What a blessing it was to serve my mom for the past four months. I would have never been able to do that were it not for all that I have lived with: heavy burden to some, meh? to others… You see our burdens are a magnification of our talents. And each of those are God’s own gifts (and penance) to each of us as He deems fit, not as you deem comfortable.
Quick recap: I went to SW Florida last 8 December and have been taking care of mom. The Florida Medical Industry is a nightmare to navigate, and I was a pharmacy technician for eleven years, let alone my 80 year old mom who doesn’t know how to turn on a laptop. You will have to defend your loved one and know their treatment plan. Why? Because Dr. X Office doesn’t communicate with Dr. Y Office, etc. Well, mom goes to five, so double and triple ordering of tests are not uncommon. This means more billing of insurance and the actual tests. I had to intervene on a few occasions, and I am not sad about it. They would have slow-rolled mom another six months, as her heart guy didn’t know she was in the hospital. Let that sink in… We weren’t leaving the office until her doctor looked at the hospital records. Mom’s heart surgery was scheduled for 10 February. Thank God! She is recovering well and will be coming to meet her two new great-grandsons, soon.
The back part of the story. I’m the family executor. We lost dad last 14 June 25, and have to deal with a whole load of stuff. I’m really not through the grief, as I am on “WORK” status, and continue to be so. I just got back home from 4 months at sea level. I haven’t been below 5,000 ft. for more than three weeks since 1997! Altitude adjustment is not B.S.! It will take some time to adjust to home again. I am not writing this to cry about it, but, rather inform, as unless you have gone through what I just have, you may not have a perspective. For those of you who have experienced this we may need to start a blog, as there was “NO-FAUCING-PLAYBOOK” for this stuff.
I got proactively involved in my parents’ healthcare back in February of 2022. They both had double-COVID-pneumonia. I flew down for 3 weeks. They got better. I returned home. The cycle repeated itself, several times; until dad died. We were all there for that. 14 June 2025 at 2205 hundred hours. Semper Fi, Jimmy! It was shocking, but, I just went into “Jar Head” mode and started knocking details of the funeral, cremation service, U.S.M.C. Color Guard, etc… and I still am. Again, I am not writing this to complain, but rather, inform, as I had no idea how deep this pool actually is…
So, back to the 4th Commandment: Honor thy father and thy mother. What I have just been blessed to do for both of my parents is my “4TH Commandment Deployment” over the past four years. It was very difficult. I’m still not done. I will, however, continue the fight, because, well, I’m just a bastard. This is a lot to carry. For those of you going through this, or, have gone through this, my heart goes out to you. It is my sincerest prayer that we all struggle well for the glory of Christ, Our Lord and Savior. God reward you all!
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