It has been rather rough here lately for me.  Starting tomorrow I will be tested on what I have learned throughout this semester...yep, finals.  I am, at yet another major transition in my life and I am not sure of how it will all be accomplished.  The crying became so unbearable that I started sleeping...ALOT...to avoid thinking and crying even more.  However, I finally realized that I am trying to "do it myself" and it was causing all sorts of stress.  So, I cried to God and told Him I could not do it all.  I did not know how I was going to come up with the money to have my horses transported from Maryland to Missouri, or where I was going to put them when they got here, or where I was going to come up with the money to do it.  But, in just a couple of days time of letting go and laying it all down...bam...God began to work.  Tonight I went to visit a local here in this area about boarding my horses.  We worked out a deal that I have been hoping for.  He seems nice enough and his land is more than beautiful, it is right out of my dreams!  He shows horses and I would surely love to do the same.  Hopefully, he will be willing to invest a little time into showing me how to have fun at showing one or both of my babies.  Wow, tonight has been an answer to my prayers.  God is so good.  I just wish that I had faith enough to walk on water and not doubt Him and His abilities so often.  Man, I love it when heaven's blessings rain down on me here on earth.  Thank you Father!

 

Anyways, college life is great and I am sad to see my dorm life end.  It was a great experience, one I will cherish for the rest of my life.

 

On another note, the girl, Katie, that tripped me...she fell tonight.  She hit the sidewalk and skinned up her hands.  I really felt bad for her.   Moral: You reap what you sow.  hehe.

This holiday season is going to be the best ever!  This Thanksgiving I have so much to be thankful for!  Today, my grandmother, Delores--the one that had the fatal heart attack; that died a total of 7 times--is on her way home!!! YIPPEE!!!!  She will be arriving tonight! What a time of celebration!

 

Thank you e-familia for all of your continued prayers!  Wow, our God is an awesome God! He never stops amazing me!

On Tuesday, November 8th I flew out of Maryland and my destination was Huston, Texas.  My sister accompanied me on this heart wrenching trip.  I was not prepared for the site I would behold upon reaching the final destination--Memorial Hospital.  My grandmother laid there, lifeless.  All kinds of tubes hanging from her arms and running down her throat.  A machine was pumping air in and out of her body to keep her alive.  Just three days prior to this day my grandmother, Delores, was on the dance floor with two family members at a 25th Wedding Anniversary where she collapsed.  Praise the Lord that there were paramedics and doctors at this party.  She received medical attention immediately then was transported to a hospital 15 mins away that is one of the best heart hospitals in the U.S.A.  My grandmother died a total of six (6) times from the time of her collapse to the time they stabilized her at the hospital.

 

When I had arrived, she had already undergone one surgery where they put in 2 stents and a balloon (stents opened up arteries and balloon was pumping her heart for her), and, now, they were getting ready to prep her for a second surgery, a triple bypass surgery.  The nurse allowed her to come down off of sedation a little, while I stood there.  When my mommom opened her eyes I kissed her.  I whispered in her ear that I loved her and that she was not alone.  I asked her if she knew that God was with her and she responded with a nod (yes).  I told her that she was about to have surgery and that I knew she was weak, but God was with her and He was going to give her the strength to get through this surgery.  She responded with many slow nods acknowledging that she understood this and knew this as well.  Wonderful peace flooded my inner being.  I was praising God at that moment, yet again.  My family that was present-- Poppop, Uncle Troy, Aunt Julie, Mom, my sister, and myself-- along with some of the nurses in the ICU unit gathered around my grandmother in a circle, holding hands and prayed for her and prayed that God's will be done.  Then it was time to go to the waiting room and wait until the completion of the surgery, which we were advised would take around 5-6 hours.

 

Now, I would like to give you a little history on my mommom and poppop.  This couple will have been married 50 years this July.  They are a great model to all married couples.  One totally completes the other; one compliments the other.  Where one is weak the other is strong...together they are "one" person.  My grandmother accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior and Lord approx. 1 1/2 years ago.  Since then she has been reading the Bible everyday to my grandfather who was not a believer.  Each night after my grandmother collapsed my grandfather, Jack, would ask my uncle (who is also a deacon at our church) to read to him from the Bible.  Poppop told uncle Troy that mommom read to him every night and he could not sleep until someone read to him from the Bible.  Question: Can you see God at work in this?

 

Somewhere around 8:30p.m., Tuesday evening, the doctor came out to talk with us.  He explained that my grandmother's heart was much weaker than they had anticipated.  Per the cardiograph before surgery her heart was pumping out approx. 60-65%.  A normal heart pumps out approx. 60% of the blood that is in the heart on every beat.  The doctor said that when he opened her up he found a large blood clot on top of her heart.  This clot caused her heart to pump harder because of its weight.  Once that clot was removed, her heart was only pumping at about 10-20%.  He conferred with another heart specialist and they decided to go through with the surgery.  (If she did not have this surgery and another heart attack happened on the other side of the heart, where the triple blockage was, she would die and not be able to be brought back...Praise God she got this surgery!)  My grandmother died a seventh (7th) time on the operating table, but was miraculously brought back to life.  The doctor did not give her much hope of living even though after surgery her heart was pumping 35%.  He was not confident that she would survive and had not been since she arrived in the hospital.  His percentage for her surviving was always below 50%.  He gave us a very gloomy report and pointed out all the factors that were/are against her.

 

Today is November 17, 2005, one week and five days since her initial heart attack (which the doctor advised was a FATAL heart attack), and she is still alive and recovering!  As a matter of fact she is talking!!! The doctor finally admitted on Saturday, the 12th, that he thought we would be getting her back!  My uncle stated, "it is because she had heavenly help." In which the doctor responded, "or she was using her nine lives."  At that moment the nurse (which you know a nurse does not talk back to a doctor) said in a stern voice, "because she had heavenly help." To which the doctor responded, "OK, she had heavenly help." Hahahahaha. That really made me laugh.  The doctor also stated that he had never seen a case such as this where a person survived.  He said she is a miracle...everyone at the hospital says that!  I say she is God's child and this is proof that only He performs what we call miracles.

 

I just want to give you a review of the signs and wonders that God performed during this, what I call an extraordinary tragedy, but what is actually God's masterpiece.  1) Paramedics and Doctors present during the heart attack (first 6 mins after a heart attack is the most critical time); 2) one of the best heart hospitals in the U.S.A. was only 15 mins away; 3) the blood clot on top of her heart that allowed her to receive the surgery she desperatly needed; and 4) the strength given to her in order for her body to withstand all of this!

 

Also, my grandfather, the Thursday after mommom's surgery, accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord....OH PRAISE GOD!!!  When God is after you, He is determined to get you!

 

I want to extend a very sincere "Thank You" to all of you who stood with my family in prayer for my grandmother, Delores.  She is a very special lady and God has chose to preserve her life for a while longer on this earth.  I know that prayer makes a difference, and this is surely proof that is does!  I do ask that you continue to pray for her because right now she is starting physical therapy and is still really weak.  Please pray that she continues to receive God's strength.  Thank you all from the bottom of my heart! 

 

 

 

Here are a couple photos w/my grandmom in them.  One is with her on the bike with my Uncle Troy, and the other is a family photo (still missing some folks)...she is in the middle w/poppop.