Forward to October 15th (which by the way is the anniversary date of when I started my career working in emergency services ~ 34 years), my wife Carla had a risky surgery on her back (one of two needed). The doctors had a lot of difficulty performing this surgery. They decided against performing her second surgery and referred her to a neurosurgeon at another hospital. Then on November 20th she had the second surgery; she is still recovering. Carla suffers from many health related problems. I won't list them here but please pray for her. I will say this, Carla is a fighter. She exercises and continues to live life. If you didn't know she had health problems you wouldn't know by looking at her. She is a beautiful woman that loves her family and the Lord!
Forward to December 2nd, my daughter in law (Brooke) and granddaughter (Ella) were in a horrible accident. Shortly after dropping my grandson (Grayson) off at the babysitters, Brooke who is a school teacher lost control of her vehicle, hit a telephone pole and then a plank fence. Two planks of the fence went through the windshield. When my wife and I received the dreaded phone call it was the worst news possible. Praying on the way to the hospital, My wife, Jamie (my son, Brooke's husband and Ella's dad) first went to the room where Ella was located. Thank the good Lord she was OK, only minor scratches. Next Jamie and I headed to see Brooke. She had serious facial injuries and an injury to her right eye. As of today Brooke is doing but better and it is becoming less noticeable that she was even in an accident. She still has no vision with her eye but there is nerve damage and we are hopeful and praying. Thank you Lord for protecting my family.
Forward to December 6th, after breaking his hip my father (age 84) spent weeks in the hospital. In a lot of pain his health started to decline. He could not do his therapy much and after being transferred to a rehab facility eventually got pneumonia. We became encouraged because he started responding to the treatment for the pneumonia. Unfortunately my dad was not eating well. He was transferred to another rehab facility but it didn't help and he was dying. Per his wishes we brought him home. We had a hospital bed, oxygen and other equipment to care for him as well as home healthcare nurses. After a few weeks my dad went to see the Lord. I miss him.
So yes 2013 was a tough year; there were other issues but they seem like nothing compared to the end of the year.
Forward to January 11, 2014, it is a new year. I thank the Lord because in spite of resent bad events I feel very blessed. Brooke and Ella are here and still in my life. Carla survived a surgery that many doctors had said was extremely risky; they were concerned because of her health problems that she could become paralyzed or hemorrhage and die during the surgery.
Yes I am blessed!!!
