A very eventful journey

August, 2018

It all started August 21,2018. At e6:30 pm, our journey began, A tree limb from a neighbor's tree fell on our roof. This was not a small limb but one that was larger than some trees I have seen. It was 45 feet long and 3 feet across. It took me one week to cut it up and remove it from my roof. There were 2 holes in the roof that were over 2 feet across. The estimated damage was in excess of $20,000. We had let our insurance lapse since I was unemployed. This was to be a blessing though.

November, 2018

November means rainy weather in East Texas in a normal year. This year was no different. As you can see, we had placed numerous tarps on the roof to keep the inside of the house as dry as possible. We were fairly successful at this unless there were high winds.

We learned about a program that we might qualify for. The Texas Home Grant. We filled out all of the paperwork that was required of us and submitted it to our local city hall who had the responsibility of forwarding the paperwork to the correct representative. The wait began. We were told it could take as long as 6 months to get a reply. Our time to wait had just begun.

April, 2019

At the beginning of April, I became very ill. I had started losing my strength in March for an unknown reason. On April 4 of this year, my primary care physician gave my wife a choice: either she could take me to the emergency room or he would call an ambulance to carry me. We were surprised to find out how sick I actually was. My body was in the process of developing sepsis. I had a bacterial infection of the blood which killed my aortic valve. I was in the hospital 12 days before they could do the open-heart surgery to replace the valve. I was discharged on April 23rd. The surgeon was amazed at how quickly I recovered from the surgery, I was determined not to be like most heart patients, after all, I had a life to get back to.

May, 2019

I was on top of the world. I was recovering quickly and better than anyone expected. Then the bottom fell out, I developed an inflammation of the heart sack. I had been doing all of the right things and then get whammied with this. I was walking 7 miles a day which is unheard-of for a new heart surgery patient. The doctor changed my medication which helped but did not solve the problem but I was still making progress.

June, 2019

June started out as an awesome month. We were able to sign the paperwork on the grant to replace our home and we did that on our 3i6th wedding anniversary. That was June 4th. June 8th, I woke my wife at 3:00 am to take me to the emergency room. I was having trouble breathing. I was experiencing severe pain from the base of my neck to the bottom of my shoulder blades and was unable to sleep.

The doctors thought since I had heart surgery 6 weeks earlier that my pain must be from that. They ran every test they could think of on my heart but all the tests showed my heart to be healthy. They were going to give me stronger pain medications and send me home. MY WIFE stepped in and said no you are not. You are going to do your job and find out what is going on. She told them that she had to help me stand and to walk and that she could not take care of me in the condition I was in. They found I had a condition that completely paralyzes the body in just a day. There are less than 20,000 cases of this reported in the United States each year.It is very deadly.

I was airlifted to a Dallas Teaching Hospital. I was told I would be there for a minimum of one year. I walked out on a walker in 8 days. I was very blessed.

The next few months have all been recovery. I have regained most of the feelings in my body with the exception of my feet. I continue to work hard on my body to regain all the sensation throughout my body.

November, 2019

The day before Thanksgiving we got the keys to our new home. It is 3 bedroom and 2 baths. It is beautiful. The cabinetry is honey-colored, the floors are the color of aged oak and the walls are between egg-shell and cream. The outside is sage green with white trim and a maroon door. We are more than blessed with all that has happened in just over a year. I am the most blessed and least worthy. My WIFE has been my rock through all of this. She has not complained once even when she had the right. She says that it is part of the vow she took when we wed. I could not ask for a better partner.

BLESS THOSE WHO LOVE YOU

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Jerry