I believe in miracles! I believe in hope against all odds. I believe that faith is crucial to a life well-lived! I believe in the power of a testimony. I believe in LOVE! With my moms health declining, Ive learned so many lessons about the power of faith, prayer, resolve and enduring love. Last Wednesday, while away at a conference, I received the call that my mom was not doing well and needed to be hospitalized. If any of you know my mom, then you understand how much of a feat that would be. She fought not to be hospitalized. She procrastinated. She wept. She lashed out in fear, but we were constant that she needed to be evaluated. Its hard to respect someones wish to die when you know theres life within them, especially when depression can cause you to believe you should surrender when a ninth-inning miracle is still available. Last Thursday, with much coaxing, we got my mom to Clara Maass, which was victory number one because she wanted to go to Mountainside. But we werent satisfied with the care she received during her hospitalization in June. So off to Clara Maass we went. While in the ER, my mom literally revolted. She started refusing care and any basic treatment. But we persisted because I knew the choice was premature death. The nurses tried. The staff tried. Faith prevailed through the wisdom of a phenomenal ER doc who gently massaged each fear and spoke to her spirit, and ultimately, her son, The Bishop, whose direct words dared the tiny seed of faith within her. Admitted to the hospital, then we received word that Medicare had downgraded her status to observation though she had failure to thrive, was mere skin and bones and a feeding tube was being considered. But the floor physician, like the ER doc before him, persisted to find quality solutions for my mom. If we could get her to gain weight, she could live a better life with her Parkinsons being controlled. He suggested Kessler but Kessler rejected her. The facility didnt think she would cooperate or endure acute rehab. And, subacute rehab was out of the question, because Medicare had downgraded her status. With options dwindling, the hospital now pushing for discharge, and faced with a sobering reality, we prepared ourselves to take my mom home--unable to walk, unable to sit up in her bed unassisted, unable to do the basic activities of daily living. Still, in noonday prayer, I prayed for a miracle--an intervention! Then at 3:30pm on Wednesday, I received word from the social worker that Kessler had changed their position! Somehow, earlier that day when PT re-evaluated my mom (at my request and social work/case managements involvement), my mom took 15 steps. Those were 15 steps to a miracle. Now, Kessler believed that they could help her! But we faced another brick wall--my mom. She wept. She cried bitterly. She fought with every ounce not to go. She was scared. She was tired. She was hurting and only wanted to go home to her family but her fear and depression were speaking louder than the door that had been cracked for a miracle. Everyone tried to convince her. Me, the daughter-physician, her favorite niece, her sister, the social worker (who refused to give up on my moms case seeing the desperation in my eyes), and ultimately again, her son, the Bishop. He let her scream. He let her express her pain and fears, and again he spoke directly: come home and die among your family or go to Kessler and fight to live! Somewhere deep in her heart, she finally heard him and the voices of everyone petitioning her spirit over the past week. She admitted that she didnt really want to die. Merlene Pernell is stubborn--all who know and love her, we know that truth. She was willing to believe for a miracle with only a mustard seed of faith. Late Wednesday night, my mom was transported to Kesslers Rehabilitation Hospital--the best in our region and only 2nd best in the nation. People come from near and far to Kesslers with hopes of a miracle for healing. Now, we would be counted among that number. Within hours and days, my mom began to thank us for getting her to this place--a space to heal, to dare, to face her fear and to fight. At times still afraid, she hasnt wavered, however. Though she initially resisted, YHWH intervened and overrode her fears. He made provision for her through the love and tenacity of family and anointed doctors and vessels. Operation Miracle, Get Back Merle was in full effect. Tonight, I learned that my mom has a blood clot in her right lower leg! Now being treated, her outcome will be drastically different. Instead of risking possible death and complications from a blood clot that could travel to her lung or brain and do irreconcilable damage, she was still in the position to receive her miracle. Had we given in, my mom would be home--in a bed with a ticking time bomb. So, pray before you say, its over. Get the counsel of trustworthy family and friends. Hear those who speak the words you would rather not hear. This has been long but someone (perhaps you) needs to read this, hear this in his/her soul or share this with another. Bottom-line: Endure when youre afraid. Endure when it appears that youre at your end. Endure when fighting seems too much to bear. Endure until you know you have spent all of the mental, spiritual, physical, and emotional muster within you, and then surrender to your Elohim. There is life yet in my mothers body and we will stand guard to ensure that she lives until the very second that YHWH determines her story on this earth is done-----and not a moment too soon. I believe in miracles! #APrayingDaughter #SaturdaysAffirmation
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 01:02:48 +0000
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