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Happy To Welcome You To The Hallelujah Chorus

I will exalt you my God, the King, I will praise your name forever and ever. Every day I will praise you and exalt your name forever and ever. Psalm 145:1-2

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

The Chronicles of Amazing Mema! #1

As we stumble and limp our way through life, we get to meet some truly amazing people along the way. They are the ones who will always be there to provide whatever we need to get over the humps and through the dark forests we all encounter. They are the ones who light up the darkness and come often to just sit quietly while we complain or grieve or rejoice. They brighten our lives with little thoughtful gifts meant to say just a word or two that we need to hear. They seldom or never complain, criticize or gossip about all the dirty laundry they have heard.
Hazel Marie Darnall Sutherland is one of those amazing people. She's also my 91+ year old mother. Her nine grandchildren and eighteen greatgrandchildren only know her as Mema. And, she is and always has been, pretty amazing!
This week has been somewhat bittersweet for all of us. One week ago today we took her to the local hospital on advice of her doctor. For several weeks she had been barely able to walk because of a swollen left foot and leg. She had eaten very little and only wanted to sleep, day and night for a month. We had an appointment with her doctor for later that same afternoon, but when the Home Health nurse came and saw how feeble she was and the condition of that leg she advised that we call her doctor. He told us to take her to emergency so they could evaluate her more thoroughly and quickly and then they would contact him.
They found she had a urinary tract infection, was moderately dehydrated and had a blood clot in her left leg. The doctor at the hospital immediately admitted her and they started an IV drip of antibiotic and saline solution. I truly thought she would likely not leave the hospital alive. From Wednesday to Saturday she barely was able to take any food or drink and still just wanted to sleep most of the time.
By the time my brother David and his wife Kim arrived on Saturday from their home in Minnesota, she was beginning to show signs of recovery. Our first clue was when she started singing, Each Day I'll Do A Golden Deed (A Beautiful Life). By Sunday she was sitting on the side of her bed feeding herself and talking like the Mema we all know. Yesterday, Tuesday, we moved her to a local nursing and rehab facility. She has been there less than 24 hours and already has everyone who has come in contact with her there talking about what a bright spot she is.
For most of the last 30 or so years Mom has been writing journals in spiral bound notebooks. I haven't actually counted all of them but there a many. For the next several days I want to share with my blog readers some of what she has written about family, friends, politics, God, church, neighbors etc., thus, The Chronicles of Amazing Mema.
Solomon wrote - "My son, keep your father's words and do not forsake your mother's teaching." Proverbs 6:20
God had this to say to his people long ago - "Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you." Exodus 20:12
"Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the the Lord." Leviticus 19:32
"Cursed is the man who dishonors his father or mother." Deuteronomy 27:16
And finally, Solomon said - "The eye that mocks a father, that scorns obedience to a mother, will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, will be eaten by the vultures." Proverbs 30:17
I want to share the heart of my Amazing Mema with my readers to honor her and my dad because they deserve all the honor their family can give them.
Please stay tuned! This will be a lot of fun.

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