Eugene had several blood transfusions, a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and he was on a ventilator. Unable to breathe on his own for approximately two weeks, he had tubes running everywhere. Eugene was swollen from his head to his toes. After surgery, the doctors gave my husband one week to live.
When the doctors walk away and say there is nothing else they can do, whose report shall we believe? Or when the doctors say he/she will die, whose report shall we believe? We shall believe the report of the Lord. There were men and women on the left and right side of my husband's room dying from the same prognosis but my God said, "Eugene shall live and not die to declare the works of the Lord!"
My daughter-in-law, husband, and I were sitting in the kitchen one week before his accident talking about life and death. Eugene told us if he ever lost a limb, "please" do not allow the doctors to save his life. Well, when the time came for me to make that decision I thought to myself, "If God brought him back, who am I to pull the plug or who am I to have the final say so over his life?"
My faith was being tested every day. Each day we got a different report from the doctors. I felt like a yo-yo for approximately six weeks. He was doing fine one day and being rushed to the emergency room for surgery the next day. His right lung collapsed. He has an abdominal wound due to his liver and kidney failure. He was on dialysis for two weeks, he had ten surgeries, got a neck brace, and got an infection in his right leg. We were forced to protect ourselves by wearing a mask, gloves and a robe. They took him into surgery a second time due to the infection in his leg and had to take his knee.
My family and I spent Christmas, New Year's Day and Valentines Day in the hospital. Eugene went from the shock trauma unit to the intensive care unit (ICU) to rehabilitation (Rehab). He was discharged and transported by ambulance to Kernan Orthopedics and Rehabilitation Hospital in Baltimore, MD. He lived there for one month where he worked intensively with a speech therapist, as well as a physical and occupational therapist. My husband had to be trained all over again. I guess the hardest part was learning how to walk on one leg.
Our roles literally switched. I went from sitting in the passenger seat to driving five to seven days a week. I took over the bills, cooked, cleaned, cut the grass, and maintained our vehicles. I made decisions, I mean major decisions, concerning our household. My husband went from being a shop foreman on his job to fighting for his life. He went from being the chairman of the deacon board at church to living in a rehab facility.
There were times I asked, "Why God; Why?" I finally got to the point where I stopped asking why and started thanking Him because through it all, we are thankful that he is alive, grateful that God gave him a second chance and appreciative that we never took each other for granted!
To God Be All The Glory!