Truth Will Out

Someone dear to me always used to say "God's mill grinds slow but grinds to a fine powder". Those who play God will eventually be judged by Him.

Integrity and Courage

My Father always told me "make your word your bond". Dad always did. My Father pulled someone from a burning car. Dad caught a runaway rampaging stallion that had trampled people at a Civil War reenactment.My Father never feared death but loved life and wanted to be there for and with us.

Seymour Goodman Remembered

My Father has passed from this mortal coil. Thank you for your prayers.

The Fading Hours

An endless night or eternal sunshine/ Pain of loss or pleasure of memory/ Fondly remembered and never forgotten

Sort of Rally

After being non-communicative yesterday, by grace, my Dad's faculty of speech returned today. Dad has called out to "love me", "hold me", "baby me" and we will so long as God allows.

At Death's Door

After an arduous ordeal, we are told my Father's life is now measured in hours or at most, days. Please pray for Seymour Goodman and my Mother Sherry.

What Happens Next?

My Father experienced a "desaturation crisis" where his oxygen saturation dropped precipitously and he almost had to be ventilated for a second time. Dad was spared (thanks be to God) and the plan remains for him to be placed in a nursing home as soon as Saturday. We need the aid of the Lord now more than ever.

No Real Change

Despite a named diagnosis that includes a terminal prognosis, I could sense very little different in my Father's condition. Dad is still possessed of a certain logic (after a fashion anyway) but quite confused. He managed to sit in a chair a couple of hours each of the last two days but obviously, he is very weak. The strongest part of Dad that remains is his faith.

Asking for Guidance

According to his doctors, my Father has entered a process of terminal wasting called "cachexia" wherein his body is essentially eating itself. If any reader knows of any way a patient already on a feeding tube with a hole remaining in his neck from a tracheotomy can receive additional nourishment to forestall Dad's passing, please share them as comments to this post or email me at servant2none@gmail.com or call me directly at (615)352-7458 and leave a message with any suggestions. Thanks in advance, and please, keep the prayers coming.

An Appalling Incident

Kentucky US Senator Rand Paul was detained by the TSA in the Nashville airport. How inconceivably dumb are the screeners in this program that misdirects so much of our resources? What profile did the Senator fit? Was he spouting some of the more violent verses from the Koran? Did he ask where his seventy-two virgins were located? Singling out Paul is parody and farce. This sort of nonsense dear reader is why I avoid flying.

Almost Lost Him

My Father had another nearly fatal episode but was rescued by prompt attention. Dad is still in mortal peril and we appreciate your continuing prayers.

Dealing with Delirium

At times, in battling my Father's health crisis, Dad has been delirious. It is at these times that he reminds us most of an Obama voter.

Dependency Writ Large

I was distressed and saddened by a CBS Manuel Gallegus report on American infants being given diluted formula or even being denied their sustenance, supposedly because the parents are so impoverished in these hard times. Leaving aside that breast milk is a baby's natural food, why in a nation with abundant AFDC and Food Stamps (now available in stigma-free debit card form as EBT) would this even be an issue? Any parent so financially-stressed should already know of the welfare our taxes are already paying for and not taking advantage of these "benefits" is dereliction bordering on neglect. Are these parents perpetually drunk or strung out on crack or meth or selling or converting our largess to them that was intended for their children in some fashion? If these parents are so irresponsible as to short their children the nutrition they need to thrive, they should forfeit custody. Even in the Obama economy, there is no paucity of food available with ample supply to feed the nation's babies.

The Inevitable Candidate?

If Mitt Romney did not actually win the Iowa GOP Caucus as it now appears (and as the former Massachusetts Governor himself now concedes), how can he possibly be termed "unbeatable"? Old Mitt is no sure bet in heavily evangelical and highly conservative South Carolina either and a loss there should keep the door open for a different front runner to emerge to challenge Obama.

