Faye aged to perfection!
It has often been said that, "God works in mysterious ways." This old adage is often evoked when one has a terrible experiences, a disaster occurs or some other horrible event for which there seem no logic or reason suddenly disrupts our lives. This was the case when one night my dear mother, La Faye S. Lynch, suffered a debilitating loss of consciousness.
One would think that everybody would rush to the aid of a family in crises and distress. But that is not what happened. My dear mother's illness was met with greed and corruption. At the time I was her attorney-in-fact, having been made such at her request way back in 1995. I was the only one she trusted with her life and property, that she gave me a Durable Power of Attorney, and specified that I be her guardian/conservator should she ever become incapacitated. She must have sensed that this was necessary as she was growing older, and wanted to be sure her wishes and desires would be followed by a loving son. I never asked for this, but took upon the responsibility as it was the least I could do for the one who had given me life and taught me how to love and be an honorable man.
On that fateful evening I was absorbed with my work, gazing into the computer monitor, making heart designs. My dog, Jade, came into my room and alerted me to the fact something was not right. I thought he wanted to go out, but he would not go out and instead he went and sniffed at my mother's bedroom door. It was locked and I got no response when I called, "Mom!" I had to use a wire to flip the lock and open the door. My mother was sitting on the toilet fiddling with her hands; she made no coherent response and went unconscious as I was trying to evoke a response. She certainly would have fallen over and probably hit her head on the bathroom tub had not I been there to catch her at that very moment. I had to lift her up, place her on her bed and call 911. Then I started to pray!
It seemed like it took the paramedics an eternity to arrive. I though my mother was going to die! I prayed and prayed, then as in answer to my prayers she regained consciousness shortly before I heard the paramedics knocking on the door. She was rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night and I followed. Once at the hospital I presented the Durable Power of Attorney my mother had the sense to make for me. It became necessary to authorize a variety of treatments including tube feeding and blood transfusion. Had not I been given that Durable Power of Attorney and been present to authorize treatment, my dear mother certainly would have died.
Yet she was never the same; she never returned to her former self. Something was missing. After a three week stay at the hospital she was transferred to a nursing home upon the recommendation of her doctor for "temporary rehabilitation." Yet that temporary rehab. turned into a virtual imprisonment as greedy and corrupt people took action to exploit my dear mother at a time when she was helpless to respond and could not speak for herself.
I had to fight to get her to see a private doctor and neurologist in order to discover that she now had dementia. The neurologist was able to prescribe Aricept to slow down her memory loss and improve her cognition. The nursing home doctor was keeping her doped up on drugs making her like a zombie. When I found out and tried to have her transferred to the best facility I could find, the nursing home got their big law firm in Birmingham to get a judge to stop the transfer overnight! They did not want to lose all that money, over $50.000/year, they were getting from my dear mother.
What happened next was incredible. These people took power and control over my mother, financially raping and robbing her of everything. Their lawyers sued me, her trusting, loving and loyal son, and I lost my home and everything including property of great values including sentimental value, which my parents had worked and sacrificed their whole lives for in service of our country. I essentially lost my inheritance to these greedy and corrupt people who ignored my dear mother's wishes and acted for their own benefit and profit.
God works in mysterious ways. Had not I been present on that fateful night when my dear mother became ill, she certainly would have died. Had not my faithful and loyal dog alerted me to the fact that something was wrong, my dear mother would have died. Had not I called paramedics and rushed her to the hospital and authorized all procedures needed to save her life, she would have died. Yet these greedy and corrupt people then turned on me and my dear mother, and took her for every last cent they could get! What they did and are continuing to do is an outrageous insult to my dear mother! How could this happen in America!
God works in mysterious ways. I ran out of money trying to fight this corruption. So I have fought back the only way l could, by telling my mother's story. I am hoping it will somehow make a difference. My home in Montgomery, Alabama, is already gone, over $200,000.00 down the drain. Everything inside the home is also gone; years of accumulated precious family heirlooms lost! But I was able to save a few item; my Dad's war medals and the American flag which draped his coffin.
I was the only son of four children who wrote a tribute and spoke at my father's funeral, honoring his years of service to our country. Perhaps that is why my dear mother knew she could depend upon me to make the best decisions for her should she ever become incapacitated. Yet her wishes and desires were ignored, greed and corruption took everything of value. Yet those who exploited my dear mother and me were not able to take away that most precious of possessions, faith in God and His love!
Thus I continue to tell this story that everyone may know what happened and perhaps there come to be a greater meaning to this family tragedy. For one day my mother will be gone from this good earth, as will I. What will remain? I hope it will be love! For you see, it is true that God works in mysterious ways. All that was lost due to greed and corruption counts as little. What is of greatest value is the love, knowing that a mother loved her children, knowing that a child so loved her mother, and knowing that through the telling of this tale, that love will go on.
