Christ_empowered
Member
- Oct 23, 2010
- 14,242
- 10,722
Verna is my older, wiser, Pentecostal friend. I'm getting to the point where I don't think I always agree with her theology...but she's shown me, from a distance, what a walk with The Lord looks like. She's always there for me, always has been, and she's taught me so much.
Here's the thing. Verna's beloved, also saved husband passed away a couple years ago. They were close to the end. 2nd marriage for both of them, nearly 27 years of peace and happiness.
Verna's left with his pension and the nice house they bought together, which is good--God is kind to her. She had 2 children with her former husband, both of whom are now nearing middle age. The son is in her life, but he's wayward and it hurts her. The daughter has blocked her off Facebook, blocked her cell phone, and hasn't let her see her grandson (Verna's first great-grand child) since he was born about 1 year ago.
Meanwhile...Verna went into see one of her docs, thinking she was getting a bone density scan. She has great insurance...Railroad verison of medicare, plus a supplemental...so dude man hooks up a new, expen$ive, once yearly infusion for prevention of osteoporosis. The results have been...disastrous. Her family doc says he doesn't use that medication because he senses that its probably dangerous.
Her health deteriorated, rapidly. She's had 1 major (8 hour long) operation with a specialist that helped a good bit, although recovery was trying. For a while there, she was going to an oncologist so he could do iron infusions for her, because her hemoglobin is low. The family doc does b-12 injections, which has helped somewhat. Verna's also had to take double digit rounds of antibiotics for a seemingly chronic kidney infection, plus sinus issues and such. She now goes to a kidney specialist because her kidney functions dipped a bit low. Thankfully, she's not in dialysis-territory, but...another specialist told her that multiple rounds of hardcore antibiotics can cause kidney problems and damage bone marrow, so that's...special.
To top it off, she is forever pushing herself. She had been taking care of her neighbor's grandmother who is nearing the end of her life. Verna did not ask for compensation, nor has she received any. I thank God for putting her in that woman's life, because the grandmother has become attached to Verna, and Verna got to witness to her.
Her appetite isn't so great, probably in large part because of the heavy antibiotic prescriptions and stress. She has church friends from when she lived in Florida and some family around here, but...as is the case with a lot of people, she's found that a lot of the family is too involved in their own issues to get together and act like a family. Plus, she lost her older sister recently, and her youngest brother is suffering from Parkinson's.
--sigh-- She's a great mentor and role model and counselor. I mean "counselor" in the sense that she's a special friend who genuinely cares and counsels...for free...because she cares. She always takes my calls if she can, and returns them if she can't take them right away. We've prayed together on the phone a number of times.
OK. So...please pray for her. Please. I thank God that she has a good house with a very low house payment. She and Ronnie both worked hard and, despite his disastrous divorce, they were able to put down a very large downpayment on the house she lives in now, so the payments are lower than what she'd be paying for an OK apartment in that area. Verna cannot draw her social security (some weird regulations I've never heard of...), but she gets Ronnie's pension or...maybe its a railroad version of social security. I dunno. Point is...God has her squared away financially. Nothing fancy, but she's got what she needs.
But the stress of all this...once Ronnie passed away, it wasn't long before things started getting rough for her. Life is hard in these United States for an elderly widow of modest means. She's definitely of sound mind and sharp as a tack, but...physically, I"m hoping+praying for a miracle.
I don't know what one does about wayward, very adult children. The son is shacking up with a low quality, unbeliever woman who creates problems and misery wherever she goes. Verna is beyond hurt, and...I don't know what to say or do.
I've rambled. Please pray.
Here's the thing. Verna's beloved, also saved husband passed away a couple years ago. They were close to the end. 2nd marriage for both of them, nearly 27 years of peace and happiness.
Verna's left with his pension and the nice house they bought together, which is good--God is kind to her. She had 2 children with her former husband, both of whom are now nearing middle age. The son is in her life, but he's wayward and it hurts her. The daughter has blocked her off Facebook, blocked her cell phone, and hasn't let her see her grandson (Verna's first great-grand child) since he was born about 1 year ago.
Meanwhile...Verna went into see one of her docs, thinking she was getting a bone density scan. She has great insurance...Railroad verison of medicare, plus a supplemental...so dude man hooks up a new, expen$ive, once yearly infusion for prevention of osteoporosis. The results have been...disastrous. Her family doc says he doesn't use that medication because he senses that its probably dangerous.
Her health deteriorated, rapidly. She's had 1 major (8 hour long) operation with a specialist that helped a good bit, although recovery was trying. For a while there, she was going to an oncologist so he could do iron infusions for her, because her hemoglobin is low. The family doc does b-12 injections, which has helped somewhat. Verna's also had to take double digit rounds of antibiotics for a seemingly chronic kidney infection, plus sinus issues and such. She now goes to a kidney specialist because her kidney functions dipped a bit low. Thankfully, she's not in dialysis-territory, but...another specialist told her that multiple rounds of hardcore antibiotics can cause kidney problems and damage bone marrow, so that's...special.
To top it off, she is forever pushing herself. She had been taking care of her neighbor's grandmother who is nearing the end of her life. Verna did not ask for compensation, nor has she received any. I thank God for putting her in that woman's life, because the grandmother has become attached to Verna, and Verna got to witness to her.
Her appetite isn't so great, probably in large part because of the heavy antibiotic prescriptions and stress. She has church friends from when she lived in Florida and some family around here, but...as is the case with a lot of people, she's found that a lot of the family is too involved in their own issues to get together and act like a family. Plus, she lost her older sister recently, and her youngest brother is suffering from Parkinson's.
--sigh-- She's a great mentor and role model and counselor. I mean "counselor" in the sense that she's a special friend who genuinely cares and counsels...for free...because she cares. She always takes my calls if she can, and returns them if she can't take them right away. We've prayed together on the phone a number of times.
OK. So...please pray for her. Please. I thank God that she has a good house with a very low house payment. She and Ronnie both worked hard and, despite his disastrous divorce, they were able to put down a very large downpayment on the house she lives in now, so the payments are lower than what she'd be paying for an OK apartment in that area. Verna cannot draw her social security (some weird regulations I've never heard of...), but she gets Ronnie's pension or...maybe its a railroad version of social security. I dunno. Point is...God has her squared away financially. Nothing fancy, but she's got what she needs.
But the stress of all this...once Ronnie passed away, it wasn't long before things started getting rough for her. Life is hard in these United States for an elderly widow of modest means. She's definitely of sound mind and sharp as a tack, but...physically, I"m hoping+praying for a miracle.
I don't know what one does about wayward, very adult children. The son is shacking up with a low quality, unbeliever woman who creates problems and misery wherever she goes. Verna is beyond hurt, and...I don't know what to say or do.
I've rambled. Please pray.
