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A Resurrection Story
My mother often wound up in the hospital during the last decade of her life. She had good health insurance and a good many ailments, and she generally outstayed two or three hospital roommates. One afternoon she got a new roommate, her third. But not for long, I thought. Because this one was about to die. The tiny grey-haired woman, whom I'll call Mrs. Anderson, was sleeping the far distant sleep of the almost-dead. I have never seen a person more clearly under the shadow of death. She had left this planet in her mind, and her body was about to follow. An aide brought her dinner and tried to shake her awake. Her oxygen tubes and IV tubes rattled, but she gave no response: he might as well have shaken a doll. When I came back the next morning, my mother had no breakfast platter, as she was scheduled for a test that required an empty stomach. Mrs. Anderson had acquired a breakfast platter and a daughter who was trying to get her to eat from it. But Mrs. Anderson's eyelids didn't even flicker. She was still far from us, waiting in the anteroom of heaven. Finally the daughter disappeared. Maybe she's Catholic, I thought, and she's gone for a priest to administer the last rites. Turned out she'd done no such thing. She'd gone to the airport and brought back her two sisters. And now there were three of them, all tall, slender, and blonde, all with a family likeness. And all attempting to resurrect their mother from the almost-dead. "Mom? It's Deb. I flew clear from El Paso, just as soon as I heard." No response. "It's Connie. I've come to be with you. I love you, Mom. Please, please just open your eyes and look at me." No response. "Just look at me. Please. Please." Her voice was shaking. Mrs. Anderson's eyes flickered just for a moment, then closed again. One of the daughters disappeared. She returned an hour later laden with food. She had obviously hit a grocery store and hit it hard. Now they had their own grocery store. I wished my mother could have something from it, for lunchtime had come and gone, she had received no lunch tray, and the orderlies still hadn't come to take her to her test. The Anderson daughters continued to struggle. "Mom? How about some mandarin oranges? You know you love mandarin oranges. Num num. Or a doughnut? Just one bite? It's chocolate frosted." No response. Her eyelids didn't flicker. Why don't they leave the poor woman to die in peace? I thought. "We need you, Mom. We love you. You can get well." But Mrs. Anderson was far from us. The shadow of death lay over her, thick and dark. Silence fell. I glanced over at her. One of her daughters had climbed into bed with her. She was snuggled up like a snuggly spoon, cradling her mother's back in her young, warm bosom. One arm was over her mother, holding her close. She was willing her warm, loving life into her mother's almost dead bones. Now there's an idea, I thought. And tears came to my eyes. The hours of the afternoon dragged by. My mother lay uncomplaining as I went repeatedly to the nurses' station. Yes, they said, her name was on the list of those to be picked up for a test. Two o'clock, three o'clock. Poor Mother had eaten no breakfast or lunch, and soon it would be too late for a dinner tray. Four o'clock. Still the Anderson daughters crooned to their mother, talked to her, held her hand, stroked her hair. And took turns climbing into the hard, narrow hospital bed, snuggling up to her, and holding her tight in loving arms. Her eyes were open now, as she lay there. At four-thirty the orderlies came for my mother. She and I spent the next two and a half hours in the bowels of the hospital. Mother was unable to talk because of a stroke, and I stayed close to give her medical history to the imaging test technicians. At seven they wheeled Mother back into her hospital room. And while we were gone a resurrection had taken place. Mrs. Anderson was sitting up in bed, her eyes open, a smile on her face. Beside her bed were her daughters and, of course, the grocery store. Plus the remains of a dinner tray, which she had apparently sampled. I was delighted for the Anderson daughters. Then my mind returned to my own mother. "She hasn't eaten for more than twenty-four hours!" I told the nurse indignantly. "And now it's too late for a dinner tray." Then the Anderson daughters kicked in. "We've got lots of food over here!" they said joyously. They did indeed. We settled on crackers and peanut butter from the nurses' station and a banana from the Anderson daughters. While Mrs. Anderson beamed on us from her bed. "I was pretty sick for awhile there," she told me with an embarrassed smile. "But the girls said they needed me." She gave a loving look to her daughters. "We do, Mom. We need you! You're going to get well." And they returned her loving look. When I arrived the next day, Mrs. Anderson, her daughters, and her groceries were all gone, and an aide was putting fresh sheets on her empty bed. "What happened to Mrs. Anderson?" I asked the aide, a new one who had witnessed none of the drama of the day before. "Her? She was released this morning." "She was well enough to go home?" "Apparently. The doctor thought so anyway." As a little girl on a Montana farm, Janette Blackwell ate simple but lusciously delicious country cooking. Which food she brings to you in her storytelling cookbook, STEAMIN' DOWN THE TRACKS WITH VIOLA HOCKENBERRY. Her website, http://www.foodandfiction.com, brings you country cooking and nostalgic stories, while, at http://www.delightfulfood.com, she takes you on a personal, guided tour of the hidden culinary treasures of the Internet. E-mail her at Janette@foodandfiction.com
