Please continue to pray for Landon and Alisha Estay. Alisha has been admitted to the hospital. Pray for God’s will with their unborn son and for strength for the family as they face an uncertain future.
Dukes
< forgetfulness. >
There are events in life you never forget. That trip with Dad when I was 11 to Cleveland, MS to see where I was born and where he went to college (we moved from there when I was two). Picking up pecans from the front of Seminary campus with Mom, so that we could make a fresh pecan pie. Playing basketball with Erik on mission in the Czech Republic in January of 95. I threw him an alley-oop. The day I overheard Jen tell her dad that she had found the man she wanted to marry. The day we were engaged. The day we married.
The day I held my newborn son. The day I held my 2nd child, my daughter Katey. The day I held my 3rd, Abby. The day I held my 4th, Ella. Wow. The day I thought, “Oh my word. I have to pay for three weddings.”
The first night we met as a brand new core group when we helped start Westpoint Church. There are many other events. And then there’s April 4th.
I also got a phone call. It said Mom’s cell, but it wasn’t Mom. It was her friend, using Mom’s cell to tell us Mom and Dad were struck by a car while walking across the street in front of the Seminary campus. She didn’t know what their condition was, but it was serious. I’ll never forget that night.
Or the next day. When, after having driven all night to New Orleans, I saw Mom and Dad. When I looked at my disfigured, tubed-up, swollen, unconscious mother in an ICU holding on to life. When Erik arrived, and we just held each other in Mom’s room weeping and wondering, not fully realizing what would lie ahead, not even knowing if Mom would make it. I’ll never forget.
At least I don’t think I will forget it. I am sure Mom felt the same way before the accident about those memorable events in her life. A brain injury changes everything.
Since she has been talking more, the evidence of an onset of forgetfulness is becoming more and more apparent. It is unclear whether the issue is purely neurological or whether her medicine is playing a heavy part. Either way, in the last three days, Mom has seemed more confused than clear and is seeing stuff that’s not there. The therapists are noticing the same thing. The doctor wrote the orders for a neurological consult yesterday.
Mom answers questions about family and her recent life and her not-so-recent life with about 60% accuracy. That’s down from last week a good bit. We understand there will be good days and bad days and good weeks and bad weeks, but this supposed dimensia worries both the therapists and us. We are hoping that it is just a heavy fog from the medicine they are giving her to help her left arm and left leg be more flexible. That combined with some slight confusion she already had shown makes sense. But we’ll see.
The plan right now is to put Mom’s skull cap back on sometime soon after July 15th, which is when her current strand of antibiotics runs it’s course. A neuro-surgeon from Ochsner is supposed to tell us any day now whether he will do it or whether we will send Mom back to University Hospital for the surgery. Once that happens and she recovers, the plan is to move her to Orlando to a long-term hospital there that will transition her toward the brain injury rehab center.
About Dad – he really is dealing with a lot of pain. Especially in his knees. I am wondering if he messed up his cartilege in his knees. A violent leg injury lIke he had can certainly cause that. Just speculation on my part, but I told him he should ask about it.
Other than that, he seems to be doing well. His spirits are holding up, mainly because of the trust he has in the Spirit of the One who came near to show us His love and restore us into daily love relationship with Him and each other. I am so proud of my dad.
He has fought hard and recovered well and been real about this whole thing. No super-spiritual I-have-it-all-together junk. He’s acted more like what the New Testament highlights about the life of someone who found that treasure of the Kingdom in a field and sold everything to burly that field. When I am weak, God is strong. I am completely dependent, in need of the great love of our great God. I am content in Christ alone and therefore can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, regardless of the circumstance. Those have been his banners. He has been an example to us all.
Thank y’all for your continued prayers and support. I am heading to do a wedding in North Carolina this weekend and will be back Sunday. Jen and Ella are going with me. We are excited about the time.
Love y’all. I’ll post at you later.
-jason
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