I Am Saddened By the News

Today Al had an appointment with an eye doctor. Less than a month ago, I had taken him for an eye exam, and he had an increase added to his bifocals. About two weeks ago, he started complaining of blurred and double vision. We made a new appointment with a doctor for a second opinion.

I picked up Al and took him to his appointment.  He had difficulty getting out of the car. I am noticing small changes in his movements, and had been told that a large vein was now a culprit for him, as the muscle around it is being squeezed from the Parkinson’s Disease.

After the doctor examined him very carefully, he gave us the news. The P.D. is working very hard on Al’s muscles behind the eyes. The muscles are becoming weak and slower. Al can not move his eyes as fast as the brain is telling them to move, therefore, leading in to a stage of not being able to focus. The other thing the doctor said is that Al’s cataracts are now significantly showing. The doctor became silent, and then excused himself from the room for a few minutes.

When he returned, he said he had consulted with our own eye doctor, and the two said that Al could not have them removed. Al could not lie still enough for this delicate but easy situation, nor could he be put to sleep to have this done. It seems that Al has nothing to work with to fight this, and eventually he will not be able to see anything. I pray desperately for God to take him home before this happens.

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Continuing Story Part 36

The doctor came in and before he sat down, he shook Drake’s hand, and then sat in his chair. He told them that the surgery had been a success. He had been able to relieve the pressure from Dahlia’s brain, and she was doing fine. He expected the pressure to keep releasing throughout the next several hours, and that she was still a little groggy, but in about an hour they could go in to see her, but only one at a time, since this was a brain procedure. He didn’t want her to get overly exhausted, so keep the visits short.

Everyone got up and started hugging each other and patting each other. They each took turns shaking the doctor’s hand and telling him what a good job he had done, and that he was the best in the world. The doctor said that he had to get back to work, and that each of them could now return to the lobby, or go get something to eat and come back in a bit.

With saying this, the doctor walked out of the door, leaving the door open for them and they followed him and all went to the lobby, but no one wanted to sit down. Excitement filled the air, and suddenly everybody was famished. They made arrangements to meet at a local restaurant and so the ones that were driving,  piled everyone in and off they went to celebrate.

Drake did not go directly to the restaurant, but went back to the house, to get Drew, who needed to know how the surgery went and to be a part of the celebration. When he entered the house, it was quiet, but he found Drew in the living room, sitting in one of the chairs watching out the window.

Drake went to him and told him the success of the operation and Drew grabbed a hold of his brother and wept and muttering congratulations. He started to say that ever since he messed up, causing so much grief and pain for Dahlia and the others, that this would have been a fair punishment, if something had gone wrong with her, but Drake told him to be quiet, to not talk like that. He in no way blamed Drew for anything, it was the illness, not Drew. Now let’s not talk like this and instead celebrate. I have come to get you and you are going with me to meet the others for lunch. Drew didn’t fight it, and dropped his pity party, and the conversation  was left alone for good.

They met up with the others, and they each ordered. This was a place no one came to often, so the ones seated next to the blind ladies, helped them to decide what they wanted to eat. In no time at all the food was delivered and everyone dug into their plates. They had all pretty much ordered the same things, hamburgers, fries, and shakes.

Each were exclaiming how good the food tasted, that they had not had this good of food in a long time from a restaurant, but deep down inside, they all knew it was such a relief of the stress from the operation, that even a bowl of soup would have tasted fantastic.

As they ate, they talked about Dahlia and then they moved on to the topic of the wedding, and then the discussion was brought up about food. No one had the time to even think about the menu, because they all wanted to get back to the hospital, but they promised as soon as Dahlia was home once again, the menu was going to be the first on the to do list. After all, the wedding was coming up in a month and a half, and there was a lot of preparations that needed to be done yet.

Ralph and Rachel decided for this celebration of good news, they would pay for everyone’s bill, and so the others left the tip for the waitress. They stood up and walked out the door, and it was such a wonderful thing to see if you were a passer-by on the outside looking in, plenty of smiles and happy faces.

They drove back to the hospital and they all went into the main lobby. No one was in there now, and even the television was off. The receptionist saw  them coming in and told them what room number Dahlia had been moved to and that they could each go in and see her, but to keep it short, doctors orders.

