It's been a good year

[Curlywoods]

Well 2004 started out with my wife losing her ability to walk.  She woke up on January 10th and try to get out of bed and fell to the floor.  We rushed her to the hospital immediately.  She would spend the nest two weeks in the hospital while doctors debated what was wrong with her. For over four months she could not walk without a walker, then she keep pushing and she could begin to walk with leg braces, but she fell often as she had no motor control to help her if she got off balance. She has slowly regained her ability to walk again, but she still is like a toddler at times. The leg braces are now gone.  She loses her balance when the wind blows and she has little strength to saty on her feet for very long, but the good Lord has seen her through the toughest days.
  She was diagnosed with Lupus.  It had attacked her limbs and caused the blood vessels that feed the nerves to close off and kill the nerves, thus she had no motor control to her lower legs.  6 months of chemotheraphy, lots of strong pain killers and she is getting back to normal.  She will never be cured of Lupus and it will flair from time to time.  She is a trooper and is abig inspiration to me.  I would never have been able to fight this disease with her courage.  No matter what I have had to deal with this year or any year to date, I have a new hero and she is my wife.

  I pray that each and everyone of you has something to be thankful for in 2004.  I know that I do.

[DanG]

Well, Mike, I have to say we've had a good year, here. No tragedies befell our family, and there weren't even any controversies of note.

I'm particularly thankful to still have both my parents, in their mid-eighties and taking care of themselves, as well as others at times.

The highlights of the year include my escape from the rat race, via retirement at the end of January, and the birth of our 13th Grandchild at the end of August.  All in all, a pretty DanG good year! 8)

I must say, I admire your wife for clinging to life, rather than just holding on to an existance. I know her courage is an inspiration to you, and I'll bet she has touched a lot more lives, too. Thanks for telling her story.

[Fla._Deadheader]

  Mike, you can tell your wife she is my hero, too.  

  I can't imagine the thoughts that she must have had when she found herself on the floor. I hope she recovers enough to be able to walk nearly as good as she did.