Thankfulness Series, Entry 2
Read: 1 Corinthians 2:2
Birds of a Feather… A year or so before the Charlie episode in
Entry 1, Heidi came and helped me through a similar day. Jeri was
still in Intensive Care in an induced coma on a ventilator and was
suffering from a bad infection in a recent leg amputation. She had
already passed away twice and the Lord sent her back both times, but
she was just barely alive.
Three teams of doctors were advising me to take her whole leg off to
save her life. I was still in a wheelchair and going into the throes
of a traumatic brain injury myself, and I had to make a decision.
Something inside kept telling me not to agree. Then an Air Force
Veteran Nurse overheard the conversations between me and the doctors.
He brought another doctor with a new idea that could save her knee.
Initially I was warned that the chances of her even surviving the
procedure were as low as 20% and no optimism for keeping her knee.
But deep inside something kept telling me to go with it, so I
approved the new avenue.
Heidi came and spent the whole day with me in the waiting room. We
prayed all day together. When the doctor came to us, survival wasn’t
even an issue anymore and he gave us a 60% chance for success in the
leg. In a matter of 3 hours we were up 80% on survival and 60% on
keeping the knee.
I remember Delbert Schneider most for his beer-boiled Wisconsin
Bratwurst. But I thank the Lord every day for Del and Betty who gave
us Heidi. She helped me through the most grievous decision of my
life. To my dying day, I’ll always thank God for you.
Ron Draper
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