They wasted no time and went to the elevator, and pushed the number three button that would take them to the medical floor. Drake and Rachel were the first ones to enter the room, and the others remained in the small sitting area for their turns.

When Drake looked at Dahlia, his eyes got very big. He was not prepared for the bandages and gauze that was wrapped around her head. Her face was swollen and pale. Her eyes were closed and she was lying very still. Rachel walked over to her and laid her hand over Dahlia’s arm, and she felt warmth, and she turned to Drake and said it is alright Drake. She has been through a big ordeal, and she is just resting.

Drake walked over to her and stood next to Rachel and just watched Dahlia sleeping. Although her face was swollen, he still thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Dahlia never stirred and so the two of them turned around and walked back out of her room, giving a chance for the others to visit.

With the looks that were on Drake and Rachel’s faces, the others became concerned that not everything was alright. They stood up and went over and began to ask questions, but Rachel assured them all was alright, that they were not expecting to see her in the condition that they saw.

One by one, each went to pay a visit to Dahlia, and the last visitor to pay a visit was Ralph. He had heard so much through the chatter of all that had seen her, that he wasn’t sure what he was in for, but he walked into the hospital room and saw Dahlia lying there. She just looked like she was asleep.

He slowly walked over to the bed and looked down at her. He was relieved that she did not look as bad as the others had said. He walked then over to the chair and pulled it up to the bed and sat down. Then a nurse came in and took Dahlia’s vitals and checked the IV to make sure the drip was going at the rate it was supposed to be, and she smiled at Ralph as she started to turn around and leave, and said Dahlia is doing fine, don’t worry, she should be waking up anytime from the anesthetics.

He was watching out her bedside window and then would glance back at Dahlia, thinking how fond he had become of her over the months, and Drake had made an excellent choice in his wife. He would be happy to have her in the family.

The doctor poked his head in then , and was just checking the reports of what the nurse had written, and then nodded to Ralph and turned back around to walk out the door. A stirring came from the bed and for the first time there was movement coming from this life.

She was coming around, and he sat up straighter in his chair. He knew that she could not see him, but he wanted her to know that she was not waking up alone, so he reached out and touched her arm, to let her know someone was there with her.

The nurse was walking by and peeked in and saw that she was stirring and so she was going to go catch the doctor and let him know she was waking up. Ralph coughed and a few tears were coming down his face, as he was so glad this part of her life was over, and from here on out, it was only going to get better.

Ralph spoke to her, hoping that she could hear him, and the tears continued to fall. He was telling her that she had come through the surgery just fine, and that she was going to be alright. She was a real trooper and had been such a great patient. She stirred some more, and then a few noises came from her mouth. Yes, she was definitely waking up.

He began to remove his hand from her arm, and her eyes opened up and she was blinking them rapidly. She stirred some more and then took her hand and laid it over his arm, and she spoke.

She told him with a groggy and soft voice, it hurts, it hurts. Ralph sat closer to her and tried to understand what it was that she was saying, and so he leaned in close and said I am sorry, I could not hear you, can you tell me again what you said? Dahlia repeated herself again, it hurts, the light hurts my eyes, cover my face.

Ralph’s mouth dropped open, and his heart began to race. She said the light hurts her eyes, the light hurts her eyes! Oh my gosh, the light hurts her eyes. He jumped up and patted her hand, and told her to stay right there, that he was going to go get the doctor.

He went out her door quickly, looking both ways for the nurse, and then found her and told her what Dahlia had said. The nurse in reply went to get the doctor and Ralph almost ran to the waiting room where all were seated. He poked his head in the doorway, and with a big grin on his face, he said, she said the light hurts her eyes!

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Continuing Story Part 30

The days went by at school for the following weeks and Dahlia found herself loving her assistance job of helping tutor the dance students. Her teacher said that she was doing great work and that she could see improvements in the students work.

Drew continued to have his headaches, some days were not bad and other days, he had to have a fill-in teacher replace him, as his  headaches would place him in bed for the day. Several visits were made to the doctor for check-ups for Drew, and the doctor said the same repeat words each time. There is nothing that he can do anymore but to prescribe the pain medications, and that Drew’s life was now in God’s hands. Each Sunday the church would pray for Drew and there were even special times when hands were laid on Drew for healing.

