Here We Go Again

My dad is in the hospital. And not for his hernia. (he is the one in "The Dream" who had to have emergency surgery, but hasn't yet.) Last night I was called to come and pick my parents up and take them to the ER. Dad was not feeling well. As it turned out, he has gall stones, including one large one that is blocking the pancreatic duct and has caused pancreatitis. They admitted him and got him started on anti-biotics to fight the infection. Once that is under control, I guess they remove the stone and then remove his gall bladder. His hernia surgery will have to wait. In the meantime, Mom has x-rays and treatments to go to.(lung cancer) I am basically living with her while Dad is gone. Poor Jim is handling our home and children. He deserves a medal. Or a beer. Or both.

Abba, help!

Sarah's Garden

The nice folks at Thomas Nelson Publishers sent me a free copy of Sarah's Garden by Kelly Long to review.

It's been a crazy summer, as you know, so while I read this book a few weeks ago, it has sat on my coffee table ever so kindly reminding me of my duty to publish a review.

Sarah King is a shy Amish girl who is given the job of running her family's produce stand. About the time she takes over this job from her sister, a new neighbor moves in. Grant Williams is the new veterinarian in town and he is attracted to Sarah and visa versa. Family members notice Sarah's interest and try to warn her against falling for this "english"man. Meanwhile, Grant tries to temper his own interest. When Grant mysteriously disappears from the area, Sarah tries to forget him and move on. In the interim, a series of arsons plague the Amish community, including the ready-to-harvest fields of Sarah's family. Before too long, Grant returns with a big surprise for Sarah.

This was an easy, pleasant read that follows a predictable course. However when your own personal life has become quite unpredictable, that isn't a bad thing at all. I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it for a break from real life.

A Dream

At the beginning of this summer, before all the madness began, I had a dream. I don't remember most of the dream, only the part just before it woke me up, but somehow, someway I ended up on top of one of those hydraulic car lifts that mechanics use to work on cars. As I have mentioned here once or twice, I am terrified of heights and in my dream, I was petrified to be alone in the middle of one of those raised lifts. And of course, since it was a dream, it was raised to an impossible, dizzying level - far, far above the ground below. In my fear, I looked up to heaven and yelled "Abba! Help!" And then I woke up. As I mused over my dream, I wondered about my unconscious choice for a cry. Never have I referred to God the Father as "Abba" or "Daddy" or "Papa". I have always prayed to him as "Father". The dream stayed with me as I pondered and wondered.

Soon things began to happen. As I have alluded to here, a close family member was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer that has spread into the bones. An 11 day hospital stay and two surgeries later, chemotherapy has began and it is hopeful that it will end in remission. Another close family member needed to have emergency surgery, but an abnormal EKG has postponed that until the heart issues are addressed. Another close family member was told to have a node checked out and tests are pending. My lymphocyte levels have been low for months and to top it all off, my usual back problems have been a problem since late May. It took 6 weeks to get an appointment for a cortisone shot, which was this morning. What should have been routine turned more complicated with an accidental puncture of the dura mater and a leak of cerebral spinal fluid. I was told to spend the day flat on my back to avoid the HEADACHE and drink lots of caffeinated fluids. Caffeine stimulates the production of CSF, I guess. So it just keeps coming. And coming. And coming. Add all of that to the usual stuff that happens, like fender benders, plumbing failures and a mouse in the laundry and I'm feeling overwhelmed.

Abba! Help!