The Surgery's Over

My husband, Smokey, had his heart surgery on Thursday and I'm very relieved that at least that part of it is over. We got to Roper Hospital at 5:30 a.m. and it was non-stop from there until they took him into the operating lab. It was a 9-hour procedure and, hopefully, the one procedure will take care of his problem (there's a 30% chance that he'll have to have a second "touch-up" surgery).
Other than the many prayers that were offered up for him on that day, I had two majors blessings during this time. Smokey's sister and her husband were here to see my mother-in-law--who has been in the hospital--and they decided to stay on until after the surgery so Smokey could stay home and rest up and recuperate from a bad cold so the surgery wouldn't be canceled. And they also were tremendous beyond the limits in helping resolve a major family upset that came up at the same time and would have been devastating for Smokey to deal with.
The other blessing occured when the team came into the room to take him to the surgery. The nurse on the team was a fellow quilter who has been in a couple of my classes--Jane (sorry I don't remember her last name). We looked at each other and said, "Oh, my goodness." She personally called me every hour and even took part of her lunch break to assure me that things were going as they should. I cannot even begin to tell you just how much that meant.
So, for me, the reminder is that even when you're in the midst of something that is overwhelming and scarey, there can be unexpected blessings. And I'm so thankful.
Note: Just saw Corky Ledbetter's Award-Winning Quilt on Quilt University:http://quiltuniversity.com/quilt_show_winners.htm. It's really a great celebration of Charleston.