Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Update and Dedication

My brother's surgery went as well as it could.  It took 4 hours!  He now has a concrete non-articulate separator in his hip.  He is not going to be able to walk, even with a walker, more than likely.  He is in for a long process of healing, getting rid of staph, and then having another surgery to take this dummy hip out and another prosthesis put in!

Last night at the nursing home there was a dedication service to honor the memory of Mother's dear, dear friend who died back in July.  He was a doctor and at one time had been the medical director at this nursing home.  They named the hall that Mother had been on for him.  Instead of the 200 hall they will now call it the Dr. H______ L_______ Hall.  I think it is awesome that this hall was named for him.  Mother would have been so happy to know it, too.  He is the one whom Mother dreamed about back in June.  She was crying buckets when I went in one day at lunchtime.  When I asked her what was wrong, she said, "H_________ died!"  Now, my mother was not one to cry over people's deaths.  I had never seen her cry even when her own parents, sisters, brother, or other friends had died.  So, when I told her that he hadn't died that it was a dream, her response was, "Well, it was a BAD dream."  I agreed with her that it was.  I relayed this story to Dr. L at church that evening.  He said he would go to see her soon.  He had polio that he contracted when he was in med school.  It was hard for him to get around in his wheelchair, but believe me, he did!  He was very active in the community, the church, and his practice.  He went to people's homes and had an office in his house where he would see patients after hours.  He had 8 children, whom I played with all my life.  I recently found and read Mother's diary that she kept in 8th grade.  He is on every other page.  He and my uncle were good friends, too, and spent the night with each other often.  They also grew up in church together. 
He never made it to visit Mother that time, though, because he had lung cancer (he hadn't told many people that he was sick).  He went into the hospital soon after Mother had her dream and died a few weeks later.
I was proud to be at the dedication service last night and to sit with his family.
I like to think that Mother and Dr. L are visiting together now.  He was about a year and a half younger than Mother, and he loved teasing her about this.  I guess she can tease him, now, about how he may have been younger, but she outlived him ( by  3 months). 

1 comment:

  1. what a wonderful dedication to him! I like to think that Dr. L and your Mom are chatting away in heaven too- and happy as can be ♥

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