Writing Journal/ Blog ~NurseWriter~

The Love Club- Word count 626

08  I haven't had time to write as I work 12-hour shifts for the past 3 days, so I will try and make it all up over the next two days.

My mother is in California, visiting her sister.  The visit wasn't a planned one, as my Aunts husband died.  The whole thing is pretty sad, as this man was young and did not tend to his health problems.  He had a denial approach at his illness, I would imagine if he talked himself into feeling better he could pretend enough to get himself to work. The past two weeks were horrible; he could hardly walk, swollen from kidney failure and diabetes that was out of control.

My aunt finally convinced him to go to the hospital the day before he died.  They wanted to take him to intensive care, but he refused and by the next morning he was dead.  It is interesting to see how people handle illness, most would have wanted all the care they could get, but in this case I think he was still denying how ill he was.  That is one take on it and the other, I think his levels were so out of whack, in his blood, he didn't know what he was doing.

Over the three weeks my mother has been with my aunt, she has witnessed her go through the various stages of death and dieing.  Often there is shock, then anger followed by sadness, sometimes guilt associated with whatever you feel you didn't do that could have changed the outcome.  This is were I worry for my aunt, as she truly tried to convince her husband to seek help, many times, but he refused.  My prayer will be that she does not turn to a state of guilt and then depression.  Already she is having episodes were she is confused, gets headaches and then cannot think straight.  Kevin made all of the decisions in the home and for her to be able to think and decide is a completely different turn on life and having to do this due to a death must be overwhelming.

While going through all this, the church my Aunt belongs to has a ladies group called 'The Love Club'.  The leader is 85 years old and they have met every week for 40 years.  The group takes prayer requests, praying for the majority of their meeting and ending with singing songs together.  For 40 years they have written down every request and a reply or outcome to each situation.

My mother said it is endearing to see the enthusiasm in them, as they meet to perform a task they have been doing for so many years.  They were eager to share all the blessings that have come from this little gathering.  If not an answer to prayer, the least being thanks for the time spent in praying.

Did you ever wonder how many prayers pass through the airwaves of life?  I do.  As a nurse I see people reach out in prayer through desperation. I hear prayers of thanks to God when a life is saved.  I reach out to those that gasp, "Help me".... always offering to pray with them after we have given all the medication or treatment we can. 

I am a Christian, as I was raised in the Christian faith.  I still feel however that in each one of us there is a spiritual part of life that religion can not dictate or measure. I say this because God is here for us all, not for only those that believe as we do.  God, your higher being or whatever you refer to is always waiting to answer your call.  Just like The Love Club, sitting there by the phone waiting to join in asking for help from above.  Wherever you believe God resides, he is part of our existence no matter who you are.  He sits at the head of the table of The Love Club, just as he sits at the edge of our bed when we call out in need.