Grandmom Rice

These are pictures we took of Grandmom Rice and Dawson at Christmas. I am so thankful for these pictures right now as she is in the ICU with severe sepsis. She also had an embolism which caused brain damage and blindness. Yesterday the drs. told Jason's uncle that the outlook is not good and it is unlikely she will recover.

I am so thankful for Grandmom. She has always treated me as if I had been a part of her family. She has impacted so many livs through her generosity and servant's heart. I will always remember her roast beef dinners, home-made macaroni and cheese, and her cheese pies and raisin bread. I will remember how she hated seeing babies in "grown-up clothes" and thought they should always be in comfy sleepers. I will forever cherish the paintings she gave us, especially the one of their house in Dublin which they bought for $7,000. I will remember the two matching recliners she and Grandpop would sit in while we ate ice cream together. (There was always ice cream available even after Grandpop started eating it all the time when he got Alzheimers.) She always has a smile and she always thinks the best of people.

I thank the Lord that He allowed her to be at Julie's graduation Friday night. It took much energy and effort for her to be there. Saturday morning she was so sick and chilled she couldn't get out of bed. We got her dressed and packed up that afternoon and Uncle Ron took her back home to MD. She continued to get worse, but didn't want to go to the hospital. By the time they took her in, the infection which most likely gained entry through her dialysis port, had turned into sepsis. We don't always understand the Lord's timing or why things happen as they do. This past weekend as we walked the boardwalk we had no idea what decisions Uncle Ron would be facing and/or what Grandmom would be experiencing. We can always ask, "What if?", as we did when Jason's dad died, but yet we know God is in control and He allows things to happen as He wants them.

Please pray for wisdom for the drs. and Uncle Ron as they make decisions about continuing or discontinuing care and which medical devices they should use. Please pray for the grace and strength we may all need in the coming weeks as we face the loss of Grandmom just four months after the loss of Grandpop.