Some days are just hard.

I guess I'm feeling a little blue today.  I have so much to be grateful for, but when I see people I care for suffer, it brings me down.  I have spent the past two days checking on friends and waiting for my Grandsons surgery to be over at the hospital.  As I walked down the halls, I was passing people who's lives have been disrupted by illness or injury.  Life stops for those who enter the hospital, it's hard to imagine the world goes on as you lay there in bed wondering if this will be your last day on earth.  I'm grateful for the opportunity to tell one of my dear friends how much I love her.  At the same time, my heart ached as I left her room wondering if it would be our last encounter here on earth.

My quilting friends life abruptly changed a few months ago, by one fall.  She was scurrying out the door to make it to church on time, when she caught her shoe on a crack in the cement.  Down she went with nothing to break her fall, but her forehead.  She slammed her head on the corner of the concrete step, whipping her head back in a violent snap.  There she lay, not being able to move.  "This is it", she thought, before calling out for help.  Luckily her Grandson was at her home, because her deaf husband wouldn't have been able to answer her desperate call for help.  "Call 911", she told him, "I'm paralyzed!"  By the time the ambulance got there, she was able to wiggle her toes and her left fingers.  She was diagnosed as suffering a zinger, similar to an injury bull riders often get, being jerked back and forth on a raging bull.  Needless to say, she has spent several weeks in rehab, and is in a confining neck brace.  Gradually, her mobility is returning, but it has been a slow process.  She was readmitted into the hospital yesterday, with a blood clot in her lung.  I was devastated by this news!  She has perfect health, yet a fall can disrupt her life like this.  I immediately fell to my knees to pray for her.  She certainly was blessed with a home health nurse, that was not going to ignore the signs she was showing.  They were able to put her on blood thinner, and she should be able to go home tomorrow.  Of course, she is still in the throws of physical therapy, still working on regaining her fine motor skills and being able to keep her balance.  I hate wake up calls, literally, but this was one for me.

I appreciated all the help that was offered on helping Linda get her garage cleaned out.  But this too, was difficult for me.  I have loved and adored the Stout family.  Seeing Linda struggling to take care of her home and the affairs of her family on her own is hard for me.  Lynn served as our home teacher for years.  He has been such a hard worker.  If we had a ward party, he was there to help do anything he could to help.  He was my angel to lift heavy things, set up tables or whatever I needed help with.  I will always think of the Ward Pine Valley Party as Lynn Stouts.  He would be up there before anyone, setting up, warming coals and preparing to make it easier for everyone.  Linda would always slave over a huge pan of baked beans that everyone looked forward to having.  Now I think of Lynn at the VA House in Ivins, and it breaks my heart.  He served diligently for the United States in Vietnam, and is now paying the price of being exposed to agent orange.

I guess I shouldn't feel blue, I should feel blessed to have known the many people who have touched my life.  If you don't know it, I cherish my friendship with every person in our ward.  We have connections in different ways, but my love for each of you is real.

Thank you for being my friend and my strength!