A journey with COVID

 

Recently, my 93 year old mother tested positive for COVID and ended up in hospital. She had two falls just prior to her admission, a seizure in the ambulance and was deeply unconscious.

The first miracle was that a scan showed no head injury or broken bones. She did however, have pneumonia. We spent over eight hours with her (suitably clothed in protective gear) in the Emergency Department as she received IV fluids, IV antibiotics, IV morphine and IV antiviral drugs before being admitted to a ward at around 2 am the following morning.

 We had been told that no visitors were allowed in the COVID ward. My sister and I tagged along anyway. We asked the Registered Nurse who admitted mum, if we would be able to visit. This was the second miracle.

“Yes you can come,” she said, “and spend as long as you like with her. Bring your food and drink and you can use the clean room through that door to eat. Also use your mum’s toilet as you won’t be able to wander around the ward.”

After that, every day when we turned up we were challenged by someone about visiting. Each time we were able to say “we have permission.” No-one argued, no-one asked who gave us permission. My sister and I spent six to eight hours sitting with her daily in those first few days, then taking turns for two to four hours a day. My brother was the roading engineer managing the repair of roads and bridges after the cyclone, working twelve and a half hour days so he came when he could.

The first full day of hospitalization, we were all at mum’s bedside when her doctor arrived. She told us they were thinking about withdrawing all treatment and just keeping her comfortable. What did we think? I replied that I wasn’t happy with that but would be happy to reassess every twenty four hours. This led to the third miracle. The following morning as we arrived to sit with mum, her nurse came out of mum’s room with a huge smile on her face.

“She has just woken up and knows her name and date of birth,” she exclaimed.

Mum has been through pneumonia, COVID, fluid on her lungs, a urine infection causing confusion, two more falls when trying to get out of bed and chest pain. She is extremely fatigued. She has had prayer chains from three churches praying for her, as well as other friends and family all over the country. Through God’s grace four weeks later she is still with us although still in hospital.

We are exhausted but we can be sure of these things; God still answers prayer and performs miracles, God alone knows the day and time we pass from this world to the next. As the hymnists say:

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
leaning on the everlasting arms. 

(Elisha A. Hoffman and Anthony J. Showalter)