It is Saturday and my husband and I are headed to New Bern to see his dad. It seems like yesterday when we received the call from him that he had lung cancer. Little did we know then that our lives would be drastically changed. Last March, Joe, Jay’s father, let us know that he had stage three cancer and that the doctor wanted to operate. He found out when he saw a commercial about asbestos. Since he worked on pipes in the military he decided to call the lawyer’s phone number listed on the commercial. They directed him to have some tests done before they could see if he was eligible for the settlement money for individuals with mesothelioma. He had his doctor do some tests and the cancer was found. The crazy part was that there were no symptoms.
I have come to truly believe that God works in mysterious ways. It was like he led me into my desert so that I would be available to help Joe. As I stated in my earlier post, I retired from teaching and am now in a major transition in my life. Last year, I tried to drum up a tutoring business but nothing materialized. I have never had difficulty getting jobs so this was very odd to me. No matter how many approaches I took, no work came my way.
Since I had no major responsibilities besides taking care of my grandchildren and husband, I was able to get in the car and drive the four hours to Columbia South Carolina. My husband and I have gone down to Columbia at least 15 times in the last nine months. During this time period, we have also realized that Joe has Alzheimer’s and shouldn’t be left alone.
This was particularly troublesome because Joe happens to be a very stubborn, independent man that doesn’t want anyone’s help and is making choices that could put him and others in danger. Joe always carried a gun and would keep it beside his bed. One night when my sister in law was spending the night, Joe became very confused and actually pulled the gun out when he heard her coming through the door. It was extremely alarming to her and heightened our concern for his wellbeing.