JOY Comes in the Morning!
The Story of a Personal Journey with My Mother, Alzheimer's, and God
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...In February 2011, I began what I call the JOY treatments, because my Mother's middle name was JOY. And, I had a strong prompting to take the treatment with her as well. It seemed to help me understand what Mother might be experiencing. Incidentally, I found that I had plenty of excess aluminum in my body as well. But it did not compare to Mother's. This experience was a long ride with many ups and downs, and to keep a long story short, we completed the treatment in a few weeks and began to wean her from her drugs one by one because her body started to reject them. There were behaviors between all of these changes that were managed as best we could, and it seemed that the more Mother was able to function on fewer drugs, the more we could actually see her personality coming to the surface. Her comprehension and communication improved. The staff was amazed at some of the changes they saw in Mother, and I believe they were truly hoping for successful results. One day Mother was sitting in her recliner, and I was in the room with her. She was not saying much that day, but she all of a sudden looked at me with great intensity! She pointed at me and said, “YOU!!!... HAVE A HEART!!!..." she held her arms as wide apart as she could and said, “...THIS BIG!!!” It brought tears to my eyes and touched my heart for sure. Through everything that Mother was experiencing, she could still reach out and touch hearts with her love and kindness. And she did it many, many times. It was amazing! Every once in a while, she would look at me so sweetly and whisper so softly, “Thank You!” I knew it came straight from her heart. It's the kind of person she was and the Mother we loved so much!... ...MiMi Goes Home So, on Easter weekend of 2012, we brought Mother back home. The sitter traveled to my house to stay with her on a daily basis for several weeks, even though it was an hour away. That's what I call dedication! I don't know what I would have done without her at that point! She worked with me until I could get someone lined up in our hometown. And I was very thankful when our original caretaker was available and was so glad to see MiMi. She had a lot going on with her children and was able to get another one of her sisters-in-law to help her cover the hours during the 9 to 7 day that we needed a caretaker. I wasn't sure how Mother was going to receive her other sister-in-law since she had never seen her before. But the first time Mother saw her; she smiled at her, looked at me, and said, “She is beautiful!” Mother had this way of seeing a person's heart. She was saying that she was beautiful inside and out. I knew it was going to be a good thing. So, they hit it off on the first visit. I couldn't help but observe the calming effect this caretaker seemed to have on Mother. It was beautiful to see that she truly loved what she did and found so much contentment in doing it. She was another blessing from God! The traveling caretaker considered moving with us but decided to just fill in when my girls on this end could not do it. God bless every one of these ladies. They all hold a special place in my heart! I never could have done it without them. And I believe with total confidence that MiMi holds the same regard.... ...The second day Mother was at my house, SOMETHING AMAZING HAPPENED! She stood very still in my living room and very calmly and slowly gazed in amazement around the room. Then she quickly darted down the hallway and back to her room and plopped herself in her recliner! I decided I better go check on her. I walked down the hall and stood in her doorway. She pointed her finger at me and gestured with her finger for me to come here. Then she pointed to the top of her head. And because I always kissed her on the forehead, I said, “You want me to kiss you on your forehead?” She shook her head yes. I walked over to her and kissed her on the forehead. She took her finger and whole arm and pointed straight to the sky as she said with great emphasis and expression, “YOU!!!!........…. ARE…BEAUTIFUL!!!!”Tears began to swell up in my eyes! She pointed up and said it again "BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!" It hit me in the heart with a revelation that she knew I had brought her back home! From that point on, she was happier and began to enjoy herself so much more! And you must know how HAPPY that made me!... ...One day I found myself very discouraged, and I believe it was simply because the longevity of the experiences offered overwhelming moments from time to time. My husband and I were sitting on the back porch, and he was lending me an ear as he so often did through the years. Bless his heart! All of a sudden, a butterfly came from nowhere and flew inside the screened back porch and touched me on the head and flew away. When it touched me I gathered once again, "NEW BEGINNINGS!”It always changed my heart for the good. God works in mysterious ways, but I can tell you this, HE IS ALWAYS WITH US! And HE IS SO REAL! Anyway, the butterfly now reminds me of the ever-loving grace of God and the blessing of NEW BEGINNINGS!
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About the Book
This story is about a simple, well-respected, dignified, but strong and relentless small town woman who, as a Mother, had 4 children and, as a Grandmother "MiMi", had several grandchildren and great grandchildren as well. There was no doubt that her family and God were most important to her! She was a secretary for a junior high school for over 20 years and was a classy lady indeed. She was a dedicated choir member in her church for over 30 years. She was very rarely sick until her 50's and 60's. The signs and symptoms became evident that something was going on, but what? A study campaign was launched to discover what was causing these changes. They simply wanted to know more and to understand what was happening to their beautiful Mother! The experiences were somewhat overwhelming at times. BUT THEN, there's GOD! "Weeping may endure for a night, but JOY comes in the Morning!" -Psalm 30:5 NASB Beautiful moments with their Mother are shared in this heartfelt story of the kind of love that never ends! Eleven and a half years into this disease and after natural treatments, her Mother was able to come back to her daughter's home from a 2-year residence at an assisted living facility off all drugs for the remainder of her life. What a blessing it was! Her children knew in their hearts that their Mother would want to be at home because she loved being with her family so much! Based on these experiences, it is easy to believe that this disease is possibly preventable. And hopefully sharing this story will help someone who might be experiencing the same thing. So be healed by this beautiful story as it is definitely worth the time it takes to read it. Beautiful moments with their Mother are shared in this heartfelt story of the kind of love that never ends! There was an earnest determination that her children loved her so much that they wanted her to be at home with family when it was her time to be with the Lord. In their hearts, they knew that it was what their Mother would have wanted, because she loved being with her family so much! It simply touched the heart in that moment their Mother realized that she had been moved back to her daughter's home! What a blessing it was! Through these experiences, the author was led to discoveries, treatments, and God's ever-loving Grace that she shares in this story. It is quite possible that it was discovered 100 years ago that aluminum gets into the brain and causes havoc. But sadly there are many people suffering with this disease today. Based on these experiences, she believes wholeheartedly that this disease can quite possibly be prevented and desires to honor her Mother and God by simply sharing her story and discoveries. And hopefully it will help someone who might be experiencing the same thing. So be healed by this beautiful story as it is definitely worth the time it will take to read it.
About the Author
Kelly Kainer Billington is blessed to be a mother of one amazing son and a grandmother (Nana) of two awesome grandsons! Her family and God are most important to her. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration-Management w/Teacher Certification. After 12 years in public schools, she became a real estate broker, investor, renovator, and manager of the family businesses for 22+ years alongside her beloved husband who went to be with the Lord in 2022. She has recently retired to spend quality time with her family. She manages her own website at www.kellykainerbillington.com and has included a beautiful tribute to her beloved Mother as well as a link to her copyrighted documentary of her discoveries of Alzheimer's disease. Kelly has several children's books on the market, such as: God's Goodness in YOU and ME, which focuses on bringing God back to family life! Her NANA and ME Series offers You are GOLDEN!, You are HONEST!, and You are CLEAN! They focus on the Golden Rule, Honesty is the Best Policy, and Cleanliness is next to Godliness. In moving forward in her career as an author, she hopes to help and inspire people of all ages!