Drake spent a lot of time with his students and helping them to get prepared for final exams. He stayed many afternoons with students that were requesting help, and if he was not doing this, he was spending time with his brother Drew, trying to comfort him by sitting with him for hours at a time.

When Dahlia had spare time, she would get a ride and go over and visit with her father. Her visits at first were strained, but each time she went to him, she learned more and more about him and within a month, the two found themselves not wanting to leave each other. Her father asked her once if she would consider moving back into the family home, but Dahlia declined his request, stating she had school to finish, and that she was planning on being married the day after graduation. She also was planning on having a job lined up before school was over.

She explained to him that although the two of them had drawn much closer, she could not do as he wished, but she would continue to visit. The hours they visited with each other were filled with many questions and through these talks many questions had been answered.

On Saturdays, Drake and Dahlia went shopping. They had went to the church and asked for an open date for their wedding and asked the minister if he would kindly marry them, and the minister had agreed to both of their request. The two went shopping also for Dahlia’s wedding dress and Drake found a nice suit for himself. He was going to wear a jet-black suit, with a white shirt underneath, with a sky-blue tie. They found a dress for Dahlia, and she used some of the money left to her from her mother, and picked out a dream dress, every little girl wants.

The dress was virgin white in color, and it was tight-fitted at the waist. The dress was knee-length, and under the taffeta was layers of lace that was so beautiful to her touch. Covering the entire dress was baby pearls. The neck was a scoop neck line. The veil that matched was a veil that protruded half-way down her back. It was made of total lace and the head-piece was decorated in baby lilies, with pearls mixed in between the flowers. She had no need to have anything done to the dress as far as altering, as the dress fit perfectly. She paid for the dress and left it at the store for safe keeping.

Dahlia and Drake met up at the little town cafe after their shopping for their outfits, and they had lunch. Dahlia was so excited over her dress. She explained to him how it felt on her and how it felt when she ran her fingers over the lace and the little pearls. She said that she hoped he would love it as much as she did, and he said not to worry, he would love her if she wore only her every day dress. She smiled at him when he said this, and he reached under the table and squeezed her leg to let her know how much he loved her this very minute.

After they ate their lunch, he took her and walked her out the door and they walked a few doors down and he opened a door and told her to follow him in. She asked where they were and he told her they were at the jewelry store where he had purchased her ring.

He led her to the counter and when the sales girl approached them, he asked to see pearl earrings. Dahlia could not believe he was going to consider buying her another gift. She remained quiet as the sales girl showed Drake a few sets of what she thought he may like. Without asking Dahlia, he picked out a pair that he knew would look perfect on her delicate ear lobes, and told the lady that he wanted to purchase these, and he held the box out to her. She said that he had made a wonderful choice, and she reached over and placed her hand over Dahlia’s hand, and said, you are a lucky lady to have found a man with such wonderful taste, and this made Dahlia smile. She also made a mental note to herself that she needed to come back here on her first free day and pick out a ring for Drake.

The two walked out of the store hand in hand, the box in Drake’s pocket and each were smiling at the world and to them, there was no one else on the streets. They walked home and the house was quiet. Drake called out but no one answered. As he went through the house, he came into the kitchen and found a note for him left on the table.

It said that Drew had begun vomiting and there was traces of blood in it.They had called the doctor and the doctor ordered them to bring Drew to the hospital and he would meet them there.

Drake read the letter to Dahlia and he told her he needed to go to the hospital now, and did she want to go along or to stay here, and she answered quickly, that she considered him a part of her family, and she wanted to be nowhere else but there with him also.

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Continuing Story Part 11

Dahlia didn’t say too much or stand up and walk away, so the Principal took this as his cue to explain how going to this school could all work out.

He told teacher and Dahlia that there was a home within walking distance from the school, that housed a family of two sons along with the parents and that there were also four extra bedrooms that were on the back of the house that held students going to school. The principal had already spoken to this family about Dahlia and they had said they would love to open their doors to her while she attended school.

