I awoke this morning with that “sense of things not being right” and began reviewing events from yesterday. The previous 24 hour period was loaded with unwanted and unpleasant news.
First, my friend’s cousin had fallen for the umpteenth time and was having trouble breathing so she was taken to the ER. Her falls are a result of MS and Parkinsons. Her condition is getting more aggressive. After X-rays, and determination of more cracked ribs, she was sent back home.
Second, my pastor, who has been experiencing severe back pain and had gotten less than good blood work, was waiting for a diagnosis from the doctor when he received word one of his sisters had been taken to the hospital in Memphis and was “at the point of death” from kidney failure and a massive heart attack. (Next day - Got the information his sister died last night about 8:00.) He was only a couple of hours away from his doctor appointment in Paducah. When he and his wife met with the doctor, the news was anything but what we all wanted to hear - Stage 3 Multiple Myeloma. His treatment will be in Little Rock, Arkansas, in a hospital that is rated the best in the country for this disease. We are all scrambling to help him as he awaits for arrangements to be made.
Third, my friend got another call, but this was about another one of her former co-workers and dear friend who has been dealing with serious heart trouble for years. Her specialist is in Nashville and three of them take turns driving her for her frequent appointments. This time, fortunately, her husband was the one to take her because during the appointment the doctor discovered her heart was not getting enough blood flow and she was immediately taken to ICU, where she remains this morning. The outlook for her does not look positive. Last night, the prognosis was very grim, saying she probably would not survive. Thankfully, she is a very strong Christian, but none of us are ready to let her go yet.
Lastly, (and this is about me), while I was sitting thinking about all these things, plus another situation involving a friend of my son-in-love who was placed in harms way in his job and was forced to shoot and kill an attacker a few days ago, I was reading the posts on Facebook. One of them was from a woman who still has most of her childhood friends living close by. They get together often, take trips together, and have slumber parties, even though most of them are married. I must admit - I am jealous.
At least half of my childhood friends have died; the others do not live close and we rarely are in contact and that’s through Facebook. Not having any siblings, experiencing the deaths of both parents, all grandparents, and my husband, I feel a lot of the time, completely all alone. My son and daughter, and their children, have their own lives - as it should be. I have made a few good friends the last few years, but it is just not the same as having someone who has known me most of my life. There is no one to share memories with. Being an only child of two people who were also an only child has made me very independent, and people have told me that admire that trait in me. But - there are times when I wish I weren’t. Sometimes I just need friends to lean on. Sometimes -----
