A Loaded Gun

I packed up my computer and went to town for lunch at Taco Bell today. I finished my sermon (early for me), and then headed over to the nursing home. When I stopped in to see to of our men, DJ was sleeping. I sat down to speak to L, who told me that DJ had received bad news about his son that day. His son was not doing well following brain surgery.

.

I went over and talked to DJ, and I expressed my concern for him and his son. As we were talking, my cell phone rang. It was Daughter. Her blood sugar was low, and I was going to have to come get her. I told her I'd be there as soon as I finished at the nursing home. I started to pray with DJ, and the phone rang again. It was Sister, so I ignored the call. As I headed to visit the married couple we have there, I called Sister. She was at the doctor's office with Dad. He's dehydrated and his potassium is sky high. The doctor told her that the good news is that the pacemaker will keep his heart from stopping. Since he has a live-in, he decided not to admit him to the hospital.

.

I picked up Daughter, who was continuing to drop, even after much treatment. I asked her if she had taken extra insulin. She told me she hadn't. I told her I wanted to believe her. I asked to see her insulin pen. She started it Tuesday night, and she should have used about 50 units since then. Over 150 units were gone. She finally admitted she had taken a massive amount of insulin at 12:50. I called the diabetes doctor, and then the psychiatrist's office. I ended up taking her over to Big City to be admitted. She's in the medical hospital tonight, and tomorrow will be transferred (I hope) to the psych hospital. They gave her sugar by IV. Even with that she wasn't going high. She told me she did it because she was stressed, and she wanted to die. I told her all she had done was create more stress.

.

When we got her up to her room, they had someone to sit with her tonight so she doesn't try anything else. Unfortunately, the sitter is a young black man. I explained her PTSD, and told him that if she woke up agitated or disturbed, to step out and get a woman to step in. I told him it wasn't anything personal, but he needed to be aware of her history.

.

When Daughter was diagnosed with diabetes in July of 2000, I expressed the concern that a self-destructive child had just been handed a loaded gun. Today, she used the gun. Fortunately, she is going to survive this one. Next time she might not be so lucky.

.

When I got home, there were five messages on my machine. Never a good sign. DJ's son died at 5:15 this evening. They have asked me to do the funeral, which will be Tuesday morning. He was not a member of the church, but his church is currently between pastors. I knew him. I called his wife and told her it would be an honor to do the service for them. I'm going to meet with the family Sunday afternoon.

.

I'm grateful my sermon for Sunday is already done. I'm grateful that I have friends who are supporting me with prayer. I'm grateful I figured out what Daughter had done before it was too late.