I’m happy to say my mother moved back in with us. She had gotten a lot stronger the last three weeks at the rehabilitation center. She could get out of bed, use her walker, go to the bathroom by herself, and had gained weight.
As I saw her getting better, I prayed she would be able to read and watch TV again, if it was God’s will. She can! Not only that, she can play Yahtzee. It is absolutely amazing. The doctors and nurses don’t understand how this happened. They had decided she needed to live in a nursing home and have lots of help. Her short-term memory was terrible, but it is much better now. They don’t know why.
I think it was some of the pills she was on. They took her off everything for awhile and then put her back on the most essential pills at a low dose. I think that was the problem. She is easy to take care of now; I can do it with no problem. She is very happy and so am I. I feel relaxed now, since I can make sure she is happy and well-fed. She has an appetite now, which she lost almost 2 years ago.
I called my sister and told her; she called later and said, “I asked God, “What was THAT all about???  She didn’t understand why we all had to go through all this: Mom’s broken hip, her infection, her living with me when she needed turning in bed every 20 minutes or so, back to rehab where she was so unhappy, and then me having a mental breakdown.
I told her I wasn’t sure why it all happened, but I trusted God there was a good reason. For one thing, I got more practice trusting God – not begging him to do what I wanted, just telling him I trusted Him in what was happening. I’ve only learned to do this off and on the last 5 years or so. It feels good to me and I’m sure I pleased my Father, which also makes me feel good.
It could also be that my younger daughter learned to trust God more. She is a bigger worrier than I am. But the Lord spoke to her, and I’m sure she is closer to him than she was before. Perhaps my mom learned something through her ordeal. I don’t know, but one day I will. I do know one thing. None of us learns anything when life is wonderful, except maybe gratitude.