Going Home

What I am sharing with you are my thoughts and feelings during my circumstances. No one can ever know how someone else feels. Two women can lose their husbands at the same age, from the same illness, at the same time of the year, but their feelings are not the same. We are all individual human beings, and we process things differently.

Being discharged from the hospital was an overwhelming experience. Tears flowed most of the way home. There were times in the hospital that I thought I’d never make it back to my earthly home; it all was very surreal. Everything on the ride home looked prettier than before, making me so thankful to be alive.

I remember sitting in my living room the morning after going home. The feeling was so overwhelming that there was no way the events of the last four days could have possibly happened to ME. My house was full of flower arrangements from friends and family. There were bruises all over my arms from blood draws every few hours around the clock. It was enough to realize that I had not had a bad dream. This was very real!

My discharge orders were very specific. Rest for 8 weeks. What?!?! Eight weeks of rest for a type A person is an eternity! What in the world will I do for 8 weeks – oh, I remember – DO NOTHING. There is a strange thing about the mind. When we are busy we often wish for time to rest. However when given a time of rest, that brain inside our head can’t stop thinking about all the things we could and/or should be doing. If you are reading this and currently in a recuperation period, please remember how important it is to your long term health to rest and fully heal.

Greg and I are blessed with many friends in our community, and they showed up for us in a big way. We were blessed with meals, visits, calls and text messages for weeks. Going through this time made me realize how big our support group is and I am forever grateful for these people.

“Give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18