Back in 1976, when my dad was 50 years old, he developed
Myasthenia Gravis, a neuromuscular disease that in his case was characterized
by debilitating muscle weakness. Searching for relief, by January 1977
he'd ended up in Shands Hospital, Gainesville, Florida. My mother and I
had gone back home to Arcadia, to work during his hospitalization.
January 19, 1977: The Day It Snowed In Miami
I was working as a teacher's aide in Arcadia, in a moden,
practically windowless building. The extreme cold in Miami had put a
tremendous load on the power grid, and rolling power outages were the order of
the day. Imagine a building full of squirrely adolescents with only
emergency lighting and no heat! Since they were already in school,
special preparations had to be made to call an early closing, so we were all
stuck with each other for a few hours, at least.
And then the unexpected call came from my father.
"Please come get me. They are discharging me today, because there's
nothing they can do for me."
Sitting at my desk in the semi-dark, I felt the cold
creeping toward me. Was it physical cold? Or was it the cold, empty
feeling of "there's nothing they can do for me." Time seemed to
move unnaturally slowly as I contemplated my father's hopeless case. By
the time my mother and I were finally able to get on the road for Gainesville,
we were both numb from cold and worry. I still remember that drive ...
occasionally touching the window glass of the car to feel how much colder
it had gotten outside ... seeing great icicles dangling from tropical plants
... and I remember seeing my father's pale and grim face as they brought him in
a wheelchair to the car. "There's nothing they can do for me."
He lived another 27 years. Most of them were fairly
healthy years.
I'll spare you the details of the series of miracles that
led to his eventual relief, but I will just say how grateful I am to God for
those miracles, and for the medical team who were His earthly agents of
healing.
It's time for another miracle, God willing.
Greg can use your positive thoughts and prayers.
Thank you all for holding us close to your hearts.
