I was cheering one day, then dropped into deep shame the next.

The cheering came on Tuesday.

My close friend Mary Ann had a fright. Her hand and wrist and lower arm swelled up so much she couldn’t move her fingers, and the pain was unbearable.

Kelby and Tim took her to the ER who diagnosed it as cellulitis and prescribed a bottle of antibiotics. That was Friday noon. The ER made an appointment to see an “orthopedic clinic” on Monday.

Cellulitis is an infection beneath the skin, but it can lead to sepsis which is blood poisoning and extremely dangerous.

Kim, Mary Ann’s primary caregiver, took Mary Ann to the clinic, where someone asked why she was there for cellulitis? After two hours of waiting (it was a walk-in clinic), the PA could do nothing and sent them away.

In panic, we called Mary Ann’s GP who said she could see Mary Ann immediately. The doctor gave Mary Ann a hefty shot of antibiotic, and said come back tomorrow for another shot. She recognized the cellulitis needed much stronger treatment. She was afraid it could turn into sepsis.

In retrospect, the ER scored high on diagnosis but low on treatment. The GP scored high on urgency, and high on treatment. She was onto the danger immediately, and doled out heavier treatment which was needed. I hate to think what might have happened without the GP.

Mary Ann turned the corner, the swelling and redness went down over the next two days, the pain subsided, and she started to move her fingers again. We thank God and are grateful to all the folks who were praying for Mary Ann to get well.

Mary Ann said it was the most intense pain she had ever experienced, and it lasted 4-5 days. It was a horrible period and except for a few hours in the ER, Kim trucked Mary Ann around to all the clinics and pharmacies, and cared for her.

But it was a strong family effort and good family teamwork, as Morgan pointed out. She added that Mary Ann is lucky to have such a caring, loving family.

This was worth cheering about.

The shame came on Wednesday.

I am a registered Republican and have been since I could vote.

I was watching on TV the January 6 Committee review. After testimony by those in charge of voting precincts in Georgia, I was surprised to see two black ladies slowly walking to the podium.

Wandrea Shaye Moss and her mother, Lady Ruby Freeman, were introduced by the chairman of the Committee. Then Shaye was questioned by a member of the Committee.

On election day 2020, these two ladies were sitting at tables and handling votes at the voting precinct while the votes were being counted.

The committee started out playing a video of President Trump lambasting these two women, and angrily accusing them of cheating and stealing votes. Trump called Freeman a “professional vote scammer” and a “hustler.”

It made me cry, when Shaye said after Trump’s verbal abuse that she and her mom received abuse and death threats from people in their hometown. Moss said of the threats she had received: “A lot of them were racist. A lot of them were just hateful.”

She had to give up her job. The two women in public no longer gave out their names, and found it very difficult to go into stores because of potential abuse from people who knew the story.

Shaye teared up during her testimony.

Her mom was shown talking in a previous video, and said some strangers tried to get into her home. She no longer felt safe on the street or even in her home. Hers was an eloquent testimony to how far her life had been shot down by President Trump.

I looked into myself and felt ashamed.

I felt ashamed because President Trump bawled out two innocent vulnerable women based on a lie that the election was stolen and that these two women were assisting in the steal, which was also untrue.

I felt ashamed because many Christian leaders have continued to support the former president, and help propagate an election lie (the big steal) during the 16 months since the election of 2020.

Pastor Rick Warren of California, author of the book The Purpose-Driven Life, called it evil when he shared these words via Twitter:
It breaks my heart how both Wandrea Shaye Moss and her mom, Lady Ruby Freeman were treated in such despicable, shameful ways for standing for truth. Thank you for modeling courage in the face of evil. You are #WomenOfIntegrity #TrueHeroes
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The Gray Nomad ….. Can we be misled about truth and integrity at the top level of US government?
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And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
[Gospel of John, chapter 8].