Merry Christmas Darlene

It was a year ago today I received a very precious gift.

One year ago today God gave me a very special Christmas gift, indeed a miracle. He brought you back to me. Through His skilled messenger a plug was removed from your left lung. As soon as it was removed you began to breath on your own.

Prior to that very special day doctors did not give you much hope to survive let alone recover.

What the doctors did not know at the time was that you are a very “special person”. They did not know what kind of a fighter you are, they did not know about your quiet but yet strong “faith”, they did not know of the challenges you have faced in your short life and how you have triumphed in all of these situations.

On Christmas Day last year you began a journey that continues to this day. You have defied all odds, you have progressed and accomplished things that nobody thought you would do.

You woke up from your coma on my birthday, another miracle and precious gift to your family and me. You moved from Oroville hospital to the Bay Area to begin what has become a long “Journey Back To Life”.

You have surprised all that have met you. You have found your way into each and everyone’s heart that you come into contact with. You have brought joy and happiness to so many people. You have made new friends, some because of similar tragedy. The Stewart’s, the Murphy’s, the Spitzer’s, Latosha, John and Ryne.

You have brought laughter and smiles to doctors, nurses, and techs. You have laughed for so many people and given them a smile when they leave your room.

You continue to amaze the doctors that are taking care of you. I will never forget Dr. Doherty’s first official words to your folks and me. “Darlene is not in a coma”, she is awake and processing all information, “she is not in a vegetative state”.

That was in mid January of this year at Kentfield Hospital, which is where we met and are still very close to Latosha, John and Ryne. That is where I began a friendship with the Stewart’s, Murphy’s and the Spitzers that continue to this day. Carol, Stewart, Peggy, and Tammy became my “texting” buddies. Latosha became your “sister angel”, watching over you in the same room when I was not there. Stewart has been an advocate for you in my absence; Tammy has been your “cell phone angel”, holding a phone to your ear so we could talk long distance. Peggy has been like a rock making sure someone said hi or hello to you every day when I was not around. Kevin, always there to talk to and Dr Mark, your new ENT doc. Dr Mark is the one that prescribed an antibiotic long distance from Merced just prior to us going to Enloe just two weeks ago.

As I sit with you this Christmas Day, as I watch you sleep, as I watch you begin to wake up, I am again receiving a very special gift, indeed another miracle. My gift: another day with my best friend, another day with my wife, such a wonderful gift.

Folks may not be aware of how close we all came to losing a very special angel of God. It finally hit me the other day that had I not taken you to Enloe Med Center the other day for what proved to pneumonia, there stood a very good chance we would have lost you forever. Had you not been in the hospital and we had not caught that you were overdosing on your Baclofen, you could very well have slipped away from us at home and we would not have had the equipment to help you.

I am so thankful that God chose to bring you back to us. I again am convinced that He has something “special” for you to do or maybe just as simple that He wants you to keep doing what you are; “blessing” all whom you come in contact with.

In the last 48 hours God has chosen to bless you and your family in several ways. You passed you initial swallow tests the other day, yesterday you passed your video swallow test just prior to coming back to Enloe Rehab.

Wednesday evening you had your “trach” changed and “capped”, yes I said capped, you are breathing for the first time on your own through your mouth and nose since last December. Your ‘apnea” has not been an issue, Your O2 saturations have been perfect, you have not set off the monitor alarm.

You had the pleasure of having chocolate pudding yesterday along with applesauce. You swallowed perfectly.

On the 22nd your pump was titrated from 96 to 140 mics per 24 hours. Your tone has lessoned tremendously. Although you are still sleepy, when you wake up, usually around noon, you are bright eyed and perky. You are trying so hard to find your voice, you are mouthing words like you used to. As I said, again I have been blessed.

Darlene, I am so proud to be your husband, so proud to have you as my friend. There are no words that can describe how proud of you I am. You are an inspiration to all, a blessing to everyone you come in contact with, a testament to “faith and hope”, and a mirror of what God’s love is.

Well my love, I just wanted you know how special this Christmas is to me and how special you are. We all love you with all that we are and all that we have. We look forward to seeing more miracles; we look forward to your return back home.

So many miracles since last year this day, so many to list, but I have every one engraved in my heart and I will always, always cherish them.

Darlene, I love you and thank you for being the Angel you are. Thank you for being my Christmas gift again this year.

Thank you to all that have supported Dar and I this past year through your prayers, gifts and deeds. We love you all and hope you have and are having a wonderful Christmas.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL,

Love,

Darlene/Danny

Jamiesue
Maverick, Mr. Awesome
Fosters
Julie

Grinnell’s
Webster’s
Findley’s