He Will Hold Me Fast

He Will Hold Me Fast

Our oldest grandchild, Molly, turned eight on May eighth. I was asking around the table about what others remembered from that age. I remember not much, nor did Jessica. Jane has a great memory, and Courtney as well. But Taylor reminded us that age eight was quite the year.

Jane owned Your Nesting Place at the time, and we would make annual trips down to High Point, NC for the furniture show. We would find fun things to do along the way, like hiking at Pilot Mountain and stopping by the little town of Blowing Rock.
Taylor, age eight, was “off” that trip. He never got sick, but he just wasn’t himself. While Jane was busy and I had the kids at Pilot Mountain, I had to push him along and carry him part of the time, and I remember being pretty hard on him. And, he was thirsty all the time.

We were visiting in Blowing Rock when we stopped buying him Coke and got him a Pedialyte. He drank the whole thing and then lost it all. I think it was the first time that Taylor every threw up in his life. We called a nurse back home and she sent us to the hospital.

The Blowing Rock hospital was a nursing home with an emergency room and a few patient rooms. I only remember seeing one doctor, but when he read Taylor’s blood sugar, he pushed us aside and went to work. Only Taylor’s youth allowed him to survive the 1300 number. He was Type 1 diabetic, and we didn’t have a clue. They stabilized him over the next four days, and that nurse and her husband from MI drove down to accompany us back home, since they knew we didn’t know what we were doing.

When we got home, I felt like nothing would be the same again. I was sure we would never have another birthday cake in the house. I was wrong about that, and the Children’s Hospital doctor acquainted us with the “permissive” approach to Type 1 management, since there had been so many failures with the “strict” regimen. Taylor switched to Diet Coke, and there were lots of needles and pokes, but we managed.

I am so thankful for Jeff and June Jones driving from MI to NC all night to help us get home again (June is an RN). I am thankful for Andy Rogers filling the pulpit on short notice on a Palm Sunday since we were not allowed to leave Blowing Rock. I am thankful for Evie Laxton crying with me on the phone, and for the whole congregation’s concern. I am thankful for my dad explaining to me that diabetes is an “old” disease, and that I could have full confidence in the doctors knowing how to handle it. I am thankfulfor Jane, who is really the brains the of outfit. And I am thankful to the Lord for “holding us fast” through this experience in which we were so foolish and ignorant and naive. God has great patience and compassion for those who are in the midst of a storm. In the storm, there is no game plan and you don’t know what tomorrow holds, but He holds us fast “through life’s fearful path.”

I am also sorry for many things concerning which I should have been more aware and perceptive. I wish I would have been more patient and full of faith. I could have taken better stock of the information at hand and applied greater discipline in shaping how we managed the situation. I’m sorry for others in our extended families that have endured the same disease with their children. But through all this, the Lord has held us fast.

I’m glad that Taylor’s no longer eight, and I pray for Molly and all those other 8-year-old’s, that they make it through this year of their lives in ways where they grow and learn and have fun. But whatever happens, I am sure that the Lord will hold them and their families fast.