Thanksgiving with a miracle!

   Tis the season to be thankful, and I am in every sense of the word. It's hard to understand sometimes how things turn out. How tragedies or near devastation can renew hope and bring back truth or how in just a moment your world can flip upside down and over again. The last month and a half has been such a stressful roller-coaster ride where we couldn't see if it was going down or taking a turn. My father-in-law, a very special guy, became ill with infection and went into cardiac arrest, just to end up on life support. Any other time, this would have us a little worried (before you jump out of your seats, let me explain). This man has gone through more then most in his life time. He is paralyzed from the chest down, and has been for over 20 years due to a terrible car accident. My husband...his only child was just a tot. He took sole custody of him and raised him from his wheelchair, and in turn my husband cared for him as soon as he was old enough. This has been their life ever since (excluding a year here and there). They have a bond like no other and as irritating as it can be at times, my husband will not allow anyone else to take care of his father, cause he knows their won't as well as he does. But even with his great care, his dad has lived more then doctors predicted, and has had many, many scares. This was not the first time he had been on life support.
   So it didn't hit like it should of with us. This is just him being sick...he does this all the time. He'll come back to us. But he didn't...time went on and the doctors started to let us know by facial expressions and subtle actions, that a choice was coming. With about 20 people gathered and a couple on a phone conference..the Doc delivered his dreaded news...make him comfortable, or wait to see if he gets better to give him a tracheotomy and moved him out of state. But his chances for surviving the surgery or even enduring much after was improbable. He never got stable enough to even go for that option. His vitals were sporadic and he seemed to be getting brain damage. His body was going into septic shock. The doctors told us there was nothing else they could do. Now we focus on comfort...wait for a good moment..bring the kids in to say goodbye... and wait. They took him off sedation, and started lowering the oxygen. Less sedation was making him more aware. He started biting the tube..we all got the sense he had had enough. He confirmed that when he was conscience. He made the decision himself to get the life support out, even knowing he wasn't ready and they had tried that before. He knew, but didn't care. He put his on DNR in place too. That was a finalizing blow to us. The morning he was scheduled to have it out ...family gathered once more. I'm glad I wasn't there, all I could picture was a fish out of water but it was a loved one who couldn't give you their last message.
   The tube came out...and he breathes....and breathes....3 days later...he didn't need oxygen at all. About 5 days later, he can talk pretty well and has no recollection of the trials he went through. Now we are looking at any time a call can come through on the phone to go get him and bring him home! Tell me that this wasn't a miracle! I've kept some of the details for my family alone, but it only furthers how exceptional this is, and the gratitude I have in this Thanksgiving season is profound. This song is dedicated to you Pops. We love you. Thank you for fighting a little while longer, so my kids will remember you. Thank you God for allowing him to. (Since I couldn't get the embed code...heres the link)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4-rBF1UM3o&feature=related




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