The Day Faith Told Me About; Part
6 – Our Florida Girl and the Goop Barrier
The
two most important days in a person’s life are the day you’re
born and the day you find out why. (Mark Twain)
Read: Romans 12:12-15
She can do Cher better than Cher;
she can do Adele, Stevie Nicks, and Madonna better than Adele, Stevie
Nicks, and Madonna. Her voice is the vocal trumpet of a hundred
angels, a clarion call she uses to melt away the cares of those of us
who come from parts near and far to celebrate life for a while.
Singing and entertaining on her stage in the little postage stamp of
paradise called Pelican Alley is our favorite place, and we call her,
“our Florida girl”. For 30 years Renee and Tommy have entertained
the patrons of their restaurant right here on the water in Nokomis,
FL. We’ve been enjoying them, the outstanding seafood, and the free
live entertainment here for at least half that time.
When someone is on a ventilator
through a tracheotomy they’re fed through a PEG tube in the
stomach. If someone is this way for 5 months or so, when it all comes
out, they need to re-learn how to eat. I started Jeri on a single
curd of cottage cheese and tiny bits of peach squares. We learned she
had the palette of an infant and couldn’t handle anything with too
much flavor. She always enjoyed a bland diet, not too much of
anything too wild, but now she prefers things to taste like a screen
door. She refers to condiments, spices, sauces, glazes, etc. as
“Goop” I on the other hand live on these things.
During our time in hospitals that
first year after we were in a catastrophic crash, there were times
when Jeri would cry so much she would ask me to “just let her go”
she wanted the horrible pain to end, but more than that, she couldn’t
stand to see me so distraught with feelings of helplessness. It was
during those times that I promised her I’d get her back to “our
favorite place,” we were going to put her toes in the warm sand, we
were going to see our Indian Shaman, (yes we even have and Indian
Shaman praying for us) and we’re going to go see “Our Florida
Girl”. It was thoughts of these people and places that got us
through the worst of times.
As soon as Jeri was home, 6 months
after the crash, her orthopedic surgeon wanted her in a pool to start
exercising her legs since she couldn’t stand on them. Because of
the multiple open wounds she still had, none of the rehab facilities
would put her in one. So I built a full sized heated Therapy Pool and
a custom Hoyer Lift to get her in and out of it in our barn. With
Tommy & Renee singing in the background for support and a
constant reminder of why we worked so hard, Jeri and I worked out for
months in the pool, and she eventually learned to walk in it. When
the CDs wore out, Renee sent us a complete set on the house.
Of course the first place we went
when we got in town in Florida this year was Pelican Alley to
reconnect and there was Renee to greet us. That night as we talked
Renee asked how long it had been and I looked at my clock and
realized two things. First, Jeri was literally inhaling the Seafood
Mixed Grill; it’s a combination of Tuna and Cobia with a
mango/curry glaze and pineapple ginger coconut crème-fraiche. Jeri
had breached the “Goop Barrier.” Second I noticed it was January
18, at precisely 7:12 PM; 3 years to the minute since we were hit.
Creeeeeppieeeee.
When we finished dinner the show was
on, Jeri and I made our way to the dance floor, and we Danced. And we
danced. We didn’t know it, but Renee had let some other people know
we’d be there. At the end of one of our favorite songs she
announced a “Living Miracle in the House.” A brief story from her
and there was a standing ovation, we were overwhelmed. To a person,
everyone in the place came over to greet us, and offer help with
anything we needed while we were in town, and they all thanked us.
They Thanked Us, for making it and coming back to celebrate life with
them, and to put it in perspective. Not even I could make this stuff
up.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the
blessing of healing, and for people and places where we can all go
and celebrate life and all your wonders.
Ron Draper; Jan. 26, 2016
No comments:
Post a Comment