sister | RV There Yet?

Has it really been almost three weeks?Â I’ve been trying to find the words to catch you all up on why I pretty much disappeared over the last three weeks, and while I’m not sure I have them even yet – here’s at least a start!

Friday, the 25th, I was getting ready to put together a Final Wrap up of our time at Lake Swan Camp when I received a text message that my sister, Elna, had been admitted to the hospital with a brain bleed. For someone who has been battling cancer (and mostly winning)Â for the last four years, these were hard words to read. And suddenly writing about painting those brown benches brown faded into the background and I was searching for flights to New England!Â Unavailable. Unavailable. Unavailable.Â In God’s providence, Elna’s daughter Heather was also in Florida and heading north post haste. So we loaded in the car and the three of us (that’s Gibson in the back seat) pointed that little Honda towards Vermont and we drove.

And drove, and drove, and drove. Thirty-six hours later we were at Heather’s (about 2 hours from Elna), and ready to finish up the drive in the morning. We couldn’t get right in to see Elna – the visitor policy only allowed one visitor per day – but we met with Henry for breakfast and got the update.

Elna was in Neuro ICU, and following an MRI they discovered three brain lesions (tumors), one of which had ruptured and caused the bleed. She was awake and doing as well as could be expected following her diagnosis. I was desperate to see her, but had to wait my turn, so by the time I got in to see her (Wednesday) she was doing much better.

She was still having difficulty processing the written word, but ‘with-it’ in most other areas. We were so thankful! Although the visitation was limited to one person per day, there was no limit to how long we could stay. That Wednesday and then Friday were very precious days and we often just sat quietly and enjoyed the love that passed between our joined hands. (That is not to say that it was easy for her to get a good nap with all the comings and goings of the doctors and nurses!) Friday afternoon she was transferred to a rehab center to help her get stronger and ready to go home. Her daughter Bethany arrived from Utah for the weekend – another boost to her morale and well-being! And then just two days ago, she came home to complete her recovery. Praise God! While I left on Monday last week (while she was still at rehab), Joie picked up the sister mantel on Wednesday, so she was well covered with Sister Love during her hospital stay and rehab time.

Although Joie returned to PA today, we left her in the capable hands of her hubby, her granddaughter (who lives with them during the week), our niece Chris (Joie’s daughter who lives in the same town), and daughter Heather who is about 2 hrs. away. And most importantly, in the hands of our LORD,Â who loves her even more than we do!
Right now her job is to rest and get stronger. Once her brain gets happier (the doctor referred to it as ‘angry’ following the brain bleed), they’ll do another MRI and then will be able to address those tumors with some targeted radiation. The prognosis is good for this incident, but it has been a vivid reminder that yes, she has stage 4 cancer and every day is a gift. We are so thankful for our time in New Hampshire just last month. How kind our God has been to us!

There’s more to the story, of course. More of God’s hand and blessing in the midst of these uncertain days.Â But these are enough words for tonight.

For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, â€œFear not, I am the one who helps you.”
Isaiah 41:13

Ten Days. At a friend’s condo. In the Florida Sun.Â We three sisters were just about beside ourselves with giddiness in anticipation of the prospect. We didn’t have a clue what the condo would be like (just that we were essentially being gifted) or what the area would be like (apart from crazy traffic) or what we would do with eight whole days together(with two travel days tacked on either end), but we were pinching ourselves that this was really happening .Â In all honesty, with the exception of making travel arrangements, we made zero plans. And that turned out to be the perfect plan!

Imagine our delight when we realized the condo we were being blessed with was over and above anything we expected.

Oh, and mirrors!

…count the Stephanies!
We were so thankful that Andi joined us for the first 5 days, not only because it was her place after all, but because she was so much fun!! She fit right in with our low key, no agenda type of getaway AND she knew all the good places to eat and the shortcuts to get there!!

(Our official ‘group picture’!)
We went to the movies (Little Women – how excellent), did a bit of shopping (yay for a local Costco and a couple of thrift shops), and connected with some friends who were wintering nearby.

Although we couldn’t find any scooter friendly beach access, Joie and I did manage to put our feet in the sand and feel the ocean breeze in our hair.

(Man, I’m a bad selfie taker!)
So while we didn’t do any beach sitting, we did take a couple of drives up A1A where we ooo’d and ahhh’d over the ritzy houses and glistening yachts. We may (or may not) have whined a bit about the traffic, but that is to be expected (the whining AND the traffic!). No documentation of said traffic or houses or boats is available because after all I was driving – and you know – traffic.
So just what were we doing? Well, we were sleeping until we woke up, enjoying our coffee on the balcony, and working on a jigsaw puzzle

or two.

Games were being played

and wonderful meals were being shared.

Whether we were navigating the roads of Pompano Beach or hanging around the condo trying to find that odd shaped puzzle piece with just a little bit of red in the corner or walking through the neighborhood enjoying the beauty of the area, our days were filled with laughter (oh my, so much laughter) and memories and prayers and maybe a tear or two. They were wonderful, wonderful, grace filled days as we soaked in our precious sisterhood.Â Days that we in no way take for granted.