Christmas 2021: A Long Overdue Update

Merry Christmas from the other Georgia Gambinis. (Jonathan and his family were here before us so I consider us to be the “other” Gambinis here.) Changing my tactic regarding Christmas greetings (we haven't sent Christmas cards in years) I decided to try utilizing the electronic means at our disposal to give as many of our family, friends and interested others an update on our lives. This way, if you're not interested in plowing through an uninteresting and interminably long letter, you can just skip it.

Most of you know – but some of you probably don't – that we moved to Georgia in 2018 so we could be closer to our son and his family. We live about 10-15 minutes away from them in Newnan, Georgia located about 30 minutes southwest of Atlanta. I won't go into everything we've done and experienced in the last 3½ years – just a few bits to give you a feel.

When we first moved here, we moved into a very comfortable 2-bedroom apartment. After about a year, we decided to purchase a 3-bedroom manufactured home in a very quiet community. A few months after we moved here, I decided to get a full-time job and went to work at a nearby Chick Fil A. I thoroughly enjoyed what I did and the people with whom I worked and whom I served. Wendy decided to officially retire early and begin getting social security payments. We also plugged into St. Matthew Catholic Church where Jonathan, Norma, Jamie and Simon worship.

During our first couple of years, here, Wendy began to experience problems with her vision and with her balance. We had found a good eye doctor and she got a new eye glass prescription but it didn't seem to help. The eye doctor told us that he noticed that her eyes “jiggled” periodically and suggested she see a neuro-ophthalmologist. We had taken her to a neurologist the year before to try to determine a cause for her imbalance but nothing was diagnosed. The neuro-ophthalmologist also said he could find nothing.

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving in 2020, Wendy fell at home and broke her hip requiring a full replacement of her left hip. After surgery and therapy I was able to bring her home the week before Christmas (originally, she was scheduled to come home Christmas Eve). She's healed well from the surgery but her worsening dizziness, balance problems and difficulty seeing – and now a seeming weakness developing in all of her limbs were of tremendous concern. Also, cognitive abilities were becoming compromised. Speech – both pronunciation and finding the words themselves – was problematic.

In May, Wendy turned 65 and we were able to get a medicare advantage plan that has helped tremendously with medical expenses. She saw a Primary Care Physician and we explained to her Wendy's symptoms and what we've tried. She recommended a neurologist whom we saw and FINALLY received a diagnosis of PSP – Progressive Supraneural Palsey, rare disease with symptoms initially that are Parkinson's-like. And like Parkinson's, there is currently no known cause nor cure.

In the midst of this I was diagnosed with early Stage 3 Kidney Disease and pre-diabetes. Basically it means I've had to radically change my eating habits – most of which entails as little sodium as possible and severe reduction of red meat and carbs. Processed foods – including most restaurant dining has been greatly curtailed. While it certainly has been an adjustment for us – I've been learning how to cook. Love the cooking but not so much the clean up.

It's been a tough year for just about all of us. For some it's mostly been matters of inconvenience. For others, it's been a year of disappointment, of genuine pain, loss, and brokenness, of the dying of dreams long held, of the light at the end of the tunnel looking like it's gone out. Perhaps this describes your situation to some degree. Covid-19 has played no small part in all of this but we are reminded that what we see and feel is not all there is to reality. There is a Truth and a Life that exists and which Christmas – as the Church has observed and celebrated – reminds us. All the celebrations and all the tears ought remind us that we are on our way Home. For now, the comfort and peace of Home – of Christmas – is found in faith in Christ. One day, faith will become sight – and we'll be home.