California, Here I Come

Our lives are definitely getting back to where we were before Paul's accident. We are busy with so much more than just being Paul's care givers! Praise be to God for the fullness of our lives and the joy that brings. So here is the update.

We started the processes of getting Paul relicensed as a driver and that began almost 2 years ago. In between, we have had numerous doctor appointments, another major surgery, driving evaluation appointments, government/vocational rehabilitation appointments and social security/disability appointments. Then there has been the daily driving of Paul to and from work, and then the regular day in and day out routines of our own jobs and responsibilites. Most evenings have been spent working on therapies with Paul and we have also added the extra activities at church that we used to have and even a couple more activities I was not involved in. We also have welcomed one more grandchild in the family, along with another daughter in law and a fiance! While the pace has picked up immensely and I feel 10 years older, I remain incredibly thankful to God for the outpouring of the graces needed to get through all this.

There have been so many moments since I wrote last that I thought to myself......."this is so a blog kind of moment"! I would mean to sit down and get it written, but then the minutes in my day would run out and I would come to a screeching halt, and absolutely NOT be able to keep my eyes open.

One particular time was last Fall when we were finally able to get Paul on the dockets at Shepherd Center to start his first set of driving evaluation classes. It took the better part of a year to get the necessary funding and at long last we were ready to start. I had gone to the 6:30 AM Mass at St. John Neumann's and was driving back home. I had made this trip home hundreds of times before at this same time and not once had this ever happened this way. It was the morning of the first day of evaluations. I was going to head home to pick up Paul and then head downtown. I left church and as I was making the right hand turn onto Five Forks Trickum, the #3 ambulance that took Paul to the hospital 11/11/05 was going right past me. The road was clear behind it, so I was able to complete my right turn, putting me right at the back doors of that ambulance. Now, the funny thing was, about a year after Paul's accident, they changed out that #3 white ambulance with a shiny new red and black ambulance. I noticed it right away when our #3 was gone and the new one was parked at the fire station, because I had to pass it everyday I drove to Mass. I was really sad when ours was replaced. Not sure why, but I was. I guess the new one reminded me that time was moving on for everyone else and we were still walking at a snail's pace in our private lives. So......of course I took immediate notice of this special big white ambulance as it drove right by me that morning. I quickly saw it was the #3 ambulance. Paul's ambulance. With that big red number 3. I smiled once again as I remembered back to the day of the accident and that moment when I realized that Paul was in an ambulance marked by the same number as the Trinity.......Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I was comforted that awful day by these very little signs from God that He was in charge!

So, here I was, almost 4 years later, driving behind that ambulance again. Since Paul's accident, there has not been ONE time where I have been right behind an ambulance. And now, here I was following it on the very day I was going to take Paul to his first driver's training class. This "Godincidence" was not lost on me. It was like God was telling me it was time to let go of those really intensely sad memories and time to move forward with renewed hope. I was now following that ambulance with a new horizon in front of us and the old memory of following that ambulance was replaced with a much better memory. Following this thought, I remembered right away that I had never gone to the fire station to thank those wonderful men for the help they provided in keeping Paul alive. They worked hard and gave it their all. I always meant to stop by, but I was always on my way somewhere and didn't seem to have the time. I was given the sign that it was time! I followed that ambulance for about a mile and right into the parking lot of the fire station. It did feel strange following it again. I vividly remembered back to that afternoon, when I was driving down the road trying to find Paul's car. I realized too late I had passed him right by. I thought his car was on the street, but it was in someone's front yard, so I didn't see it. I was down 2 blocks and realized from the stopped traffic in the oncoming lane, that he was back behind me. Traffic was piled up for at least 1/2 a mile. I could not turn around and get back to him. Then the big white #3 ambulance came right in front of me at the intersection and I made a u-turn in the middle of that intersection, and followed right behind that ambulance as he cleared a pathway all the way back to the scene.

Yes, it felt so strange to be following it once again. The driver got out and looked at me kind of strangely as I walked over to him. It was time for the shift to change, so a lot of the firemen/paramedics were standing around. I introduced myself and told them that I wanted to thank them and let them know they had saved a life. While they may not remember the accident, we surely remembered their heroic efforts that day. Amazingly one man did remember. He said he had just come on his shift when the ambulance was returning to the station. He remembers the men telling him about the really bad accident and the fact that they didn't expect the driver to live. He smiled a big smile and said it always is good to hear these kinds of stories and how things turned out better than expected. They were also pleased to hear where I was taking Paul that very day!

And the end of this story is....Paul can drive himself into that parking lot next week.........when his license will be valid again. We had our last day of training today and Paul has been given clearance to drive unsupervised during the day. He will need more training for night time driving, given the limitations in his vision. He has had to do nightly vision excercises for the last 6 months and it has helped him a lot to regain more movement in his left eye and also to help him have coordinated movement in both eyes. We wish we had been given these theraputic excercises years ago, but better late than never. We are thankful and know everything has happened in God's time frame. Oh yes......how we have learned that lesson!

I wanted to let everyone know where their prayers have taken Paul. He still has a long way to go in some areas, but has come from so far away. He has definitely made it to Gallup, NM......ah,Gallup - that is another great story I will share you with. I do promise it to tell it very, very soon. I have so much to tell you regarding this faith filled story, this "God Story".
Stay tuned. I'll be right back.

Peace, love and happy trails to you,
Jon and Rebecca