Mazel Tov Nana!

Well, today was Nana's birthday! She turned 74 years old. Not to shabby for someone who had polio as a child and wasn't expected to live. Then about 6 years ago, she got Fornier's Gangrene.(sp?) It involved a gangrenous growth in her intestinal tract that no one knew about for quite some time. We think it grew for years, but aren't real sure. Anyway, she got sicker and sicker, refused to go to the doctor and when we finally got her to go, she was about 12 hours away from having gangrene all over her body!!! She had 5 major surgeries in 4 days while they worked at getting all the gangrene out of her body. She tried to give up on us then....I begged, cried and bullied her into continuing to fight. (My mother knows YHWH but doesn't really follow Him....sigh, deep and heavy sigh!) So this birthday was kinda special. We got to keep her for another year.....

Then we took her to the eye specialist today, and he dropped a new bomb into our lives. Mom is blind, she can still see shapes and colors (sometimes) and really uses her hearing more than her eyes to figure out who's walked into her room....but today the specialist said her blind spots have moved to another area of the eyes. Of course I thought "HUH?" He then said her peripheral vision had improved! (For the first time in about 6 years!!!!) When we asked how that could happen, he dropped the bombshell. He's sending her for some more tests, (of course) but he believes she's had a small stroke. STROKE?!?! Her blood pressure is wonderful, she doesn't get any exercise to speak of (her choice....I've tried to get her to do more walking, but no go), her eating habits are bad on good days and horrible most the time.....but a stroke?!?! Sigh. It would explain some recent odd behavior. But a stroke also means we need to do something about her being home alone so much......the implications of this are mind boggling. So I reckon Little Critter, Dodi and I will do more to lavish her with our love.

For her birthday, we took her a brilliantly red mini rose that I'd gotten from a friend and nursed back to health. (It was kinda sad looking when I got it.....for her birthday it had one incredibly beautiful and fragrant flower with another bud on it! Yea Papa!) Also Little Critter and I made her some pretty cards on our Scrapbook Max program. Little Critter put her favorite colors, some lace (a big deal for a 9 yo boy to do!) and buttons and pictures of sunrise and sunset. Then he made up a rhyming poem for her. OK, the poem went like this:
"Roses are red, Violets are blue. You smell like a zoo, because I love you! Love Little Critter" Needless to say, Nana and I both kinda gulped when he oh so proudly read it to her. And when she started to giggle and tease him about smelling like a zoo, he pointed out it rhymed and he couldn't think of anything else!!!! So I believe I have a bit more work to do on his rhyming skills.....sigh. The card he made for PawPaw for Memorial Day was nicer than that!!!!! Well, at least the pictures and layout was beautiful.....and the attempt was honest and full of love....even if tact was missing. LOL!

So I pray you each realize how precious a gift Papa has given each of you when He gave you the parents you have. Treasure them.....they won't always be here. And I know my life will be sadder (perhaps easier, but much sadder)when Nana leaves for her home with YHWH. It's not just a commandment to honor your parents, it's a blessing! Shalom, Spitfire