This past weekend was a time of reflection for me. Saturday, August 20, marked the 17th Anniversary of David’s accident.
17 Years!
Isn’t it strange how certain life events can feel like they just happened yesterday but then on the other hand it feels like a lifetime ago? Like your wedding day or the birth of your children.
They say, “Time flies when you’re having fun…”
Trust me, it hasn’t been all fun and games the past 17 years, but David and I have tried really hard to not get too bogged down by the circumstances that life has thrown at us unexpectedly. Daily, we try to choose to find moments of joy, to keep a positive attitude and to find reasons to laugh. We’ve laughed over the years and said that it’s ok for each of us to have a bad day once in a while as long as we both don’t have it on the same day!
It blows my mind to think that we’re still dealing with issues related to David’s initial injuries 17 years later. I knew the road to recovery was going to take some time, but honestly I thought once David had skin on and finished his rehab that life would get back to “normal.” Don’t get me wrong, there have been times when we’ve found a new sense of normal for a while, but over the recent years we’ve had to deal with lots of ongoing medical issues.
- For many years, David would come down with cellulitus infections in his right leg. This is an infection that can quickly turn into a life threatening if he doesn’t respond to the antibiotics.
- David still gets open wounds every now and again that need a skin graft in order to heal so occasionally we’ve had to go into surgery to fix these.
- The past two years, we’ve had dermatology and oncology appointments every 6 months to follow up and make sure the cancer hasn’t returned.
A few weeks ago, David went in for his regular check up with his dermatologist. The doctor had been watching a small split on the back of David’s left thigh for a while and decided to do a biopsy of it, considering David’s medical history. The results came back while we were out in Colorado and they weren’t as great as we had hoped. The wound is pre-cancerous. So we’ve gone back to meet with his dermatologist and his burn surgeon and it looks like David will be having another surgery soon to go ahead and remove this area on his leg, just to be safe. We’re trying to figure out when to schedule it all, because let’s face it, there’s never a convenient time to have surgery!!!!
With each one of these setbacks, my heart goes into a bit of a tailspin. My head hurts, my heart races and my stomach feels like it’s up in my throat. It throws me back to August 20, 1999 when our lives literally changed in a flash. Each time something comes up I’m quickly reminded that I’m not in control of my life, David’s health, how long we’ll walk this earth, and so many other things in life. I’m reminded that David isn’t mine- he’s God’s and that we’ve already been blessed with seventeen years more than the doctors thought we’d have together!
Through all of the ups and downs of the past 17 years, we’ve been able to meet some incredible people along the way. We’ve grown in our faith because we’ve had to learn how to rely of God more than ourselves. We’ve learned to lean on each other more to make our marriage stronger. We’ve tried to reach out to others who are struggling to offer some encouragement. Those of you who personally know me very well know that I’m not very good at letting go; I’m a bit of a control junkie. But I’m trying really hard to work on letting go more…
I know we’re not the only ones going through trials and struggles right now.
What are you dealing with and what has God been teaching you?
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