Shoes.....

Shoes are a necessity if dining out (No shirt, No shoes, No service), if walking on most surfaces, if wearing a new dress outside your own home. The type of shoes traditionally worn by a group of people establish cultural ties such as wooden shoes and moccasins. Shoes have been used as a reference point in popular movies such as "Forrest Gump" ("Those look like comfortable shoes") and "The Man with One Red Shoe".

I've been thinking about shoes a lot lately. Can you tell?

I have my Grandma Hazel to blame. My mom, dad, and grandma came from Oklahoma for a visit last weekend. They arrived on Thursday and left Tuesday morning. While here, Grandma wanted to find shoes to match some spring dresses for church. They needed to have a heel but not much of a heel. They needed to be "springy" but not open toed. They needed to have a strap around the ankle. They couldn't be made of a material that might get dirty. And they needed to be about $25. My mother warned me, but I took the plunge and told her that I would take she and grandma shoe shopping. WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?!?!

I truly love my grandma. And I totally understand the delima of not being able to find just the right shoe. (Most women understand this problem.) We shopped and shopped and just couldn't find the right shoe [see requirements above].

Now, I'm going to digress for a moment....
My grandfather passed away in November and grandma is still grieving as expected. The whole family felt that getting away and seeing the sights of Colorado as well as visiting me was just what she needed. And I felt that finding the perfect shoe would help in so many ways.

About halfway through the shoe shopping experience, I noticed that grandma wasn't feeling well. She didn't feel well the rest of the night and didn't feel like going to church the next morning. Mom was worried about her due to the fact that her doctors in Oklahoma are concerned about her heart. She had bypass surgery in 1998 and had many complications due to that.

Mom and dad decided to cut their trip short and start home on Sunday afternoon. I suggested taking grandma to Urgent Care to check on things before getting on the road. Grandma didn't hesitate. This was the first time I really became concerned about her. The Urgent Care staff was amazing. After an EKG, grandma was whisked to the hospital via ambulance. The staff was concerned that she was having a heart attack. As mom and I were following the ambulance, we talked about the foolishness of encouraging her to travel and expecting that everything would be okay. I started blaming myself for pushing her into shoe shopping.

Five nitroglycerin tablets, eight doses of morphine, and a CT scan later, a cardiologist was called in. It was 6:30 pm on Sunday night. He ordered an arteriogram to see if damage had been done to the heart and to repair what needed to be repaired. Grandma was wheeled into the operating room at 7:30 pm. As she rolled away from us, I noticed the stack of her clothes topped by her shoes underneath the bed. We entered the ICU waiting room. Mom started to cry, and my mind felt numb as all I could think of was that we didn't find the shoes grandma wanted.

The nurse brought grandma's clothes to us in the waiting room. One shoe was missing. We noticed but had bigger concerns.

Thirty minutes later the surgeon came out to talk to mom and dad. She assured them that there was nothing wrong with grandma's heart. She even took mom and dad to see the computer images taken from the procedure to prove that there was no damage. Even though grandma's EKG looked concerning, this was normal for her and was of no concern. Grandma has gall stones and this is more than likely the cause of the pain.

Troy and I were not present when the surgeon talked to mom and dad, so we were thrilled to hear the news when we returned to the waiting room. I went to grandma's ICU room before we left for the night. On the walk there, mom told me that earlier, when she walked in, they had grandma's other shoe tied to the rail above her head. I started laughing. How fitting.

God has a purpose in everything and He is in control. I thank Him for bring my grandmother all the way to Colorado to find out that she does not have heart problems and can possibly stop taking some of her medication. I thank Him for the staff in the Urgent Care and the hospital for being so attentive to grandma.

Troy and I make a trip home every holiday season (either Thanksgiving or Christmas). I'm hoping that I can take grandma on a little holiday trip............SHOE SHOPPING!!!!