Susan’s last blog post..Papa needs a new pair of shoes!

Thanks, Jim, for telescoping relative to my post–there is always so much more to see, to consider in every situation in which we find ourselves. Often, it is in community that we are provided with the needed lenses.

And, your daughter is indeed a hero! She must be a woman of inner beauty.

Amy VanHuisen’s last blog post..God, How Could You Do That?

Thanks for your comment which adds greatly to this conversation. What a great story about your dad and how in adversity, faith rises. And yes, palliative care practitioners are some of my heros too!

One thing I’d like to mention as well, is that your daughter does incredible work and her faith most certainly eases the hearts of her patients and their families. My father was in palliative care three years ago as his cancer was nearing its final stages. He was a shadow of his former self; gaunt, sad, without control of his body. But his love for us and his concern for my mother was just as apparent as it had always been. And the nurses were amazing.

Before my dad became ill, he and my mother had resumed a spiritual journey that had fallen by the wayside for a number of years. He was hitting a stride, so to speak, when his strength began to slide. I was visiting him in the palliative care room and I asked him if he had ever taken the time to ask Christ into his heart. His response was that he didn’t know.

I asked if he’d like to do so right then and there and he said yes. So in the middle of that room, he summoned what strength he could and he stood beside me as I led him through a prayer declaring Christ his Lord and Savior. I reaffirmed my belief as well.

I’ve never left a hospital as full of hope as I did that day. I knew for sure that not only will the day come that I will see the Father, but I will also get to see my dad restored to his full and former self.