My 95-year-old mother lives in a Christian Science community about 500 miles from me. She has had a few falls over recent years, with good healings each time. Last November she fell again in her apartment. The community staff and a local Christian Science nurse gave her initial help until I could fly down to be with her. She was troubled with severe back pain that made walking extremely difficult, and lying down/getting up painfully hard. I was a practical and metaphysical support for several days, and we used a walker and wheelchair to get around the apartment.
Progress wasn’t being made, however. And that weekend, I was scheduled to fly East for my annual Christian Science Association meeting, an inspiring event my mother did not want me to miss. The Christian Science nurses on call in the area weren’t available for the kind of full-time help she needed. And Mother objected strongly to the other logical option — a Christian Science nursing facility. (“You just go there to die” was her view!) Her care was of course my first priority, and I turned in prayer to God to open the way for a solution that would bless us both, giving her the care she needed and allowing me to attend my meeting — if that were the right course.
One day I was talking to the local Christian Science nurse for suggestions on care, and mentioned the nursing facility as not an option. She immediately said that the facility would be the ideal place for Mother, not only for the loving care she’d receive but also as getting her away from her routine and provide a “metaphysical kickstart” to the healing. Mother had a high respect for this woman’s opinion, and when I shared these thoughts, she quietly agreed to go. We had to transport her to the car in a wheelchair and she was wheeled to her lovely room at the facility when she arrived. She was very receptive to the spiritual atmosphere and delighted by the care (and food!) provided. She was soon touring the facility in a walker, and within the week, able to return home — without a wheelchair. A full-time caregiver was available when she returned, and within a couple of days, she was free of the walker, and needed only a few hours of daytime care. She continues to walk freely without any aid. I’m so grateful for the provision of the nursing facilities (that they are actually places to live and progress), and the clear-sighted confidence the nurses display in guiding patients toward healing.
CO