Her duties would include helping to take care of the daily chores around the home, help prepare meals and that each student was in charge of keeping their own rooms clean, and everyone shared the duties of laundry, feeding the pets, and cleaning the bathrooms.

Each student had curfews to stick to of when they had to be in at night. There was to be no smoking or any opposite males or females in any of the bedrooms. School grades had to remain above a C average,and graduation had to be completed. If anyone chose to drop out of school or were evicted from school grounds, this was an automatic dismissal from this home also.

After the Principal told all the information about the home, he looked at Dahlia and asked her if she would like to go look at it, she said nothing but did nod her head and ask when. He stated right now, if this would be alright with the teacher, and she nodded yes.

They all stood up and with Dahlia’s arm wrapped around teacher and her cane in her other hand, they all walked over to the house. The teacher was impressed by the looks of the big house. It seemed spacious, and was a big white house with a brick porch running all the front of the house. There were two porch swings hanging from the ceiling at each end. They yard was filled with many shade trees, and the yard was quite large and neatly trimmed.

The Principal knocked on the front door announcing their arrival, and the wife of the house, Rachel opened the door and welcomed them and motioned to them to come on in and have a seat. They all entered, and Dahlia noticed there were no rails here for her to feel her way, but her new cane could help replace the rails.

They all sat in the sitting room and Rachael told the teacher and Dahlia a little bit about herself and her family. Her husband’s name was Ralph and they had two sons who lived with them, that actually taught at the school Dahlia was going to be attending, if she liked it here well enough. Their sons names were Drake and Drew.

Rachael asked if they would like to take a tour of the home, and they all stood to follow her. They went first to the spacious living room. Dahlia could hear a television in the background and used her cane to feel the couch and three chairs. There was a piano in one corner, and the television was in the opposite corner. Next they went into the dining room where there didn’t seem to be much there but a big, long table with several chairs. This is where we all eat at meal times, and no one is to miss, unless there is a school activity that prevents them from being here, Rachel said.

Next they located the kitchen, where other students were making preparations for the next meal. The ladies stopped and introduced themselves to Dahlia and welcomed her to their home and told her how much they knew she would love it here, that Ralph and Rachel were wonderful people.

Rachel showed them the bathroom and there was a shower stall in the corner, and a sink and a stool. This was sort of a small room Dahlia thought, but there were several shelves lining the floor and rising up that could hold personal items for bathing and dressing.

The last room Rachel showed them was the bedroom that would be hers, if she chose to stay here. Rachel walked using her cane and felt the bed, she sat down on it and it was nice and soft. She felt a night stand next to the bed, and walking around the room, she felt the window, that was warming her face from the sun shining through. She felt lace curtains adorning the window, and moving a bit farther, she could feel a small desk and a chair. Upon leaving the room she bumped into a large piece of furniture, and Rachel explained that this was her wardrobe closet. All of her clothes would be hung in here and there were shelves built inside for underclothing and other garments.

Rachel guided them all back to the sitting room and sitting down she asked the teacher and Dahlia what they thought of their tour and would Dahlia like to live here while going to school. Could she follow all the rules and keep her studies up. Dahlia stood up and followed the voice of Rachel and placed her arms around her giving her a warm hug and saying she would love to come here to live.

The teacher patted the Principal’s hand and they both smiled relieved that this was going to work out. Dahlia would continue with her studies to be a dancer and she would also have a safe home to live that was near by the school.

The principal thanked Rachel for the tour, and said that the teacher and Dahlia would be back in a few days with Dahlia’s belongings.

They all walked back to the school, and once again papers were filled out for entrance to the school.  A paper with all rules was given to the teacher and a dress code rule paper. A scholarship paper had been given to Dahlia for attending a blind school, so there were no worries on payments, which was a big relief to the teacher and Dahlia. Soon all was done and completed. Dahlia would be starting this school next week, and a home had been found also. A call had been made to the teacher’s friend, and when the  meeting was done, they both walked out of the school and got into the waiting car.

