Caregiver for Mom

Even though she is the president of Beyond Indigo, a website for people who are dealing with grief, loss and caregiving issues, Kelly Baltzell admits that no one is ever fully prepared for difficulties within one’s family.  When her mother Karin awakened one morning shortly before Christmas, she discovered that she couldn’t walk.  “She had had a minor backache the night before, but hadn’t thought much of it,” Kelly says.  “Now here she is in Florida, on vacation and in agonizing pain.”  Kelly threw a suitcase together and caught the first plane she could.  On the plane, she asked angels to be near her mother.

“By the time I got there, my mom was on heavy medication,” Kelly says.  “She wasn’t thinking clearly, and could not feel part of her right foot, nor could she sit for more than five minutes at a time.  How was I going to get her home, on a plane?”  Monica would have to sit during transportation to and from the airports, during waiting time and at least during takeoff and landing.  How was this supposed to happen?  Kelly decided to try and book the flight first, and worry about her mother’s medication later.

“This didn’t look good either,” Kelly says.  “It was close to the holidays and almost everything was taken.  Who was going TO Minnesota during this time of year?” She didn’t know but initially, there were no seats to be had, especially two right next to each other.  Kelly continued to ask the angels for help, while conducting marathon phone conversations with reservationists.

 Suddenly, an airline had two seats, together, not tomorrow, but the next day.  It seemed a long time to wait.  But Kelly had a strong feeling that she and her mother were supposed to be on this flight.  Instead of continuing to check—or deciding to fly standby—she took the two seats.  She had asked, hadn’t she?  Why should she object when she was given an answer?

“The next hurdle was getting my mother to sit for several hours,” Kelly says.  “The day of the flight, she was still in horrible pain.  She took as much medication as she safely could, and we started off.  And everything was perfect.”

The rental car that took them to the airport barely bounced—it was as comfortable as a cloud.  The plane was early, and Kelly and Karin were allowed to board first.  Although Kelly had reserved different seats, the ones they were given were in the bulkhead, with lots of extra room for Karin to slump over onto her daughter, if necessary.  The attendants were vigilant and kind.

The flight itself was smooth with no turbulence (despite the usual bounces on Midwest winter flights).  “We landed early—how often does that happen?” Kelly says, “and there was a wheelchair waiting right at our gate.  Our bags arrived without a hitch, and by the time I had pushed Mom out to the curb, my dad was waiting there in the car.”  Overwhelmed with relief, Kelly realized later that her mother had been able to sit for a far longer period than either of them had planned. Instead of a nightmare trip, all had gone amazingly well.

Karin underwent surgery shortly thereafter, to repair a bulging disc in her back, and is expected to make a complete recovery, including regeneration of all the nerves.  She and Kelly are convinced that—although no one saw them---angels were definitely working behind the scenes.  “It all fell into place when that certain flight became available,” Kelly says. “I knew they were taking care of us.”   

Check Kelly’s website at: www.beyondindigo.com.

(c) 2003 Joan Wester Anderson  www.joanwanderson.com