I saw God today

Colby is our cousin.  His dad and my mom are brother and sister.  ColbyLou (that's what we call him) has been at the hospital each and every day.  He was the first one at the hospital waiting on us that first horrible day.  He waits quietly in the hall at night as Casey and Heath spend the last few minutes together and then walks her to her truck.  Its nothing that we've asked him to do - he just does it.  He looks up to Heath.  He always has.  Heath has been sort of a hero to Colby.  When your hero hurts, you hurt.  Colby also possesses a strong family trait.  The "passing out" gene.  When he sees blood, thinks about blood, or hears blood he will pass out.  When he was a little kid, he was taking care of business - the kind that requires the bathroom- and he was playing with a paper clip.  A paper clip he wasn't supposed to have.  As he was playing with it, he somehow stuck it underneath his fingernail.  It went it just far enough underneath there to hurt and draw some blood.  Now, remember he's in the bathroom, with the door locked.  After hearing a THUD my grandmother rushes to the door and finds it locked.  She finally gets the door unlocked and finds a naked little boy that has fallen off the commode and hit his head. Why do little boys have to use the bathroom naked? It's a mystery to me. Anyway, apparently he had seen the tiny bit of blood from underneath his fingernail and passed smooth out, hitting his head on the way down.  Of course he gets it honest.  Our grandfather (Henry P) is the worst passer outer there is.  The best story is the knife story.  My grandmother was holding something between her hands and Henry P was going to cut it.  Well, they got to arguing about which way to cut whatever it was they were cutting and the knife slipped and he cut my Mawmaw pretty deep.  Blood was going everywhere and they decided she needed stitches.  She wraps a towel around her bleeding arm and they jump into the car and speed off towards the emergency room.  As they were driving, Henry P starts to feel FAINT from the sight of her bleeding arm - the arm he cut.  He has to pull over and let her drive herself to the ER, while he put the air conditioner on high and tried not to pass out. 

Blood doesn't bother me and it apparently doesn't bother many people in this area.  Life Share came back to this area for a second time this week for a replenishment drive for Heath. The doors weren't even opened at 4 o'clock and there were 10 people lined up to have a needle stuck into their arm and blood sucked out- voluntarily.  At one point 25 people were waiting in line. Men, women, old, and young were there. Horse trailers and big trucks lined the parking lot.  All of these people took time from their busy lives and came to do a very inconvenient thing.  Giving a part of yourself is not easy and all these people did it willingly.  The fact that blood is our life source and flows from our heart is so symbolic to me.  This is a gift from the heart.  Not only does this help Heath, but it will help others in need of this precious substance. The people there were not only helping Heath, they were glorifying God. God has been so close to this whole situation, he even came to the blood drive today.  I watched as He led 50 + people to give this precious gift to Heath.  The fact is our prayers are being answered every single day.  Heath has been burned everywhere except his neck, groin and ankles.  And most of those burns are 3rd degree burns.  Almost all 3rd degree burns need skin grafts.  But each time they evaluate to see what needs to be grafted it gets less and less! Skin is growing!!! The doctors are amazed at his progress.  We know what has carried him through out this whole ordeal.  Heath is doing things sooner than they have expected because of the extent of his burns.  How can a man be able to walk and talk and laugh after being burned so thoroughly? Today, we found out that the cultured skin that has been growing for about 3 weeks is so abundant that they have more than enough to cover his arms.  They were worried that they would barely even have enough. Doctors, nurses and therapists are amazed.  We have a list of "thank you Gods" since the very beginning.  Nothing - I mean nothing- has been a coincidence.  It's been God's hand and His will that has taken us this far.  God has sent everyone at the perfect time.  He knew what we needed before we did.  From the minute this happened people have been praying.  I am watching a miracle unfold before my eyes.  The doctors told us from day one the best thing that Heath had going for him was that he was young and healthy.  I hate to say Dr. Sittig is wrong about anything, but that is the second best thing Heath has going for him.   I saw God today.  He sat beside a lady in a chair who didn't know Heath, and really didn't know us and watched her as she gave blood which was exactly what He led her to do. Ya'll are so precious to me.  Ya'll are so precious to Heath.  He knows every effort that is being done on his behalf.  Every single time we tell him all tears flow freely down his face - tears of joy and emotion.

* A very special to Linda Lynd & LeAnn Hernsberger who organized the Springhill Blood Drive and also Kaycee Nehls who coordinated the Sarepta one.  If you see these ladies give them a great big hug! Thank you girls! We love you!*

'Til Tomorrow