Tuesday, July 19, 2011

The End of a Saga...

As promised, this posting will end the constant posts related to our adventures in hospital stays and related matters. Fear not. I will obviously share doctor visits as they pop up, but at this point, I will turn my focus on my blog back to it's original  focus...which I can't really define at this moment.

Last night was a humbling experience. Through the love and concern of many wonderful people in the community, an amazing event took place. My wife and I weren't too privy to much of what was planned before hand (which is totally fine), but we were humbled and overwhelmed at the wonderful turn out of people who came to show their support. My wife and I are frustrated with ourselves as we had hoped to take TONS of pictures to document the event. What I ended up with was a few random pictures I snapped as things were being cleaned up. So if anyone took pictures, we would love to have copies.

The evening started with a yummy dinner of pulled beef, salad, pickles, chips, and water. From there games were set up for the kids. Tickets were required to play. There was a water balloon launcher, fishing pond, bean bag toss, snow cones, cotton candy, and more. There was also a bake sale, a "store", jewelry, and a raffle for some pretty amazing prizes (thanks again to those who donated such wonderful gifts to be raffled). There was even a DJ (Thanks Troy) playing some groovy music to keep things pumped up and going.

I loved standing back and watching people visit with my wife. After all we have been through I am just so thankful to have her by my side in a standing position. Unless you have been in a position where you have nearly lost your spouse, you can't really understand... and frankly, I hope you never have too.

Another bonus of this event was that we got to see several close friends that we don't see often anymore. When we first pulled up I was so excited to see my dear friend Tanie Worthen and her son. They had driven all the way from Ferron to see us and support us. I enjoyed visiting with her and hearing all about her trip she has planned for this fall.

My sister surprised us and showed up. It was good to visit with her and her family. I love that they live so close. It was nice to see my brother's family as well. My sister-in-law kidnapped the baby for the three hours. I am grateful that she has been such a life saver with the baby over the past few months.

We were also able to see our dear friends Sharree and Ricky Jensen. They live too far away and are about to move even further away... :(
But rather than dwell on the sadness of the situation, we were so thankful to spend a couple hours visiting and remembering our "college days" together (we all attended CEU at the same time). We are so thankful that they went WAY out of their way to visit us and support us. (Thanks again for buying us the painting... :) We love it and will think about you all every time we see it).

It was a good three hours. My heart is still full from the outpouring of love and support. We haven't been given a final tally (and that is fine), but the time and work that won't be added in to that total is priceless. I am scared to name names because I know I will miss or forget someone, but I have to say thank you to a few people. Thanks so much Heather and Greg, Kristin and Scott,  Jenni and Burke, Annie and Dale, Christina and Troy, Cindy and Kim, Melinda, Stan and Teri, and many, many more. If I missed you, please know you are just as loved (it's just late and my memory is much less vivid since the hospital).

As I reflect of the past how many ever days it has been, I can see so many lessons that we have learned. I can only hope that we remember them. We are looking forward to opportunities to serve others, for we know that we have plenty of service to offer back.

As a side note:

1) Talked to Dr. Brady's office again. They are "seeing what they can do". I told them their bill was the lowest  priority at this point. I told them I wanted to account frozen with no interest and no collections or I WILL have a lawyer on them.

2) I let Dr. Gagon know we missed him at the dinner. He said that he felt it would be too awkward but wanted our address to send some money (which is funny to me since our address is on his files). I don't expect anything from him, but I guess we will see. He wrote off what little we still owed him and that is better than nothing. I know, I know. I have been chastised by several people for not retaining a lawyer and going after him. At this point it isn't something we feel we want to do. If in the future we choose to, then it will still be an option.

So, I will sign off this post and work to put this adventure behind us. My wife is getting stronger every day and that is the most important thing to me. I love you babe.

Later...

5 comments:

  1. It was a wonderful event. It was so good to see Allisha up and around and visiting, when just a short time ago that seemed nearly unthinkable. You must have some pull with mother nature as well, since the thunder, lightning, and rain held off until it was over! Just remember how much you are both loved by so many. It's good that things are heading more towards "normal".

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  2. I truly respect your decision to not hire a lawyer. I understand the desire to move on. Sometimes that heals stronger and faster.

    Looks like you have precious friends. You are blessed.

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  3. wow!! i hadn't realized how behind i had gotten on your blog!! eesh even fb was not frequented as much...been pretty busy and then 9 days of no phone/internet service unless i was like 2 miles from our camp!! so much has happened! snazzy glasses btw!

    i have to say, as with some of your earlier posts, you guys are STILL very loved! i'm sorry that you may have felt some distancing from people. :(

    you guys are awesome and i'm so happy that your event went so well. :) you guys deserve it!! it was fun!

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  4. Wish I could have made it down...I would have taken pictures for you if I'd been there.

    You guys are awesome, John-Boy.

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