Heart Hope by Olga

If a hospital is supposed to be a place of healing, health and restoration why do they disturb you day and night? It's hard to understand why it is so very important that they check your temperature, your blood oxygen level and blood pressure in the middle of the night.  After one of those nights filled with numerous interruptions, my husband had enough. When they arrived in his room at 4:30 AM to draw blood, he clearly told the nurse no. He demanded that she return at a decent hour. She reluctantly said she would return in an hour after completing the draws from the rest of the floor. (Personally I wanted to get it over with so that we didn't have to wake up again so soon.) Although I know the tests and checks are an important part of the healing process and are necessary to make sure there are no complications that arise undetected, at the time they seem to be nuisances. However if something had been wrong, we would have been thankful for the monitoring c...

One word may seem so insignificant, but can make a huge difference.  Before my husband's surgery the hospital did the normal tests to compare his health with the previous tests just to be sure everything was all right to proceed with the knee replacement. The nurse called with the results and expressed a bit of concern over the glucose levels and was going to check with the doctor to be sure the surgery could be performed the next day. She said the glucose level was at 1000. That's when my husband began trying to figure out his own diagnosis through WebMD, a friend and his brother who is a doctor. They too all expressed concern and said that he should be in a diabetic coma with levels that high. My husband texted me to let me know that he was going to go to the emergency room. It was strange to me, since he had seemed fine when I left the house. He was fully conscious, up walking and talking, not seeming the least bit sick. I wasn't convinced that he ...

A true friend sticks with you no matter what you are going through. I saw that in action last week when my husband was going through surgery. Our friend opened up his home for us, since we were having the surgery done away from our hometown. But more important, he stuck by my husband’s side through it all. He waited with me during the surgery. He made jokes to lighten the atmosphere. He harassed my husband when needed. He sat by the bedside.   He laughed with him when appropriate. He helped with required tasks. He loved and he cared and so much more. That’s what it means to be a friend--to be with you through thick and thin, good and bad. Today is the birthday of that good friend, so I would like to wish a happy birthday to my friend and brother in Christ—Greg Brooks. There were many other people who also showed friendship during this time, through calls, texts and emails and bringing food, and stopping by the hospital. A special thank you goes out to e...

One of my neighbors periodically comes over to my house to borrow things she needs when her grandchildren are coming to visit. A couple of years ago, she came looking for a double stroller to use when they would be visiting later in the summer. Unfortunately I did not have one, but in the past have always given her what she asked for even if it meant my own babies had to do without. I had just had my Bible study group over for an introductory session and since she had expressed interest in attending one at some point I invited her to participate in the study. She declined, saying that she would not be available to come at that time because she was going to visit her daughter and then on a cruise then wrapping up the trip 6 weeks later.  It then dawned on me that since she would not be home for the entire study it might be possible to have some of the participants park in her driveway, because parking on our street is limited. When I questioned her about the possi...

It is April 15, 2013 and I awoke to snow on the ground, but what I failed to realize is that it would continue pounding down all day long and so a mere 8 hours later there would be snow up to my knee on the back deck with still more to come. Now to this Southern Girl April means that the azaleas are in bloom, the dogwoods have blossomed and the pansies are sporting yellow and purple flowers. It’s time to bring out the sandals and the summer duds, but not if you live in Colorado. Now to some people this storm is a great thing, since they love the snow even if the mountains are not still open for skiing. For those of us, with Southern blood in our veins, we might prefer to have warmer temperatures so in order to have a positive attitude I had to sit back and think about all of the reasons this was a good thing.   First of all, I didn’t have to be out in the cold damp weather, so I could just sit inside and enjoy the white scenery from my office. The snow pack will defini...