A Late Night Phone Call

Last night just as I was falling asleep, my brother, Mark called. When you hear the phone ring at 11:10 pm it is never a good thing. He then told me that my dad had fallen and was at the Emergency Room in Astoria. Evidentally Mark had been trying to get ahold of my dad for two hours on the phone and no one answered (Mark was in Utah). He finally decided to call the police and asked them to check in on him. Somehow it was determined that he was in the ER and that he had dislocated his shoulder and had a nasty cut on his head that required stitches. Mark then told me that my other brother, Kirk, was on his was to Astoria to stay with my dad until we could decide what to do. (Kirk lives in St Helens, about 1 1/2 hours away).

What an awful nights sleep I had. I was worried about my dad and here I was hundreds of miles away and all I could do for him was say many prayers and shed many tears. What a horrible, helpless feeling.

This morning Mark called back to give us an update. It appears that dad will need someone to care for him for a while. His shoulder is taped to his torso and he can't even get out of a chair without some kind of help. He has requested me to come help him, so it looks like I am hopping onto another plane sometime in the next couple of days to help him out. Now I know why my mom and I were stopped from making our little trip to Oregon.

Heavenly Father knew that I could not have physically endured so much stress in such a short amount of time. If I had traveled with my mom and Aunt Karen I would have been wiped out by just taking care of them. Each of them have physical limitations that would have made that trip hard. Heavenly Father knew that I would be heading back to Astoria to take care of my father as soon as I had returned and that I would need all my strength just for that task. It appears now that we may actually be moving him permantly to some kind of assisted living facility in Utah (fingers crossed). This is going to be a very exhausting process. He has so much in his little apartment that it makes my head hurt just thinking of moving him.

How grateful I am for a father in heaven who knows all...beginning from end. And while the task ahead of me seems rather difficult, I know that both me and my dad will be strengthened by Him and that all will be well.