Weekend

It's 9pm Sunday night, and what a weekend it has been. I never would have dreamed that this would have happened.

We left for Missouri early Wednesday morning. I slept and did homework. We had a good trip. All the family was there when we arrived. My uncle had brought ping pong, pool and air hockey tables and we decided to have tournaments. We bought posterboard for the rankings and prizes for the champions. We drew names and fit everybody in for each of the games. We were having a great time playing and being together. Thanksgiving Day, we had a feast, and enjoyed cheesecake for my birthday cake. Friday - Brenda, Dee, and I organized some of Grandma's cabinets. We made a couple trips to Wal-mart. That evening some of us were working on the tournaments. I was reffing Ping-Pong. Grandma and my cousin was playing. Grandma was doing really well. She had already played air hockey (and loved it) and had played pool. She had lost one game of ping pong (but still had done good). I believe she had just tied up the second game when she went for the ball and fell and just laid there moaning. It hurts me to write about it now. Quickly my aunt Tricia, a nurse, came in and told us to get blankets and to call 911. Grandma was still moaning and it looked like she fell on her arm - she could still move her fingers. A volunteer fire squad responded first. Then the ambulance finally came. There was a big rush as we decided who was going and getting the vital documents and clothes for Grandma. I sat on the swing outside in the cold holding my two younger cousins as we watched the nightmare. I prayed. I was scared. I was sad.

That night we brought in a TV from the camper and watched August Rush while we waited for news. It helped distract us for a while. We cleaned the house - anything to get our minds off it for awhile. There was a lot of worried glances and troubled hearts. Grandma and Grandpa live 1 1/2 hours from the nearest family members. We've already been talking to them, trying to convince them to move closer. They have so much stuff in the house and the barn - so much stuff.

Later that night, we heard that Grandma had gotten Xrays and they were releasing her. It was a holiday weekend. She couldn't get into the doctor until Monday. They came home with her about 2:30 in the morning and got her situated in a recliner. I went to bed soon after.

Saturday, I got up around 11 a.m. Grandma was sleeping, but she had vomited in the night. Saturday was hard. She would eat, but anytime she got up to walk around, she would vomit. Those memories of my very sick Grandma will stick with my for some time, I'm sure.

I remember my aunt Brenda, papers spread out before her, calling people, trying to figure out insurance stuff, trying to get advice as to what was best.

We debated on whether to take her back to the ER - the vomiting, nausea, pain. Finally we decided to keep her unless things got decidedly worse. After several bouts of nausea and vomiting, Grandma's doctor friend wrote her a prescription for different pain medicine and nausea medicine. My dad and uncles and aunt Tricia met the dear angel doctor at Walgreens to get the medicine. He even took them to the hospital to see the X rays. No wonder Grandma was in pain. She had fractured her humerus and had a bone spur a piece was pressing on a nerve- I don't know what else but it's bad.

They brought the medicine home and pizza for the family. After administering the medicine, Grandma slept and slept and didn't vomit and was perky - she still has pain, but she said she feels like a new person.

Dad, Andrew, and I left early this morning to head home. We had rented a van and had to get it back to the airport by 8:30 tonight. Mom and aunt Brenda are staying with Grandma this week and hopefully she'll be well enough to go to my Uncle Dewayne and Aunt Dee's house in Oklahoma this weekend.

Needless to say, we are all tired. Those first 3 hours on the road were rough for my dad - he was so sleepy. I couldn't drive the rental van because I wasn't old enough. But God gave me special strength those first 3 hours to keep me awake so I could keep Dad awake. I got a lot of reading done.

So here I am. Home. Mom's not here. I've got homework, errands, grocery shopping, Christmas program, night class. I'm overwhelmed. I guess the whole reason for this post is that I'm asking for your prayers. I need you to lift me and my dad (especially) up to God this week. I don't feel bold or selfish in asking, because the Bible tells us to carry each other's burdens, and how do you know if I have a burden unless I tell you. God has helped me and my family so much this weekend in so many big and little ways, I know He will not fail. But I do need your prayers and love and encouragement as I face this next week. Thank you, if you've stayed to read all of this. I needed to get it all out. I'm not sure how to end this but to again ask for your prayers and support. I'm sure I might be blowing this out of proportion a bit - I know I'm emotional, but that is why I'm reaching out. Please don't isolate me. Include me, support me, love me, pray for me. And perhaps sometime I can return the favor. Thank you again, friends, for listening and being there for me. I'm looking up to the One "...who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask and think..." (Eph. 3:20 NKJV)