A new level

6:22 p.m. Today's project was to begin decisive steps in Steve's daily care at home.



For a few months, I have known that the day would come when I'd need a health aide to be present for Steve even when I'm in the house. The Lord has been revealing to me more strongly each week that the time has come. His running off a week ago Sunday, the death of our dog in a car accident, and his utter helplessness and panic when not guided or supervised in even simple daily activities of living, have finally made me take the step. It's time to listen and obey.



You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. (Deuteronomy 13:4)



I was very perturbed by an incident this morning while Steve was getting ready for the day upstairs and I was downstairs having devotions. I only discovered the damage to our bathroom later when I needed to get myself dressed. With the help of Drano and Lysol bathroom cleaner and a bleach soak in the washing machine, the issues were resolved. But I did call the care agency to ask them to send a caregiver over, even though I had no outside appointments. And I think that along with his visit to the adult daycare center once or twice a week, having a caregiver in the house provides peace of mind for me, and safety for Steve.



For example, today Steve and his caregiver were pulling weeds in the garden, and doing an excellent job, which allowed me to send recruiting emails and make lots of calls. They suddenly came back in, and she said, "He's cut himself!" Steve went straight to the sink and was washing the wound, and I helped him pat the area dry with a clean paper towel, but no blood appeared at that point. So he must have scraped his hand on a piece of gravel and the surface wound only bled at the outset. 4 hours later, still no scab or blood, praise the Lord!



One thing the Lord brought to my attention today was that our long term care policy will pay for 8 hours of housekeeping one day a week. So I sent a copy of that paperwork with the caregiver back to the Brightstar at the scheduler's request. I'll just use one of their people, perhaps on the day when Steve's at Care Connexxus. The sound of mopping and dusting won't distract me from my writing research!



The rest of our day went well, with a visit to our daughter Heather's office and a run to Winco for dog food. Our dinner, more of a filling snack combo, was fun and peaceful, full of love and relaxed companionship. (The simmering chicken soup in the crockpot had an aroma that made it seem like tit was the meal, instead of a demo for tomorow's Heart to Home class)!

The rest of our evening was fun and loving as a married couple's time together should be, especially with a major worry off of my mind...

May the Lord continue to lead, and may I listen!