God works in mysterious ways. I now live a much simpler life not burdened by so many material possessions. I have time to muse, to pen yarns and tales, to share with others the love that came unto my life through a Methodist minister's daughter, my dear mother. The story continues and none of us can know where its going, for God works in mysterious ways. All we can know for sure is that there is more to this tale than meets the eye. If you look inside your heart, perhaps you can begin to see within your own life that which is God's love. Then if you focus on this it may come to change your life and bring fortunes beyond your wildest dreams!
Indeed, God works in mysterious ways. Those who have exploited my dear mother and acted to destroy my family, causing the loss of my home and property, were motivated by greed and corruption. I imagine their hearts are tarnished and wonder if they even have a conscience or a soul? I wonder if they might burn in Hell for their evil deeds or if their bodies will simply rot, eaten by maggots and carrion beetles once they are in the grave? Do they even have the foggiest idea that God exists? Is there any love in their lives or hearts? Or are they cold as ice, intent only on how much money they can steal from the elderly and helpless?
God works in mysterious ways. I hope that in the telling of this tale about my dear mother, others may come to take a closer look at there lives. If you are having a similar experience, please take heart and do what is in the best interest of your elderly parents or grandparents; do not let money be a motivating factor as it was in the case of those who exploited my dear mother. Be motivated instead by love and the desire to provide your loved ones with the best quality of health care and life that money can buy for the time that they have remaining. If you do that, as I have done, then no matter what happens, at least you will have the knowledge that you were guided by God's hand and motivated by His love, rather than that dark abyss that is the greed and corruption so many fall into when given the opportunity to take advantage of the elderly.
I hope and pray that when others learn what happened to my dear mother and I, they will set their own affairs in order, preparing a Last Will and Testament, a Living Will and a Durable Power of Attorney. But as I have seen this is not enough. It is important that all family members know your intentions and that also we work together to change antiquated laws, so that at everyone can specify, designate and appoint their own guardian/conservator long before they become ill or incapacitated. That is want my dear mother tired to do, but in Alabama, county probate judges have the ultimate power of God in this respect -- and in my dear mother's case they treated her more like a non-person, more like a piece of property, a virtual slave, than a human being with her own wishes and desires. In Alabama and many other states, no one is free to determine their own fate, or to say that someone who loves them that they trust can make all the important decisions about their life should they become incapacitated!
When you think about it, this is a terrible miscarriage of justice! Every person should be allowed to say that someone they trust and love is the one who will be responsible for them should the need every arrive. We should all have that choice! Even if some judge or other hostile family members do not like the decisions we make for ourselves, it should be our choice to make them! That is what my dear mother believed and tried to do. Her philosophy of life was, "Do unto others as they wish to be done unto, NOT, as you want to be done unto you -- but as they wish to be done unto them!" Yet her wishes and desires were not followed due to greed and corruption of others, who did not what my dear mother wanted done, but what they wante done which was best for them! Such corruption of the legal system is not only a family tragedy -- it is a tragedy which effects all of society and could come to tarnish many more lives!
God works in mysterious way. Perhaps that is why my mother did not die and regained consciousness as I prayed. Had I not prayed for my dear mother's life, I would still have my home and property, as greedy and corrupt nursing home officials, hostile relative and corrupt judges and lawyers would not have had time to gather like sharks to conspire and orchistrate the financial rape and robbery of my dear mother's estate. But because she lived the greed and corruption of others came into play and I have lost much. Yet I came to know what I may never have come to learn otherwise, that there is a great and present danger lurking in our legal system. It threatens to destroy the lives and families of many others just as it has done to my mother and I. Perhaps seeing this evil, bringing it to light and asking everyone to work to reform our elder care system, is God's purpose.
I hope that what has happened to my dear mother and I will not happen to anyone else. Yet I fear it will unless we act to reform the laws in all states. Every person should be allowed to appoint someone they trust and love to be their guardian/conservator; this is NOT a power of God that should be granted to often greedy and corrupt judges or to nonrelative lawyers they may appoint ad litem. For even though family members are not immune to greed, at least when one has the option to appoint a most trusted and most loved person as their guardian/conservator, it becomes far more likely their wishes and desires will be carried out than if this is left to the probability that some unknown judge will honor their wishes in the future!
In closing I offer this prayer, "God, give us the wisdom, the love and the means to provide for our parents and grandparents, as well as for our children, the best in life; yet let not our heart's desire be motivated by greed or corrupted by money, power, fame or other forms of fortune and glory. Rather, let it be your love which is our motivation, which works through us to touch the heart, minds and souls of everyone in our lives -- as well as those we do not know, that this our world will be a better place that all may live and work in peace and harmony, enjoying what time we have together, until that fateful day we are in your arms! Amen."