Moving On

Two weeks ago I visited one of our octogenarians who has been housebound for several months now. Up until the late Spring she has been amazingly independent, still shovelling her driveway and cutting her grass and driving her car. Then her body began to fail her in about half a dozen ways. She admitted that when I showed up at her hospital room in May she figured she must be on her way out. She recovered enough to go home, but barely, and the next few months were tough.

When I saw her recently she was unsteady on her pins , and anxious about keeping up with everything. Her son is very attentive, her neighbours are wonderful and her church family supportive. But she has a hard time letting others help her. We talked about her going to some sort of assisted living facility and she agreed that she should visit a friend who recently went into a nice place in Bowmanville, but I wasn't going to hold me breath.

Late last week she fell and spent several hours under a chair until a neighbour figured out something was wrong. Her son called to ask about the place we had spoken about during the visit. I saw her in hospital, once again, this time black and blue in body and spirit.

This is one of the hardest parts of my job. This is a person I really like, and I admire her feisty spirit. Still the time comes for all of us to move on, although its easier said than done.

We prayed for the courage to accept that change, but it is never easy.