(#5410) Brother John got to his 70th birthday today

      It is quite early this morning right now but later in a few more hours I will go see my brother John in the hospice care facility. Back when he had his stroke the odds weren't good that he would make it to his birthday. But today he is still alive and fighting to get better. The doctors don't think he will make it in the long term but I don't much care about what they think as much as I care about how John is trying to get himself back to how he was even though that seems impossible. But he doesn't want to give in to the idea that he will never leave the hospice facility and I support him.
     The only real avenue for John is his hope and he is not letting go of it. Nor shall I. He called me last evening about some fear he is experiencing and I tried to calm him on the phone about it. What is happening in his mind is that his fears are taking on a life of their own and affecting his reality. What is just television or offhand conversation becomes real for him. This is not uncommon I am told about the stages of his affliction but with reason and calm he can be assuaged. None of us know what it is like to slowly lose who we are in real time and what john is going through is beyond what many of us can decipher. Yet being patient with him and letting him know that I care about him makes him less anxious and intense.
     John is surrounded by good people at the care facility as they are very aware of the symptoms of the dying. But they also are aware that some make it out of there because of sheer will and determination with a little bit of luck. So it will be for John if he is to recover to some semblance of himself. I am happy for John to have made it 70 years in his journey in this existence and today I will be with him for a bit to celebrate that. He wants to come home so badly but he cannot take care of himself for now and if he is able to care for himself I will bring him home. That is his hope and he is striving to attain that but his mind is working against him at times. What we have is today and hopefully many more to come.