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Articles by Roberta MessnerFrom
4 Tips for Overcoming Loneliness When You Have a Chronic Illness
A longtime nurse offers expert advice on how to avoid isolation by joining a support group, getting a pet and more. In my 45 years as a registered nurse, I’ve seen how chronic illness and pain can isolate people, taking over their lives until it seems as if there’s no room for friends or family, even God. I know firsthand how dealing with physical and emotional pain can be one of the loneliest experiences you can ever have. It can even have physical and mental health consequences.
How Years of Chronic Pain Tested Her Faith
She prayed for healing from a lifetime of pain and tumors. Was she not faithful enough? A 54-year-old woman with encephalitis goes into remission after touching the tombstone of Charlene Richard, known as the Little Cajun Saint, in Louisiana. An 11-year-old in central Texas with an inoperable brain tumor is prayed for by her community, and an MRI soon after shows the impossible: The tumor has disappeared.
Someone Cares: Raised Right
What a terrible start to a weekend getaway! Someone had stolen my tote from the car. Money, credit cards, medications—everything I needed had been in that bag. I was three hours from home and frantic. The police officer who answered my call could not have been more helpful. He gave me tips on handling my case, contacted my insurance company and even offered me money to get home. Thanking him didn’t seem like enough. When the officer called to check on me, I got an idea.
Someone Cares: Sweetheart
Couponing. Clipping all those little pieces of paper, then getting them in some kind of order before shopping—it always seemed like an awful lot of trouble. When I tried it, I found myself buying stuff I didn’t even need or like. One year, around Christmas, I was at the pharmacy and ended up in line behind a lady who forked out only $3.97 for four hundred dollars’ worth of holiday treats. “Boy, she has a sweet tooth,” I said as she walked out the door.
Could She Reconnect with a Long-Lost Friend?
Roberta Messner wondered if her friend would even want to hear from her It hit me in the middleof the checkout line at Marshall’s. I was thirsty. As thirsty as a camel. I couldn’t wait another minute to get something to drink. But four days before Christmas, the place was packed. The line? Moving like molasses. Just ahead, though, I saw something by the registers, like a mirage in the desert. A refrigerator of drinks.
The Prayers of Others Saw Her Through Opioid Withdrawal
Past three o’clock in the morning, two weeks before Easter. I sat in the darkness of my car, parked in my driveway, feeling as if I were going insane. I’d been awake all night. I couldn’t stop twitching, moving, grabbing at myself. My mind raced. Bad voices clawed the edges of my brain. I tried everything I could to stop them. Racing up and down my attic stairs. Doing frantic jumping jacks. Bicycling my legs in the air. But it was hopeless. On the streets, they had a name for what ailed me: dope sick.
Someone Cares: Raining Blessings
The umbrellas at the outlet were so cute—and such a great price—I couldn’t resist buying a few. Later that week, a friend told me she was going through a rough patch. I got out my stationery to write a note, then remembered the umbrellas. One had a darling cat and dog print, just right for an animal lover. On a small piece of card stock, I wrote, “Let’s weather this together. I’m here for you.” I tied it to the umbrella and mailed them out the next morning. She loved it! Umbrellas became my go-to.
Angels in the Laundromat
Sunday night at the laundromat. It was a huge inconvenience, especially with Christmas just a few weeks away. But my dryer was on the blink. I’d washed my clothes at home, and then transported them in plastic bags to finish the job here. As I loaded the dryers—one for towels, a second for jeans and another for delicates—I caught sight of one of the machines below the three I was using. Spinning around together to the backdrop of the evening news were tube socks and a child’s party dress.
Three Inspiring Words That Foretold Her Miraculous Healing
Should I open it? Should I wait? Should I…? I sat in my Nissan in the hospital parking lot, holding the envelope with my MRI results, frozen with indecision. My appointment with the neurologist wasn’t until the following afternoon. Should I wait for him to open the envelope? Then again, I’d been a nurse for more than 40 years. I didn’t exactly need a doctor to understand what the radiologist had found. And whether or not my worst fears had come true.
Experience Has Taught This Nurse to Trust Her Intuition
I was 19 years old, studying for my associate’s degree in nursing. It was the winter of my last semester, and I was headed for the library. “Come eat lunch with us and study for the psych quiz tomorrow,” one of my classmates said. “The neurology exam isn’t until next week. We can cram for it later.” I shook my head. I couldn’t explain it. But I just couldn’t shake the feeling that I had to study my neurology materials for class right now.
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