March 2: Sister's Discharge, God's Love Number Thirteen, "Ives" Dip

My sister has been in the hospital over three weeks.  This morning, the doctor on duty--a small physician I'll call Dr. Adolf--told her that she will be discharged tomorrow.  My sister can't walk up a flight of stairs, get out of bed without the aid of handrails, or control her bodily functions.  Yet, the doctor will release her tomorrow to the care of my family.  My parents are in their eighties.  My sister, Rose, has Down's Syndrome.  My other two sisters work full-time.

This discharge is a recipe for disaster.  The alternatives are pretty grim.  My family could refuse to take her home, in which case my sister would be placed in the first available bed at the first available nursing home.  My family could take her home and try to care for her, which has failed miserably the last three times my sister has been hospitalized.  Or my family could try to take her home, get her in the driveway, and call an ambulance because she's in so much pain she can't make it into the house.

I don't know what to say to my family.  They're pretty worn down right now with hospitals and doctors and emergency rooms and ambulances.  They are at the end of a very frayed rope.  And now they're dealing with a health care system that is following the dictates of insurance companies.  Dr. Adolf doesn't care if he's releasing my sister into a dangerous situation.

God's love number thirteen I'm giving to my sister.  I know that God is with her, watching out for her, loving her.  It's hard for me to discern His love in this situation.  All I can see are the trees, not the forest, and certainly not the sky or sun.

This Monday, my Ives dip question is:

Will my sister get well soon?

And the answer from the gospel according to Oscar Hijuelos is:

Annie and Caroline were in black.  She was taking her brother's death badly.  She spent much of that day sitting with her mother, holding her hand...

Well, that's not very uplifting.  Of course, God has some kind of plan.  I know that.  It's not up to me to figure it out.  It's up to me to simply trust in His love, always.


That's what Saint Marty is doing tonight.

My sister's doctor