Very Sick System

Much of my Father's care seems to have been predicated on the structure of his insurance more than his medical needs.The patient's condition must be the determining factor, not the cost of treatment or rationed care is already here. Dad will evidently have one more day (today) in critical care to monitor his sugar and sodium levels before he is sent back to a regular medical floor. And we will keep on praying.

In the Word

I have never accepted that a doctor's opinion is sacrosanct. Throughout this fight we have seen cool professional detachment all too often supplanted with a lack of compassion, callousness, and even occasional cruelty. But throughout it all, I have realized God is Sovereign. Dad was medically stable enough today to sit in a chair in critical care and was wearing hospital pajamas today instead of a gown for the first time since December 6. Every small victory is an affirmation of faith in the Lord.

Wild Eyed Extremist

Perhaps wanting to exhaust every medical option makes one a religious fanatic or even a lunatic. I will gladly wear the labels so long as my Father is in the fight for his life.

Same Road Before

Many of the same medical errors or mistakes in treatment we encountered at our former hospital are seemingly being repeated in the new setting. My Father is already "brittle" and he can not survive many additional challenges. The atmospherics at first seemed better but even though care was sometimes administered begrudgingly or much worse, haphazardly at St. Thomas, Dad came out alive. I am terrified that might not be the case now in the facility that just yesterday was affording so much renewed hope.

David Without Sling

If the Biblical David had no slingshot, could he still have felled Goliath? I would contend, yes, because it was not the stone that made David more than a match for the Philistine giant, but David's faith. We all have battles to face and always have a chance, so long as we maintain our faith.

Back to Emergency

Sadly, we find ourselves in hospital with my Dad, who now weighs at most eighty-eight (88) pounds, rushed back to E.R. This time we are trying Vanderbilt, hoping Dad is not written off the way some doctors at St. Thomas treated us. We really appreciate and need prayer.

Mitt the Moderate

There is less substantive difference between Mitt Romney and our current President Barack Hussein Obama than dear old Mitt would like to have you believe. Romney is also the only Republican candidate who can not criticize Obamacare with a straight face, having imposed an almost identical program on those in Massachusetts. Romney even lacks the foreign policy and military background of the last GOP nominee who failed, Arizona Senator John McCain. If nominated, Romney will be hard pressed to differentiate himself from Obama as both are progressive, Big Government, anti-gun, and pro-gay. When conservatism would win, why nominate a candidate who is only claiming greater competence than Obama as the strength of his campaign?

Escaping the Saint

(Note: This column has nothing whatsoever to do with the Roger Moore series from the Sixties.) My Father has finally been discharged from St. Thomas. He is now in the hands of "skilled care" but remains critically ill, weak, and in mortal danger. Dad is in a "Christian" facility about five miles from our home. I thank those who have supported us and declare prayer has helped immensely and is still urgently requested.

Another Unbelievable Day

The situation becomes intolerable when medical professionals charged with saving life become cavalier or worse yet, antagonistic to that mission. This goes beyond offending the families of patients to actually compromising patient safety. Suffice it to say since my Father's admission to St. Thomas in Nashville, Tennessee, these have become the most trying days of my life.

Now New Hampshire

A state that should be statistically-irrelevant due to lack of population alone has suddenly taken on enormous importance- that state being New Hampshire- and the reason being that it is the first state where the actual votes count as it is a primary rather than an arcane caucus. New Hampshire used to be a bedrock of traditional values but still with a libertarian streak and a great deal of independence-mindedness. Now, the state has become somewhat infested with hippy types from Massachusetts and New York state who found their former states of residence too constraining for their "live free" lifestyles. These new New Hampshire voters may participate in the GOP primary because they wish to throw a monkey wrench into the Republican works or because they are actually simpatico with Ron Paul's radical libertarianism. No serious impediment exists in the Granite State to break Mitt Romney's momentum as he was the Governor of a neighboring state and has expended considerable time and resources in New Hampshire to hold his support there. As New Hampshire lacks Christian conservatives in large numbers, the primary does not look promising for Rick Santorum. Jon Huntsman is playing all or none in the state but even if his finish is better than predicted, his campaign is doomed to crash in South Carolina and Florida, Southern states that will not abide a moderate. Newt Gingrich does not seem to be striking accord with voters, and Ron Paul will continue to attract the "troubled twenty" percent of conspiracy theorists and Jew-haters. I think Romney romps when the ballots are all counted later this week.

