Healing

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William James and Alma Stewart, who are my parents, have been married for 65 years! They had 7 children together; William Jr. who passed away at 17 months, Tommy, Marian, Glynda, Verlyn, Steve, and Gary. This list is from oldest to youngest. If 2 people were meant to be together William and Alma are they. This is truly a marriage made in Heaven. It is amazing how much they think alike, how they can communicate by just body language, facial expressions, and unintelligible sighs or groans. when they are away from each other for too long a time they feel the others yearning, because of the incompleteness of being apart. Many times upon awakening from a nights sleep one will tell the other of a dream last night. Much to their amazement William will tell Alma, or Alma will tell William, "well I do say, I had that same dream last night too". These two fit together like peas in a pod. The older I become the more I admire the oneness of my parents bond. This sets a great example for my marriage. The institution of marriage is one of life's greatest treasures.
Eight years ago my father was struck by a car while he was outside directing someone to manuver out of a conjested parking structure. The vehicle was not going very fast, but struck William hard enough to knock him to the ground. He suffered a broken wrist and badly injured shoulder and knee. Despite being 89 years old at the time William has always been great health physically, so this was a major set back for him.
Dad was alwasys very active for a man of his age. Keeping the yard, maintaining his prized pigeons and chickens, periodically detailing a car, and working at the church second hand store kept him busy much to his delight. When the doctor put his right arm in a cast and sling, and fitted his leg with a mobile cast to stablize his bruised knee, this was the end of life as he new it. Four months of enactivity and agony of not being able to do normal thigs such as brushing his hair, putting on a jacket, or driving a car was almost too much to bear for a man who has been such a doer all his life. this was the longest period of time that he had ever been handicapped.
My mother, Alma, 85 years old, being such a devoted wife to her husband now really had to lend a hand. She had to drive for him, help him dress, and wait on him hand and foot. My sister, Marian, her daught Dimitri, and my wife Theresa, including myself would help Dad whenever needed.
To make matters worse for Dad, the cast was taken off his arm prematurely when the doctor thought it was the right time. But his wrist still throbbed with pain along with the shoulder and knee where he could barely sleep. A couple of weeks later another doctor by way of X-ray saw that the broken bone in his wrist had not completely healed, so William had to go back in a cast. At this point Dad thought he was Job. You know the suffering Job of the bible. After three more weeks wearing the cast and sling they were finally removed from his arm much to his delight. The lingering pain of his shoulder and knee, along with the diminishing pain of a freshly mended wrist still caused him discomfort. Not one to take precribed pain medication William would occasionally take tylenol for pain, but with short lasting effect.
Meanwhile Dad's suffering anguished my Mom, She almost could feel his pain.

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