Praying

Sometimes the biggest blessings are very small.

Today, Eric and I had the pleasure of visiting our dear friend Sister Carmelle. Unfortunately, we are able to visit her because she was flown to Kansas several days ago due to failing health.

The Sisters of Saint Antoine have a "sisterhood" with Sisters of Charity in Leavenworth, and they frequently host each other's members. Sister Carmelle has been experiencing fevers, coughing fits and pain since November 2011. When we were in Haiti over Thanksgiving, I was surprised by the amount of weight Sister had lost. In December, she was admitted to a hospital in Port-au-Prince, and has been in and out of the facility ever since. On Wednesday, Sister Claudette accompanied Sister Carmelle here, where she was admitted with fever and pain.

She has a large tumor on her liver. She is short of breath on 5 liters of oxygen. She is not eating and yesterday a PICC line was placed for TPN (total parenteral nutrition) that will start today. While we were there, a physician came in and told us she would be having a thoracentesis today to extract fluid from the pleural space surrounding her lung. We went with her to ultrasound, where the radiologist planned to perform the procedure, but her INR was 1.9 (associated with the thickness of her blood). Upon further evaluation, he determined the procedure was not necessary, as the amount of fluid present did not call for it. Thank you God! Thoracentesis is painful, carries a certain amount of risk, and may or may not improve her comfort. We are anticipating results of the liver biopsy tomorrow . . .

Sometimes God's plan is not our own. Sometimes we can't fathom why some of His most faithful servants must experience pain and suffering. Why must those who do so much of His work on this earth leave their homes and be challenged by illness and disability?

We are blessed to know of Sister Carmelle's good works and those of her faithful Sisters, Claudette, Simone and Malecia. Our lives are enriched for knowing these women, for experiencing their rich love and generosity, and for being invited into their home where our children waited for us.

Dear Lord, only You know what the plan is for your daughter. As the Healer of all, you know what ails her and what lies ahead. Thank you for sharing her with us. Please help us to offer her comfort, support her decisions for treatment, and love her while we have her. We know that You hold her in Your hands, and we thank you for Your grace and mercy.