Update on My Lifelong Friend

My Lifelong Friend returned home on Saturday, February 7th. She is receiving physical therapy and occupational therapy 3 times/week at her home. She will not be able to drive for a very long time due to the stroke and will have to take a driving test before she can drive again.....Help Me Henry.....I might be in trouble if I had to take mine again. When she was telling me about the driving test....I told her, and she knows, how much I don't like to drive....even as a teenager....didn't care for it. I taught all of my girlfriends how to drive my stick shift, so they could drive us around; because I just don't like to drive. I am the same way with talking on the phone....but that's another post. Anyhoo....I was telling her that if I ever won the lottery (which I won't, because you have to actually buy a ticket to win), I wouldn't buy an expensive house or a bunch of stuff; BUT I would hire myself a driver.....just don't like to drive. After we laughed at the image of a chauffer driving me and the children around in my suburban, I did tell her that even though I don't like to drive.....if I was unable to drive, I wouldn't like that even more. She agreed, and what's even worse for her is she actually does like to drive. Then we began talking about my arthritis....I was diagnosed with RA after my 3rd child was born when I was 34 years old. I was attempting to make the bench seat into a bed, while she was still in the hospital, so I could spend the night; and I was having some problems doing it. She asked me how my RA was doing.....I said it's amazing what you have problems doing when your pinky hurts, and we both laughed; because she is experiencing the same kind of thing....hers isn't really pain, but it's the numbness and lack of feeling at all caused by the temporary paralysis from the stroke. Then she began telling me how she was more nervous about having speech therapy than anything. The stroke didn't affect her speech much, but it affected her swallowing and some of her reasoning skills. She then said, "I'm okay with not being able to brush my hair or tie my shoe, but not with not being able to rationalize and reason." Thank the dear Lord that she was released from speech after a few weeks, because they felt like everything was fine. Then the deep discussion started....It went something like this....
Her....Who would have ever thought that I would be lying in a rehabilitation unit of a hospital?
Me.... Yes I know, everything happened so fast.
Her.... A few short weeks ago, I was living life in my usual way.
Me.... I know you were. Things can spin out of control really fast. I remember thinking to myself, over and over again, when my dad was diagnosed with cancer; and I knew that he wouldn't be there for our next Christmas....how much I wish I could remember every single moment of the Christmas before. Never in a million years did I ever think that would be our last Christmas with him. It has helped me not to take things for granted, but I still do take things for granted.
Her.... Yes like being able to cut your meat and put on eyeliner??? (She is not able to do that just yet).
Me.... Or being able to make a bed or tie a shoe???
Then we both laughed softly and seriously, because even though we were making light of the situation; we both know how much we have to be thankful for. We both know how easy it is to fall into the trap of taking things for granted, and we both know how great is our God!

On February 21, 2009....her son, Shiloh, will be laid to rest. Please be in prayer for my Lifelong Friend and her husband! It's a road they have walked before and is familiar, but it is not a road that they long to visit again!