I've decided to address this topic because there have been two very personal and memorial occasions that have impacted my life and have proven to me the power of prayer being answered. Before I get to these I have to say that I've never been one to profess my religious or spiritual beliefs openly or upon someone. I've always felt it a personal privacy and not one to impose on others. Let me say, I live my life the way I believe.
It's a fact of life that the older we get that we begin to see more and more of our friends and close acquaintances pass on. I've known several who took their life, many who either passed from physical ailment or those that lived a long life and it was their time. As mentioned above I'm going to focus on two very special people; my mom and dad.
My dad was the first to pass on at the age of 74 years. I remember that we were traveling to my brothers for Thanksgiving and on the trip there my dad had shortness of breath and felt drained of energy. He shrugged it off as nothing but it came back to bite him. After a visit to the doctor (forced by my mom) the next week he ended up in the hospital intensive care unit. He had had a number of mild heart attacks which had caused major damage. After stabilization, he was transferred to an upstairs room for about a week where on one occasion that I visited we happened to be alone. He had been told earlier in the day that he didn't have much time (maybe three weeks). He told me that he was too young to die and I agreed because he was a young 74 for his age (young at heart). He had made a decision when all this began to ignore his condition because he had cataract surgery scheduled and didn't want to miss it. Well, his decision cost him his life.
Given three weeks, he lasted a month (he fought death to the end, he was a bull headed survivor). I wanted to be close when the time came but I had job responsibilties so I prayed that if any prayer could be answered that I would be at his bedside when the time came. I was at a hospital for an inservice on a medical product I represented (about an hour north) when a hospital representative told me that I had an emergency at home and needed to get there fast. I phoned on my way home to find out that the hospice nurse (great organization) couldn't find a pulse. I broke all speed records to get home and ran into the bedroom to find my dad sitting up, all smiles, asking what I was doing there. It was a Friday at 3pm. At 7:30pm I was at his bedside when he had a massive heart attack. I was there holding his hand at the time. I got to tell him I loved him before he passed on. A PRAYER ANSWERED.
The second experience was my mom. As I've mentioned before, I had been a care-giver for her over the last 6-years. My mom loved my dad dearly and she grieved for at least 10-years I know for a fact. In the past years medical challenges, she always had the wish to join him. On February 14th of this year she turned 90 (yes, she was a Valentine girl) and we celebrated at the long-term care facility where she had been taken a couple of weeks before. Things weren't looking good so I prayed again that I would be allowed to be present when the time came. I really felt that she had a couple more years left but she went down hill faster than I had expected. On February 22nd I was called by the emergency room at a local hospital that she had been admitted and that I should get there as soon as possible. When I arrived, she was in the ER room being stabilized. As I came into the room the nurse said she had been asking for me and her best friend/companion Ellie. I could tell that things weren't looking well for her. The ER physician informed me that she had at most 2-days. I left to go to her cottage to fetch Ellie and bring her back with me. When I arrived the physician informed me that 2-days had turned into a matter of hours.
She was transferred to an intensive care room where she kept asking if I could bring Ellie to see her. As much as I pleaded for her request, Ellie couldn't be allowed into the hospital but if I could get her outside her ICU window then that would be okay. Things went too fast for me to accomplish this. On February 22nd, at 2:42pm I was at her bedside holding her hand and giving her comfort the whole time through the process of her peaceful passing. I was able to tell her I loved her. A PRAYER ANSWERED.
Both my mom and dad had lead very fruitful lives. I'm proud to have had them for my parents and will always have a prayer in my heart. I know they are together again and both live on in my heart.
A PRAYER ANSWERED ( I believe)
God bless and God speed
