Like a million bucks after taxes! Seriously I am amazed at the difference.4 days after my surgery and I feel better than I have in years. I am still a few weeks away from getting the all clear to make up for some time lost -but that time will come!
They say you can tell alot about a person by the way you handle adversity-and you folks have been an inspiration to me and taught me how to handle it well.People like Fred Kelley,Mike and Alice,Wayne and Carol,Rob and Grace,George,Tom and Sunny. I have witnessed you all face your own problems over the years all the while staying positive,with your head up and never surrendering.You all set an example that has helped me get thru a very difficult month-the death of my mother followed quickly by my diagnosis and surgery,for this I will always be grateful.
As I was being wheeled into the operating room I must admit I was a bit scared and fighting off some negative thoughts-lots of what ifs going on in my mind.Just before entering the operating room we passed a waiting room and I was amazed to see it full of people who had driven over an hour to be with me.There was my dear father,my wonderful wife,My children,both my brothers,my mother-in-law,brothers-in-laws,neices and nephews,my grandchildren,cousins I hadn't saw in years,co workers,aunts uncles and friends.People who had been a part of my life from the time I was born to the present.I also remembered that I had people thinking of me and praying for me from coast to coast and in Canada.
At this point I realized again how lucky and blessed I was.....no matter how the surgery came out.A great peace came over me.My last conscious thoughts before drifting off to sleep was my heartfelt thanks to God for the life I had been given...for the love of my family and friends and my God which is priceless and much more precious than gold. Many people spend a lifetime seeking what I had and never finding it.I am indeed a lucky man.
Life is good.The sunrises are more beautiful than I remember.The morning coffee tastes better.We are in the full bloom of spring here in the Ozarks and it is more beautiful than I ever remember seeing it...probably because I once took it for granted.Whether I have one day left or 40 years.....I will never take the beautiful things for granted again.I am content. I am blessed.
For the last two morning I have awoken just before dawn feeling refreshed,rested and ready to go-for the first time in years.As I sat in my back yard this morning sipping my coffee and watching the sunrise to the east where the dogwood and redbud are blooming in their glorious splendor.....I heard a wild turkey gobble.I smiled at the thought of a new friend I just met who happens to be a cardiologist and a avid if frustrated turkey hunter.Maybe I will give him a call in a couple of weeks and see if he wants a free lesson in the fine art of calling a wiley old gobbler in......Life is good
They say you can tell alot about a person by the way you handle adversity-and you folks have been an inspiration to me and taught me how to handle it well.People like Fred Kelley,Mike and Alice,Wayne and Carol,Rob and Grace,George,Tom and Sunny. I have witnessed you all face your own problems over the years all the while staying positive,with your head up and never surrendering.You all set an example that has helped me get thru a very difficult month-the death of my mother followed quickly by my diagnosis and surgery,for this I will always be grateful.
As I was being wheeled into the operating room I must admit I was a bit scared and fighting off some negative thoughts-lots of what ifs going on in my mind.Just before entering the operating room we passed a waiting room and I was amazed to see it full of people who had driven over an hour to be with me.There was my dear father,my wonderful wife,My children,both my brothers,my mother-in-law,brothers-in-laws,neices and nephews,my grandchildren,cousins I hadn't saw in years,co workers,aunts uncles and friends.People who had been a part of my life from the time I was born to the present.I also remembered that I had people thinking of me and praying for me from coast to coast and in Canada.
At this point I realized again how lucky and blessed I was.....no matter how the surgery came out.A great peace came over me.My last conscious thoughts before drifting off to sleep was my heartfelt thanks to God for the life I had been given...for the love of my family and friends and my God which is priceless and much more precious than gold. Many people spend a lifetime seeking what I had and never finding it.I am indeed a lucky man.
Life is good.The sunrises are more beautiful than I remember.The morning coffee tastes better.We are in the full bloom of spring here in the Ozarks and it is more beautiful than I ever remember seeing it...probably because I once took it for granted.Whether I have one day left or 40 years.....I will never take the beautiful things for granted again.I am content. I am blessed.
For the last two morning I have awoken just before dawn feeling refreshed,rested and ready to go-for the first time in years.As I sat in my back yard this morning sipping my coffee and watching the sunrise to the east where the dogwood and redbud are blooming in their glorious splendor.....I heard a wild turkey gobble.I smiled at the thought of a new friend I just met who happens to be a cardiologist and a avid if frustrated turkey hunter.Maybe I will give him a call in a couple of weeks and see if he wants a free lesson in the fine art of calling a wiley old gobbler in......Life is good
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