My Mom - Jackie Bauer

We prayed over my mom tonight, Brett and Kerrie, Jeremy and Suzie, Jody, Dad and I. We were In the ICU at Sacred Heart in Spokane, with leads, pumps, monitors attached to our dear Jacquelyn. She means the world to us and she’s laying there pretty uncomfortable as she’s been ordered to stay on her back. She’s blessed to be surrounded by us and we feel her peace. We chat for a while and end up praying for a while over her. It’s emotional but only in the remembrance of how much she has meant to us. I remember all of the ways I’ve failed her and the sorrow I’ve needlessly put her through as a rambunctious, out of control, unregenerate, pseudo-respectful, put together, responsible appearing young teen.

Eight years ago she fell while on a vacation with her Mom in Victoria BC. The doctors found that her heart had just stopped. She was given a pace-maker and then after a recall on the product was studied a little more and found to have really low heart function. This put her on a path to find more cardio help. We come to today (Wednesday almost Thursday) with Mom preparing for a Open Heart surgery where they will place a Left Ventricular Assist Device into her abdomen and connect it to her heart to send the blood in enough volume to strengthen all her organs. Soon enough, we pray, she’ll be moving on to the top of the heart transplant list and receive a donated heart. For now we are waiting on a risky surgery that will give her a consistent supply of blood and return much of her normal functioning. She’s been running on such a low supply and doing so much, She’ll feel like a super woman. Super Woman with a few batteries and a computer attached to a set of cables out her side, of course. So maybe more like the Bionic Woman.

Anytime someone feels the need to slice through your Mom’s sternum and open the pericardium to tinker with her ticker, you get a little queezy. At least I do and this is only the first time. The next one will be to put in a donated heart. But meeting the docs here at Sacred heart and her nurse, who has only one patient tonight, we are super confident that they have her absolute best care in mind. As I head to bed in a borrowed basement I am at peace. We’ll be up in a few hours to send mom off to surgery and are so thankful for your prayers and concern. Dad is overwhelmed by how much God’s People have blessed him and has learned so much about love and grace. Mom has sleeping pills. I don’t, but expect to sleep well enough. Good night.

Aaron for the Bauer Family.