Friday, October 30, 2009


I waited patiently upon the LORD;


he stooped to me and heard my cry.

 He lifted me out of the desolate pit, out of the mire and clay;

he set my feet upon a high cliff and made my footing sure.

He put a new song in my mouth,

a song of praise to our God;

many shall see, and stand in awe,

and put their trust in the LORD.

-- from Psalm 40

4 comments:

Deb said...

I have a difficult task ahead of me... yesterday we had to tell my mother-in-law that she has a brain tumor. It's called malignant glioma... the same kind of brain tumor that Edward Kennedy had, and that Robert Novak is being treated for now.

A recent fall, coupled with stroke-symptoms (right sided weakness, inability to walk) resulted in a trip to the ER. A head CT showed a lesion in her left frontal lobe. A neurosurgeon was consulted, who ordered an MRI of her head and neck... and that showed the mass. Based on its size and her symptoms it is almost 100% likely to be a malignant glioma.

Compounding all of this is that she is now positive for MSRA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) which is not responsive to antibiotics. This is a woman who doesn't like to take an aspirin for her arthritis and is persnickety about her personal hygiene!

The MSRA means we can't do a biopsy until we know for certain that the infection is healed. To take her for brain surgery when she is already infected spells pneumonia. In the mean time, she can't walk, can't talk clearly, and is having seizures.

My husband is an only child. My father-in-law passed away in 2002. My mother-in-law lives in an extended care village (her own apartment) and has been driving, walking, doing her laundry, etc... until she didn't feel well this week.

My MIL has also been a difficult person to get along with. She badgers my kids. She constantly criticizes me. And lately, she has been downright nasty to live with. SO we are struggling with guilt (natch) because she is so difficult. But now her emotions and her moods make sense. The lesion is in the emotional center of her brain...

SO - pray for us to know how to get her into the right kind of care. Pray that we stay malleable and touched by God to be compassionate (this is as hard or harder for my husband than for me.) Pray for our girls who are taking it really hard.

I can't publicly post about this because I respect her privacy and my husbands... but let me tell you, it is driving me to my knees...

thanks
deb

Jennifer Garrison Brownell said...

oh, debra. I will be praying for you...

Dr. Laura Marie Grimes said...

Oh, Deb, I am so very sorry...And I know the complicated emotional landscape that comes with this kind of relationship.

Lots of prayers for you and her and all concerned.

Mary Beth said...

Praying for you and your family, Deb.