Latest News:Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for news News Corp exec becomes chief of Germany's Premiere (Reuters via Yahoo! News) News Corp's chief financial officer for Europe and Asia has been named chief executive of German pay television group Premiere, following the resignation of Michael Boernicke, Premiere said on Wednesday. News Corporation to redevelop London Wapping site (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation is to redevelop its Wapping site in London, moving all its UK businesses, including News International, Harper Collins, MySpace and Dow Jones, under one roof. UPI NewsTrack Entertainment News (UPI) Chesney nominated for 7 CMAs ... Hoffman: I'm not playing Penguin ... 'RocknRolla' No. 1 at U.K. box office ... Jessica Simpson stops song on 'GMA' ... News from United Press International. DailyMe: News tailored to your individual tastes (The Christian Science Monitor) Column: Custom news websites come and go, but this one gets it right. Sarah Palin docu wins record ratings for Fox News (Reuters via Yahoo! News) In a week of records surrounding the Republican National Convention, Fox News Channel earned another one with its weekend documentary on vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. MySpace ad business ahead of target: News Corp (Reuters via Yahoo! News) News Corp's (NWSa.N) MySpace advertising business is operating ahead of expectations and its digital ad business is performing better than the marketplace, the company's chief operating officer said on Tuesday. STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Erdemir shares fall on iron ore prices (Reuters via Yahoo! Malaysia News) STOCKS NEWS Reuters Results diary News Buzz: Recreating the Big Bang, Gates Urges Slow Iraq Drawdown, Ike Gains Strength (US News & World Report) Top news from the Associated Press For consumers, good news down the line (Sun-Sentinel) Whether you buy a new iPod or not, there may be good news for you in Apple's release of new iPods on Tuesday . Fox News Vaults To Top Of Primetime Ratings (MultiChannel News) Who says no one watches political conventions? Fox News Channel?s coverage of GOP Presidential nominee John McCain?s Sept. 4 acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention drew 9.2 million viewers, topping all other basic cable shows last week, according to Nielsen Media Research data. Site: news - Google News Palm Unveils New 'Nova' Software, 'Palm Pre' Phone - CNNMoney.com
MORE RESOURCES: Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for inspirational Inspirational Experts in Fashion, Cuisine and Lifestyle to Share Tips and Trends at Orange County Head to Toe Women's ... (PRWeb) Southern California's premiere women's consumer show, the Head to Toe Women's Expo returns to OC Fair and Event Center in Costa Mesa, Calif., October 10, 11 and 12, 2008. Presented by Ralphs Grocery, the Head to Toe Women's Expo gives mothers, daughters, and girlfriends a chance to reconnect during a weekend of shopping, pampering, makeovers and inspirational speakers. Several experts, ... http://firepit-plans.com Introduces "The Fire Pit Planner Guide" a Comprehensive Inspirational Guide to Building ... (PRWeb via Yahoo! News) http://firepit-plans.com is a new site that offers a unique do-it-yourself inspirational plan to building fire pits, the guide offers tips and advice on operating and constructing fire pits in the outdoors, house garden or backyard. Reporter's Notebook (Dallas Morning News) Certain parts of Irving City Hall will soon be getting makeovers. Residents and visitors can expect to see inspirational quotes on walls and prominent displays of the city?s mission statement within a couple of months. Bob Walter: Iraq hero gets moving tribute in Elk Grove Park (The Sacramento Bee) For a hero: As if anybody could forget Joe Nurre of Wilton, a fitting and permanent memorial to the inspirational Elk Grove High School football captain is attracting plenty of attention in Elk Grove Park. Joe Nurre A plaque dedicates an Elk Grove barbecue area to Joe Nurre. MCC Honors 9/11 Victims and Families (R News) Monroe Community College hosted a special 9/11 commemorative ceremony at the Remembrance Walk on the Brighton campus. The hour long event included music, inspirational speeches, a moment of silence and flowers placed at the base of the 9/11 monument there. Local review: 'Bill W. and Dr. Bob' entertaining, educational (The Pantagraph) For a gripping evening of theater as educational as it is inspirational, ?Bill W. and Dr. Bob? at Heartland Theatre Company, can?t be beat. Steve Amerson to Sing at the Congressional Medal of Honor Society's Convention (Christian News Wire) DENVER, Sept. 11 / Christian Newswire / -- Steve Amerson, well-known Inspirational music artist will be singing at the Congressional Medal of Honor Society's Annual Convention, A Celebration of Honor, in Denver, Colorado at the "Patriots Award Gala" on Friday, September 19, 2008. Radio pirate suspect arrested in Wilton Manors apartment (Sun-Sentinel) When you tune into FM 103.9 in Broward County , you're supposed to hear a sermon by Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale Pastor Bob Coy or inspirational music from the likes of Mercy Me and Steven Curtis Chapman. Randolph Reads kicks off with celebration (Asheboro Courier-Tribune) ASHEBORO ? A Randolph County initiative to unite the community in reading and discussing an inspirational non-fiction book about a nearby town?s struggles with change is under way. Honor Text Helps Americans to Remember (WCAV Charlottesville) The clock strikes 9:11am and your phone beeps, but it?s not your average text message. Instead, it?s an Honor Text, a brief inspirational message about some of America?s service men and women. Site: inspirational - Google News Gerard Lucien Gaudreau, inspirational speaker - Baltimore Sun
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