31 May, 2015

Life Interrupted

So, a week ago, Mr. Goodneedle and I decided that we'd try our hand at upholstery, we're learning as we go. We have two wing chairs in our bedroom that were begging for facelifts and we'd finally succumbed to their incessant whining. He began the time consuming task of removing staples and slowly peeling the 1980's era crewel-work front and coordinating mauve velveteen back from the framework, salvaging each section to serve as a pattern piece. I disassembled the seat cushion covers; it, too, was a tedious task. This photo represents where we left off, on Wednesday of this past week... right now we're at a standstill. My dear mother-in-law somehow twisted her right knee and succeeded in doing severe damage, rendering her completely non-weight bearing. It took a few days and a few Dr.'s visits for her as well as an ultrasound (to rule out a blood clot) and an ambulance ride to the Emergency Department for an MRI before the final diagnosis was delivered. What began for her as a painful annoyance quickly escalated to a condition where she could not walk. She's now residing in a local hospital, resting the leg, and will soon be turned over to an orthopedist for further treatment/rehab. It's frustrating for her, she has no idea how it happened. When you're frail, and elderly, it doesn't take much to find yourself sidelined indefinitely, and with that comes a moderate level of confusion too. We're doing all that we can to help but it's going to take time, patience and a cooperative spirit on her part before any progress happens as far as getting her back up on her own two feet, and, ultimately, back home if at all possible.
In the meantime we have chosen new fabric for reupholstering the chairs, but that's as far as we've gone. I have a quilt ready to load on Snowbird that will cover our bed; out go the pastels and in come some deeper, richer tones for our all new bedroom decor. As far as the newbie upholsterers go it's going to take time and patience before we see progress in the redecorating department... but it will happen! We know that to be true. Life interrupted for us is easy enough to start back up. Sadly, the truth of a life interrupted for someone who's 92 years of age and fragile of body is a traumatic occurrence; it's likely to be a long time to get back to where she was.

Join me in prayer, if you will, for healing of body and spirit and a return to normal life, 
whatever God wills that to be, for my dear mother-in-law;
 she, and we, would deeply appreciate that today.
Life is Good! 

11 comments:

Nancy Near Philadelphia said...

Oh, GOLLY, the poor lady! And such a sad situation. Of course I shall pray for her, and for you and him as well, because this kind of thing impacts the whole family. xx

LizA. said...

Sending prayers for you MIL for a speedy recovery. As for the upholstery --good luck......at least your chairs are a few decades newer than the one I started to reupholster several years ago....mine was from my grandparents home and my father remembers it from when he was a boy. There were 4, yes 4 different layers of fabric, each just put over the previous one. It also had horsehair stuffing. My wrist gave out from prying out all the tacks and then we had to fined new springs for the seat -- that's when I put the project aside and have yet to get back to it....sigh.

Jeanne said...

Praying for your mother-in-law and you during this challenging time. Good luck with the chairs!

Janet O. said...

Definitely will join you in prayer. I know how this impacts a family, as my MIL fell 18 months ago and broke her femur. After surgery and a few days at the hospital, she spent months in rehab. When she came home she could do very little for herself, but gradually regained some strength. I hope your MIL recovers well. It is a tough thing at her age.
I'm impressed with your upholstery efforts.

lindsey said...

Oh dear, I do hope your MIL is soon on the mend. The new fabric for your chairs looks lovely, I look forward to seeing the task completed :)

Kathy ... aka Nana said...

Praying for your MIL and the rest of you during this difficult time.

Quiltdivajulie said...

Sending prayers and gentle hugs of encouragement . . . for MIL, the whole family, and especially for the caregivers who will be working with MIL during her recovery.

Anonymous said...

I've added your MIL in my prayers, as well as you and Mr. Goodneedle. I'm hoping that she lives close to you so it is easy to visit and help with her recovery. Blessing to all of you.

Little Penpen said...

Loving the new upholstery fabric... can't wait to see the reveal! I hope your MIL is doing better today!

cityquilter grace said...

consider it done mrs g for your MIL; life interrupted at any age can be devastating but even more so for the aged...take heart, my 90 yo aunt recovered from a broken hip to walk again; i find so many elderly much more resilient than one would think.

Tanya said...

So sorry to hear about your mother-in-law's accident. I can imagine as my mother is 93 and has the frailness and confusion also. It is important for the care givers to take care of themselves also so give yourself (and your husband) some relax time also.