Anger- Part 4
The “outbreak” in our facility brought with it a host of ongoing, never-ending, tedious, heartbreaking issues. When I thought things couldn’t possibly get worse, December 10th, 2020, exactly 5 months after our “outbreak” my husband’s father died of covid. My father-in-law drove himself to the hospital on Thanksgiving night and never left. Everything happened quickly. It was surreal. Like most, we had a private family cemetery funeral.
My husband had obviously been under extreme pressure and stress before his dad died. He was handling it as well as anyone could under the circumstances. However, the death of his father was incredibly difficult. I think his death was our breaking point. My husband’s grief brought about intense anger in him, and I found myself trying to intercept things for him. I hated watching my husband go through such difficulty.
I felt responsible for him, our family, and Wedgewood. I felt more pressure than ever. I felt I needed to be strong for him, our family, the residents, the resident family members, and the staff. I was very used to running things past my father-in-law when I had concerns about the business. He was no longer around, and I didn’t want to bother my husband. None of it seemed real. People were quitting everything during that time. Do you remember? It was a “quitting pandemic.” Quitting seemed very attractive. I’m glad I didn’t. I’m glad we didn’t.
Randy and I are a testimony of God’s grace, mercy, and provision. When I think of everything that occurred, I think of Psalm 40:1-4:
I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth— Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord. Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust, Psalm 40:1-4a
It’s been almost 6 years since my father-in-law’s passing. I will finish by telling you how God has moved us forward.