Valley of Dry Bones: Update on Mom

Last night we saw Mom through our phones. Without hair, you can now see the roundness of her head. Her face is slightly puffy. A tube protrudes from her mouth. The nurses tell us she looks comfortable. To the family, we’re not so sure. Mom rhythmically nods her head up and down with each breath. Not unlike when someone’s head would nod up and down when out of breath. Mom’s eyes were open but it lacked the alertness she had yesterday. It must have been the Precedex. Still, one can tell the look of recognition.

The nurse set down the phone and angled it so we could see Mom. She had to attend to other duties. After about two minutes the phone fell and all we could see was the white of a bedsheet. I continued with my worship thought confident Mom could still hear me. Afterward, David sang God Will Make a Way on the guitar. We began to hear a loud piercing staccato of two beeps repeated every other second coming from Mom’s Room.

I called the ICU and told them we couldn’t see Mom. The nurse donned her gown and mask and refocused the camera phone. We could see Mom again. This time she barely kept her eyes open. After a few seconds, we could only see the white of bedsheets. “Sorry,” the nurse said. “She needs some suctioning.” The suction slurped again and again. Additional sounds with different pitches and frequencies sounded off. What began as a solo alarm now erupted into a chorus with clashing harmonies.

“Can someone get RT in here,” said the nurse. “I’m sorry, I’m going to have to let you guys go.” After brief good-byes the nurse hung up the phone. We sat in silence for a moment. Our minds wondered what the next moment would bring.

The following morning I called for an update. Mom’s blood pressure had dropped and they needed to start her on Levophed, a medication that keeps blood pressure up. Her FiO2 (oxygen support) increased, too. However, by dawn, she was off the Levophed and her FiO2 was only slightly higher.

Nurse Marifel seemed to be cheery for someone about to end her shift. “I call her Auntie because I’m Filipino.” It was a touch I’m sure Mom enjoyed.

Then the kicker came. “I’ve increased her Precedex from 0.1 to 0.3. She’s emotional. A lot of tears.”

During our worship thought I read the story of the Valley of Dry Bones found in Ezekiel 37:1-10.

The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.  He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry.  He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!  This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.  I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.  I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

Resurrection begs the question, Is anything impossible with God? Can Mom be healed from even this?

After sharing, I prayed for Mom. I knew she could hear me though we could only see the white of a bedsheet. I prayed that the Almighty would breathe breath into her lungs so she could breathe on her own again.

Mom needs our prayers today. Her tears may be because she misses her family. It may be due to discouragement. Perhaps there’s another reason I haven’t considered. She continues to need prayer for healing of the lungs. But above all, pray she may experience a peace that transcends all understanding.