A Friend Passes

Johnny Bacon died last night. We did not have the privilege of his acquaintance until his stay in St. Thomas Hospital, that turned out to be his last. His family are among the most welcoming, generous folk we have ever met, and I know they are devastated. We will keep Johnny and his lovely wife Judy, and wonderful (now adult) children in our prayers.

A Sleepless Saturday

Some distressing events have transpired during my Dad's stay in Nashville's St. Thomas Hospital. We tried to stay positive but have reached the point where what is happening to my Father (and the rest of the family) is no longer tolerable. We will be transferring to a different facility as soon as possible.

Not So Good

While many staff members have been diligent and professional in the care of my Father, others have been less so. Certain physicians have discouraged us all along from further intervention to preserve Dad's life and even questioned what my Dad had left to do, leaving us to justify his continuing existence. One physician said he could deliver Father "a gentle exit", which to me is precariously close to euthanasia. One nurse has compromised my Dad's prospect for recovery, if not survival, missing a scheduled blood sugar check on Sunday, allowing Father's sugar to fall to thirty-four (34) in an intensive care unit, causing or worsening his situational psychosis and leaving the door closed to his room, enabling him to extricate himself from soft restraints and detach both his trache collar and tube later that same day. The same registered nurse treated him today, and we had further issues. I pray we make the right decisions regarding my Father's future treatment but I see no way to remain at St. Thomas.

Obligation or Opportunity

Service, whether in the community, the US military, or simply to our fellow man may be seen in two lights. I have never felt it was a burden to serve and I have seen the joy in many individuals helping to care for my Dad. I thank them.

Seeing Seymour Struggle

My Father has been weaned from a ventilator, which many did not expect to happen, but he remains critically ill. We have limited options of where he will be sent upon his discharge from St. Thomas hospital. We pray his care is not set back by transferring him to a new facility.

Such Stark Contrasts

Rick Santorum was never for abortion before he was against it. Santorum never favored gay marriage. Santorum never supported assaults on our Second Amendment rights. Santorum certainly never instituted a system of socialized medicine in his Commonwealth. Another candidate has been "pro-choice", gay-friendly, anti-gun, and instituted "Romney Care" in Massachusetts. Guess which choice I prefer?

That Peaceful Faith

Islam has been termed by Western elites as a "religion of peace". Some events such as this Tajik "Santa slaughter" tend to point to the contrary: http://english.ruvr.ru/2012/01/03/63323280.html. (With thanks to "The Voice of Russia" website and Michael Savage for the link.)

Santorum Stands Strong

I reenter the political fray now for the first time since my Father's prolonged and critical illness to say former Pennsylvania US Senator Rick Santorum is an unwavering conservative who I would be proud to vote for in the primaries and of course, in the general election. Santorum has always championed original intent, our founding ethos, a strong national defense, and limited government. Santorum has always opposed abortion on demand and the perversion of the covenant of marriage by homosexuals. Rick Santorum and Alfonse D'Amoto were the strongest supporters of the nation of Israel during their service in the Senate. Santorum lives his values, and these are the bedrock values that built our Republic.

Really Rough Sledding

We are on precarious terrain in regard to Father. His hospitalist physician today warns that Dad may be on a feeding tube for the rest of his life. We keep praying and believe the Lord is sovereign.

A Sorry Adventure

My Father had detached his trache collar and tube somehow today, but I happened in after our shift change eviction and alerted staff. Fortunately, they promptly rescued him after I sounded the alarm.