Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness throughout the world.

Mothers Day submission

Special Prayer Request – Ginger Boda

May 21, 2006

Hi Everyone,

Mark and I got back from Arizona on Monday, after seeing his Dad.  Our visits to the hospital were bittersweet, I guess you'd say; Dad was in pretty good spirits, and we were so hopeful that the doctors could help him.  Bu he is on 5 liters of oxygen now, and three tubes are inserted into his left lung.  Still, more pockets keep bursting, and a part of that lung remains collapsed.

Almost all of the family was either there with him, or calling on the phone.  Plus he had many friends who stopped by.  There have been lots of prayers ascending on his behalf, and I want to thank those of you who continue to pray for Mel, as well as all of our family. 

We really have felt the peace and strength from your prayers.

As for Dad's health right now, the Cat Scan did reveal that his right lung, although not bursting yet, is in worse shape than the left.  It is swollen to twice it's size.  Therefore, the doctors said that laser surgery would not be an option.  Instead they decided that they would have to open him up next Tuesday to try to repair the holes in the left lung, even tho there are well over 25 bursts!

They didn't think the right lung would survive the procedure, however, not to mention his heart, and if by chance he did survive, he would have weeks of painful recovery with no guarantee that the whole thing wouldn't start all over again with his right lung.  He is in the final stages of Emphysema and there is no repair for this lung disease, really, so we were looking at Tuesday of next week as being the last time Dad would be with us. 

This morning, Dad decided that he didn't want to proceed with the surgery, concerned mostly about putting Mom through all that would follow, if he made it.  He also felt he was ready to go, if it is his time, but wants to go with dignity, not on a surgical table. 

He has asked the doctors to remove the three tubes that are now inserted into his left lung.  This will be done, but only one every three days, starting this Sunday.  They will clamp one tube, xray the lung Sunday and Monday, and then remove the tube on Tuesday.  The second and third tube will be removed in the same manner, consecutively.  This could go on all next week. The doctors will administer medication to help Dad fall asleep if the struggle becomes too painful, because he would be drowning in the fluid that builds.  We do not want him to suffer, so this is the only way to help him.  The hard fact is, we are having to say good bye. 

Dad broke down this morning as he lovingly talked to Mom, and that hurts to even think about.  We have never seen him cry.  He knows he is dying and will not be going home.  Mark's sister, Renee, is there and she had time with him, and this weekend, Mark will call his Dad again too.  While we were there with him last week, our daughter Alisha had a really good visit with her Grandpa, asking him all about his time in the Navy, and how he met Grandma again, and all kinds of stories.  They talked about God quite a lot, too.  When Dad fell asleep holding her hand for 20 minutes, she just sobbed, but then a quiet peace came over her as she felt the Lord telling her that "it will be all right, he is going to a better place ... this is only a shell we live in, and he has had a long good life."  Finally she was able to say good bye to her Grandpa. Alisha probably got more "closure" than most of us, I believe. 

This has been an emotional rollercoaster, as the doctors never quite tell you what is really happening.  But now we know, and in the end, I pray for that same peace to come to Mom and Renee and Mark and Steve, and especially to Dad.  It really is hard to let go.  I for one, have had to say good bye to so many loved ones, and of course this sorrow is bringing back all of those sad memories of losing my own Mom and Dad, but right now I need to be strong for my husband. 

So I am still asking if you will pray.  Please pray for what Dad has to go through, and pray that he feels no fear or pain.  Pray for Mark's Mom, as she is pretty fragile right now too.  She has leukemia and is most likely in one stage of Emphysema as well.  She and Dad have been married for well over 50 years and this is going to be so difficult for her.  And please pray that Mark and his Dad get to "really talk" before the Lord takes Mel away. will you?  Our visit last week was so full of false hope and denial, that so much was left unsaid.

Again, I thank you for your emails and prayers and support.  I can't tell you what that means to us.  I will keep you updated, as you have asked, and I do appreciate you letting me ramble on like this. 

One thing that keeps coming to our minds is the truism that no matter what year you were born, or what year you die, it is ultimately the "dash" that you lived in between, that counts.  I pray that each of us remember to try to speak with kindness, listen with patience and understanding, feel with compassion of the heart, touch with tenderness, and always try to "see the Rose on the table ... rather than the dust."  My prayer is that we truly learn to give more than we take, and in the end, may we be remembered, for a "dash" -- that was full of love. 

God bless you for taking the time to care and to pray.  I will keep you updated.

Love, Ginger

Rhymerbabe@aol.com
httpwww.daily-blessings.com/bless392.htm/What Counts://