 

Continuing Story Part 10

Continuing Story Part 9

Continuing Story Part 8

Continuing Story Part 7

My Continuing Story Part 6

Picture And Write It, Part 5

Picture And Write It, Part 4

Picture and Write It Part 3

Continuation of Picture and Write It July 22, 2012, Part 2

Picture It And Write It July 22, 2012

Continuing Story Part 7

The next day Dahlia went to school without any problems with her eyes, but when school

was over, she kept her promise to the eye doctor and paid his office a visit. He was expecting her and welcomed her in and offered her a seat. He finished up some paper work he was working on and then placed it in the filing cabinet and shut the drawers.

He motioned for her to come on in to his eye room and here they would take a closer look

at her inner eyes. She got up from her seat and followed him in. After making her comfortable in the vision chair, he explained what he was going to do and ask her if she was alright with this, and she nodded yes.

He walked over and turned the lights on the eye machine then got some plastic coated cards ready in front of him, and then walked over and turned off the over head light. He had her sit upright straight in her chair and fitted the machine up to her eyes. With his tools he looked deep into her eyes, studying the back of the eyeball. He had her do some reading tests and then placed a few drops of liquid in each eye, forcing the eye to open wider in the back of the eyeball, and then took another light and looked deeper in the eye.

After he was finished he turned the lights off to the vision machine, and walked over and flipped the over head light back on. He walked back towards her and she saw that he had a serious look on his face, and his fingers were toying with his moustache.

He explained to her that some of the optical nerves in the back of her eye were becoming weak and breaking off, causing the brain to not recognize what it needs to and she was beginning to go blind.

She sat there expressionless and speechless. There was silence in the room for a few moments as both were taking in their findings. The doctor went on to explain that at this time there just was no cure for this as the scientists have not discovered what causes this to happen in young people. She was going to continue to see less and less until one day she would see nothing at all.

Dahlia began to cry and the doctor walked over to her and placed his arm around her shoulder and tried to say words of comfort for her, but in the end, there was nothing that could ease her fear. She stood up and told him thank you for seeing her, and he patted her on the back, telling her that if there was anything he could do to help, please stop by at any time. His door was always open.

Dahlia walked home at a snail’s pace, chewing the information that had been given to her, and wondering what the teacher would say about this, when she told her. It then became quite clear in her mind that her dancing might be affected. Would she be able to continue her studies, and her dreams of dancing, and becoming a dance teacher? She broke into tears and found herself running as fast as she could until she reached her home, and throwing the door open, she yelled for the teachers name and went to the kitchen and fell into the table chair.

The teacher walked in and took one look at Dahlia’s face and knew something had gone wrong at her eye visit. She made them each a cup of hot tea and then sat down next to Dahlia. Small drips of tears dropped on the table and on her arm, and as she sipped on her tea, her breathing calmed a little. Being here with the teacher brought comfort, and at this time, this is what she was searching for, comfort and answers.

After some time went by, Dahlia explained what she had done at the eye doctors office and the results that he had given her. The teacher sat in silence for a moment, and then cleared her throat and looked straight into Dahlia’s eyes. She laid her hands over hers and told her that this was indeed not the news they both wanted to hear, but together, they would fight this, and they would work with what God had given her.

Dahlia looked at her and asked how could you say this, the doctor says I am going to be blind? The teacher stated that they will live on faith, and pray often, and they would ask God to guide them through this, and they would follow his words and directions.

Dahlia was not sure if this was the answer she wanted to hear or not, but she also knew that her dream to be a teacher was very strong, and she didn’t want to lose it. Together, they both got off of their chairs, and the knelt together, with heads bent, hands wrapped inside of each others, and they prayed. They asked God to heal this girl if it be his will. They asked for guidance, and understanding, and to make them aware of what he wanted them to do. They professed their love for God, and their desires for their lives. They asked to be forgiven for any wrong or selfish thoughts either of them may be thinking, and together they both said Amen.

The two rose and letting go of each other, they headed out the door and walked to the flower garden, and each picked a beautiful flower and then went to the porch swing and swung. The swing brought so much peace to each of them. It was like floating in air casting cares to the winds. There were many evenings spent on this swing, being comforted by God and nature.

They both realized that they had let time slip past their dinner hour, and so they got off the swing and went to the kitchen, but neither was very hungry, so they had a finger sandwich and a cup of broth, and then both went to their rooms for the night, each telling the other, that they were right across the hall if needed.

 

My Continuing Story Part 6