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Post by dwhill7478 on Aug 11, 2008 8:24:19 GMT -5
Dear Waltons fans family,
I know this message should probably go somewhere else on the site but I decided to put it here thinking that more people might read it. I haven't posted in a while because for the past three weeks or so my wife and I have been living in a hospital room in Suffolk, Va., trying to help my mother recover from pneumonia. She is 94 years old. After a week in the hospital, the doctors said her lungs were clearing but she didn't appear to be getting any better. She pulled out her IV tube in her sleep and because her veins are so small and fragile, they couldn't find a place to reinsert it properly where it would stay in. Both her arms were covered in black and blue bruises from the attempts. We couldn't tie her arms down because her skin is so thin that the friction literally would have torn her skin to pieces. The only two alternatives were a stomach tube that would be surgically inserted to provide a place for nutrition and medication to be given (my mom had said years ago she never wanted anything like this) or a feeding tube into the stomach through the nose. In her weakened state, she didn't understand what we were trying to do for her and she fought it strenously but I knew if we didn't get nutrition and medication into her she wouldn't have a chance to fight off the remaining infection. Finally, on the fourth try, we got the feeding tube into her stomach. After six days of being fed and receiving medication through the tube, she still was not getting any stronger. Doctors and the speech therapist recommended that we remove the feeding tube as it was making Mama very uncomfortable after six days. Our family cried because we knew the doctors were saying they could do nothing else for Mama and without food she couldn't survive long. Finally, on Thursday evening, July 31, the speech therapist removed the feeding tube. (A speech therapist was involved because Mama's dementia prevented her, or so we thought, from remembering how to chew and swallow food. She had recommended the feeding tube.) Before her tube was removed, Mama's fever had shot up to 103 degrees and my wife, brother and I were keeping cold compresses on her forehead, wrists, and throat. Once the tube was removed, we prayed as a family and with some friends who were present that the Lord's will be done. Within six hours her fever had gone done and she became more alert. My wife began putting water on little sponges (the nurses use these to clean out patients' mouths when they are dry) and Mama began to suck the water from the sponges. We gave her water as long as she would take it. We did the same for the next three days. All she had was water from those sponges for three days. We called the speech therapist back in to perform an assessment of Mama's ability to swallow. She began to swallow baby food that the speech therapist gave her and became more alert. We continued this for two more days. The following Tuesday, Mama was released from the hospital and we took her back to the nursing home where she lives near my brother and sister. She began to eat pureed food with the help of the speech therapist at the nursing home and is continuing to get a little stronger each day with the Lord's help. This was the second time within four months that my mother had contracted pneumonia. She's had it three or four times in her life and is prone to it, the doctors say.
To those members of the Waltons family who believe in the Lord and the power of prayer, I am respectfully asking that you include Elizabeth Langston Hill in your prayers. Please pray that she will continue her recovery and that the Lord will continue to strengthen her and bless her as He has done for nearly 95 years.
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Post by Ryan James on Aug 11, 2008 15:18:59 GMT -5
I'm sorry to hear about your mother. I hope she is doing better now and that she gets well soon. RYAN J.
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Post by Brenda on Aug 11, 2008 17:07:04 GMT -5
Your mother is in my prayers. Please continue to update us on her condition.
Brenda
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Post by bulldog1967 on Aug 11, 2008 17:24:29 GMT -5
I will be praying for your mom
Aubrey
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Post by lorijean on Aug 11, 2008 19:28:07 GMT -5
I will say a prayer for Elizabeth Langston Hill and also for her devoted family! Lori
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Post by Tracey on Aug 11, 2008 20:23:46 GMT -5
My prayer goes out to you and your family..
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kayen78
Typesetter
And Me, Harlow Wilcox by Kristi Zanker Nostalgia Digest (Spring, 2017)
Posts: 79
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Post by kayen78 on Aug 11, 2008 20:42:00 GMT -5
I will keep your mother, you and your family in my thoughts and prayers. -Kristi
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Post by sbradbury on Aug 11, 2008 22:58:46 GMT -5
You can count on me! Jesus knows her best and will care for her like noone else! I pray the Lord will give your family comfort and peace knowing he is in control.
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thice
Reporter
Posts: 108
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Post by thice on Aug 12, 2008 6:35:27 GMT -5
I will keep your mom and your family in my prayers. Teresa
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Post by dwhill7478 on Aug 12, 2008 7:29:32 GMT -5
To Ryan James, Brenda, bulldog1967, lorijean, Tracey, kayen78, sbradbury, and thice:
On behalf of my mother and our family, I want to express our deep gratitude and indebtedness to each of you for your prayers and kind words. Please know that the tears I'm shedding right now are an expression of that gratitude. I will pray that the Lord will continue to bless each one of you.
To Brenda:
Thank you for allowing me to post my message here. Without your work and dedication this would not have been possible. May God bless you.
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Post by chrisusa on Aug 14, 2008 10:45:28 GMT -5
I will say prayers for your Mother and for your family.
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Post by dwhill7478 on Aug 15, 2008 11:50:19 GMT -5
Thank you chrisusa. We are deeply grateful.
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Post by dfnmeows44 on Aug 20, 2008 19:53:40 GMT -5
I have and will continue to pray for your mother
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Post by robbie on Aug 20, 2008 20:01:37 GMT -5
sorry about your mother i will pray for her
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Post by dwhill7478 on Aug 21, 2008 16:41:06 GMT -5
To dfnmeows44 and robbie:
Thank you both for your prayers on behalf of my mother. It means more to me and my family than I can express.
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