UPDATE ON ANNETTE FROM KAREN
Hi Everyone:
Just returned from a 15 day visit to help care for Annette and wanted to give a little update, and let you know I’ve added new videos and tons of pics from the past two weeks to my facebook page. I think I made them all public – so if you are not able to see them, just send me a friend request and I’ll accept it so you can view everything on my site.
I went with the intention of staying for the July 4th weekend…but God had other plans for me. J It was an amazing, exhausting, emotional time and I just got home last night. I had driven up and my husband ended up flying in to drive me home…thank God! I could NOT keep my eyes open on the 13 hour drive home so it was good that he was my driver!
Annette is getting weaker, but she continues to rally in little ways back and forth… During the 1st week, we all said good-bye to her 3 times, completely convinced that she was not going to be with us the next morning. And then, she’d open her eyes and it would start all over again! J While there, we really have no concept of time, dates, schedules, etc. as everything is very much moment by moment with her. Her care team has grown to as many as 5 people at a time, as it’s more difficult to move her from place to place because of her frail frame. We took shifts during the day and through the night to care for her. When she sleeps, her mouth gets very dry so she asked us to inject little bits of water every 15 minutes during those times. She sleeps for 4 hours per night at most, so the rest of us get about 3 hours per sleep per night and then try to sneak a nap in during the day if possible.
Physically, she has become more jaundice, but her kidneys continue to function and she’s still able to use the bathroom herself… She stopped eating for a little over a day, but then started up again and has continued to eat and drink daily since then. She has her best time in the morning when she wakes up – where she is alert and aware and able to visit for up to 2 hours with all of us. For the rest of the day, she fades in and out – nodding off for little naps or just losing awareness for a minute or so before coming back to us. J It takes so much effort for her to focus – but she relies on the Holy Spirit to give her direction, literally every minute! She has a book called “Jesus Calling” that has a daily devotional reading, and this has been ministering to her and the rest of us in a powerful way. She likes to have it read to her several times per day to bring her back to the message and allow her to refocus her mind and energy on the Lord.
She now has the morphine pump attached, as it was getting difficult to give her the pills every 8 hours, etc. She continues to experience pain, but does not want to over due to the meds as it makes her groggy and more “out of it” as she says. She draws strength from connecting with friends and family members who come by to visit and be with her, so its important for her to be able to continue this as long as she is able.
She’s constantly worrying about those around her – wanting to make sure we are getting enough sleep and taking care of our own needs. She will apologize to us for being rude after she’s had a horrific night and not been able to get comfortable in the bed, etc. She feels bad for her “companions” - always a heart for others. J I tried to take notes and write down things she was sharing, dreams she was having, etc. during our time together. Her sister Joyce would like to write a book that contains little stories about how Annette’s journey has affected the lives of so many people; include sharings about her sufferings, etc. One night, Annette work up and said “Joyce – I have the name for our book. It just came to me.” Joyce asked what it was and Annette said “Suck It Up and Save a Soul!” We all just roared, but the more we thought about it, the more perfect it seems!! Annette has certainly sucked up a lot over the past 8 months!!! And we are certain, many, many souls have been saved in the process!! She encourages each of us to say “yes” to the Lord – no matter how big or small it seems… Any little “yes” can be used for redemptive purposes.
Her sense of humor abounds!!! She’s always faking like she’s dying or pulling stunts to make us think she’s lost her mind…and then, just when she gets us all sucked into it, she’ll flash that million dollar smile and open her eyes to let us know she “got us!!” She “exercises” by moving her lift chair or lift bed in every possible direction… She invited us to “hop on for a ride” on several occasions. J She’s pretty limited in what she can do, so any little change or adjustment can bring huge relief to her. A few times she just stood up and started “dancing” – moving a little to the left or right – just to get her bones to shift.
All of her brothers and sister Joyce were together for a few days, and it was wonderful to see the love they all share. Her brothers are so loving and protective, and you can feel her love & appreciation for each of them when they surround her. Two of them actually started spending the nights praying next to her and caring for her along with us all week. Her brother Dale is a physical therapist, so he has started to help massage her legs and work out the edema (?) that pools. It takes almost 2 hours for him to do one leg – and he has all the patience and gentleness in the world with his sister!! It’s beautiful to watch! Her baby brother Bruce is the prayer warrior – he sits at her side all night praying the rosary and other prayers on her behalf. It brings her great comfort to have him at her side, I can tell. Each of her siblings has been making sacrifices to help with her care or provide for the needs in some way. Joyce and Bill have opened their home to Annette’s kids, any friends who are visiting, and those who are coming in to help with her care… There was a constant stream of people all day – and as many as 30 in the house at one time. J Friends are bringing in meals during the week. Annette is staying full time in Portland , MI with Joyce now as it was getting too difficult to move her back and forth on the weekends. Her kids are involved in a summer theatre program in Portland – so she wanted to be near them as much as possible.
The children are doing amazingly well! But, their mom talks to them constantly about dying, God’s provision and Mary’s love for them… They are not afraid, because Annette is not afraid. They also have a very close relationship with Joyce – so it’s great for them to be in her home during this time. There is a definite spirit of joy and celebration in the home all the time! Annette’s brother Fr. Ron flew in from NJ and has been celebrating daily Mass in the living room for anyone who is around at the time. J What a blessing! She LOVES attending Mass, singing and praising. There’s a lot of musical talent in the family, so someone always has a guitar to lead the music or provide meditative background support as needed. J
The bathroom has become the “coveted” place to be with Annette. J Since it’s usually a 45 minute to 1 hour affair, she likes to have a little time of reflection which turns into sharing, song, celebration. J We’ve had up to 7 women in Joyce’s bathroom at one time already! Great acoustics, so we get the harmony going and it’s wonderful!! Ha! God has told Annette she needs to rely on Him and on the prayers of others for EVERYTHING at this time – which includes going to the bathroom… I must say, I would have never envisioned myself praying “for the poop to come out” before now!!!! We’ve come up with some very creative songs as a result!! I jokingly said that I’m going to write a little book based off this experience, called “Potty Praise”.
Every day brought something new… I wish I had a 24 hour recorder at my side to remember it all… Annette is truly Christ among us… in so many ways! She is helping each of us to recognize the Christ in ourselves as well… Her constant message is that God created us, and we were perfect at birth… There is nothing that can change that in God’s eyes. She wants us to realize how precious we are in His site. It seems that she has been given this time to be restored as well. For so long, she did not feel worthy, accepted, “good enough” – but now the Lord is showing her what a pure heart she has always had… She’s experiencing the love, affirmation, support, encouragement, that was stripped away for so long.
I could go on and on, but I’ve got to get back to the “Details of life” at present! I just wanted to let you know that she appreciates your prayers, love and support and invite you to look at the pictures and videos online. God has a perfect plan for Annette and none of us knows what it is! Each day is a gift!
Take care & God Bless! Feel free to forward to anyone else who might be interested!!
Karen
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