the packing blues

On Monday morning hubby, sis, who has Mondays off, and I went to Mum’s to start the marathon of packing needed to move her.

It was obvious when we arrived, this move has taken its toll on her already. She looked exhausted when she met us at the door and just a little sympathy brought tears...oh dear... Also, she just isn’t feeling well.

We told her, sit, Sit, SIT. Let us do the work.

We got her enthroned on her recliner and brought her boxes to go through. Meanwhile while I tackled the storage room, sis went through the bookshelf in the small bedroom and hubby kept us in coffee and floor space by taking bags of garbage and recycling to the building’s dumpsters and loads of stuff to the MCC

When we left about 5:00, though Mum had held up pretty well, she was still uncomfortable, with a nagging dry cough and feeling extremely exhausted.

Yesterday afternoon she called me. She’s still feeling rotten. She described the symptoms and asked could I accompany her to the doctor, today.

After her call, I got out my medical self-help book and looked up "congestive heart failure". On reading the description, it sounds like mum has pretty much a textbook case. (And this is no surprise. Mostly, though, the symptoms are quiescent– extreme weariness, wheezing and shortness of breath on exertion, and fluid retention, kept under control with diuretics. However when these flare, like they seem to be doing now, it’s not a little scary for a non-nurse like me.) And it appears the best thing to do for this condition, after fluid control, is rest.

We were planning to go my niece’s wedding celebration in the Kootenay’s this weekend (about a 12-hour drive one way). Mum had originally planned to go with us. She cancelled out of that Monday. But now with her feeling as rotten as she does, I wonder if we, or at least I may not be spending the weekend camping out in her apartment in Abbotsford and, on this Thanksgiving weekend, eating turkey roll sandwiches while I take a break from nursing her and going through yet one more cupboard!

Or maybe not. Today she was feeling bit better. Now we’re waiting on blood test results to see whether or not we need to fill a prescription. Oh, isn’t it grand to not know what tomorrow holds exactly, and just trust the Lord? It’s not what control freak me finds terribly comfortable. But it is good practice in holding onto what seems to be the anchor verse for my life:

Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6,7 - NASB)