of them, that Dad gets some relief from the pain and that the primary caregiver knows she\u2019s got four kids who are ready at any moment to lend a hand. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chalk this one up as a caregiver\u2019s answered prayer. I just spent some time with parents and it was revealing in many ways. My dad, as I\u2019ve mentioned, suffers from a heavy burden of ailments that leave him in tremendous pain\u2014arthritis, spinal stenosis, neuropathy and all the indignities of a body that\u2019s giving up on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":29947,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[375],"tags":[210,30],"ppma_author":[476],"class_list":["post-22607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-caregiver-stress","tag-caregiving","tag-prayer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n