2012: A Year in Review (Part 2)
Now we are up to May.
In May 2012, Tony and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. The last time we really went anywhere (like a trip) was in 2002—our first anniversary. The only reason we went anywhere then was because my best friend was getting married the day before our anniversary. So Tony and I took off to Kentucky (or West Virginia, I can’t remember).
Anyways, we haven’t been anywhere since then for our anniversary. So this year, our anniversary fell on a Saturday. That was the first time it has been on a Saturday (since we got married)!!!
So after the softball game that day, we left for the beach. We took all the stuff with us in the car. We changed clothes in the bathrooms at the ballfield. We left!
The next morning, before we headed home, we walked on the beach for a while.
School let out on June 8th. On June 14th, we had to take Chasity to the ER. She
couldn’t breathe. She was coughing. She was hurting all over.
What does all that get you?
Pneumonia (in your left lung)!!!
After that, June flew by.
Then came July….
If I could skip July, I totally would!
In July, we thought we were going to lose my dad. On July 8th (Sunday morning) my dad scared us to death. My dad is the Minister of Music at our church. He has been 8 or 9 years now. So every Sunday he leads the music he has worked all week to plan.
On July 8th, Dad was having some trouble breathing. We all thought that he was having asthma and allergy issues because he had spent Saturday mowing the grass and working in the yard. We thought maybe he had gotten overheated and was just pushing himself too hard.
We got through one verse of a song, and Dad couldn’t sing more than two words at a time. He was having such a hard time breathing and his chest was hurting. Halfway through the second song, Dad left the podium and sat on the 2nd pew. He was sweating like crazy and holding his chest.
In our church, we lay hands on people and believe God for healing. Sometimes it’s immediate healing. Sometimes it comes over time (and with the help of doctors). After a few minutes of prayer (by the pastor, his wife, my mom, and a few other people), Dad still wasn’t any better. My father is a stubborn man! (That’s where I get it from!) He kept saying that he needed to go home to rest. He would be fine.
A lady in our church (whose husband had just passed) got right in my dad’s face. She said “I have been through this many times. Right now, you need to get to the ER. You need to be seen.” As stubborn as my dad is, he is also respectful. When “Mama Claus” tells you to go to the hospital because she’s had to deal with this with “Santa” for many years….. well…. let’s say she didn’t have to tell him twice!
All the while, Dad was motioning for me to keep the music going. So I was leading the music. Dad was scaring us to death. I was also getting my daughter out of the sanctuary. (Unfortunately, Tony was working that day. So it was ME!) I had the pastor’s granddaughter grab Chasity and get her to the nursery.
They wheeled Dad out in a wheelchair. Put him in the truck. Mom drove off.
I finished the next to last song, and when it was over, the pastor asked me, “What are you still doing here?”
I said, “I’m gone.” I turned to the congregation and said, “You may be seated. Worship with (whoever it was) as they sing for you today.” I took my headset mic off. I grabbed my keys and hit the door (not before I made sure someone was going to have my munchkin for the afternoon!)!!
I got to the hospital and they were still working on Dad.
Another key piece to this story is that my brother (4 years older than me) and my sister (10 years younger than me) had both left on vacation that morning. They were going on vacation together. My brother has 5 kids and my oldest niece and my sister are best friends!!
My parents did not want me to tell them anything that was going on. However…. being stubborn like I am, I called them to let them know as soon as I had ANY answers for their questions.
That night, when Dad was put in a room, I apologized to him for being disobedient, but I knew I would want to know if I was travelling.
Dad ended up being in A-Fib. It means that his heart wasn’t beating correctly. They kept him for about a week. They kept working on him. Lots of tests. Not many answers.
In August, they had to go in an perform a procedure where they stopped his heart and restarted it. (I was at work for a mandatory teacher workday!) The procedure went so well that after it was over, Mom brought him to the school to see me!
That brings us to August.
I guess that’s a good place to stop and I will get August (with lots of pics from Chasity’s 9th birthday) in the next post.
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