I love pictures; beautiful, colorful, wonderful pictures that tell a story, help with a story and just make the appearance of my stories overall better looking. But, unfortunately, I don't have a pretty picture for this story.
This story is about a family; a set of unemployed parents
sandwiched in between a retired set of parents and two children of their own. I
met this family through one of my children. My son made friends with their son.
Gordo, at 80+ years old, is the oldest of the clan. He is
retired, grandfather to the young children, and has been suffering from a myriad
of serious illnesses in the past two to three years. He has been hospitalized
numerous times during this period, in which he has suffered from strokes,
seizures, a serious infection, and kidney failure. He receives kidney dialysis
several times a week. I was certain that he would pass away on several
different occasions, only to see him rally, his vitals stabilize, a return to
lucidity, and then be sent home. When I think of these occasions, I think about
what my pastor, Rev. Kyle Toomire has said so many times in sermons: We need to
face the fact that we are not God, and then we need to celebrate that fact and
be glad that we are not the ones who have to make these very difficult
decisions.
In the past three months, Gordo was diagnosed with cancer of
the lungs and pancreas. I was sure that was the final straw. He would not last
long. It wasn’t that I didn’t want him to last, it is just that he had been
through so much. How much can one body
take? As long as I have known Gordo, he has been sick. There are others who
seemed to lead very healthy lives who have died since I met Gordo. And still he
keeps on keeping on. Then came the cancer diagnosis. And that is when this man,
this very tenacious man, decided that he was going to fight the cancer. See, he
had cancer years ago and beat it. In his mind, it would be just one more
hurdle. And Gordo, well, he is one tough man! So the doctors honored his wishes
and put him on chemotherapy.
Gordo and his wife have three grown children. All of them
have children of their own. One of the children is Missy. Missy and her husband
Tom live with Gordo and his wife. As many people are having to do now, they are
helping each other out. Missy helps to care for Gordo, and his wife and she
works together with Tom to raise their own kids. Gordo and his wife give Missy
and Tom a place to live, and help with the kids.
Missy and Tom have had recent health problems of their own. Missy
was hospitalized with staff infection this summer. She is better, but still has
some relatively minor recurrences. Tom has had these infections as well.
Neither Tom nor Missy are currently working. I am not sure
why. What I am sure of is that they are having a difficult time right now
trying to feed six people on the Social Security income of one person.Their conditions have improved but not
completely resolved.
Last week, things were operating within the status quo, not
going well, mind you, but staying even with the status quo. And the family car
was repossessed, while the grandfather was at dialysis with his wife. He and
his wife had no way home. They called a social worker, who helped them to get a
ride on CARTS, which is a type of low cost transportation system here. Since
then, Missy and Tom have been walking about
four miles round trip in the heat to and from the grocery store to get the
daily bread.(literally). They are receiving food stamps or Lonestar as it is called in Texas, to subsidize their
families meals. Without that, they would have been unable to eat.
A few days later, still with no car, and no money, they
needed to get the grandfather back to dialysis. But they had no way to get
there. They tried to call the Social Worker. She was on vacation. So, Gordo did
not receive his dialysis.
Several days later, he was throwing up blood. He now
qualified for an ambulance ride. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital and
put in the critical care unit. Gordo’s wife was having to depend on the
kindness of others to go to the hospital.
Things are really hard for them.
A pastor friend of mine recently traveled to Uganda to
minister to the people there. She speaks of the extreme poverty. She told me
that some of the women have to walk ten miles with a pot on their heads to get
water. We take water for granted in our country. She said that there are women
who hold their children while they die because they do not have simple
antibiotics like we have in this country or immunizations that would save
lives. Compared to the quality of life of the Ugandans, this family probably is
not too bad off. But my friend also made the point that living in the middle of the affluence in this
country and being in the minority of people having to deal with these kinds of
issues is difficult. It is heart-wrenching at times.
Missy told me that it is hard enough going through this, but
tempers get short because of frustrations and physical discomfort and fears
about what tomorrow will bring. She said that they are having to learn to walk
off when they are frustrated.
So, in the midst of the uncertainty, and physical discomfort
and pain, this family is living their love for one another in spite of the
difficulties. They are setting a tremendous example for their kids about
putting family first, and perseverance in the face of adversity. They are
sticking together, in love, in spite of fear about tomorrow.
Please pray for Gordo. He is a tough man. Please keep him
and his wife and Missy and Tom and the kids in your prayers.
I am glad that my son made friends with their son.
Amen.
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Thanksgiving Challenge and Joy Dare
Today, I am Thankful for:
283. Sickness-For Paul says that we are to be content with whatever our condition is. His grace is sufficient for me.
284. My voice on a good day.
285. People who respond quickly to text messages.
286. Blessings of others in our lives.
copyright 2012 by Kathy Robbins
