Very few things happen to me that can really break my heart anymore. Life has not been very kind the last few years. I've come to accept that life is quite cruel as I lean on my Lord and Savior for strength through each day. Today is one of those days that kinda reached inside my heart and twisted till the tears came tumbling down my cheeks.
Let me explain:
I received some rotten news about my 88 year-old father today. The VA has canceled their contracts with Lifecare Center of Elizabethton, Tennessee where my dad has lived for around 6 years. (Of course, VA didn't bother to check with the Veterans to see if they'd like the idea. They just did it.) So next week they plan to move Daddy out of his familiar nursing-care center. I suppose if this were to have happened a few years ago, it would not have mattered all that much. Daddy was a bit more mobile and aware and even capable of adapting to newer surroundings. But today, my dad knows his present nursing facility as home.
He knows the nurses by the sound of their voices and the way they clear their throats, cough, giggle or sneeze. He knows the routine by the sound of the carts moving up and down the hall and the smells that waft through his room. He knows the custodial assistants by the steps they take when they walk inside his room. But the VA doesn't care what he knows. Next week they plan to uproot him and move him to a strange environment, with strange people, all familiarity ripped from his life.
Daddy is blind. He gets to the bathroom by knowing exactly how far to reach his arm to get to his wheel chair and wheel to the shared facility. He knows how far it is to his sink to wash his hands. He knows by the sound of his roommate's breathing if he needs to call a nurse. He passes the long hours of each day and most nights, talking with his friend, Avery. They know everything there is to know about one another. They've learned to live with one another's habits. And they pray together. They cry together. They rejoice together. And now Daddy will be separated from his buddy (whom he calls brother) he has had for over 5 years and sent to a facility filled with strangers. New nurses. New routines. New custodial folks. New food. New schedules. Everything.
I'm furious and I know I should not be. But my heart is grieving for him. He is 100% disabled due to his heart condition and blindness. You'd think they could let him live out the rest of his days where he is familiar with his surroundings. Daddy is extremely upset and wants to just die and get it over with. He can't imagine being where he knows no one. Where no one loves him as his nurses do where he is now. His wife is beside herself with worry because this is happening to him. She has to drive nearly an hour to see him when she goes to see him and so with the price of gas (it was 6.00 a gallon in E-town last week), she's had to cut back going to see him. And now VA wants to take him out of his home and move him along with 5 other VA patients. Pity them all.
Personally, I think this is cruel. Truly cruel. And I really could use your prayers as I deal with this. But more especially for my dad and his wife, Shirley as they cope. Thanks. selahV
